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I nodded, then stood there like a dummy as the rest of the flock came out of the house to be hugged by Brigid. Watching her hug Fang, seeing his arms go around her, was almost enough to make me hurl.
I might need to rethink my protective armor a bit.
"Let's hurry," said Dr. Abate. "We've got a plane waiting. On the way, you can fill me in on what happened. And vice versa."
"Max," said Nudge, and instinctively I braced. I'd known something was up.
"Get in the car, sweetie," I said, pretending not to notice anything was wrong.
She swallowed. "I'm staying."
"You can't. It's not safe."
"I'll be safe at the school, in the dorms," she said. She gestured limply to the house, its surrounding wreckage. "I can't do this anymore. I want to go to school. I just want to be a kid. At least for a while."
I had a million excellent arguments why she was wrong and making the biggest mistake of her life, and I opened my mouth to get started, and then it hit me: it would be pointless. Nudge wasn't four or five. She was around eleven and would be as tall as me in another year or so. She really meant she couldn't do this anymore.
If she didn't want to be with us, didn't want to fight, she would get hurt—bad. She might cause one of us to get hurt or killed. I needed my flock to be fierce, bloodthirsty warriors. Nudge's heart just wasn't in it, and I couldn't fix that. Oh, God.
I swallowed hard, making my chin stiff, my mouth firm. I'm the flock leader because I can do the gnarly jobs. "You may not get your wings taken off," I said sternly.
Wonder dawned in her big brown eyes as she realized what I was saying. A huge smile lit her face, and she hugged me fiercely, forcing the air from my lungs. "You may get your ears pierced," I croaked, trying to breathe. "Or your nose. Or—actually, nothing else. And you absolutely, positively, may never, ever get your wings removed, or I swear to God, I will come kick your skinny, fashion-conscious butt into next week. Do you hear me?"
"Yes!" Nudge said happily. "Yes, yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you so much!"
Ever notice how often people say that right before they say good-bye?
Part Two
WE ALL LIVE IN A DEADLY SUBMARINE
27
THE ARMORED CAR drove for about an hour through the desert, ending up at a military airfield. Nothing like passing through heavy, barbed-wire-topped gates to make a girl feel secure! And by secure, I mean supertwitchy. At least we could fly out of here if we needed to. I eyed the antiaircraft guns mounted on turrets and hoped they'd be considered overkill for bird kids.
Despite the fact that we were really tired, really hungry, and really upset about my mom, we did manage to fill John and Brigid in on everything that had happened. John showed me the two faxes they'd gotten. Seeing my mom looking straight ahead, fear in her eyes as some goon held a gun on her, made my blood boil.
I was going to track down the kidnappers if it meant flying to every single boat in the entire world.
"We're taking a military jet to San Diego," said John. "The FBI is meeting us at the navy base there. We'll go over all the information we have, and see what we can get out of it."
I nodded numbly, looking at the soldiers bustling about, each one having somewhere to be. I wondered if Nudge was back at the school yet. I guessed she was.
The armored car drove right up to a small jet, its stairs already pulled down.
"Please tell me there's food on board," said Iggy.
"Yes," said John. "A whole lot of it. I was warned about how much you guys ate on the Wendy K." His tired smile made me think back to our days of living on that boat with Brigid and the other scientists.
I glanced over at Brigid as she talked quietly to Fang, and my stomach knotted. He was paying attention to her but also looking at me pretty often. The whole thing was complicated and messy, and I hated it.
But I loved him. And I guess the messiness went along with that.
"It'll be okay, Max," Angel whispered, patting my hand.
I looked at her, wondering if she was talking about my mom or Nudge or Fang.
"Everything," she said softly. "Everything will be okay."
