“Are we there yet?”

  He actually laughed, revealing a perfect smile. “We’re there yet,” he affirmed. “I was just checking some last minute details. Do me a favor and reach under the seat. There should be a couple of umbrellas there.”

  “It’s raining?”

  “That’s usually why you would want an umbrella.”

  Matt smirked, leaning down and opening a small drawer under our seat. One side had a couple of small bottles of bourbon, the other a pair of umbrellas.

  “I don’t need one,” I said. “I’m not going to melt.”

  “I like your moxie, kid,” Keep said. “Out we go.”

  He pushed open the passenger side door, allowing the outside noise in once more. I heard the rain hitting hard ground, the car, and something else solid enough to cause an echo when it struck, a symphony that surrounded us. I followed Keep out the door, immediately looking around to get my bearings.

  Stacks of steel shipping containers. They were laid out in an array of colors with a variety of logos and company names plastered on the sides. The smell of low tide gave away our general location. A port, one of four that were reachable by car within a relatively moderate length of time.

  At least we weren’t in a forest. Then again, it would be easy enough for Keep to slaughter us and shove us in one of the containers, never to be seen again.

  “This isn’t very secret,” Matt scoffed, closing the car door after he got out. “I don’t need GPS to narrow down where we are.”

  “Is that right?” Keep asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Matt answered.

  “Well, I guess you outsmarted me there. This way, Sherlock.” He walked away from the car toward one of the aisles between the stacks of containers.

  I sidled up to Matt as we followed, jabbing him in the side with my elbow. “Do you have to be such a jerk?”

  “What? He made such a huge deal of tinting the windows and soundproofing the interior just to bring us to an easily recognizable place. It seems ridiculous.”

  “At least he hasn’t killed us.”

  “Yet. Besides, it’s not like he isn’t being caustic himself.”

  I lowered my voice, leaning in close. “Look, we both know that this thing is going to be too expensive for us to actually buy, unless it’s a one-sixtieth scale model tucked into one of these containers. I don’t know why Keep doesn’t seem to know that too. I’d like to at least get a look at the thing before you piss him off enough to decide not to let us see the merchandise.” I said the last part mimicking Keep’s gruff voice.

  “Maybe he thinks we’re crypto-rich or something,” Matt said. “Or maybe he hasn’t gotten many idiots replying to something that so clearly looks like a scam. Because, whether he kills us or not, until proven otherwise, my opinion is that this is some kind of weird, elaborate scam.”

  “I heard that,” Keep said, stopping and turning to face us. “How many times do I have to tell you yokels that this isn’t a scam?”

  “Seeing is believing, sir,” Matt answered.

  “Well, in that case.” He waved us over as he retrieved his phone from his pocket. We were at an intersection among the stacks of containers.

  “That way,” Keep added, pointing to my left. We turned in that direction, able to see a dark shadow of something at the end of the row, surrounded by containers on three sides.

  My heart raced again. It didn’t have the shape of a starship, but at least it was there, whatever it was.

  “And here…we…go!” Keep said, tapping on his phone.

  Light exploded from the object at the end of the aisle, so bright it blinded me, leaving me unable to see its source. I shied away, bringing my hands to my eyes and instinctively ducking my head as though Keep were about to hit me with something or shoot me right where I stood. I could barely see Matt, but he spun to face Keep, hands coming up into a fighting posture though it was obvious he couldn’t see a thing.

  “Dang it all,” Keep said. “A little too bright. Hold on.”

  The intensity of the light diminished, though I continued to see flashes behind my eyes that I tried to clear with a couple of blinks. Still squinting, I returned my attention to the object, now able to see that it had two large lights below four smaller ones, all of them illuminating the area and giving me my first good look at…

  ”That’s a starship?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Is that a bouncy house?” Matt asked.

  I stared at the object, confused. “It looks more like Optimus Prime’s head.”

  Nearly forty feet in height and close to that in width, the starship didn’t look like a starship at all. Generally oblong in shape, it appeared to be made from what appeared to be hundreds of individual pieces of slightly rusted and worn sheet metal, likely stripped from cars or even the containers that surrounded the so-called ship. A large rectangular protrusion near its base looked like an open mouth, the ridged metal blocking it giving the appearance of a straight, toothy grin. The lights sat above the mouth, between it and a wide stretch of dark material that looked more like plastic than metal and served as a visor for the eyes. Large triangular ears stuck up on both sides of the head, made of the same patchwork metal as the rest, and antennae jutted out across the top of the scalp like hair.

  What really stood out to me were the guns.

  Two large, double-barreled turrets sat on either side of the head, just below the ears, while a matching set was positioned on the ears themselves. The mounts for both suggested they could be rotated, which would give them a three-hundred sixty degree range of fire from front to back when in action. Assuming they could even fire at all, which by their battered condition, didn’t seem likely. Keep had advertised that the starship for sale had originally been produced as a low-budget movie prop, and that was exactly what it looked like.

  “Who’s Optimus Prime?” Keep asked, standing beside me as he lit a cigarette.

  “You’ve never heard of the Transformers?” I asked. “Robots in disguise?”

