Operation Phoenix

Chapter Fifty

"So, let me get this straight," said Tulio, a hand placed firmly on his hip. "They're staying safe and sound in the Lighthouse, while we're recruiting people down here?"

Miguel, Megara and Hercules shrugged nonchalantly, looking between each other with little protest. Miguel inwardly reasoned Tulio had always been like that, the one to voice his issues outwardly. He sent his comrades a sympathetic look, knowing they were uncomfortable with his rambling.

"Oh, suck it up." Hiro groaned, plopping himself down on a stained and dust-coated couch. "They, of all people need a break, probably for rest of their lives if you ask me."

Tulio made a sour face and crossed his arms, tapping his fingers tightly against his bicep. After Jack and Merida had kicked their way into the Lighthouse, Tulio and his gang ran as fast as they could downtown, where they met with an old friend. She'd ushered them into the back of her father's diner, where there was a room full of old boxes and furniture. They were to stay there until she got word out to the citizens that there would be a meeting. The sun was setting, and they'd watched Jack and Merida disappear behind them just a few hours ago.

"What are we even going to say to the people?" Miguel asked.

"What-why are you asking me?" Tulio questioned, his eyebrows pinching in defense.

"Well I don't know, you're the one with the plans."

"We tell them the truth." Toothania said rather loudly, to get the other's attention. "They deserve to know it."

"Frost is pretty set on the idea that they're going to believe us," Tulio grumbled as he gestured between him and Miguel. "But I'm not sure how far that'll go."

"It's a start." Hiro closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa, trying not to think about his family back at New World. He'd been avoiding the thoughts since they'd escaped, now they were biting at him more aggressively.

Megara had her arms crossed and was considering the possible outcomes when she remembered something. "Hiro, what did you give Jack before we left?"

Hiro opened his eyes and looked at her before sitting up again. He looked exhausted, and Meg suddenly felt bad for disturbing him. "It's a communicative gadget."

"A what?" Hercules questioner.

"A communicative gadget. See," upon saying what it was, the boy reached into his back pocket and retrieved another, one that was identical to the first. He revealed a sort of disk, rounded like the head of a mushroom but flat on one side. In the center of the curved side was a single, bright red button. "I didn't get a chance to tell him what it was. But you press it,—" the button suddenly lit up as he stuck his thumb into it. "—and it'll turn on. As soon as it starts up the other one will turn on too. Do any of you know Morse code?"

Tulio raised a finger, then gestured to Miguel. "We do. You're required to learn it during Runner training."

"Well, you just click it in Morse code and it can communicate with the other one." Hiro clicked it a few times, but ultimately decided to stop. He didn't want to alert Jack and send the man into a panic.

"But how?" Meg inquired, sitting next to him so she could look at it.

"It's basically its own radio, sending out its own frequency to the other device." Hiro gestured widely around the room, as if his explanation was obvious.

"Sending out its own fre-what's?" Herc laughed.

Hiro let out a long, irritated sigh. "over 100 years ago people creates radios. Things that sent out continuous waves of electromagnetic energy, basically photons that allowed communication through multiple vessels—other radios. Normally we'd need things like radio towers to manipulate how far the waves could reach, but the devices I made are radio towers in and of themselves."