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First Edition
Also By Ryan Schneider
The Pillow Book
(with petal darker)
A Shadow Passed Over the Son
Book One of THE GO-KIDS
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Book Two of THE GO-KIDS
Chapter 1
Milk, Milk, Lemonade . . .
Parker caught Dr. Seabrook glance sideways at General Ramsey: I told you so.
“You know something, Mr. Perkins?” said Colby. “For once you and I are in total agreement.”
Dr. Seabrook tapped his screen and a new schematic appeared up above. It was a diagram of a Battle-Suit, of Go-Boy Ultra. It was bigger and leaner than Igby’s One-Zero-One, more refined. “This is Go-Boy Ultra,” said Dr. Seabrook. “It’s a prototype, the latest and greatest in the never-ending quest for the ultimate Battle-Suit. And as you’ve just seen in the surveillance video we cut together documenting its escape, it’s pretty serious. It also doesn’t suffer the same problems that plague the original Go-Boy Battle-Suit. Don’t get me wrong, the One-Zero-One is very impressive. But Go-Boy Ultra can fly circles around it. It’s lighter, faster, more maneuverable, and it’s better armored. And better armed.”
“So what’s the problem?” asked Bubba.
“The problem,” said General Ramsey, “is that Dr. Red stole it. It’s gone. That’s what we just watched. The greatest, most amazing, most potentially horrifying machine ever built, ever conceived, is out there somewhere, flying around, doing God knows what. It is literally in the hands of a mad scientist.”
“So I guess your Top Secret underground base has some really super-duper security, huh?” said Colby. Despite his irreverence, Colby had a point.
“If he’s mad, why did you ask him to help you?” asked Sunny.
“Good question,” said General Ramsey. “Dr. Seabrook? Would you care to answer the young lady? Because I still can’t figure this one out.”
“As I said before,” said Dr. Seabrook, clearly working to maintain his composure, “Igby and I were having difficulty with the new pilot interface. Without the pilot interface, the suit is useless. We were stuck for almost a month. So we found someone we thought could help us. We didn’t give him access to the entire project. At least, not at first. But as we worked the problem, we realized it went deeper than we thought. That necessitated giving Dr. Red more and more information. Eventually, he had everything he needed. Though at what point he decided to steal the suit I don’t know.”
“Don’t cry over spilt milk!” said Bubba. “And, if life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”
“Lots of it,” said General Ramsey.
“Milk, milk, lemonade, around the corner fudge is made,” said Colby. Igby giggled.
“I hate to sound like a broken record,” said Parker, “even though I’ve only seen records in the Smithsonian when my parents took me there after I got straight-A’s on my report card, but you still haven’t said what you need us for. What’s the deal?”
“The deal,” said General Ramsey, “is this: you’re going to track down Dr. Red and capture Go-Boy Ultra!” His face was one gigantic smile, as if he’d just given Parker the secret for spinning straw into gold.
Parker had only one thought: You’ve got to be kidding.