The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages, page 26
“She’s right,” said Sticky, who felt upset in much the way Reynie did, though he was less certain of the reason. He only knew that he was afraid of the conversation, but here they were, having it. “I thought it made sense when you mentioned it, I admit. But we should have trusted her. Just like you should have trusted me with the full truth about those blueprints. You could have told me there was a time limit. I don’t like being under pressure, true, but I could have handled it.”
“These are the things you’re complaining about?” Reynie replied. He felt hurt and angry and was struggling not to. “You all realize that I’ve been doing my best under extreme pressure, right? I’m supposed to be this great problem solver, but when I see what looks like the best solution, I’m not supposed to act on it? When there’s so much at stake?”
“Not without asking us first!” Kate said. “Unless you have absolutely no choice, you have to bring us in! If we fail, we fail, but at least we do it together. We’re still a team, right? You haven’t gone off to be some star student at a university yet, you know.”
Reynie was taken aback. “What’s that supposed to mean? What does that have to do with any of this?”
“She means—” Sticky began, then cleared his throat when he found his voice trembling with emotion. “She means that we know you feel like we’re holding you back, but as long as we’re all still here, shouldn’t we—” Here Sticky’s voice cracked, and he didn’t finish.
“Are you being serious?” Reynie asked. He looked back and forth between Kate and Sticky. “That’s what you think? But it’s the exact opposite! I’ve always felt like I’m at my best because of you. I just, I don’t know—other people go to universities, and I had these opportunities and figured I should consider them and—” He shrugged. “The truth is that I don’t know that I want to go right now. The idea scares me. It would be much easier to stay home with all of you. But, you know, obviously that isn’t going to last forever. You both have your own plans.…” He trailed off, avoiding their gazes.
“Why are we talking about this right now?” Tai said in a hushed voice. “It’s so weird!” He was looking anxiously from face to face.
“The question is why we haven’t talked about it sooner,” Kate said. “I guess, speaking for myself, it’s that the whole thing’s made me uncomfortable. I don’t like the thought of us splitting up, even if I do want to become an agent, like Milligan. So I’ve just avoided the subject. Which I realize is dumb.”
“Same here,” Sticky said. “I’ve been afraid of feeling hurt. But I was feeling hurt anyway, so why not come right out and talk about it with my closest friends? I would trust you with everything else, but not this? It’s ridiculous.”
“It is ironic,” Reynie said with a sheepish smile. “We’ve done an awful lot of dangerous things, but we’ve been afraid to have a conversation.” He took a deep breath, let it out, and said, “I’m really sorry. I don’t know why—”
“It’s because he wants to protect you!” Tai announced. “Wow, Reynie, your thoughts are really loud right now! You feel like you make mistakes because you love them and want to protect them so much, but you don’t always do it the right way!”
Reynie blinked. “Oh my goodness, Tai. Okay.”
Kate laughed. “Tai, someone needs to tell Reynie that we all want to protect him, too. I think sometimes problem solvers just want to control things a little too much.”
It was at this point that Constance broke. She had been following this conversation—in which she seemed not to be included at all—with a rising fury. All her feelings suddenly concentrated into a single emotion, and Constance screamed. So loudly and piercingly did she scream that all the others cried out and covered their ears and looked wildly about them for the source of her anguish. Then she stopped screaming and turned her red eyes on Reynie, Sticky, and Kate, who instantly understood that they were the source.
“What about me?” Constance demanded. “You all think you’ve done a bad job talking to one another? Do any of you remember that there used to be a fourth member of the Society? I know I’m a lot younger than the rest of you, and I didn’t used to think about that very much. But I’m not a little kid anymore, and I’m still supposed to be part of the team, am I not? You all make your secret plans and have your secret discussions, and you’ve all been thinking about whether or not it was okay to go away and do your own things—but all you’re worried about is each other. Have you ever considered what it will be like for me if you all go? I don’t have any friends my own age. I don’t have any friends at all.”
“I’m your friend!” Tai said, raising his hand.
Constance ignored him. “Yes, I know that you’ve had to keep some things from me to be on the safe side, because of the Listener and Tai. Which, by the way, I’m telling you right now that I can handle. I know I can keep the Listener out of my head now, and out of Tai’s, too, if he’s with me. Just for your information, you know, in case anyone cares at all about what’s going on with me. No, let me finish!”
The others, all of whom had begun to speak, closed their mouths.
“I get that part,” Constance went on. “I really do. But the rest of it is really unfair! And I guess I’m just going to say that right now, because I may never have the chance again. It just seems pretty clear to me that you’re all more important to one another than I am to you, and it really hurts, and I really hate it. You especially, Reynie. You used to be the best at making me feel like I was a part of things, but not anymore. Thanks for forgetting about me. That’s all.” With that, Constance pulled her hair over her eyes and crossed her arms and dropped onto the bench.
“Oh, Connie girl,” Kate said after a pause. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too,” said Sticky.
“Me too, Constance,” said Reynie.
(Tai whispered, “Me too,” just to be included.)
The older three all looked at one another, alternately nodding and shaking their heads. At last Kate said, “I’m going to tell her.”
