Teddy’s subterranean garage easily fit the Aesir. Enoa also saw two cars, a van, and two dune buggies, with room left to spare. Its walls and ceiling were made of something like adobe, a creamy tan color.

Teddy had run ahead of them and opened the garage door, a horizontal plate in the ground that slide aside to reveal bright lights and a ramp leading under the earth.

“Wow!” Orson had driven after Teddy, who led them forward with his two glowing paddles. He’d directed them down the ramp and toward a free spot at the center of the huge underground space. Teddy waved the paddles like he was aiding returning fighters, landing on an aircraft carrier. “Is this twice the size of the old garage?”

“Not quite,” April said. “But he didn’t want to leave anyone parking on the surface. There have been a few disputes over the old federal land.”

“Disputes?” Orson asked.

“I only got your wanted posters yesterday.” Teddy called into the Aesir’s open door. “There was a man handing them out when I made my delivery on the Vegas loop. I think he was following the rail line and giving out those posters at every stop.”

“Was he openly Liberty Corps?” Orson asked. “Was he dressed in armor?”

“Nope,” Teddy said. “Just a nice suit. He seemed almost like one of those evangelists, the dudes who go around knocking on doors. He was a real smiley guy.”

“I know the type,” Orson said. “So do you think this is a widespread effort or is the Liberty Corps focusing here on purpose?”

“Aww man, don’t make me judge that,” Teddy said.

Enoa followed her hosts and Orson from the Aesir. She stepped out into the soft yellow glow from the overhead lights.

“We’ll stay out of sight until we leave here,” Orson said. “I think we can do this with almost no communication other than the typewriter. Actually, I will need to talk to Pops, and I’ll need to set up a meeting with Cathy.”

“She raised her rates, man, just so you know.” Teddy idly waved the paddles. “It’s pricier than they expected to keep things running.”

“How much pricier?” Orson asked. “If she’ll want more than ten thousand I’ll have to make some kind of money transfer.”

“You’ll have to talk to…” Teddy stopped speaking when Wesley flew at him. The aeropine launched himself out of the open Aesir door and circled the glowing paddles.

Teddy tried to ward away the aeropine, but this only encouraged Wesley, who grabbed at the glowing rods with his forepaws. Teddy and April yelled. They crouched away from the aeropine. Wesley finally landed on the garage floor beside Enoa. He chattered up at her.

“It’s okay, Sweetie.” Enoa leaned down and scratched Wesley on the cheek. “They’re just not used to you flying around like that.”

“Oh wow,” Teddy said. “That must be the porcubat! He senses my welcoming and generous nature. Greetings Porcubat!”

“I think he likes the paddles,” Dr. Stan said. Teddy shut off the paddles’ lights and walked them to a duffle bag along the wall.

“Maybe he was following my signals and trying to see where to land,” Teddy said.

“Porcubat?” April asked.

“He’s not a bat,” Orson said. “He’s a Hierarchia creation. They call his species aeropine, uh, he’s a modified porcupine. His spikes are serious weapons, but he’s not aggressive. Just playful.”

“We call him Wesley,” Jaleel said. At the sound of his name, Wesley made an inquisitive noise and approached Jaleel on his back feet.

“He’s really a rather gentle fellow,” Dr. Stan added. “He must have been intrigued by the lights.”

“We’ll have to leave Wesley back in the Aesir,” Orson said. “They have cats so we’ll keep him separate like we did with Dino.”

“Thank you,” April said. “We don’t want to be mean to him.” She wiggled her fingers at Wesley. “Our little friends are very shy and I think Wesley would scare them.”

“There’s no reason he can’t be around in the garage if you need to walk him or, uh, fly him or whatever you do,” Teddy said. “The ceilings are a lot lower in the house too. I mean, I didn’t have flying spikey guys in mind when I built it. And I never had a pet bird, y’know.”

“Enoa or Jaleel, do you want to hang out with him for a little bit?” Orson said.

“I can give him a sock ball to play with and get him a snack,” Jaleel said. “I think he’s just excited to be somewhere new.”

“We’ll be with him most of the time,” Orson said. “We’ll stay in our bunks while we’re here.”

“Are you sure, man?” Teddy asked. “We have enough space.”

