Chapter 24
History Repeats Itself
“This is truly a horrible situation with no easy answers,” said Carl. “This does not involve criminals, spies from other nations, saboteurs, or terrorists. That would be easy. No, this involves innocent kids who are the children of two of our key scientists. Not to mention that Ben here just made an incalculable contribution to this project. Yet the importance of keeping this project absolutely secret could not be greater.”
“We won’t tell anyone,” insisted Regan. “We swear.” In the corner of her eye she saw Ryan nod in agreement beside her.
During the last hour they had breached a razor-wire fence, solved passwords, tricked guards and found the greatest secret in the world. It had been the most exhilarating hour of her life. But now that Carl was deciding what to do about this security breach, exhilaration had quickly become nervousness. Her mom gave her a reassuring look but Regan sensed she was equally nervous.
Carl had been thinking silently for some time. “Although I believe it is a great risk,” he said at last, “it may very well be that trusting you to keep this absolutely secret is the best option we have.”
Regan brightened. Had she heard right? She had feared far worse than this.
“But kids are terrible at keeping secrets—even if their intentions are good,” said a plump woman with glasses.
Stay out of this, thought Regan crossly.
“We don’t have a choice,” said Carl. “Not a real one, anyway.” He sighed and turned toward the two siblings, his expression deadly serious. “Listen very closely,” he said. “I need for you to understand just what is at stake here.”
Regan listened carefully as Carl laid out just how important this particular secret was. She gulped hard. There could be devastating consequences if they failed to keep the secret.
But they would not fail—of that she was sure. Minutes later it was all settled. Everything had worked out.
But how could you know about something this fantastic, this important, without wanting to be a part of it? Without having to be a part of it. She knew the chances of Dr. Harris letting them help were near zero, but she had to try. She was willing to beg if she had to. She opened her mouth to speak only to find that her brother had beaten her to the punch.
“Now that this is settled,” stammered her brother, “can we . . . well, can we help you explore the city?”
Dr. Harris shook his head. “What? Are you kidding?”
“Ah . . . no,” said Ryan. “Why not? It’s a huge city and you have a very small team. We would stay out of your way and I know that we could help.”
Good going Ryan, thought Regan. “Ryan’s right,” she said quickly. “We could help. You could think of us as assistants. We could do whatever you told us to do.”
“We promise not to cause any trouble,” insisted Ryan.
The discussion continued. Some of the scientists actually thought it was a good idea. Perhaps they had a chance!
She held her breath as Dr. Harris said, “I’ve already acknowledged that these kids are very impress—”
“Mom, move!” came a frantic shriek from across the room, interrupting Dr. Harris.
Amanda Resnick looked up in shock. It was Ryan! Sweating and gasping for breath. She recognized her son instantly. But Ryan was standing in front of her. How could that be?
“Look up Mom! Please!” pleaded this new Ryan Resnick from across the room, breaking into tears.
This show of raw emotion was the only thing that could have broken her out of her stunned daze. She had never seen her son so upset. Something was terribly, urgently, important to her boy. Finally, instead of pondering how there could be two Ryans, she focused on what he was saying.
She looked up. A heavy generator that had been bolted to a pole above her was just popping free as a faulty bolt slipped completely from its threads.
She froze in horror as she realized the deadly weight was now hurtling directly toward her head.