Page 97 of No Capes
“I’ll get Dad out,” she says. “You find Phil’s files. Here.” A paper crinkles as she passes it to me through the hole. “These are the passcodes for Phil’s secret study. He keeps things locked in a trunk. The list is in order of what you’ll encounter, but they change in ten minutes. Hurry.”
At what point had I swapped lives withJames Bond??
“Where the heck did you get these?” I ask.Why are we only finding them now?
“Secretstudy. None of us have X-Ray vision, and Phil hid it from me well, but Dad overheard someone giving a clue to where it was, and we pieced it together. Once we located it, Gold gave us his best guess to hack the security codes. That’s on your paper. We need more proof against Phil,” says Arielle. “Quick, quick. Gold and Static can’t hold the Supers off forever.”
“What if they need me?” My neck cranes into the yard. Golden Ace catches a major punch from Phil, but luckily stays on his feet.
“We all need you to help,” she says.
“If anything happens to them,” I say. “Fox or Damian or Dad…”
“I know. Quick, quick, Madeline.”
I tear myself from the door and keep myself from looking back. Arielle needs to be right.
Thirty One
Phil Bridges’ evil headquarters is exactly his style: elegant and pretentious. A tower branches off the second floor and overlooks the entire estate, with the door hidden behind a portrait of—get this—Arielle.The door requires two codes just to get through.
How had Arielle lived here for three years and never found this? To his credit, Phil would be paranoid enough to move his secret files regularly. Maybe she never had a chance.
The tower’s furniture is sparse, with only a desk and a skinny ergonomic chair. A paper-thin laptop lies on the desk, but I doubt Phil would store his files on a hard drive. While the rest of the mansion is built out of gray and white stones, the tower is made of brick with black-and-white tiles for the floor. The walls have long windows facing every direction. I run to glimpse the action.
No no no no no.
Materio has successfully nailed Golden Ace in the chest with his gold ball, and Golden Ace lies still on the grass. Mud cakes his yellow spandex, and I can’t tell if he’s conscious.
I search the dusky sky for Dark Static.No no no no.All the Supers, including Flare, Materio, and Phil, have focused on him, and he flies in a haphazard zigzag that leaves a trail of smoke in its wake. A hard knot twists in my heart when Flare blasts a fireball at him. He dodges it just in time, but smoke trails off his costume, blending with the clouds—she must have hit him oncealready. Water surges in my veins, ready to boil. I need to protect them.
I open the window to do… something… and point a shaking hand toward the clouds. I pull on their edges and a light shock ripples into my gloves, which must still have some charge from the vortex. I focus on one cloud and open it to pour torrential rain on the Supers, which unfortunately includes Dark Static.
Flare cries, “Someone put out that rain. Quickly, I’m losing my powers!”
“Bummer,” I say, steering the raindrops at her.
Flare coughs and sputters, flicking tiny sparks. I doubt that rain is her true weakness, but it could make her fire less effective. As D.S. regains his bearings, she has to dodge his lasers and fly farther away.
Steadier now, I point to Golden Ace and give him all of my concentration, willing my healing power to him. My pulse roars in my ears and my skin tingles with energy, but Golden Ace doesn’t stir. My healing power remains non-transferable. Luckily, Materio and Phil have moved away from him, and the fight now focuses on Dark Static.
With Flare temporarily out of commission, Dark Static has his groove back. He blasts lasers near the remaining Supers, who, like Materio and me, can’t fly. Phil watches the commotion, standing his ground. The other Supers must not have realized that Phil has powers yet. If they can see his powers, they’d surely see he’s the bad guy after all.
Arielle’s instructions interrupt my thoughts:Quick, quick, Madeline.
Right. D.S. is safe for now, and Phil won’tkillanyone in front of the other Supers. I think.
I allow myself to run back to the desk. The third code from Arielle’s list is for a hidden door in the tower that will reveal the secret storage place Phil uses.Squares under the desk,she’dwritten. The tiles are smooth and clean, and the metal desk has an open frame. I check for a concealed button to press, but there aren’t any compartments or secret openings, so I press the tiles themselves.
Come on, come on.
Seconds later, they click into place. I exhale. A new floor rises from beneath the tiles, presenting a long, silver trunk.
Now we’re in business.A combination dial is on top of the box, bringing me to the next code on Arielle’s list.
I have no idea how much time has passed, and I turn the lock as quickly as I can. The top releases after my first try.Phew.
Phil packed the chest with stacks of precisely placed manila folders. The top folders date September, three years ago, when Capital City elected him.
