“What the heck?” Lulu asked.
“I moved the tablet away from the base, as it clearly contains multiple sensors, both overt and hidden,” Roger said.
“Did you tap the screen?” Lulu asked.
“I did not, Lulu. The note is addressed to you and your brother. Rule number eight.”
She grunted. “I figured that one would be one of the first ones to go in perimeter defense.”
“Quite the contrary, Lulu. Most literature about surviving warfare suggests rule number eight to be of utmost importance. At least part of it.”
“What’s rule number eight?” Sam asked.
“Eh,” I said. “Basically, don’t pass your responsibilities on to others unless absolutely necessary.”
“I don’t get it. What the hell does that have to do with Roger…Ow! Fuck! Stop!”
“Rule number four. You have accumulated over forty corrections, Oliver friend number three. Be grateful I’m only meting out two.”
The chicken at Sam’s feet let out an outraged squawk.
“It’s okay, Betty Sue,” Sam said, rubbing his arm. “Don’t attack him. Yet.”
“Attack?” Axel asked, eyeing the chicken.
“Betty Sue?” Rosita asked at the same time.
Sam reached down to pet the thing. “I’m still trying to figure out what makes them magic. I think maybe they were attack chickens. This one keeps following me around. There’s no rooster, so I think she’s the group’s Lulu. But I can’t call her Lulu because the real Lulu would punch me.”
From the chair, Lulu grunted.
“How are you sure it’s the same one every time?” Rosita asked, also bending down to examine the chicken. Her camera buzzed in a circle around the chicken’s head.
“It’s the same one. Look at the cold, dead stare.”
I laughed. “How is an attack chicken a circus act?”
“I don’t know. How is Cindy being really, really fat a circus act? The banner Mr.Yanez had on his farm showed them all running toward something with glowing red eyes.”
“It is inadvisable to name this creature ‘Betty Sue,’ ” Roger said. “Betty Sue is the name of honeybee unit number 263, and you giving orders to this creature may cause confusion.”
“You don’t have any say when it comes to names,” Sam snapped at Roger.
“Holy sh…crud, can we get back to the space tablet, please?” Lulu said, indicating the screen. “You know, the one with the note from the people trying to kill us? Roger, will you activate it now that we are here?”
“I will,” he said. The drone moved a little closer to the tablet as it reached toward it with an arm. It gave the screen a little tap, and it woke up. A single button sat on the display under the Apex logo, a mountain with a star flare at the top. The button read, “Secure connection. Ready.”
“Do it,” Lulu said.
Chapter 23
The honeybee tapped the screen again, and a spinning icon appeared with a blinking “Please Wait.”
A woman’s smiling face appeared. She was in what appeared to be an office, and she had her hair up like she was going to a fancy ball. Behind her was a wall with a colorful mural depicting a spiral galaxy. Her name appeared under the image, and it said she was “Cordelia Black. Assistant to Eli Opel.”
“Eli Opel?” Sam said, exchanging a look with me. “Holy shit.”
Eli Opel was the head of the mercenary division at Apex. His official title was general supreme leader of Apex Command, which I thought was a little obnoxious. The man had once been the CEO of the gaming company Victus Wonderworks until Apex bought them. And now the man was running all of this.
