Chaz walked down Chambers Street and made a right at Beacon, which wasn’t that odd, except his brother’s school was in the opposite direction. Something was wrong. Jackson felt that old familiar tingle that told him he was about to discover a secret.

He continued down the street but kept a safe distance to make sure Chaz didn’t spot him. Chaz went down Beacon, then made a left onto Hamilton Drive. There he turned down a nameless alley and stopped outside of a gated junkyard. Jackson watched his brother slip through a hole in the gate.

“What is he doing?” Jackson said to himself. He rushed across the street and peeked through the hole. He could see Chaz rummaging through the garbage. He found an old tin can and tossed it on the ground. Then he kicked it about the abandoned lot.

Jackson slipped through the gate and followed as closely as he could. He saw his brother plop down on the backseat of an old car and pull a paperback book out of his uniform pants. He leaned back and buried his nose in the story.

“Reading can be dangerous,” Jackson said as he tossed his brother his helmet. “You might need this.”

Chaz leaped to his feet. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Did you follow me?”

“You forgot your helmet. I was being a nice guy by bringing it to you.”

“Thanks, now go home,” Chaz demanded.

“You’re not on the team anymore, are you?” Jackson said.

Chaz frowned. He kicked the car seat and then plopped back down on it as if in defeat. “I got cut.”

Jackson’s eyes widened. “They kicked you off the team? What did you do?”

“Nothing. I’m just not good enough,” Chaz said.

Jackson sat down on the other half of the car seat. “But—”

“Everything’s harder in high school,” Chaz explained. “Everyone is good. I’m not special anymore.”

“How long has this been going on?”

Chaz shook his head in disgust. “I got cut on the second day.”

“So you’ve been suiting up every day and coming to the junkyard to read?”

Chaz winced and nodded. “After the look of disappointment Dad gave you when you got booted off your team, I just couldn’t tell him. Sports mean so much to him.”

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” Jackson laughed. “We used to be the coolest brothers in Arlington, Virginia. Now look at us. You’ve become a reader and I’m pretty much friendless. I can’t even get the nerds to hang out with me.”

Chaz laughed. “I’m like a total nerd now. My only friend is Barney Tennant.”

“Barney Tennant? You mean the kid who is always picking his nose in public?”

“That’s him,” Chaz said. “He’s my BFF.”

The boys broke into hysterical laughter.

“We’re complete losers,” Jackson said.

“We’re so pathetic,” Chaz agreed.

After a while the laughter faded.

“I’ve been a total jerk to you,” Chaz said.

Jackson shrugged. “If it wasn’t for your insults, I wouldn’t have anyone speaking to me at all.”

They talked for hours. Mostly about their father, but also about how much they missed their mom, and about how much their dad had changed since she died. They also talked about football and about the crimes they had committed against each other and the other kids at school.

“You know, if you really like to read, you don’t have to do it surrounded by filth,” Jackson said. “There’s this place called the library. I’ve been in one. It wasn’t that bad. The closest is on Henry Street, two blocks away.”

“You’re pretty cool for a little brother,” Chaz said.

“And you’re pretty cool for a big brother,” Jackson replied.

“If you two hug I think I’m going to throw up,” a voice said from above them.

Jackson turned and looked up. Standing at the top of a pile of junk was the Hyena. Her hair was like silver in the setting sun. If Jackson wasn’t struck with overwhelming fear, he might have thought she was pretty.

“Who’s this?” she asked, pointing to Chaz.

“I’m his brother,” Chaz said. “Who are you?”

“I’m the—”

“Wait a minute!” Chaz said. “I get what’s going on here. Is this your girlfriend, Jackson?”

“Uh—”

“Little brother! Hey, don’t let me interfere with you two lovebirds. I’ll catch up with you at home,” Chaz said. He rushed to the gate, turned back and gave Jackson a raspberry, and slipped away.

“I’ve been looking for you,” the Hyena said.

“Stay back!” Jackson shouted.

The girl leaped down in front of him. Instinctively, he swept her legs out from under her with his own and knocked her to the ground. A moment later he was running.

“Where was that move when you had to fight Matilda all day?” he grumbled to himself. He made a beeline for the gate, but before he could get there the Hyena had backflipped off a junked car and landed in front of him. He skidded to a stop and raced back the way he came. The junkyard was a maze of debris piled high in neat rows. Jackson raced down one aisle and made a quick right into another. The Hyena was right behind him every step of the way.

He knew his only hope was to try to make it back to the gate, so he made another quick left, then a right, then another right. He mustered every ounce of his former glory on the football field and sprinted toward the exit. It was so close. He just had to get there. Once he was on the street he could hide in the backyards of the countless neighborhood houses, and she would never find him.

And then he saw a blur to his left and felt something in front of his feet, and before he knew it he turned into a human tumbleweed rolling on the ground. He finally came to a stop on his back, gasping to replace the wind that had been knocked out of his lungs. Unfortunately, the Hyena was waiting. She tossed aside the mop handle she had used to trip him.

“If you’re going to kill me, just make it quick,” he groaned.

“I’m not here to kill you, dummy. I need your help,” she said, reaching out her hand to him.

“Help?”

“Yeah, I need you to stop my diabolical boss and his evil doomsday device.”

“Is that all?” Jackson said as he eyed the offered hand. “How do I know this isn’t some kind of trick?”

“Why would I want you to help me stop the man who pays my rent?” she said. “I wouldn’t, unless you were right all along. I don’t want to know I helped someone destroy the world, and I can’t stop him by myself. I need you.”

Jackson took her hand and she pulled him to his feet. He dusted himself off, but kept a wary eye on her. “Why does a goon want to save the world?”

The Hyena snarled. “Watch it, pal! I’m not a goon.”

“You act like a goon. You kidnapped those scientists.”

“I was freelancing. I have to eat,” she said. “Are you going to help me or not?”

Jackson shook his head. “You don’t want me. You want the NERDS, and I’m not with them anymore.” He turned and headed for the gate, slipping out the hole and into the street.

The Hyena followed. “What do you mean you aren’t with them anymore?”

“I was a trainee,” Jackson admitted. “And not a very good one. I screwed up a lot, so I quit. I’m out of the secret agent business.”

The Hyena grabbed him by the shirt. “You can’t just quit.”

“You’re not listening to me,” Jackson said. “I can just quit and I did just quit. I can’t help you.”

“Then take me to the others,” she demanded. “This is important.”

“They’re missing,” Jackson said. “They’ve been gone for days. They’re probably on some other mission.”

“Listen, kid, if this wasn’t the end of the world, I wouldn’t have bothered. If you can’t find your team, then it’s up to you and me.”

“Fine, but why are you wearing only one boot?”

The Hyena groaned. “Focus, you idiot. We have to save the world.”

Even though all the students were gone and school had been closed for hours, the doors were still unlocked and Jackson and the Hyena stepped right inside.

“What are we doing here?” the Hyena asked impatiently. “Did you forget your lunch box?”