Reynie said, “I don’t think—”
But Kate, eyebrow arched, interrupted him. “Reynie, what did we just talk about?”
Reynie bit his lip.
Constance had parted her hair and was looking up at Kate with hooded eyes. “Tell me what?”
Kate stepped over to the bench and knelt down before Constance. “First of all, you shouldn’t feel that way about Reynie. This whole thing was his idea.”
“What… what whole thing?”
“Before I tell you, is it true what you just said to us? You’re absolutely, positively sure you can keep the Listener out of your head? And out of Tai’s, as well? And you will make absolutely certain to keep focusing on that, no matter what? Because there’s a lot riding on this, you know. But whatever you tell me, I’m going to trust you. We’re all going to trust her, right, boys?”
Reynie and Sticky nodded. Tai had waited to see what they would do, and now he nodded, too.
Constance rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m absolutely, positively sure, and I will make absolutely certain.”
“Okay, then. Well.” Kate clapped her hands against her knees. “Constance, my dear, this whole thing is a trap. The KEEP is a trap. A trap for Ten Men.”
Tai gasped.
“You see,” Kate went on, “a long time ago Mr. Benedict mentioned to us that Mr. Curtain and the Ten Men had surely established a plan for breaking out if they were captured. It wasn’t likely they could ever succeed, but as long as the Katz brothers were on the loose, there was always a chance. We didn’t know what it was they were looking for, but we knew it was probably something that would help them free their comrades. And it was Reynie who said that there should be a trap waiting if that ever happened.”
Constance was shaking her head in confusion. “Why…? How…?”
“Well, you can imagine that Mr. Benedict tapped his nose at this. He’d already been thinking along the same lines, of course. But it was Reynie who made the point—and Sticky and I backed him up on it—that if this ever happened, we were absolutely going to be involved. Certain things had to be kept secret from us, this was understood, but we insisted that Mr. Benedict keep us in mind as his plans developed. We made solemn vows that, no matter the time or place, whether it was soon or decades later, whether it seemed as safe as a bedtime story or as dangerous as we could imagine, the three of us were going to be involved. We talked about this with our parents, too. They weren’t keen on the idea, of course, but in the end, they all agreed. After what we’ve been through together? After all we’ve done? They kind of had to.”
“Even though it would be this dangerous?” Constance asked. “I don’t understand. And how is this supposed to make me feel better? I can tell you’re trying to, but it sounds like one more thing that you didn’t include me in.”
“It really does!” Tai chimed in unhelpfully.
“That’s because it’s all about you, Constance,” Kate said, taking Constance’s hand and squeezing it.
Constance stared. “It… what?”
Kate looked over her shoulder at Sticky and Reynie. “Shouldn’t we all be telling this together?”
They nodded and came closer, and Sticky said, “We knew that if the Ten Men got loose, you would never be safe. Not for the rest of your life. There’s no greater threat to a bunch of sneaky criminals’ plans than a telepath, right?”
“And no greater tool for them,” Kate added, “if they could capture you and use you for their own purposes.”
“We also knew,” Sticky continued, “that we would never let you face that threat alone. Reynie’s idea was that if we were all going to end up in danger anyway, why not choose the circumstances? Why not create them—so that we would have the advantage?”
Constance sat in stunned silence, her eyes drifting from face to face.
“Privately we thought of this as our biggest project ever,” Reynie said. He smiled. “We figured you could write a poem about it.”
Constance started shaking her head. “I don’t… I don’t know what to say. Why were you keeping all this from me? You kept it a secret long before you knew about the Listener. Why not tell me?”
The others hesitated.
Searching their faces, Tai said, “Oh! They didn’t tell you because they thought that if they tried this and somebody ended up getting hurt, you would blame yourself! They didn’t want you to feel bad!”
Constance burst into tears.
“Well, I think it’s good we had this little talk,” Kate said, patting Constance’s hand. “Now, how about we do a quick round of hugs, get these bad guys locked away, catch up with Mr. Benedict, and call it a night?”
Kate’s plan was quickly initiated. There were hugs all around, with Constance crying freely the whole time, and promises of full explanations later, and, in Reynie’s case, one last apology.
First came Constance’s sobbing apology to him, which she murmured into his ear as she hugged him, dampening his shoulder with her tears and, unfortunately, a fair amount of snot. But when she pulled back, Reynie held on to her shoulders and looked her in the eye.
“You don’t owe me an apology,” he said. “Also, you’re right, I haven’t been doing a good job including you lately. Not just because of this big secret, but because I’ve been worried about myself too much. I’m really sorry.”
Constance sniffled and wiped at her runny nose. “We just get used to things,” she said. “I’m used to you helping me out. But I shouldn’t complain about being treated like a little kid and then be mad because you aren’t treating me like a little kid.”
Reynie chuckled. “It’s complicated. Especially when you’re a genius telepath. I’ll cut you some slack if you cut me some.”
“It’s a deal,” Constance said.
“You’re supposed to shake hands when you do deals,” Tai said matter-of-factly, and so Reynie and Constance shook hands, which Tai found very satisfying.
“We’re down to seven minutes,” Sticky said. “We should get ready.”
