Page 652

--donation bonus week (day 1/5, post 4/5)--
“A spy. Right. I forgot. Sorry.” He knew that trying to tell her otherwise would only upset her. “Well, I want you to keep spying, then. If we’re going to do this thing, then we’ll be needing as much intelligence as we can gather.”

“Okay!”

He lowered his voice and said, “But keep it a secret. You never know if one of the reapers might be listening.”

“I’m a spy. Not an amateur.”

“I know. Just don’t get caught.”

“Duh.” She scampered off.

He watched her go. She was going to be a very scary person one day, he thought.

It wasn’t much longer to dinnertime, so Marcos just watched television for a bit. Regardless of what Cisco said, Marcos hoped the day would never come when he no longer enjoyed cartoons.

At dinner, there seemed to be a tension in the air that even he noticed. Marcos mostly just kept his head down and peeked around the table from below his bushy eyebrows while he worked on his stew. His father was eventually the one to break the ice.

“I have a small announcement,” said Pa, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. “My presence has been requested in Rheinhal, so I’ll be leaving in the morning.”

The children digested his words.

“Are you being given an assignment?” said Cisco.

“Possibly. I don’t know. I do know that it will only be for a day or two. I expect all of you to behave in my absence and listen to your mother.”

“Yes, ensir,” said all four children, nearly in unison.

There wasn’t much left to be said after that. A few inquiries into their schooldays, a request to meet this Alex Belos fellow, and nothing else. Marcos was far from an expert on what his mother was thinking, but she didn’t look particularly pleased, and her dour mood seemed to permeate the entire dining room. Gradually, the evening drew to a close.

Marcos lay in bed in his odd, brick-patterned pajamas, and he found himself unable to sleep. Something was nagging at him, and all he had now was time to think about it.