Busted Flush Page 0,35

She nodded to the set on the wall.

"Only the DVD player, and most of the movies are pretty lame." They'd given him The Rescuers, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Dumbo. He hadn't made it all the way through Dumbo, it was just too depressing. Drake slumped a little.

"That figures." She pulled something from a large paper bag she was carrying. Drake had been so distracted by her tail, or whatever it was, that he hadn't even noticed it. "Don't tell anyone I gave you this. And keep it hidden."

Drake immediately recognized the Game Boy and grabbed it from her with a grin. "Geez, thanks."

"I thought you might like that. I've only got one cartridge, arcade classics, but I'll try to get you a couple more and some extra batteries." Niobe handed over the rest to Drake. "Like I said, though, keep it hidden or they'll take it away and we'll both be in trouble."

Drake began to really relax. "You're not one of them. I mean, you don't work here."

She shook her head. "Not exactly. They're conducting, sort of, tests on me. You know how that goes."

There was no reason to believe she was lying, although Drake thought she was holding something back. That was okay, so was he. "Yeah. I really appreciate this, Niobe. Trust me, I won't get caught."

"Good. Because if you do, they probably won't let me visit again. One more thing. I heard you liked the ice cream, so . . ." She fished a moist carton out of the bag, and a plastic spoon. "Mint chocolate chip. Tastes incredible, believe me."

"Oh, snap." Drake's appetite, which had been next to nothing, came back to life and he had the carton open in a flash. The ice cream was as good as she said. Maybe better. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Niobe shrugged. "I have a soft spot for kids." Her expression went distant for a second, like she was listening to something only she could hear. Then she continued. "Er, handsome young men like yourself. Anyway, I know this isn't the friendliest place in the world. You're probably not happy with how they're treating you, and I'll bet you miss your family and friends, too. Am I wrong?"

He didn't want to think about his family and friends right now. "No. It's just that you're the only nice one so far." Drake took another extra-large mouthful of ice cream. His mouth was happier than any part of him had been in a long time. "I'm not complaining, though."

Niobe smiled. It was a grown-up kind of smile, like she knew so much more than he did, but Drake didn't care right now. "I've got to get back to my rounds," she said. "Have fun with your Game Boy."

"Oh, I will," Drake said. Niobe opened the door and pulled her tail-thing through to the outside of the room. "My name's Drake."

Niobe nodded. "Hang in there, Drake. See you soon." Then the door closed and she was gone.

Drake polished off the remainder of the ice cream and tossed the carton on the floor. He popped the Gameboy cartridge into the slot and powered the machine on. Moments later a menu of several games, most of them older than he was, showed up on the screen. Drake almost went for Missile Command, but decided Defender was more his speed. He paused a moment before starting the game. Niobe might be the person, the friend he needed, to get out of here. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he had to hope for something or give up entirely. He'd think about it later. Right now there were aliens to kill.

Early-morning sunlight poured down through the skylights. Far above, Niobe knew, the sky would be a brilliant azure. Just wait 'til you see it with your own eyes, kiddos. There's nothing like it.

Niobe found Pendergast coming out of the cafeteria. He held a cup of coffee in one hand and a foil-wrapped bundle in the other. She could smell the green chile and chorizo from his breakfast burrito, and the chicory in his coffee.

"All done," she said.

He breezed past her. "What's done?"

"I introduced myself to Drake, like you asked." She walked backward, keeping abreast of him. "I think he was glad for the company. Seems like a nice kid. I'd be happy to visit him again."

"Good." Pendergast said nothing more.

"Meanwhile," Niobe said, hoping to jar his memory, "the kids and I will be taking our leave this morning."

Pendergast shook his head.