* * *

  About an hour later, they were back in Kimo’s backyard. His father was still asleep, so they kept their voices to just above a whisper. The sky was a patchwork of bright stars. Rahim had never seen the stars in Philly shining like this. The night sky in Hawaii looked like something from a movie, just like the sunsets. Or now: Everything was like a 4K high-def television screen.

  Kasia was going through the plan. “All you gotta do is count to twenty and light these,” she said, waving her hand over the makeshift fireworks that she had designed and assembled. “They’ll go off and cause a distraction. Well, a panic, they’re probably gonna cause a panic. But that’s when we will slip in the house and get our phone.”

  “She means our radio,” Rahim said. Kasia looked at him and shrugged. He wondered how much damage they were doing to the time stream. He hoped they could fix things like last time and make everything go back to normal. That is, if they could get the phone back and make it home.

  Home. Philly. His parents.

  He missed them. It was something he tried not to think about too much. He missed his sister, too, but he felt like it was his parents he was misleading with all the time-travel stuff. He missed his mom’s jokes. He missed his dad’s Sunday chili. His dad didn’t really understand what Rahim wanted to do with his life, or why he wanted to do it, but the whole trumpet-lessons situation showed that he did at least care.

  Rahim felt his eyes begin to burn the way they did before tears came. He was going to get home soon. He would see his family again. He wiped his eyes and coughed as Kasia went on explaining her plan.

  They were standing in a semicircle around a weathered picnic table under an ancient palm tree. On the table were six cardboard toilet-paper tubes. The tubes had been sealed at each end with butcher paper and with a long fuse coming out the top. They were packed with an assortment of different chemicals. Kasia had led the group on a shopping trip to a drugstore and then instructed them how to pack the cardboard tubes with an assemblage of over-the-counter products they had picked up. The ingredients included but were not limited to baking soda, charcoal, aluminum, and various other items that he had no idea were in fireworks. They had worked in a little mini assembly line, mixing, packing, and sealing under Kasia’s watchful eyes. She made sure they didn’t put in too much of this or too little of that.

  “Will they blow our hands off?” Alex said.

  “No,” Kasia said. “They’re basically just giant sparklers.”

  “This is just like Mission: Impossible,” Tilo said.

  “Except that it’s possible,” Kasia said. “It’s happening.”

  Rahim thought, not for the first time, how scary Kasia could be if she turned her smartness to the Dark Side.

  “I mean, yeah. I don’t want to lose my hand. I’m kind of attached to it,” Alex said. He laughed long and hard at his joke.

  “We just need you to light these and run. That’s it,” Kasia said.

  “Yeah, I’m down for this. This feels like it’s gonna be groovy. I like fire,” Sammy said.

  Kimo nudged Rahim with his elbow. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t mean it like in a weird way,” he said.

  “You must really love this radio,” Alex said.

  “Yeah, it means a lot to me,” Rahim said.

  “That’s the understatement of the year,” Kasia said.

  18

  Agent brown pulled up to a tall, plain building and parked the car. He turned to face Mr. Collins and Professor Reynolds in the back seat.

  “I think we have all concluded that those two aren’t your kids. But they still need to be located. Even so, I think it’s clear that this has gotten too dangerous for you. What we’d like to do is take you into our facility, have you debriefed, and then take you home. We will continue to search for the androids and your kids. I think that’s the safest thing for everyone involved.”

  Professor Reynolds shook his head. “Agent Brown, those androids have information about where our kids are. I’m not going to just go sit at home while my son is in danger.”

  “I agree with the professor here,” Mr. Collins said.

  Agent Brown looked at Agent Green, tapped his watch a few times, waited for it to make a noise, looked back at Professor Reynolds and Mr. Collins.

  “I understand. But I would rather not know. When we debrief and release you, we are not responsible for whatever happens. Come on inside.”

  “I always thought this was an insurance company building,” Mr. Collins said to Professor Reynolds.

  “Things hide in plain sight all the time,” Professor Reynolds said.

  In the building, they saw a young Black woman in a gray suit and white button-up shirt sitting at the desk.

  “Identification, please,” she said briskly.

  “Brown 234932.”

  “Green 907345.”

  The woman tapped a few keys on a laptop sitting on the desk. After a few moments, she came from behind the desk and approached Professor Reynolds and Mr. Collins. She carried two small white plastic squares a little bigger than a quarter.

  “Clip these to your shirts, please,” she said.

  “Sometimes those things pinch,” Mr. Collins said.

  “If you don’t have this badge on when you follow through that door behind me,” the woman said, “it could be … bad. Real bad.”

  Mr. Collins swallowed hard. “Oh, okay,” he said.

  They followed the agents through a brown door that led to a large stainless-steel elevator. They entered the elevator, and Agent Brown held up his ID to a scanner. The elevator began to rise so quickly, Professor Reynolds felt his stomach drop to his knees.

  The elevator stopped, and the door slid open silently.

  “Follow us, please,” Agent Green said.

