Rachel jumped from her seat on a wooden rail. It was early
the next morning, before school, which because of some
teacher conference was starting late that day. We were
gathered in Cassie's barn. "Great, Marco. Good job," she said
sarcastically.
"But," I went on, "he didn't even flinch. Didn't look at me again,
didn't talk to me. Didn't ask Ax about me. It was as if he didn't
care or something."
"I guess the question is, why?" Jake said. "Gonrod almost
had a heart-attack when he found out there were humans
with the morphing power. This guy's got to care. Maybe
there's something bigger on his mind right now. Something
else going on."
"Oh, yeah. Has to be. Like I said before, the guy didn't ask
questions," I said. "It didn't make any sense. He didn't ask
how Ax knew what was going on with the Rakkam Garroo
conflict. Didn't ask about me. Didn't ask how many 'comrades'
Ax had. Who 'we' were. No one's that disinterested. That's
selective attention. That's calculation."
<He told us the visser was due to arrive momentarily,> Ax
added. <As if he knew the visser's habits. As if he were
waiting to meet with him.>
<Or maybe to attack him,> Tobias said. <I don't think we
should jump to conclusions. We don't know anything about
the relationship between Gafinilan and Visser Three>
I laughed. "Yeah, we do. We know enough. We know there is
a relationship. That combined with Gafinilan's telling us to get
gone. And, of course, his threat to kill us if we didn't leave him
and his buddy Mertil alone. In my book, if he's not with us,
he's against us."
Jake rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's remember he didn't
stay to meet Visser Three. There's always the possibility that
these two Andalites could become part of our team. So, we
should keep an eye on this guy. Make sure he's not working
for a Yeerk-run company. Or heading off to the Yeerk pool
once every three days."
"I'm there," Rachel said.
"I'll go, too." Cassie.
"Fine. Ax, what do you know about Gafinilan?" Jake asked.
<His reputation is flawless,> Ax said simply.
"He almost killed you for insulting his friend," I pointed out.
"And he attacked you, a fellow Andalite."
<He is a warrior, not a diplomat,> Ax replied. Perhaps it was
me, but he didn't sound one hundred percent convinced of his
argument. <I do not think it unusual for a trained soldier,
particularly one stranded far from the home world, in a place
under invasion by the enemy, to react as he did.>
"With aggression. Okay, then, what's up with the videotape?"
Rachel demanded. "Who took it? How could it have gotten to
the show?"
Cassie shrugged. "Lots of possibilities. It could be totally
innocent. It might have been taken by some slimy guy out to
make some money by selling it to TV. Or to those horrible
magazines like the Star or Enquirer. Or some jerk's idea of a
practical joke."
"Or it might have been taken by Gafinilan," Rachel said tightly.
"Maybe he's made a deal with the Yeerks. The perfect way to
lure the Andalite bandits to certain death."
"But we're still alive," I replied. "So if what you're suggesting is
true, I'm positive we would not be having this conversation."
<What if Gafinilan isn't working with the Yeerks?> Tobias
said. <What if he had nothing to do with that tape? What if he
meant what he said about us leaving him alone? Forgetting
about him and Mertil.>
"Too bad," Jake said dryly. "How often do Andalites come to
Earth? We can't ignore the fact that Gafinilan and Mertil are
holed up in suburbia. Our suburbia. We don't mean them any
harm, but we are going to find out as much as we can."
"I take it that means we're going in?" I said. Like I didn't
already know.
"Oh, yeah. Only 'we' means you and Ax," Jake said. "If this guy
is a traitor, if he's with the Yeerks, we don't want him knowing
any more about us than he already does. So, later today,
Marco as human, which is way too much information already,
and Ax as Andalite. He's seen Tobias but we need him to fly
surveillance while you two are inside. You are on a formal
visit on behalf of your prince, Ax. The rest of us will back you
up. Provide firepower if necessary."
I grinned. "Just in case he meant that 'I'll kill you if you don't
leave me alone' thing. Thanks, big guy."
Jake grinned back. "No problem. And when you leave, the rest
of us will stay put. Watch where he goes, what he does. See if
he contacts the Yeerks. Keep an eye out for Mertil, too." He
turned to Rachel and Cassie. "But first, try to catch Mr. H.
McClellan before he leaves the house this morning. Tobias,
go with them. When they have to get to school, you take over."
Tobias lifted from his perch in the rafters. <Sure, Jake. Meet
you in the air, ladies.>
"What am I supposed to do in the meantime?" I said to Jake
after all the others had left. "Until Ax and I pay a visit to Batman
and Robin?"
Jake gave me a pained smile. "Uh, Marco, I think you've done
enough already. You know, the three of you running off to find
this Andalite without telling the rest of us. How about taking it
easy for a few hours? Maybe say a prayer, or two? We're
gonna need it."