“I think it’s for the best,” Orson said. “We need to speed up our schedule. I’ll put out feelers for the information I need in the next couple days.”

“Oh,” Teddy said.

“He really hoped you would stay a little while,” April said.

“You don’t have to say that,” Teddy interrupted. “Orson has a lot going on. I get it.”

“It’s been so long,” April continued. “Plus, shouldn’t you be lying low now, Orson?”

“We could all use a break,” Orson said. “And this mission we’re planning is pretty complicated, but… We’ll see. I’ve got a feeling time isn’t on our side.”

Teddy nodded. He led the way again, now through a door along the garage’s far wall. Jaleel jumped back into the Aesir. Wesley flew in after him.

“You’re okay?” Enoa asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll tire him out and be right in.”

“Okay,” Enoa found the hall from the garage. It was a low passage that sloped slightly upward, emerging in a hallway with the same tan walls. Most furnishings were made of a polished wood, but the doors between rooms were in a honeycomb pattern, formed from segments of multicolored glass.

“I thought earthships were made out of old tires and things like that,” Enoa said. “Your home looks more like adobe.” She’d never felt adobe. She’d only seen it in images, but the walls fit her imagination.

“It’s all recycled materials.” April met her at the end of the passage and showed her into the living room, all wood paneling and soft earth tones. More colored glass adorned the walls, done to imitate the desert landscape above. “Those elements just aren’t exposed.”

Enoa sat in an armchair so plush it was like being swallowed in marshmallow. Dr. Stan sat in a similar chair. Orson joined April on the couch.

Teddy entered carrying three clipboards with attached pens. He handed one to Dr. Stan.

“Can somebody give this one to Jaleel when he comes in?” Teddy asked.

“I can,” Enoa said. “What are they?” Teddy passed both clipboards to her.

“These are menu cards,” he said. “You can let me know what you’d like to eat and if you have any dietary issues or restrictions. I already know what Orson likes, so he can just check the new seasonal list.”

“Thank you.” Enoa paged through the packet on the clipboard. She saw lists for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. There were pages of pies and tarts, pages for donuts, for croissants, for cookies. The back page, marked ‘new’ was all ice cream flavors. “I’m vegan and that’s a lot of work so I can just eat my own food.”

“What?!” Teddy said. “I like a challenge! This is my way of life. If you will try my vegan recipes, I will cook for you.” He offered a low bow.

“You gave him a mission now,” April said.

“Speaking of that, Ted,” Orson said. “We bought a ton of fresh produce and ingredients in Eight Spurs. Let me know where you want all of it. Jaleel picked out strawberries and citrus and spinach, all that stuff they grow this time of the year.”

“I can’t take your food, man,” Teddy said. “How many times do I need to tell you this, Orson? You pay me by being my audience, not with money or ingredients.”

“I guess it’ll all go to waste then.” Orson shrugged. “And that’s a shame. Jaleel’s face is less famous than Enoa’s or mine, but he still put himself in grave danger to get all of it.”

“In his wanted poster he’s wearing a mask like Zoro,” Teddy said.

“I need to read all of the posters,” Orson said.

“His mask was a little like Zoro,” Enoa laughed.

“They might have his face now,” Orson said. “What do you say, Ted? If we don’t use that produce it could be spoiled by the time we leave again.”

“Curse you and your mind games!” Teddy said.

“Was this your plan all along, Orson?” Dr. Stan asked.

“Only partly,” Orson said. “We really did need to resupply.”

“Fine,” Teddy ageed. “I’ll take the produce and know that I love you.”

“Ted,” Orson chuckled. “What’s your communication security like? I need to get in touch with Pops for information on the Liberty Corps base we’re looking at. If it’s too dangerous to send a message from here, I’ll run over to the commercial relay in Death Valley if it’s still running.”

“Everything here is encrypted,” Teddy said. “We’re on the Newe Segobia network. Privacy comes standard, but I don’t know if its connected to any outside communication, uh, grids.”

“I don’t want to bring down the Liberty Corps on Chief Hawkins or anybody here,” Orson said. “I’m not going to send any tight-beam communications while the Aesir is at your house.”

“I think you’re fine, man,” Teddy said. “It’s not like you’re the only super secretive guest I get our here.”

“Yeah, but most the others are real blood relatives of yours,” Orson said. “That’s different.”

