I eyed him. “Chet’s right. That’s definitely a zero.”
“Ready then,” Chet said. “Let’s do this.”
“Once I have the ship,” I said, “we’ll activate the weapons and force the pirates to lie on the floor. Run for the ship and climb up into the cockpit. We’ll escape, and then we can send M-Bot to sneak back and grab the icon.”
“An excellent plan,” Chet said. “When do I make the distraction?”
“I’ll send M-Bot to signal you when I’m in position. Then count to a hundred before you go for it.”
We shared a nod, and then I withdrew to begin sneaking around to the other side of the base.
The first thing I did was send M-Bot back to spy on Chet.
“I buried the pouch for my pin under a rock near the trees,” I told him. “Covertly watch to see if he digs it up. If he doesn’t, stealthily join me behind the pirate base.”
“Uh…”
“I’ll explain later,” I said, and waved him off. He left.
My heart thundering in my chest, I continued to sneak around the side of the compound. It was just like creeping up on a rat, only there was more light and these doofs were less observant. I made it to the other side of the compound easily, and found a good spot to watch near a large boulder.
The hangar had a small, person-size doorway on this side. Through it I could clearly see the mechanics working on the landing gear of one of the starfighters—two diones and one of the feathered aliens I’d seen when I first entered the nowhere. They serviced a narrow, sleek vessel that was probably a scouting model. Sparks flew as they welded.
I waited, anxious. I didn’t want to be distrustful. Scud, Chet had helped me so much. But I couldn’t deny the way he looked at the icon, and it seemed incredibly suspicious that he’d asked me to leave it behind.
I nearly yelped when M-Bot hovered up to me a few minutes later. Stars, he was quiet.
“He doesn’t appear to be digging at anything, Spensa,” M-Bot whispered. “He’s just waiting.”
“Okay, good,” I said, relaxing.
“Do you think he’s going to betray us?”
“I don’t want to think that,” I said, “but I can’t help being suspicious.” I’d tried so hard to trust Brade, and where had that gotten me? “Go tell him I’m in position. He can start with the distraction.”
M-Bot zipped off again. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. My worry was unfounded.
Unless…
If I’d been planning to betray my companion, I wouldn’t merely steal the pin. I’d do something to disrupt the plan, making certain she got captured by the pirates. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about her following me as I made off with the prize.
Scud. Now that I’d thought of it, I couldn’t get it out of my head. If Chet simply grabbed the icon and ran, I could conceivably steal the ship and come after him. But if he waited until I was in the middle of the theft, then sold me out, he could keep the icon while making sure I was taken care of.
Again, I didn’t want to believe it. I almost discarded the worry entirely—but then I thought about the way he changed whenever he saw the icon. And what were the chances that I’d enter the nowhere and immediately find Commander Spears?
While I didn’t actually think some kind of evil wizard was involved—that was more a metaphor—something was seriously strange about all of this. I couldn’t help feeling I was being toyed with, and Chet was at the center of it.
I made a snap decision. I wouldn’t abandon the plan, but neither would I walk straight into a potential trap. First I pulled out my father’s pin, then dug a quick hole beside my boulder.
M-Bot came hovering back as I was finishing. “I…thought you already buried that,” he said.
“I buried the pouch, but kept the pin,” I explained. “I’m worried Chet is going to betray us, and this is the best way I can think of to protect the pin in case we get captured.”
I felt oddly reluctant to part with it. Like, it almost seemed to cling to my fingers as I put it in the hole. I couldn’t help thinking it was sad to have me abandon it. This place was messing with me in strange ways.
The mechanics in the hangar stood up and looked out toward where Chet had been hiding. Distraction begun.
“So what do we do?” M-Bot whispered.
“In case my worries are correct, we’re not going to steal the ship Chet assumes we will. Which of those other hangars has the fewest sleeping people?”