The Quest for the Kid Read online

  Orson still hadn’t made up his mind. Or at least he had made up his mind that this hydrant was not what he was searching for. He wandered away, and Sebastian followed him along the block to a small caged-in tree popping out of the sidewalk. Orson stopped. Then decided against it and walked again. They stopped again.

  What was that?

  Sebastian suddenly was aware that every time he started to walk, the distinct sound of footsteps behind him would start as well. And every time he stopped, they stopped. He turned around. No one. Just Evie standing half a block away, giving him a friendly wave and going back to examining the store window before her.

  Odd.

  Sebastian turned back and saw that Orson was farther down the street at another tree, and Sebastian quickly followed him. He heard it again. And spun quickly.

  That was odder.

  Sebastian began to breathe a little more heavily. This was a familiar feeling. Not a panic attack. No, it wasn’t that. At least not yet. No, it was more the feeling of being chased. Chased slowly, it seemed, by maybe a ghost? No, not a ghost. Those weren’t real. He was being followed nonetheless. He had run away so many times from those men in black that it had almost felt like his new hobby. But here in California he hadn’t had to worry about it.

  Not yet.

  Had he been too complacent?

  Orson was finally doing his business, one leg up on what seemed to be a rather expensive motorcycle parked along the curb. Sebastian really wanted the dog to hurry, but Orson was going to take the time it took. Sebastian could respect that. But still. They had to get moving.

  And then there was a hand on his shoulder.

  He whipped around to see an anxious Evie right there beside him. How had she gotten to him so fast? “Run!” she whisper-yelled.

  “What?”

  “Run!” She pulled his arm, attempting to run while holding on to him, and therefore staying in place, her feet sliding across the sidewalk.

  Orson barked then, but not at Evie—at Sebastian. Like he too was saying, “Run!”

  So he ran.

  “Why are we running?” he asked, already out of breath.

  “That man with the eye patch is following you,” replied Evie as she dodged around a woman pushing a baby stroller, with Sebastian quickly behind.

  “What!” Sebastian turned, but he didn’t see Mr. M anywhere. “Are you sure?”

  “Oh, he’s being sneaky about it. He keeps hiding, but I saw him. He didn’t see me because he was stalking you.” She looked around frantically. “We can’t return to the restaurant. He’s in the way. We need to find somewhere else to go….Come on!” Without warning she darted across the street.

  Sebastian was hoping that Evie was wrong, but sprinted across the road nonetheless, with Orson at his heels. Even if she had seen someone who happened to have an eye patch, there were plenty of people who need eye surgeries or were off-duty pirates who also looked like that….

  “There!” she said, pointing.

  It was him. It was Mr. M. Eyeing them from the other side of the street, traffic preventing him from rushing them. But that wouldn’t last long.

  Sebastian couldn’t properly analyze the feelings that were flooding through him in this moment. “Fear” was probably the best description for them. But he also felt stupid. Stupid that he’d let his guard down and forgotten that these men still wanted what he knew. Stupid that he’d forgotten that he should always be on guard.

  Mr. M waved at him and smiled.

  Okay, so now fear was winning out over feeling stupid.

  “Come on,” said Evie. Once again Sebastian hesitated, this time not from confusion but because he was so afraid, he couldn’t move.

  “What happens if he catches me? I mean, you can’t save me every time,” he said quietly, now basically engaged in a staring contest with Mr. M, against his will.

  “Why not? Anyway, we won’t let him catch you,” replied Evie.

  Orson made a similar argument in bark form, and Sebastian was able to break eye contact with Mr. M and unstick his feet from the pavement. The three of them were running once more.

  Suddenly Evie took a sharp right down a side street. “Let’s hide,” she said.

  Good idea, thought Sebastian, and he looked around. He saw a shop with a messy storefront window that seemed good. “Inside!” he said.

  They pushed through the doorway despite not knowing what kind of shop it was. Sebastian figured all the stuff in the window would block them from being seen on the street.

  “Hello,” said a soft melodic voice, and a woman in a flowing blue dress and large hoop earrings seemed to float over to him. “Welcome to Delicate Curiosities. Please do enjoy.” She extended her hand in a wave of blue fabric, and Sebastian finally took in the contents of the store. There were shelves upon shelves of porcelain figurines. Floor to ceiling, row upon row. All small and intricate-looking. Some were of people dancing, others of children playing with bubbles, and still others of animals. All precariously perched near the edges of their display cases.

  Well. Okay, then.

  “Oh dear,” said Evie. “I don’t suppose all these little things here are really sturdy even though they look fragile?” she asked the woman in blue.

  The woman smiled a peaceful kind of smile. “No.” Then she wafted away to the other side of the store.

  “I guess we should hide,” said Evie, looking deeply uncomfortable. Sebastian nodded, and they made their way toward the back of the store.

  Scared that even the slightest breath would knock one of the figurines over, Sebastian tiptoed along an aisle. He felt a brush against his leg and looked down. Orson seemed very interested in a small cat figure on a bottom shelf.

