Dark Days (23 page)

“How does this involve the historian from CCNY?” asked Mom.

“She uncovered a secret tunnel the Sons of Liberty built during the Revolutionary War,” I explained. “She was planning to excavate and study it. If she did that, she would have found the old cattle tunnels Marek is using to move his tungsten and gold. By paying her to do something else, he protected his secret.”

“I think there may be more to it than that,” Natalie said. “Molly was explaining how the forts were arranged on Manhattan during the Revolution. This professor is an expert in that and I think Marek is trying to borrow that knowledge.”

This was a new revelation to me.

“How?” I asked.

“I saw it last night,” she said. “I was looking at a map of all the RUNY construction sites and I noticed it looked a lot like the map you showed me of the Revolutionary War forts. The layout is the same.”

“I don't get it,” said Liberty.

“I don't think he's building entertainment centers underground,” she said. “I think that's what they'll look like.”

“But they'll really be forts,” I said, getting her point.

“Think about it,” she said. “He has hundreds of millions of dollars to build underground forts and arm an undead army.”

“This is freaky stuff,” Beth said. “How are we going to stop him?”

“We may not have to,” Alex said. “The Dead Squad changed the frequency of their communication channel after our little battle at the Chrysler Building, but after some searching I found the new one and have been able to listen in on their conversations for the last couple days. They don't talk as much as they used to, but I can tell one thing for sure. Marek is sick.”

“That's what we understand too,” Mom said.

“His body is rejecting most of the transplants,” Alex replied. “And they are searching for the two of you around the clock.”

“Why are they looking for Mom and Milton?” asked Beth. “What do they have to do with Marek being sick?”

There was a slight pause in the conversation, and then Milton answered, “My brother needs my body parts in order to survive.”

Beth's eyes opened wide. She went to say something, but she couldn't make the words.

“We know,” I said. “It's beyond gross.”

Everyone was silent for a minute, then I shook my head and went on. “He may be sick,” I said. “But he's making a public appearance tomorrow.”

“Where?” asked Mom.

“The Central Park Zoo,” I said. “I got another letter yesterday.”

I handed the envelope to my mother. Inside there was a map of the Central Park Zoo and a press release that said Marek Blackwell was going to break ground on construction for a new exhibit at the zoo. There was also a note, which Mom read aloud.

“When Marek makes his announcement, everything will be clear.”

“Scary, huh?” I said.

“Yes,” replied my mother.

“It has shades of New Year's Eve,” added Alex. “We go expecting one announcement, and it turns out to be something else.”

“I know,” I answered. “That's why I don't want to make any recommendation about what we should do. I just thought I should share it with all of you.”

“First of all, what happened on New Year's wasn't your fault,” said Natalie. “And secondly, you know what we have to do.”

“She's right,” said Mom. “We have to be there.”

I
t was a beautiful June day and crowds packed the Central Park Zoo. There were seven of us there. Alex, Beth, and I were together near the sea lion exhibit while Natalie, Grayson, and Liberty were over by the snow monkeys. My mom was the wildcard; she was taking advantage of the fact that you can look into the zoo from the walkway that runs through the park. She blended in with the tourists hanging out by the Delacorte Clock.

None of us were next to the penguins, which is where Marek was making his announcement. We wanted to be close enough to see and hear what was going on but not where he'd be likely to see us. Although we were somewhat exposed, we felt comfortable that the undead weren't going to attack us in front of a bunch of kids on summer vacation at the zoo. Marek was building a new reputation as a civic leader and couldn't let anything he was involved with become too messy.

“Anything interesting?” I asked Alex, who was listening in on the Dead Squad's communications.

“Nope,” he said. “Hardly any chatter at all.”

I gave him a look. “Chatter? Did you learn that reading some book about cops?”

He looked a little hurt at the dig. “That's what my uncle Paul calls it.”

“I'm just kidding,” I said. “I do that when I'm nervous.”

“There's Mr. Evil,” said Beth.

Marek Blackwell arrived with the zoo director, and the two of them approached a small podium and microphone. Like always, he was well dressed with a crisp coat and tie despite the hot June afternoon. They stood in front of a few dozen people, including some members of the press. Among them were some television news crews, including one with Brock Hampton, the local reporter who often broadcasts coded messages to the undead.

“I'd like to welcome everyone and thank you for coming,” the director said into the microphone. “We are going to have a short presentation today about an exciting new addition we're adding to the zoo. Marek Blackwell has donated a very generous sum of money to support a new habitat for the penguins here at the Central Park Zoo. Today we are breaking ground on what will be a state-of-the-art facility for some of the zoo's most popular residents. I'd like to introduce Marek Blackwell.”

There was applause as Marek moved to the microphone. He seemed frail and uneasy.

“I think you're right,” I said to Alex. “He looks sick.”

Someone handed him a gold-plated shovel, and he said, “I know a little something about digging.”

