“Where did you get it?”
“Uncle Bleys.”
“He gave you that?”
“Well, he wasn’t using it.”
“So you took it?”
“I’m using it when he’s not.”
“So what you’re trying to say is that you stole it?”
“No, I am absolutely not saying that I stole it. I‘m just using it for the race and then I‘m going to return it.”
“So you’re stealing and cheating?”
“No I’m not! How am I cheating?”
“So you admit you stole it then?”
“No!” Riley blows her bangs out of her face in exasperation and glares at Cole.
Spence walks in, looks at the two of them, almost turns around and walks back out, but seems to change his mind.
“What’s going on?”
“Riley wired a fusion reactor powered engine onto the back of her go-cart so she could win the race.”
“That sounds dangerous,” Spence muses as he arches an eyebrow at his little sister.
“It’s cheating,” says Cole sounding annoyed.
“It is not, is it, Spence? The rules don’t say anything about not putting a fusion powered engine on your cart. I read them carefully,” Riley says proudly.
Cole snaps, “This shadow hasn’t invented fusion power yet and that’s why it isn’t mentioned in the rules. You are cheating…and we‘ll let Uncle Bleys decide if you‘re stealing or not.”
“All’s fair in love and war, Cole. You know that,” says Spence evenly.
“This isn’t war, Spence! It’s a go-cart race sponsored by the local neighborhood and she’s only twelve. She needs to learn about morals and values, not love and war.”
Spence says, “Since when did twelve become too young to learn about war?”
Riley moves over near Spence and smiles defiantly at Cole.
Cole kicks the tire of the cart and says, “I’m calling Dad. We’ll let him decide if you can drive the damn thing in the race.”
Spence shrugs and Riley looks upset, tears beginning to glisten in her eyes.
“Dad’s supposed to be drilling with the troops in Berkshire,” she says lamely.
“I’m sure he won’t mind,” Cole says, knowing that Benedict will mind, but willing to suffer his wrath in order to set Riley straight.
Cole begins to concentrate on a trump of his father.
Riley begins to sniffle. Spence looking awkward steers her away from Cole and toward the go-cart as he tries to distract her.
“Have you had a chance to test the tech in this shadow yet? Why don’t you show me how it works, huh?”
Riley perks up immediately, “Okay! Great idea.”
Seconds later she is in the cart, tapping at buttons and rattling off high tech explanations of this and that to Spence.
Cole pulls his father through just as he hears Riley say, “You want to see me take it for a spin?”
Benedict turns as Spence says, “Sure.”
The engine itself is soundless, but the breaking of the sound barrier as the blue and yellow go-cart streaks out of the bay in a flash of light is thunderous…although not as earth shatteringly loud as the screeching noise it makes as it manages to rip a hole in the shadow and cross over into the unknown.
Spence says, “Oh shit.”
Cole shakes his head in stunned silence.
Benedict glares at both of the men as he asks, “What the HELL just happened?”
Both men start out simultaneously with apologetic tones as they say, “Well, Riley…”
Benedict sighs exasperatedly and holds up his hand, “Enough said. Spence try trumping her. Cole, make sure no one gets near that rupture. I’m going to see if I can get one of the redheads out here to try to fix this damn hole.”
Benedict begins shuffling through his trumps.
Cole begins heading over toward the rent that has been torn in the very fabric of the shadow itself, thinking to himself that Riley must not have pilfered your average fusion reactor from their redheaded uncle.
He calls out over his shoulder, “Ummm, Dad? You might want to try Aunt Fiona or Uncle Brand first.”
Benedict looks up from the card he was just starting to concentrate on and looks like he’s about to ask Cole something when he apparently changes his mind and just shakes his head.
He shoves the card he had been about to use to the bottom of the deck and unhappily pulls out another one grumbling, “That girl is going to be the death of me.”