  “No, Orson.” Sebastian quickly scooped Orson up into his arms, almost falling off balance into a row of figures all in different dance poses behind him.

  Steady, Sebastian. Steady.

  There was the tinkling of bells, like a dozen fairies had all blown their noses at the same time, and Sebastian peered through the shelving in front of him. Please let it be some random collector of extremely breakable little statues and not…He could see to the door of the shop and watched as the woman drifted over to Mr. M.

  No. No, no, no, no, no. They were trapped.

  “Welcome to Delicate Curiosities. Please do enjoy.”

  Mr. M did not seem to “enjoy” as he took in the contents of the store and appeared pretty much as uncomfortable as Sebastian felt.

  There was a tap on Sebastian’s shoulder. Evie was motioning for him to follow her, and, as quietly as he could, Sebastian did, walking beside the row of shelves, turning the corner, and making his way along another one. He stared between two mini-chefs fighting over a tiny cake to see if he could spot the man in black.

  And staring right at him with his one eye, from two shelves away, between two pairs of singers standing at little microphones, was Mr. M. Sebastian’s instinct was to run, but his strong desire not to destroy everything in the shop prevented him. The staring contest resumed. He just couldn’t not stare back at the man.

  Sebastian had no plan. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to return to the restaurant, to safety, and to people allergic to the color orange. He didn’t want this.

  “How did you find me?” he asked instead.

  “Hello, Sebastian,” said that familiar friendly voice that made Mr. M all the more terrifying.

  “You didn’t answer his question,” said Evie, coming up behind Sebastian’s right shoulder.

  “I’m good at finding things. You know that,” replied Mr. M with a wink. Sebastian couldn’t help but wonder if the man ever winked with the eye that the eye patch was covering and so no one ever knew he was doing it.

  “We know all about your past with my grandfather, and you’re pathetic!” said Evie.r />
  “Uh, maybe don’t insult him,” said Sebastian, not breaking eye contact with the man.

  “I don’t care,” she replied.

  “Well, I do.” Sebastian’s heart was racing fast. And he was getting quite hot and sweaty where he was holding Orson tight to his chest. He put the dog on the floor carefully. “Stay,” he whispered. The dog sat and looked at him with concern.

  “Time for you to come with me, Sebastian. You can’t win this,” said Mr. M, sounding horribly reasonable. It was true. Sebastian really couldn’t. They couldn’t stay at the back of this store forever. The only thing that could save them was getting out. Getting to the restaurant. But how on earth could they do it? They couldn’t run away. They could only run toward. Which was madness.

  But sometimes there was a method to madness.

  He blinked hard, breaking the eye contact with Mr. M once more, and then looked at Evie. She nodded. It was nice to know she was thinking the same thing, and weird that he knew that. Reading people, even his parents, was hard for him at the best of times, but sometimes just glancing at Evie, Sebastian could guess what she was thinking. He didn’t know why, but he appreciated it in moments like these. They slowly walked along the row. Sebastian watched Mr. M carefully.

  Mr. M, for his part, was also walking along his row of shelves. Happy little forest creatures played around a pond, and a group of clowns frowned while Sebastian’s heartbeat got faster and faster. He and Evie turned the corner and found themselves face to face with Mr. M. They stood there. Staring at each other.

  Sebastian knew what to do, and also didn’t know what to do. He should run for it, right toward Mr. M, totally throwing him off balance and confusing him for enough time that he and Evie could get away. But if he ran for it, there was the serious likelihood that they were going to knock over some delicate curiosities, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the curiosities were not exactly cheap. Also, he would feel really terrible.

  Then again, his life was at stake.

  Then again, just because his life was at stake didn’t mean he should ruin someone’s business.

  Then again, some things take priority over others.

  Then again, Mr. M was now screaming in pain and kicking out his leg, hopping around on his other one.

  What the…?

  Orson was latched on tight to the man’s calf, growling a small, almost cute, but also very angry, growl.

  Sebastian looked at Evie, and they both took the opportunity and bolted. He glanced over his shoulder as they exited and saw Mr. M tumble into one of the shelves. The sound of porcelain falling and smashing on the floor was heartbreaking, but Sebastian was relieved that it hadn’t been his fault. Well, not really his fault. Even if they had brought the dog into the store.

  “Orson!” he called, and a tiny hairball came shooting through the swinging door to follow them, a look of triumph on the terrier’s face.

  “That was amazing,” said Evie as the two of them raced down the sidewalk and retraced their steps back in the direction of the restaurant.

  “And lucky,” replied Sebastian.

  “Come on. That’s not it at all. Orson cares for you and protected you! Good Orson!” she called out to the dog running at their heels. “Also, I mean, thank heavens Mr. M only has one eye.”

  “Why?”

  “He didn’t see Orson approach! His peripheral vision is seriously compromised!” Evie grinned at Sebastian.

  They stopped at the red light and waited to cross the street.

  “I’m sorry I was grumpy this morning,” said Evie as they waited impatiently for the light to change.