“This makes us nervous!” Tai declared, hopping from one foot to the other. Kate put an arm around him and gave him a squeeze.
“Yes, it does,” Reynie said. He looked at Sticky, who was bent over the desk, hurriedly scribbling with pen and paper that Kate had given him from her bucket. “You sure about this? If it goes wrong—”
Sticky looked up at him. “I’m sure. I understand the risk. This is what we’re doing, Reynie.”
Reynie rubbed his furrowed brow. “But if it goes wrong…”
“Reynie. This is what we’re doing.” Sticky handed him the paper. “That’s from the gold key. With luck I can join you, but if not, well, you’ll do your thing.”
Reynie stared at the paper. He gave a tight nod. “I’ll do my best. But… um, George, do try to be there, won’t you? I mean…”
Sticky laughed nervously. “You mean if I don’t join you, it will be because I’m suffering untold horrors? Don’t worry, Reynie, you can count on my trying to be there.”
Reynie couldn’t bring himself to laugh. “Promise me—I don’t know, promise me whatever you can.”
Sticky clapped his hands on Reynie’s shoulders. “I promise. Let’s do this.”
The two embraced.
Kate slid her bucket from her belt and passed it to Tai. “You guys are going to need this,” she said. “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”
“But it’s yours!” Tai said, giggling. “I think you should wear it all the time, the way you used to. I like it better.”
Kate tousled his hair. “I think you may be right.” She turned to Sticky. “I just had a little thought. I don’t suppose you could disable the warning system for the barriers?”
“I would say that’s a gigantic thought!” Sticky said. “And it might be possible. I’ll see what I can do.”
With five minutes left to go, they all wished one another luck. Kate went to the door leading back to the exercise room. Sticky gave Reynie his backpack and sat down at the computer. Beads of perspiration trembled on his scalp. He was taking slow, deep breaths. Constance, Reynie, and Tai went to the other door.
“On three?” Kate suggested.
Everyone nodded except Constance, who was looking at Reynie and frowning. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing, nothing,” Reynie said, shaking his head. “I can tell you later. All right, Kate. On three.”
“He’s thinking about S.Q.’s feet,” Tai whispered.
“Are we doing this countdown or not?” Kate asked, for if Reynie was trying to keep Tai out of his head for some reason, the distraction would certainly help. “Tai, do you want to start us off?”
“Okay!” said Tai, and he began: “One…”
The others all joined in: “Two…”
Then Reynie groaned and said, “Wait.” He looked at Constance with a pained expression. “I don’t want to suggest this.”
Constance blinked. She stared at him. And then she said, “Oh! Of course!”
“I know you want to get to Mr. Benedict as soon as possible,” Reynie said. “And this is much riskier. But…”
“No, of course, this makes the most sense! It’s our best chance of succeeding!” Constance gave him a quick hug and hurried across the room to join Kate. “I’m coming with you,” she said. “No offense, but I’m much better bait than you are. And I can nudge them when we go by to make them think we’re joining up with the others. They’ll follow us for sure—they’ll have no reason to come this way.”
Sticky let out a gush of air. “Oh, wow. I like this new plan. Oh my goodness.” He took the cloth from his pocket and patted his damp scalp.
“Thank you, Reynie,” Constance said.
Reynie nodded. “Stay safe, you two.”
They all looked appreciatively at one another, and then expectantly at Tai, who caught the hint.
“Three!”
They’re waiting at the barrier,” Constance said as she and Kate left the control room. “Every one of them.”
“Perfect,” said Kate. “We can give them a little wave as we pass by.”
“I’ll be doing more than that,” Constance said in a low tone.
Moving at a brisk trot, the two followed the passageway along the wall of the exercise room. Sure enough, McCracken’s enormous frame filled the entrance. It was rather disconcerting to be running toward him; from a distance there appeared to be nothing to prevent his lunging forward and seizing them as they went past. But they knew the barrier was there, and as they drew nearer they could see his eyes following them. He looked exceedingly amused.
“Well, well, well,” McCracken began when they drew within earshot. “It seems—”
“Sorry, no time to chat!” Kate interrupted, and Constance gave him a contemptuous glance.
“Oh, surely—”
“Nope!” Kate interrupted again.
They hurried past, following the passageway toward the opposite corner of the room.
“That drove him crazy,” Constance said with satisfaction. “He hates being interrupted. He didn’t want to call after us, though, because it’s hard to sound smug when you’re doing that.”
“Perfect again,” said Kate. “That was my intention. And how about your special project?”
“We’re all on the same page now. She’s told them what I was thinking—which is that you and I had split from the boys but then came to a dead end, so now we’re trying to get back to them.”
They were nearing the far corner of the room, where the transparent barrier blocked the entrance to a short and rather plain-looking hallway. There was a closed door at the end of it—not a security door, but it made Kate nervous enough to reach for her utility belt.
“Be advised,” she said, “if that door is locked, I’ll have to pick it.”
Constance’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Don’t worry—I’ll be quick about it. Just didn’t want you to be surprised.” Kate tapped the barrier with her knuckle. “I don’t suppose you gave them some idea of how we happen to be on the other side of this from Reynie and Sticky?”
