Page 54 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

Shinji left his quarters and went looking for Oliver, finding him in the break room. The ex-pirate was sitting on the couch and watching the small television in the corner. Over the past two days, the storm had grown even bigger and was on track to slam into the western coast, according to the news. Fortunately, the smaller islands were out of the hurricane’s path as it swept north, so at least Shinji and his group were spared the Storm Boar’s fury. But for the people on the West Coast, the news warned, they needed to prepare for the worst.

“Everyone whocanget out of the way of this thing should do so now,” a weather reporter said, standing in front of a map of the western United States. Behind him, an enormous swirling mass of clouds crept ever closer to land. “Mandatory evacuations have been issued for all of coastal LA,” the

reporter went on, “especially those right on the water. Bottom line, if you can get farther inland, you should do so, and soon. Meteorologists are predicting record storm surge, and winds of a hundred and fifty miles per hour or more. You do not want to be close to the water when this storm hits. Get off the coast, get out of the way of the storm if you can. If you can’t, then make sure you’re prepared. Water, flashlights, batteries, stock up on all of those. Power outages are expected for most, if not all, of the city once the hurricane makes landfall.”

“What a mess,” Oliver commented as the news station switched to an image of a clogged highway, with several lanes of vehicles at a near standstill. All trying to flee the city. “It’ll get even worse if that storm actually makes landfall, though. This could end up being an enormous humanitarian disaster.”

Shinji wrapped his fingers around the back of a chair at the break room table and squeezed.Because of me. I released the Storm Boar. I caused this.

“By the way,” Oliver said, turning to Shinji, “I had a little chat with Lucy this morning. I wanted to know what happened when the three of you left the base camp and went up to the volcano. She didn’t want to tell me everything, but I was able to piece the story together well enough.” Oliver studied his reflection in the golden head of his cane, looking thoughtful. “So, you decided to follow a white pig to the top of the mountain to release the Storm Boar, huh?”

Shinji winced. “Yeah,” he said again. “That was my fault. It was stupid; I get it. I should’ve listened when she told me it was a bad idea.”

“Kid, trust me, I know all about rash decisions.” Oliver shook his head and smiled. “Ask any member of the Society, and they can regale you with tales of Oliver Ocean’s dumb choices. But the same can be said of everyone in SEA. From Phoebe to Mano to Priya and myself. We’re explorers and risk takers. Danger is just part of being an adventurer.But,” he added, pointing the parrot beak in Shinji’s direction, “there is one thing that we all agree on, and that is we are stronger together than we are alone. Individually, I’m just one person. But, as part of the Society, I have access to almost unlimited knowledge, skill sets, talents, and information. If I can’t do something myself, I can always count on the Society of Explorers and Adventurers to back me up. We’re a family, and our job is to support one another. Do you see what I’m getting at?”

Shinji swallowed hard. “I think so.”

“Good.” Oliver leaned back and put his feet up on the coffee table. “Last I saw, Lucy was in the electronics lab,” he said, gazing at the television again. “And according to Mano, we’ll be at the drop point in about two hours’ time. I would track her down and get everything out in the open before then. We don’t need any hard feelings once we get into this crazy heist. It’ll only be a distraction.”

“Yeah,” said Shinji, trying not to sound as nervous as he suddenly felt. “Understood.”

A few minutes later, Shinji found Lucy in the electronics lab as Oliver had said, huddled over a computer and busily typing away. Tinker sat beside the keyboard, copper ears twitching as she worked. The mouse looked up and squeaked happily at Shinji as he came in, but Lucy didn’t seem to notice.

“Hey,” Shinji greeted, sliding onto the stool beside her. A quick glance at the computer screen showed a long line of code that was complete gibberish to him. “Whatcha doing?”

“Making it easier for Tinker to talk to other machines,” Lucy muttered without looking up. “So, if we need to turn off a camera or silence an alarm, he’ll be able to hack into the system more easily. I think I’ve almost got it now.…” She tapped a few more keys, then sat back with a sigh. “Okay, Tinker,” she said as the mouse sat up on his haunches, whiskers quivering. “Connect Shinji.”

Shinji’s phone immediately buzzed. Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced down at the screen and saw a new text had come in from “Unknown number.”

Hello, it read.It is Tinker.

Shinji’s jaw dropped to the floor.

“Now he’ll be able to talk to us if he needs to,” Lucy said as Shinji closed his mouth and blinked in amazement. “You can try talking to him, too. Give it a shot.”

“Um,” Shinji said, “how, exactly?”

“With your phone,” Lucy explained in an overly patient voice. “Just text him.”

Shinji shrugged. “Okay,” he muttered, and started typing words on his screen.Hello, Tinker, he texted back.Can you really understand me?

The mouse’s red eyes flickered to green for a moment, and he cocked his head. Shinji’s phone buzzed again.

Language: English. Font: Default Roboto. Yes, the sentence has been communicated clearly. Hello, Shinji Takahashi. I can understand you.

“Are you serious?” Shinji whispered, a huge grin spreading over his face. Lucy nodded with a smug smile of her own. Shinji looked down at his phone. “So, what if I asked him something like this…?”

“Don’t make it too complicated,” Lucy warned, but Shinji’s fingers were already moving, flying across the screen as he texted.

So, Tinker, are you a mouse or a robot? What do you really think of Lucy?

Lucy frowned at Shinji, but Tinker’s eyes flickered green for several moments as he seemed to consider this question. Finally Shinji’s phone buzzed again.

I am Tinker, it read.I am aware.

A pause, and then:Lucy is?

“I told you he was smart,” Lucy said, smiling like a proud

---