  “Maybe it’s before my time.”

  “I think it’s after your time,” Matt said. “Way after.”

  Keep shrugged. “If you’re saying you think it looks like a robot’s head, you’re dead on. That is indeed the head of a robot. Or was. Now it’s a starship. Badabing badaboom. What do you think?”

  “Was the rest of the robot made from scrap metal too?” Matt asked.

  “You’re a real smart ass, you know that?” Keep said, casting a sidelong glare at him. “Of course, there’s a story that goes along with the merchandise.”

  “Which you won’t want to tell us if we aren’t interested, right?” I asked.

  “Bingo bango boingo! Give the kid a prize.” He took a drag on a cigarette I hadn’t seen him light, blowing smoke rings into the rain. “I know she isn’t much to look at, kid, but she’s got it where it counts.”

  “Geez.” Matt’s lip curled in disgust. “Where have I heard that line before?”

  “What do you mean?” Keep asked.

  “Nevermind. Are you going to show us the inside?”

  “If you’re still interested.”

  “I am,” I answered.

  “Ben, hold up a second,” Matt said. “Mr. Keep, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble to bring us here and show us this…thing. You keep saying it isn’t a scam. But hasn’t it occurred to you that Ben and I probably can’t afford a starship? We probably have a thousand dollars between us, and you could scrap that thing for ten times that much. Nevermind paying for the storage which you said you can’t even afford, but you have a limo and chauffeur.”

  Keep looked at Matt like he had two heads. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I’m saying even if that thing is a real starship, which after seeing it makes the idea more ludicrous than before, we don’t have any money. We can’t buy anything but lunch.”

  “Matt,” I complained. I had asked him not to ruin things before I got to at least see the ship, meaning the inside too.

  “I’m sorry, Ben. But this started as a bad idea, and it’s still a bad idea. How can you say you want to keep things on the down low but you’ll show the so-called starship to anyone who responds to your stupid text? Nothing about this makes any sense. I feel like there are hidden cameras somewhere and we’ll be on YouTube by tomorrow morning.

  Look at these idiot kids. I can’t believe they fell for that.”

  Keep sucked some more nicotine and tar out of his cigarette and calmly blew it out, unruffled by Matt’s diatribe. A smirk played at the corner of his mouth. “You’re his best friend, right?” he asked Matt.

  “Yeah. So?”

  “So why are you keeping secrets from him, Mattie? He isn’t keeping any from you.”

  “What?” Matt said.

  Keep dropped the spent cigarette on the ground and ground it out despite the rain. “He kept you in the loop. Why don’t you return the favor?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Keep looked at me. “He knows what Keep is talking about,” he said as though he was narrating a television show.

  “Matt?” I said, “what’s he talking about?”

  Matt shook his head. “I…how the hell do you know about that, Keep?”

  “Know about what?” I asked, growing more confused by the second.

  “Do you think I’ll just bring just anyone out here without due diligence? Like you said, that wouldn’t be very smart of me. Do you want to tell him, or should I?”

  “Tell me what?” I snapped, getting annoyed. “Matt, what the hell?”

  Matt dropped his defenses, exhaling sharply. “I didn’t want to tell you because honestly, with what you’re going through it’s the last thing on my mind. And how could I tell you something so positive for me when you’re dealing with something so bad for you? It’s not because I wanted to keep it a secret. There’s just no good way or time to say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “I got a letter in the mail two weeks ago from an attorney. The executor of my mother’s will.”

  “Your mother?” I said. “Wait. She’s dead?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Matt, I’m sorry.”

  Matt shrugged. “She didn’t give a shit about me, why should I care about her? It doesn’t matter to me that she’s gone. Except apparently she managed to fall into some money during the sixteen years since she left us.”

  I swallowed a growing lump in my throat. “How much money?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but the deposit to my bank account was four million.”

  “Your mother left you four million dollars?” I said, shocked.

  He looked at the ground, embarrassed by the windfall. “Yeah. I guess she did.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? That’s awesome.”

  “I’d give it all back if it could save your life,” he replied. “And maybe it can help with the meds and treatment and stuff. I…” He trailed off, refusing to get emotional.

  I stared at him. He had always been more handsome, more confident, more charismatic. He had a great singing voice, a nice car, and attracted the prettiest women. And now he had fallen into millions of dollars from the mother who had abandoned him. And I was dying. I know it was wrong, but I suddenly felt totally shit on by the universe and completely jealous.

  Which was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to tell me about the money in the first place.

  I swallowed the negative emotions, fighting hard to still be happy for Matt. Maybe he thought he could help me, and I appreciated that thought, but there were some things money couldn’t fix, and I was one of them. I wouldn’t want him to throw it all away on a lost cause.

  “I can see you get it now,” Matt said, reading my face. He looked at Keep. “You’re an asshole for dragging it out of me.”

  “An asshole with a starship for sale,” Keep replied. “Talking to a kid with more money than sense.”

  “What did you say?” Matt growled.

  “If the shoe fits, kid,” Keep retorted, still completely calm even though Matt took a step toward him with doubled fists.