“You’re family too!” Teddy said. “Hey, doesn’t Mr. Pops have that ultra shield wall security depot for you? I thought that shut down connections that had people peeping at you.”

“That’s not what it’s called,” Orson said. “None of those words… are the right words, but my secure cache is supposed to do that. I’ve literally never tried it, though.”

“Try it!” Teddy briefly walked from the room and returned with a laptop. “This is my old spare. We’ll blow it up if your cache thing gives you the alarm.” He handed the device to Orson.

“Now I’m on the spot,” Orson said. “I’ve never used this. Sirona logged on once for me about seven years ago but I’ve never even seen my cache. I don’t even know my password.”

“Oh yeah,” Teddy said. “That’s right. Sirona used to answer your emails. I forgot all about that.”

“Orson,” Enoa said. “You expected your girlfriend be your secretary? Why would she put up with that?” Enoa heard the hallway door slide open.

“Where do I go now?” Jaleel called.

“Just walk straight, man,” Teddy replied. “We’re in the living room. You can’t miss it.”

“I didn’t expect that,” Orson said. “She did it because I wouldn’t have looked otherwise, because I don’t go online. She was being nice, even if she did say mean things about it. She called me a caveman… Oh wait! I might know the password!” He began to type.

“Okay.” Jaleel arrived into the living room. “What’d I miss?”

“Orson’s trying to get into the super-secret online account his girlfriend made for him with Pops,” Enoa said.

“Oh wow,” Jaleel said. “Hey! This is his first time online in, like, ten years, right?”

“He hasn’t been on the internet in a decade?” Dr. Stan asked. “I’ve truly missed it these last several years.”

“Shit.” Orson sat the laptop aside.

“Wrong password?” April asked.

Orson shook his head. “Priority message from Pops. It was waiting for me when I opened the connection. Something really must have gone wrong for him to send me something on there. He must’ve tried to hail us in the Aesir and failed.” He raised the laptop closer to his face. “Enoa, Jaleel, you’ll want to see this.”

“What is it?” Enoa stood, forcing herself out of the marshmallow.

“What’s wrong?” April asked.

“More bad news?” Dr. Stan stood, as well.

“Liberty Corps.” Orson turned the laptop. Everyone gathered close to see. Then Orson clicked once. A video began playing. Words filled the entire screen.

Mysterious Drones Sighted Across North America

Enoa saw a bizarre flying object, like the offspring of a decorative egg and a rubix cube. Red, green, and gold lights blinked up and down vertical axes along its body. It flew through the air, gliding over Pops’s Heartland-6 Drive-in complex, outside Chicago.

The video changed abruptly. Now she saw the same or a similar object over a Solar Saver Crawler, traveling a highway through the plains, still flanked by a crowd of followers.

Enoa saw Nimauk. She saw the valley, the town, the river spread out beneath the camera’s view. She tried to figure out where the camera was placed – somewhere in the hills?

Enoa’s reckoning was skewed by the arrival of the egg-shaped object. It flew down the river valley and took a sharp turn over the town park. It was hard to tell from the hillside view, but Enoa knew the path the object would take.

The drone flew over what remained of her home. Then it blasted straight up into the sky.

The feed changed again, showing the object over urban centers she did not recognize, then flying over Route 66, outside Littlefield. Last, she saw the drone flying along another tree-lined river, this one running close beside farmland.

“Orson!” Pops appeared on the screen. “What the hell did you do? The Liberty Corps is giving out Prostate Exams across half of North America and I have a feeling your ass is the one they’re looking for. They’re everywhere. Every location of mine, Heartland Six, Mojave Megaplex, World’s Largest Frosty, I’m talking everywhere. My own drones pinged them checking out Enoa’s hometown, your dad’s place in Alabaster, and the Solar Saver flagship.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” Pops continued. “I don’t think the IHSA did this much to find Thunderworks. I’m not hearing back from you so I’m sending this message every way I know how. I’m going to try to reach Eloise too. Get in touch when you get this. I figure if they’re this hot for your crew, you and the kids must be alive, but…”

He took a deep breath. “Let me know you’re okay. I’ll talk to you soon.” The video ended.

“We have to send warnings to everyone,” Orson said. “Friends, family, anywhere we’d go. The Liberty Corps isn’t just going to let us hide.”