  Professor Reynolds couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  They were in a huge, expansive room that seemed to be most of the top floor of the building. There were dozens of people in the room wearing similar attire to Agents Brown and Green. Some milled around the room or sat at desks with huge monitors that they studied intently. Others stood in front of large electronic maps. There were agents in white coats working at dry-erase boards and agents in blue coats typing quickly on tablets. They moved through the bustling center of activity to the back of the room, where Agent Green opened a white door with his ID.

  This room seemed to be some sort of laboratory, where individuals in light-green lab coats were studying at huge banks of computers. One wall of the room was a huge LED celestial map that showed the Earth and a wide array of satellites. They walked through this room and came to a red door. The agents opened it, and Professor Reynolds stepped into a room that resembled a quiet study. There were large leather chairs, and against one side of the room was a bookshelf. There was an oak table in the center of the room that held two pitchers of ice water and some glasses.

  “Have a seat, gentlemen,” Agent Brown said. “An associate of ours will be in shortly to interview you.”

  “You, um … gonna wipe our minds or something?” Mr. Collins said.

  “You watch too many movies,” Agent Brown said. “We don’t have that kind of technology.”

  “Sure we do,” Agent Green said.

  Agent Brown held up a hand. “We’ll just keep an eye on you … for a while,” he said.

  He and Agent Green went through a door in the back of the room as Professor Reynolds and Mr. Collins sat down at the table.

  “Where you think the kids are?” Mr. Collins asked.

  “I don’t know. But we will find them. We won’t give up until we do,” Professor Reynolds said.

  “You know,” Mr. Collins said. “When Kasia was born, I made this promise that I’d never let anything happen to her. Never let anybody hurt her. Then she started talking before she was two years old. In complete paragraphs. And I started thinking that it’s going to be her protecting us one day.”

  “Rahim is so…,” Professor Reynolds said. He searched around for the right word. “I used to think he wasn’t applying himself. But he’s so intuitive. I haven’t always understood that. He’s more capable than he thinks he is. Their friendship has been good for him.”

  “For Kasia, too,” Mr. Collins said.

  The two men were silent for a few minutes.

  “You know, if those agents find those … androids, they are going to destroy them. Bring them back here to their lab and take them apart to see how they work.”

  “That’s okay,” Mr. Collins said.

  “Except that if the androids don’t give us any good leads, we may never find the kids,” Professor Reynolds whispered. “As soon as we get done with this exit interview, we should go home, get our wives, and the four of us find these androids before the agents do.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right,” Mr. Collins said.

  The door at the rear of the room opened, and a tiny man in a gray suit came in carrying two clipboards and two ink pens.

  “Hello. I’m Agent Blue. If you two gentlemen could each fill out these forms, then you can be on your way.”

  “What are we signing?” Professor Reynolds asked.

  “Oh, nothing really, just an agreement that if you ever speak about the things you saw today, you are guilty of treason. But I don’t think you’re going to talk,” Agent Blue said with a slight smile.

  “I don’t think I’m going to let Kasia come back here for her internship,” Mr. Collins mumbled.

  “Good idea,” Professor Reynolds said.

  * * *

  Agent Brown and Agent Green drove them home and dropped them off. Agent Brown lowered the window before driving away.

  “Listen, I know you think you can reason with these things, perhaps get them to tell you where your kids are, but trust me, you do not want to engage them. Seriously.”

  “He’s my son. Kasia is his daughter. What would you do, Agent Brown?” Professor Reynolds said.

  Agent Brown didn’t respond. He just raised the car window and drove away.

  “I’ll meet you back out here in ten minutes,” Professor Reynolds said.

  “Bet,” Mr. Collins said.

  Professor Reynolds went into his house.

  Usually there would be the sound of a student practicing a string instrument, but today the inside was silent. He walked through the living room and went upstairs to Rahim’s room.

  He opened the door.

  He stood there looking at the posters on the wall, an assemblage of rap group and horror movie images. He looked at the books on his shelf, mostly horror, mystery, and science fiction novels. He stared at the tablet he’d begrudgingly allowed Rahim to accept from the school for his homework. He didn’t like to depend on technology too much. It could be a fantastic tool, but he firmly believed the human mind was the most dependable resource. And the safest.

  Despite all these things, the room felt empty.

  He heard footsteps coming up the staircase behind him. He tensed up, but it was just Mrs. Reynolds. She put her hand on his shoulder.

  “Where’s Yasmine?” Professor Reynolds asked.

  “She’s lying down, taking a nap. We are going to find Rahim. I know it. If he and Kasia are together, then they are looking out for each other,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  “I certainly believe they would try,” Professor Reynolds said.

  “What do you mean by that?” Mrs. Reynolds asked. Her voice trembled a bit.

  Professor Reynolds turned and faced her. He took both of her hands in his own.

  “The agents were right. The kids we saw, or the things we saw that looked like our kids, were androids. They are programmed to imitate our kids, and they are dangerous. They are strong and fast and seem hostile. The agents tried to put me and Mr. Collins off the case for our own safety. But I’m not doing that. In fact, I think if all four of us go looking for them, maybe we can get answers. Maybe we can find out once and for all where the kids are.”