  I put the back of my hand up in front of Matt to hold him back and turned to face Keep. “Mister Keep, I appreciate you bringing us out here to see your ship. But the fact is, I’m the one who was interested, and whether Matt has money or not, I’m the one who was delusionally hoping this whole deal was real. Even if that robot head is also a starship, I can’t pay for it.”

  “He can,” Keep said, motioning to Matt.

  “That’s his money, not mine. I wouldn’t dream of asking him to buy that piece of junk for me, and you should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking I would do that, even if he offered. He can live a pretty good, comfortable life with that money.” I glanced over at the starship, still a little disappointed I hadn’t seen the inside. “Just take us back to McRory’s, okay?”

  Keep’s eyes drifted from me to Matt and back again. He sighed loudly and nodded. “Okay, kid. If that’s what you want. I won’t say I’m not a little disappointed. I had hoped I finally found the one.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, sir,” I replied.

  “Ben, wait,” Matt said.

  “Matt, no,” I answered. “Let’s just go, okay? I’ve had enough of today already. I want to go home and forget about all of this.”

  “Come on, man. Don’t be like that. Let’s at least take a look inside. We came all this way, right?”

  The offer tempted me. I didn’t bite. I had gotten my hopes up too high on something that never promised to be more than a fun diversion at best. The fact that it hadn’t turned out to be a total scam felt like a hollow victory, but a victory all the same.

  “No. The whole idea of a robot head starship is ridiculous, and the idea of you even considering buying something that looks like it cost about a hundred grand to build for millions for a guy who’ll be dead a year from now is even more insane. So there’s no reason to go inside.”

  I turned away from him, walking back toward the limo, Keep beside me.

  “Thanks for coming, kid,” he said. “To be honest, you’re the first potential customer I’ve had in quite a while.”

  “Yeah well, maybe you should think about changing your approach,” I replied.

  “Ben,” Matt shouted. “Ben, wait!” I didn’t stop until he caught up to me and grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at him. “I don’t have the power to save your life. If I did, I would use it in a second. But what the hell is money good for if it can’t be used for something good? There’s still something I can give you.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Maybe the adventure of a lifetime?”

  I stared at him, knowing from his expression how much he wanted this and how little he cared about the money. I shook my head. “I can’t accept it.”

  “I’m not asking. It’s my money, I can spend it how I want. Keep, show me the inside.”

  Keep smiled as he turned to face Matt again. “Yes, sir. Your wish is my command.” He didn’t even look at me as he started back toward the ship.

  “You coming, Ben?” Matt asked.

  I couldn’t keep myself from smiling, the excitement flooding back into me like a raging river. “Hell, yeah, I’m coming,” I replied. “But—”

  “Enough. Just go with the flow.”

  I started after them, slowing a moment later when the sound of engines echoed through the stacks of shipping containers.

  Mr. Keep came to a sudden stop, spinning around and freezing to listen. His face hardened as his eyes pierced mine, the fear in his gaze obvious.

  “Damn it, they found me. Run!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Keep’s fear transferred to me, and instead of running like he suggested, I froze. My eyes shifted to the end of the container stack to my right, where two pairs of wide, thin headlights appeared, instantly bathing me in blue light. I whipped my head to the left as two more vehicles braked to a stop directly in front of me.

  “Ben, come on!” Matt said, grabbing my arm and tugging me toward the starship. Keep had a ten foot headstart on us, and he didn’t slow or look back to make sure we were following.

  I broke out of my stupor, joining Matt in a sprint for the ship. Splashing through puddles quickly left my sneakers soaked through to my feet, my heart pounding hard.

  Too hard.

  The flow of oxygen into my head started the domino effect. Within seconds, a wave of vertigo hit me like a jackhammer and I took a knee, planting my hand on the asphalt and closing my eyes to stop the world from spinning. Nausea followed, the pounding in my skull and ringing in my ears nearly loud enough to drown out the motors of the incoming vehicles.

  Oddly enough, it was at that moment I realized there was something off about the engines of the cars. They weren’t making a sound I could easily associate with an internal combustion engine or even an electric motor. Come to think of it, their headlights had a pattern I didn’t think I had ever seen before either.

  “Ben,” Matt said, stopping and coming back to me. He kneeled at my side, putting his arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  “Dizzy,” I replied. “Go on. I’m fine.” I tried to get up and nearly blacked out.

  “Yeah, right.”

  “What are you two doing?” Keep shouted from somewhere ahead. I looked up, finding him near the starship’s base. A ramp had extended from the mouth, offering entry. “Come on!”

  Matt helped me to my feet as Keep reached into his pocket, producing what appeared to be a gun. He aimed it over our heads and pulled the trigger, and I watched as green bolts of light zipped across the gap between him and these new adversaries.

  He used the ramp for cover as return fire burned past us, a few of the bolts close enough I could hear them sizzle past my ears.

  “What the hell?” I complained as Matt dragged me back to the ground, pushing me flat and smothering me with his body.

  “Clicking on a damn scam link,” he cursed in my ear. “Great idea.”

  I turned my head to look at him. How was I supposed to know this would happen? I didn’t even know what this was.