OceanofPDF.com
#77: THE SWISS ARMY DOESN’T AMOUNT TO MUCH, BUT NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEIR KNIFE.
He added the worn notebook with the black marbled cover; over the years, he’d collected Dad’s rules in it. He pulled Lillian Robbins’s business card from the school packet, memorized her number, then stuck it into his wallet. He stuffed the packet into the bag with his wallet and passport, and zipped it shut.
Will crouched by the front window as Dad’s battered Volvo station wagon rolled to a stop in front of their house. The passenger and back doors opened, and three men wearing black caps exited. The driver’s side door opened, and Jordan West stepped out. The Black Caps surrounded him as he looked up at the house.
Is that really Dad, Will thought, or does he have a scar on his neck like Mom?
As Will watched, one of the men brought out a steel carbon-fiber canister the size of a thermos, just like the one Will had seen that morning in the window of the black sedan. Another shoved Jordan toward the house. Jordan turned and pushed the man away, and that’s when Will knew in his heart that the man he was looking at was still his father: He’s only cooperating because they told him I’m here. Whatever they did to Mom, they haven’t done it to him yet.
Will took five seconds to look around his room. At every possession he’d cherished enough to keep through fifteen years of life with his parents.
Remember what Dad said: “I’ll come for you.”
Will had to believe that now. He stepped silently to the broken window. As he heard the front door open below, Will slung the duffel over his shoulder and climbed onto the roof.
“Do whatever you need to do to stay alive.”
Will swung over the edge of the roof and lowered himself, hanging on to a downspout. Keeping away from the windows, he dropped silently to the ground. He figured he had three minutes, at most, before the strangers made their way upstairs and forced open his bedroom door.
OceanofPDF.com
LEAVING SHANGRI-LA
Out the back gate and onto the road, Will ran into the welcome cover of darkness. He started his stopwatch and then booked it toward town for the second time that day. No limits. Even faster than this morning. Faster than ever. Running for your life is a hell of a motivator.
Three minutes to get a head start.
OceanofPDF.com
#2: STAY FOCUSED ON THE TASK AT HAND.
They’d get into their cars and spread out to look for him. If they missed him, Belinda could notify the cops: Post an Amber Alert about a missing kid and you can roll out the army, navy, air force, and marines, as well as local police. They might even set up roadblocks at both roads leading out of Ojai Valley. How long before that happened?
Half an hour at most. He might reach the western exit on foot by then, although if he stayed in the open, they’d eventually find him. But these people didn’t really know him and that was his advantage. They had no idea—and maybe he didn’t yet, either—just how resourceful and determined Will West could actually be.
Trust your instincts and training. Hold nothing back.
He swung the duffel off his shoulder, pulled out his iPhone as he ran, and punched in the number that he’d memorized. She answered on the third ring.
“Lillian Robbins.”
“Dr. Robbins, it’s Will West.”
“Hello, Will. You sound a little out of breath.”
“I’m out on a run at the moment.”
“Always helps to clear your head, doesn’t it?”
“Sometimes more than others,” said Will.
“How was the rest of your day?” she asked.
“You were right—I’ve had a lot to think about.”
“So how can I help? Do you have any questions?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. Where are you now?”
“In my car, driving back to the Center. I flew out this afternoon and landed here about an hour ago.”
So much for hitching a ride out of Dodge with the doctor.
“How quickly do you think I could start?” asked Will.
“At the Center? Does that mean you’re accepting?”
“Yes.”
Will reached the end of the road where it dead-ended into the hills. He turned left and flew down the slope toward town, picking up speed, even faster than he’d run that morning.
Where’s Spooky Hot Rod Dude now that I really need a lift?
“First let me say, Will, that I am really pleased,” Dr. Robbins said. “And to properly answer your question, our next semester begins in January. We’d encourage you to transfer then.”
“This is going to sound a little strange.”
“Try me.”
“I’d like to start tomorrow.” All he heard was his own breathing as he sprinted down the hill. He lowered the phone, powered around a corner, then brought it back up: “I told you it would sound strange.”
“I’ve heard stranger,” she said. “But not many. So you’d like to transfer in effective immediately.”
“Is that possible?”
“Well, we have your transcripts. I assume your parents are on board; this is a family decision?”
“One hundred percent.”
“They’ve signed the consent forms, filled out all your paperwork?”
Note to self: Next free moment, forge their signatures. “I have them with me.”
In the distance, Will heard the deep bass purr of an approaching helicopter. Then sirens. He looked at the stopwatch: Four minutes. That was fast. Cops would be all over Ojai soon, then the Ventura sheriff and CHP. Unless I stay ahead of them.
“You also mentioned that you’d pay my travel expenses,” he said.
“That I did.”
“So if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to catch a flight tonight.”
She hesitated. “Will, is everything all right on your end?”
Will hesitated, too. “That needs to be part of the longer conversation you wanted us to have.”
He had reached the edge of town in record time, skirting the north end of the business district, all the shops closed for the evening. He stopped a moment and leaned back against a wall on a dark side street and took a deep breath. By her silence, he sensed she needed more convincing.
“You helped me today,” he said quietly. “Helped me realize that I need a … really, really big change in my life.”
Another pause.
“I didn’t ask for this,” Will continued. “This morning I didn’t even know the Center existed. You came looking for me. So what difference does it make if I start tomorrow or seven weeks from now?”
“It doesn’t make any difference, Will. It’s just …” She trailed off.
Time to play his last card.
“By the way, about that test in September? They gave us three hours to finish, and I spent at most twenty minutes on it. The truth is, I wasn’t even trying.”
Will heard the helicopter droning closer, making a sweep toward town.
“And what’s up with the fingerprints and DNA sample you took this morning with your magic chalkboard? You want to tell me why a school needs that?”