Page 23 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

But Lucy straightened, cutting him off before he could speak. Raising her chin, she glared down at the Hightower agents all waiting for her decision. “Tell my dad,” she said in a clear, frosty voice, “that I can’t be bought like the rest of his acquisitions. He can wave all the money, magic, and expensive toys he wants in my face; I’m still not going back. Unless he or Hightower itself changes, I’m staying right here, with the Society. At least they know what’s right.”

“You are making a serious mistake, Miss Frost,” the Hightower agent said, and shrugged. “But very well. If that

is your choice. You SEA scum will never reach the wreck in time. You’ve lost this race; you just don’t know it.”

“And how do you figure that?” Oliver asked, still candidly. “By my calculations, it took us five hours to get here; it’ll take less than that to get back on track. This little side jaunt will cost us less than ten hours total. Hightower is speedy when it comes to snatching valuables, but they’re not going to be able to plunder an entire ship before we get there.”

The woman smiled. She held out her hand, palm up, and one of the other men immediately placed something in it: a rectangular device with an antenna poking up from the top. Putting the walkie-talkie to her mouth, she spoke loud enough for Shinji and the others to hear.

“James? Are the charges set?”

A staticky voice answered almost instantly, “Set and ready to blow, ma’am.”

“Do it.”

A pulse went through the air. Shinji felt a jolt through his whole body, like he had grabbed an electric fence or stuck his finger in a socket. A startled yelp caught in his throat. The world around him sputtered like a bad television signal, and for a split second, everything went white.

He blinked and gazed around. He was standing in the same spot with Lucy and Oliver, and they looked just as confused as he felt. Everything seemed normal, though. The ship bobbed on the waves, but it didn’t feel like it was

sinking. There had been no explosion. No fire or smoke. Carefully, Shinji waggled his fingers and toes; they appeared fine—nothing seemed hurt or broken.

“Weird.” He glanced at Lucy. “Whatwasthat? Some kind of bomb or electromagnetic pulse?”

“I don’t know.” She looked up at the sky, her brow furrowed in confusion. “I couldn’t tell what it was.”

“Well, they didsomethingstrange.” Oliver took a step back from the railing with a grave look. “Hightower is gone.”

“What? How?”

Shinji peeked over the railing and saw that Oliver was right. The three Hightower agents, as well as their boat, were gone. In fact, there was no sign of a boat on the water, no hint of a vessel anywhere in the distance or on the horizon. The ocean was blue, clear, and completely empty. As if the boat and the people on it had just blipped out of reality.

“Weird,” Shinji muttered again, making Lucy frown at him.

“It’s not weird,” she said, “it’s impossible. Even Hightower can’t instantly poof out of sight.” Her eyes widened. “Unless…”

A booming shout came from somewhere in the pilothouse. “Ocean!” Mano bellowed, poking his head out the doorframe. “Get in here, now!”

They all hurried onto the bridge. Mano was standing before a console of blinking lights and switches, his face pale in the eerie glow.

“Impossible,” he muttered, shaking his head. “This is impossible. How did Hightower do this?”

“What’s going on?” Oliver said.

Before Mano could answer, pounding footsteps could be heard, and a moment later, Phoebe burst into the room. “Captain!” she exclaimed. “This is incredible! Did you feel that pulse? Do you know what has happened? Oh, hello, Shinji, Lucy, Roux. You’re here, too. Did you feel the energy field across the ship a few moments ago?”

“I would have to be dead not to,” Shinji replied impatiently. “What was it? What does it mean?”

“Look at your phones,” Phoebe replied. “Do you notice anything strange about them? The date and time, perhaps?”

Frowning, Shinji dug out his phone, wishing Phoebe would just tell him what was going on already. He noticed that Lucy had already pulled her phone out and was staring at it in alarm and disbelief. Flipping up the screen, Shinji first saw that a text had come in from Aunt Yui, and that it had arrived…two days ago?

Behind Shinji, Oliver let out an explosive breath. “Tell me this is wrong,” he said, looking at Phoebe. “According to my phone—and everyone else’s, I assume—it isforty-eight hourslater! How in Poseidon’s beard did we lose two days?”

“Hightower,” Lucy whispered. “I thought it was impossible, but…”

“But what?” asked Shinji.

Lucy’s face was pale as she glanced up. “A couple of

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