  “It’s okay.” This really wasn’t the time, though he was glad she was feeling better. He glanced back. Mr. M emerged from around the corner, practically pulling himself onto the street by using the corner of the building. Sebastian couldn’t stand there anymore, and he couldn’t talk things out with Evie first either. His fear had taken firm hold of his gut, and he was in self-protection mode. He darted out into traffic, hoping the cars would notice him and pause.

  Which they kind of did.

  There was the squeal of tires, and Sebastian froze, much like a deer in headlights. Then Sebastian turned to face the car that had just stopped short of squishing him and Orson. It was black and looked really old-fashioned. Like something people might have driven back when cars had only just been invented. It was peculiar, but he didn’t have much time to appreciate how peculiar. His heart was racing, and he stared, wide-eyed, at the driver, who was wearing a dark black cap and what looked like some kind of uniform.

  “Sebastian, are you okay?” asked Evie, jogging up to him.

  Sebastian nodded and took a moment to breathe and to sort of communicate his apologies to the driver of the car with his hands, saying “I’m sorry!” loudly.

  The driver watched him, looking equally freaked out. And then nodded his acceptance.

  Sebastian took a few steps back. He cocked his head to the side and blinked a few times.

  “Jason?” he said.

  Evie was confused. No. That wasn’t Jason. It couldn’t be.

  Was it?

  She looked closer.

  Wait, it was him!

  “Jason!” she said, echoing Sebastian’s cry.

  The Kid stared at them.

  They stared back.

  No one moved.

  Car horns started blaring around them, and suddenly Evie knew exactly what she had to do. Without pausing to think about it, she ran to the side of the old-fashioned car and opened the door to the backseat. The door was stiff and tough to pull at, but the Kid didn’t drive off, thank goodness. He just sat there as the frustrated traffic refused to wait quietly.

  Both Sebastian and he finally seemed to come back to their senses and said “Hey!” at the same time. But by then Evie was sitting on the old torn leather bench next to a large bag of chocolates. She knew Sebastian would join her, and sure enough he was there, jumping in beside her with the dog in tow as the Kid turned around and looked at them.

  “What do you think you’re doing and how do you know my name?” he asked, managing to look stunned behind his dark sunglasses. “And is that Orson?” he asked, noticing the little dog happily resting on Sebastian’s lap.

  “Drive!” said Evie, glancing out the rear window for Mr. M. Quickly she turned back and added, “Please. We’re being chased!”

  “Chased?”

  “Yes!”

  The cacophony of horns screamed at them with even more urgency. The Kid sighed hard, faced forward, and rolled through the green light. Evie looked out the window and could feel Sebastian staring.

  Where is he, where is he…Ah! There he was. She could see Mr. M furiously trying to flag down a taxi, but there was none to be found, and she was more than relieved to be in Los Angeles and not in a city where taxis were far more common.

  “Thank you!” said Evie as Mr. M disappeared behind them in the distance.

  “This isn’t good. This isn’t good,” replied the Kid.

  “What?” asked Sebastian.

  “I shouldn’t stop,” he said.

  “Where are you going?” asked Evie.

  “Where have you been?” asked Sebastian.

  “Those are all questions I’m not allowed to answer,” said the Kid, taking a corner and then screeching to a halt. “Okay, strange kids who jumped into my car for no reason, time to get out.”

  Evie looked at Sebastian, who had his hand on the door handle. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t think it was right. They had finally found the Kid, and she didn’t want to lose him again.

  “Can you talk to us first?” she asked.

  “I can’t, man. I’m late enough as it is. Out of the car, please,” he said.

  “But we’re with Catherine and Benedict!” she ad
ded. Come on, that had to mean something to him.

  “What?” asked the Kid, staring at her hard now. Staring at her so hard that he needed to remove his sunglasses to do it.

  “We need your help.”

  The Kid looked positively flummoxed and glanced at Sebastian and then back at Evie. “I…You need to get out, now,” he said.

  Sebastian opened the door a crack, but Evie crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Make me,” she said.

  “Make you?” replied the Kid with a little laugh of disbelief.

  “Make me.”

  “Uh, Evie…,” said Sebastian.

  “Close the door, Sebastian,” she said, not breaking eye contact with the Kid. She heard the click as he did so. “Thanks,” she said. It was nice to see that he could be on her side, even after he’d let her down the night before.

  “Uh-huh,” was Sebastian’s reply.

  “Come on, kids. This is…Don’t make me make you,” said the Kid.

  “I’m afraid that’s your only choice. You will have to pull us out of here, and I don’t think that’s a very nice thing to do, especially to kids,” replied Evie, staring him down. She didn’t much like doing that, as he had very friendly eyes, and he seemed nice too, but she was determined. They were not losing him. Especially since his agent was gone and no one else knew where he was. The luck right now was crazy. She was not going to let it slip through her fingers.

  “I…have to be somewhere,” he said. “I’ll get in trouble.”

  “Then keep driving. We’ll go with you,” said Sebastian. Evie looked at him and realized how much her eyes were watering. She blinked hard a few times.

  “You can’t,” replied the Kid.

  “I think it’s your only choice,” replied Evie.