Eliot Strange and the Prince of the Resistance

37) Mr. Thomas Again

I guess 'ol Clementine truly believes I am going to shoot him because he puts his hands up again in a stop-don't-shoot-me motion as if he can stop a bullet with his bare hands. And just to make sure I don't, he says:

"Don't shoot. I came to tell you something before I go."

"Where you going?"

"I'm going to rescue your mother," he says as if it's his proudest moment. He straightens up and puffs out his chest a little.

"Ok," I say.

"And..." he leans in and whispers "I'm going with your dad."

"My dad? What? He's alive? He's here? " I look around. I lean out and scan the yard.

"No in town," he whispers. " He's a little worse for wear, but alive. Can you step outside? I need to tell you something else in confidence. I don't know what boy you have in there, but Eliot you know you really shouldn't trust everyone," says my lying neighbor who betrayed us all to save the woman he loves. "And your mom absolutely forbids boys in the house when she's away."

Ridiculous. My mom is not the boss of me. Not anymore.

I look back and tell Gus I'm ok, and that I'm just going to step outside for a minute. He nods back to me and points to his gun to show me he has my back.

I step outside. "Where did you find my dad?"

Mr. Thomas is still whispering, "I found him in town, near the explosion where I found the hat earlier. He was with the prince."

"What?"

"Yes, he found the prince. The prince was looking for you, and your dad found him."

The prince was looking for me - is all I can think. This thought completely replaces any joy, or at least curiosity, I have about the miraculous resurrection of my dad. Before I can ask a question, Mr. Thomas puts a piece of paper in my hand. "It's from your dad. He'll be waiting for you. He wants to see you before he goes."

Goes? Goes where? He just got here. I open the note it says:

          Boo Boo,

          You know what to do.

                   Dad

The note is in block letters and could have been written by anyone, except for the Boo Boo part. Dad's nickname for me is Boo Boo Bear. And my dad never wrote in cursive, he always block printed. If Mr. Thomas knew my dad, would he know these things? Probably? Is this a trap? Maybe. But why? Why would someone want to trap me?

I don't trust Mr. Thomas. If my dad is not alive, I am going to shoot Clementine for sure.

I cannot think clearly, and I am distracted by word of Torin. Except he's Jack now? Mr. Thomas did say he didn't know the difference. Mr. Thomas is looking behind me, and I turn and catch a glimpse of Gus at the window. He has my back. I nod in his direction to let him know I'm ok. I wave him away, and he steps back from the window.

"Well, I don't know who you got in there, but your mother is going to be upset with you, Eliot. Is it your friend, that Steven boy?"

"Yes," is all I say because it is my business who I have in my home. "Is Torin with my dad?"

Mr. Thomas peeks behind me and nods once.

I can't believe it. He came looking for me. My prince came looking for me. I am smiling at Mr. Thomas like the village idiot. I am so happy, I don't even think to ask more questions about my dad. And, I am not even mad that Torin/Jack is still lying to me.

"One more thing," Mr. Thomas says as he turns to walk away. "Lancaster. I don't know what first name he is using, but if you run into a Lancaster, he's dangerous. He's a part of One Nation. He's one of them."

One of them? Gus's dad is one of them. That must just be a coincidence. He is a proper English gentleman, and besides, he has the prince already. I decide to tell Gus this news. If his dad is a traitor, Gus needs to go save the prince.