Scorpion Hill

Chapter 4: SCAGR

Marrakesh, Morocco. Friday, January 9, 1976.

By now Henry didn't really expect Neal to explain what had happened in the cave, sweet though it would be. If nothing else, the incident at Scorpion Hill confirmed the necessity of traveling to Arkham.

As a gesture of goodwill, Henry went out of his way to go swimming in the hotel pool that evening so that the others would have plenty of time to discuss the events at the cave among themselves. He comforted himself that soon their secrets could be his too.

They flew to Boston in first-class luxury, a world apart from the cattle-car flight he'd made to Marrakesh. He breathed easier when the person who made the arrangements didn't question his alias. It was the only passport he'd brought with him. Only Neal joked about sitting next to Dallas Frazier, the man who made "Alley-Oop" famous.

Mozzie was on hand to greet them at Logan Airport when they arrived in Boston. It was Henry's first time to see the astrophysicist in fourteen years, but Mozzie picked up the conversation from so long ago as if it had just occurred.

"I hear you're interested in joining the Guardians of the Universe," the astrophysicist said, twisting Henry's fingers as he shook his hand.

"What's that? The secret handshake?" Henry joked back.

The only response he got was a snicker. Talk about awkward. In fact, you could describe the whole journey to Arkham the same way. Henry didn't want to divulge any further details about the firm he worked for. Mozzie was plainly bursting with questions about the trip, but Peter and Neal restricted themselves to only discussing events that Henry was already familiar with. Elizabeth was a calming influence, but that was because she was suffering from jetlag and slept most of the way to Arkham.

They rode back to Arkham in the largest limo he'd ever seen. There was plenty of room for the five of them to sprawl in the J-shaped configuration. When Elizabeth nodded off, Mozzie spent the rest of the journey lecturing him about parallel universes called branes. M-branes, A-branes, Z-branes—soon his brain was spinning with all the letters of the alphabet.

Science had never been his strong suit. Did he really want to spend his life with a bunch of eggheads? Henry liked his job because it wasn't a job. It was a set of invitations to adventures. He could pick the ones he wanted and make up the rules as he went along. The pay was great, the thrills were always there. Granted he hadn't experienced the excitement of being hauled off by a monster scorpion, and he had to admit the wormhole was pretty cool even if he couldn't see it very well. But how often could he expect that to happen?

When they arrived in Arkham, the driver first dropped the Gilmans off at their townhouse. The next stop was a couple of blocks away at a house large enough to qualify as a mansion where Neal rented the loft.

"I'll bring Henry by your apartment after we meet with Lavinia," Neal promised Mozzie as they got out.

Lavinia .... The name conjured up a scary English teacher who'd haunted Henry's days and nights in elementary school. Surely this one wouldn't be so bad.

No worry about night terrors from Neal's landlady June Harper. She greeted him like a member of the family and offered him the use of a guest bedroom, free of charge. Not that he intended to stay for more than a couple of nights. No matter what happened, Henry had to leave in a couple of days. He'd already promised his team he'd help on the Argentina job. The saving-the-universe gig would have to be on the back burner till then.

Neal asked if he wanted to get the test out of the way, and that was fine with him. He wasn't going to learn anything otherwise. They took off for the university campus, on foot no less. When Henry joshed him about it, Neal admitted he didn't own a car. Claimed he didn't need one. Who in their right mind doesn't want wheels?