This elicited polite laughter from the people in the crowd.

“I've spent most of my life under this great city, digging holes to carry everything from drinking water to subways,” he continued. “And now I am reinventing underground New York, but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about what happens up here on the surface.”

There was some more laughter, and I had to admit that he had undeniable charm. It was easy to see how he got people to support him.

“When I put this shovel into the ground, it will mark the beginning of a new habitat for the zoo's penguins. It's my hope that it will be a treasure for the families of New York but also for the scientists who study these amazing animals. That means so much to me because of my brother Milton.”

Alex and I exchanged looks. We had no idea what he was talking about.

“He was very special to me. But he wasn't just family, he was also a great scientist. That's why this center is so important to me, and that's why it will be named the Milton Blackwell Penguin Research Center.”

More applause and more confusion on our part.

“I cannot think of a more appropriate way to honor his memory. He will be missed.”

“Why is he speaking of him in the past tense like he's dead?” I asked.

I looked up at Marek, and I swear that he was looking right at me as he shook hands with well wishers and left the podium. Before I could even react, Alex grabbed me by the arm and pulled me closer to him.

“What? What?” I asked nervous.

He held up his finger to shush me for a moment while he listened to something over the radio. “They just arrested your mother.”

“They what?” Beth and I said in unison.

“The call just came in over the radio,” he said. “They just arrested your mother.”

We looked over toward the Delacorte Clock and saw that two police officers, both with Dead Squad patches on their shoulders, had my mother handcuffed and were taking her away. Even though we were close enough to see, the railing around the zoo made it impossible for us to chase after her. We'd have to run all the way over to the entrance.

“What are they arresting her for?” I said to Alex.

“Yeah,” said Beth, “what could the charge possibly be?”

“Does it matter?”

I turned to see that Marek Blackwell had now come over to us.

“You must be Beth,” he said, offering his hand to my sister.

“If you think I'm shaking your hand, you're crazy,” she said.

“Haven't they told you, young lady?” he said. “I'm as crazy as a loon. Or is that crazy as a fox? The fox is the one who acts crazy but gets his way. Just like I did with the letters I sent to Molly.”

“You wrote them?”

He nodded. “I wanted to make sure that you were close but not too close. And then, of course, when the time was right, I needed to make sure that you brought your mother to me so that she couldn't be protecting my brother.”

Now it made sense. He needed to get her away from Milton so that his men could get to him. Once again, I'd played right into his trap.

“I'm going to make the same offer to you that I made to her six months ago,” he said. “We can have peace. I have no interest in fighting you or your friends. I have no interest in fighting anyone.”

“What about my mother and Milton?” I demanded.

He made a sheepish expression. “I'm afraid it's too late for both of them. I need my brother for health reasons, and I need your mother because . . . well, let's just face it . . . I want her out of the picture for good. I named the Penguin habitat for Milton. I figured I owed him at least that much. I'll figure out some way to memorialize your mother, too.”

I think any one of us would have killed him there on the spot, but in addition to being surrounded by the media, he was protected by four of his biggest Dead Squad members, including Officer Pell. The whole time Marek talked, Pell stared daggers at me.

“I'll be seeing you around,” Pell said as he started to walk away with Marek. As he did, he threw a punch into Alex's gut. “That's for the sucker punch you threw at my jaw the other day.”

They escorted Marek away, and I started hyperventilating as I tried to figure out what to do next. Natalie, Liberty, and Grayson rushed over to us.

“What just happened?” asked Natalie.

“They arrested my mom and I think they have captured Milton,” I told them.

Alex was still recovering from the sucker punch, but once he got his breath back he said, “We don't know that for sure. I haven't heard anything on the radio about them getting their hands on him. But that's definitely their plan. That's why they have your mom in custody, so she can't help him.”

“What are they going to do with Mom?” asked Beth. “Just take her somewhere and kill her?”

“They can't do that,” said Alex. “They had to call in the arrest. That means there's a record and they have to follow procedures. My guess is that they'll keep her locked up for now and transfer her to the Tombs tonight.”

“The what?” I asked.

“The Tombs,” he said. “It's what they call the main city jail. It's bad news. It would be incredibly easy for them to fake an accident in there and make it look like another prisoner killed her.”

Everything seemed grim, but for some reason I was more focused than ever. I know that Natalie is our team captain, but I thought it was time for me to take charge.

“Okay, here's what we're going to do,” I said. “But it's going to take all of us at the top of our game. Natalie, Alex, and Liberty, you three get over to MIST and see if you can help Milton. They have him outnumbered, but he's smart. Smarter than all of us combined. He may be able to hold them off until help arrives. Listen in on the radio so you know what the bad guys are up to.”

“Got it,” said Natalie, no hesitation about taking orders from me. “What are you three going to do?”

I looked at her and smiled. “We're going to break my mother out of jail.”