Silence echoed in the cavernous hangar. Everyone was looking at Parker.
“Park?” asked Bubba. “Is what the General said true? You don’t want to come?”
“Well, it’s not that easy,” began Parker.
“But we agreed. You, me, and Sunny. In the toy store, while we were standing in line. We agreed. That we’d always stick together. That we’d always be friends. No matter what. Like Igby said with his oath. No matter what.”
“I know,” said Parker, “I know.”
“Then what’s the problem?” asked Bubba. “Don’t you want to stick with Sunny and me?”
Parker averted his eyes. He looked down at his shoes. “Of course I do,” he said quietly. He struggled to find the right words to explain what he was thinking, what he was feeling. He wasn’t sure he truly wanted to sign up for this, opportunity of a lifetime though it may be. Colby had made a strong argument: there was a possibility this mission could in fact go horribly wrong. Yet part of him couldn’t deny his desire to get his hands on a real Go-Boy Battle-Suit. Even if it meant putting his life on the line. It would be so far above and beyond flying the simulator in Skycade, he could scarcely imagine it. The very thought of it didn’t seem real, despite the presence of a functional Battle-Suit just a few feet away. It seemed unreal. Surreal. The Battle-Suit, this place, this entire crazy, twisted-up birthday seemed absolutely surreal. And, in many ways, completely thrilling.
Yet part of him insisted on resisting this invitation to adventure. Part of him argued this was Ramsey’s problem. They were the ones who built Go-Boy Ultra and let Dr. Red steal it. So they could be the ones to stop him. It doesn’t involve me, Parker thought to himself. He could get up and walk away. He could go back to Kingdom City, to Sky City South, like he’d thought of doing before. There he could wait for his dad, because he knew his dad was doing absolutely everything possible to get home for his birthday.
As he thought about where his dad might be and what he might be doing, Parker had an idea. If he agreed to General Ramsey’s plan, for the five of them to train together and learn to pilot their Battle-Suits, he could use his suit to fly around, to go anywhere he wanted. He could use his Battle-Suit to fly across any ocean, to soar over any continent. He could fly through all extremes of weather. Through arctic cold or desert heat. He could rise higher than any fog bank, higher than the mightiest of thunderstorms. He could bypass hurricanes and tornadoes. He could glide effortlessly through the darkest of nights.
He could use his Battle-Suit to find his dad.
No one could stop him.
Not even Dr. Red.
Images of being swept into his dad’s warm embrace blossomed in Parker’s mind.
He made his decision.
He would do what General Ramsey asked. He would agree to his proposal and do his best to return Go-Boy Ultra to Candyland so Dr. Red couldn’t use it against them or sell it to the highest bidder. He would do his best to do whatever the General asked. He would do his best to find his dad. If necessary, he would fly to the ends of the earth to help his dad find his way home.
“I’ll do it.” Parker looked up. Everyone was watching him, eying him like the giant eagle on the wall of the hangar. “I’ll do it,” he said again. “Count me in.”
“Awesome!” shouted Bubba.
“On one condition,” said Parker. He looked squarely at General Ramsey.
“Name it.”
“Find my dad. You find him and bring him home.”
“Parker, the nature of your dad’s deployment is, uh, of a very sensitive nature. It could take weeks, even months.”
“Then you better start looking,” said Parker.
General Ramsey returned Parker’s gaze. “Very well. I’ll make some phone calls. There are more than a few people in The Pentagon and at Air Force Space Command who owe me some favors. As soon as I know, you’ll know. Fair enough?”
Parker nodded his head.
General Ramsey surveyed the five of them. “Then we have a deal?”
They each nodded their heads along with Parker.
“Good. But know this,” continued the General. He spoke softly, his voice barely audible. “If you fail, no amount of money in the world will make a difference. I’ll be the one handing Old Glory to your parents. And Dr. Red will succeed in delivering Go-Boy Ultra into the hands of our enemies. So from here on out, it’s strictly business. I expect one hundred and ten percent at all times. Give me your best and I’ll give you my best. I’ll teach you to fly. I’ll teach you to shoot. I’ll teach you to fight. I’ll make you tough as nails and sharp as a tack. You do what I say when I say to do it. You do that and I promise when you find Dr. Red he won’t know what hit him. You’ll blast him clean out of the sky and knock him down into the dirt. He’ll have to fly to the ends of the Earth to escape the toughest, deadliest, most awe-inspiring fighting force ever assembled. I guarantee he’ll wish he’d never been born.”
He surveyed each of them slowly one at a time.
“Dismissed.”
Chapter 4
Soldier
The General’s words sank like water into dry desert sand.
Parker knew then what it meant to be a soldier. And he was terrified.