  “That’s what I was coming to tell you. Kasia’s mom was in Kasia’s room and found something she wants us to see. Let’s tell Yasmine where we’re going. She’ll have to hold down the fort.” They went to Yasmine’s bedroom and knocked on the door. He could hear her stirring. She opened the door as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. “Yasmine, if your brother calls, come get us—we are going next door,” Professor Reynolds said.

  “I hope you ground him for a month when he comes back. I know he’s worrying you and Mom,” Yasmine said.

  Professor Reynolds reached out and touched Yasmine’s cheek.

  “You don’t have to pretend you’re not worried, too.”

  She wiped a single tear from her cheek.

  “Little booger,” she said softly. “He’d better be okay.”

  * * *

  Mr. and Mrs. Collins were sitting in the living room when Professor and Mrs. Reynolds arrived. There was a book on the coffee table as thick as a brick.

  “You all heard anything?” Mrs. Reynolds asked.

  Kasia’s mom shook her head.

  “We haven’t heard from our little Button at all,” Mrs. Collins said. Professor Reynolds could tell she had been crying.

  Professor Reynolds sat back in his chair. “I had suggested we go and look for these androids. Perhaps we could get some information. They have to know where the kids are. Whoever created them made them exact copies.”

  Mr. Collins nodded. “I was thinking the same thing, but you need to see this first.” He turned to his wife. “Show them what you found, baby.”

  Mrs. Collins opened the book. The first few pages were full of comic panels, but then Professor Reynolds saw that an indentation had been cut into the pages. There, nestled in the center of the book, was a heavy-duty-looking plastic rectangle. The rectangle had a lot of glue and tape on it, but otherwise looked like your standard older cell phone.

  “Remember when we were first talking to the agents, and they said Kasia had built a phone that hacked into their system? What if it’s this phone?” Mrs. Collins said.

  “We should call Agent Brown or Agent Green and let them examine it. If it’s what they are looking for, they may be able to use it to find the kids,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  “I’m not sure we should,” Mr. Collins said. “I get the feeling we may be better off on our own for a little while.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  “Have you tried to turn it on? Before we give it over to them, maybe we can see what it does.”

  “Maybe there’s some location tracking on it that would help us find the kids,” Mrs. Collins said. “Like user triangulation.” She noticed the others staring at her. “What?” she said. “I read it in a magazine.”

  “Okay,” Mr. Collins said. “Let’s get this thing fired up.” He leaned forward and took the phone out of the hollowed-out book.

  “This looks almost … homemade,” Professor Reynolds said. The phone was heavy with a thick plastic case.

  “We have a 3D printer at the store,” Mr. Collins said.

  “And I have a lot of art supplies here,” Mrs. Collins said.

  “Kasia probably used them to make it.”

  “She’s so resourceful,” Mr. Collins said. His voice cracked on the word resourceful.

  “I think this green button is the on switch,” Professor Reynolds said.

  He pressed it.

  The phone screen lit up. The green and red buttons on top of the phone began to blink rapidly. The phone vibrated in his hands.

  A picture of Rahim and Kasia sitting together on the back step of the Collins home came up on the screen. “Hmm,” Professor Reynolds said.

  “Hmm what?” Mr. Collins said. “What is it?”

  “It was a picture of the kids.”

  “It’s the screen saver?” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  All the other parents came up and crowded close to the screen, which was now black with the words SEARCHING FOR TETHER in white letters floating across it.

  “What does that mean?” Professor Reynolds asked.

  “It’s trying to link to another device. Like a Bluetooth connection,” Mrs. Collins said.

  As the phone continued to vibrate intermittently, there was a commotion outside. The sound of car horns and screeching tires came through the front window. There was also a chorus of loud voices yelling in anger.

  Suddenly there was a sound at the front door.

  The door slowly swung open.

  Standing in the doorway were R-2 and K-2. They stepped into the house, eyes glowing green.

  “Put down the phone and step away, please,” R-2 and K-2 said in unison. Their voices had a deep metallic tone. To Professor Reynolds, it sounded like the voice of the automated system at the train station.

  “Button, what’s wrong with your eyes?” Mrs. Collins said.

  “Honey, that’s not Kasia,” Mr. Collins said in a low voice.

  “Where did you take my son?” Professor Reynolds asked R-2.

  “That is not important. Give us the phone,” said R-2 and K-2 in unison.

  “You ain’t getting this jawn until you tell me where our kids are,” Professor Reynolds said forcefully.

  The androids stepped forward.

  “Last warning,” they said in unison.

  19

  “Okay, we all clear on the plan?” Kasia asked.

  The pyrotechnics crew was all huddled up in the lush forest near the mansion at the end of the street.

  “I understand the plan, but maybe not the chemistry,” Alex said.

  “Well,” Kasia said. “I can go through it again. There’s rapid oxidation that…”

  “Let’s not,” Kimo said. “We understand the plan. Just know that as soon as we light those sparklers, we’re gone, okay?”

  “Oh, I get it,” Kasia said. “You’re scared.”

  “I’m not scared,” Kimo said.

  “It’s okay, really. No reason to be ashamed,” Kasia said.

  “I said I’m not scared!” Kimo said.

  Rahim cleared his throat.

  “Let’s not debate who is or isn’t scared. We’re just really glad you’re helping us.”