Flight of the Hawk (2 page)

“Have you known him long, Henry?”

“Oh, yes. A very long time, sir. I’ve been in Mr. Hawkes’s employ for over fifteen years.”

“What’s he like? I mean, is he”—Andy twirled his finger around his ear—“you know, loony?”

“Whatever makes you ask such an odd question, sir?”

Andy shrugged. “Never mind. It was just something I heard. I could use a hot shower if you’ll show me to that room now.”

Henry led the way up to the second floor and opened a door. “Here are your quarters. I hope you’ll like them. Mr. Hawkes had it especially decorated for you … although neither he nor I was sure what things fourteen-year-olds might appreciate these days.”

“It’s great.” Andy glanced around the room. There was a king-sized bed and a walk-in
closet.
You could stick about thirty fourteen-year-old boys in here
, Andy thought.

“The bath is to your left. Would you like me to unpack for you, sir?”

“I can handle it. Thanks.”

“Very good, sir. Will you be needing anything else?”

Andy shook his head. “I can’t think of anything.”
Henry backed out the door, putting his hand on the knob. He paused and cleared his throat. “To answer your previous question, sir … no, he’s not.”

“Not what?”

“Not, as you put it, loony.”

Andy finished buttoning his shirt and sat down on the edge of the bed. The shower had made him feel better. For a while, it had even taken his mind off things—things like losing his parents and having to move away from his best friends to a place he’d never seen before.

He walked to the door and opened it. No one was in the hall. The elevator was just across from his room. He entered it and started to press the first-floor button.

But he hesitated. “I guess if I’m going to be stuck living in this museum, I might as well
see what the place looks like.” He pushed the third-floor button.

When the doors opened he peeked out. Before him was a long hall almost identical to the one on the second floor.

He stepped back inside and hit the fourth-floor button. The doors opened again to reveal a musty-smelling gray carpet and plenty of dust and cobwebs.

“Hmmm. I’d say the maid doesn’t get up here too often,” Andy mumbled.

A door at the end of the hall opened and Henry stepped out. He straightened his jacket and took a step toward the elevator. When he saw Andy, he jumped. “Oh my, Master Hawkes. You surprised me. I didn’t expect you to be up here.”

“I really didn’t expect to see you up here either, Henry. What’s in there?” Andy pointed at the room.

“In there?” Henry looked over his shoulder nervously. “Oh, supplies, you know. Things like that.” He stepped into the elevator. “Shall we go down? Your grandfather is back. He’ll probably be wanting to see you.”

Andy frowned and studied the door. “Isn’t the fourth floor an odd place to store supplies? I mean, it’s not exactly handy to the rest of the house.”

Henry pushed a button. The doors closed and the elevator started down. “Your grandfather told me to say that he regrets not being here when you arrived. Unfortunately he had a business meeting at the Hawkes corporate offices. Some sort of trouble in one of the laboratories.”

Andy forgot about the door for a moment. “What kind of company does my grandfather own?”

“It’s compan
ies
, actually. I believe most of them are of a scientific nature. But I’ll let your grandfather tell you more about that when he thinks the time is right.”

“Why hasn’t he ever wanted to meet me before?” Andy asked.

Before the chauffeur could answer, the elevator doors opened on the first floor and Henry stepped out. “If you’ll come this way, Master Hawkes. Your grandfather is waiting in the study.”

The only light in the gloomy study was a thin shaft that filtered in through a crack between the heavy velvet draperies. It took a few seconds for Andy’s eyes to adjust to the dimness.

“Come in, young man. Let me have a look at you.”

The crackly voice came from a dark corner. Andy turned to it. A bent old man with white hair and an equally white mustache sat in a wheelchair, his legs covered with a long rug.

Andy stepped forward. He looked down at the man but didn’t say anything.

The old man stared back. Finally he broke the silence. “Well, let’s get to it, son. I know you have a lot of questions. We might as well get things out in the open.”

“What’s the big secret up on the fourth floor?”

His grandfather’s eyes opened wide. A chuckle escaped his lips. “Here such a short time and you’ve already found us out? Don’t worry, we’ll talk about that later.” He studied his grandson’s face. “You’ve got the Hawkes looks—and disposition from the sounds of things. Is there anything else you want to know?”

“Yes, sir. Not that it makes any difference, but why haven’t I ever met you before? How come you never came around? Did you have some kind of problem with my dad?”

“No. I loved your father very much.” Andy’s grandfather cocked his head to one side. “Never take things at face value, son. Always look for what others might miss.”

Andy was confused. “I don’t understand.”

The old man pulled on a cord and Henry appeared at the door. “You rang for me, sir?”

“Yes, Henry, I did. I think we should let Andy in on our little secret. I’ve been keeping tabs on him through the years. My sources tell me he’s a smart boy, trustworthy and capable. And since he’s living here now we’d probably have a hard time hiding it from him anyway.”

“Whatever you say, sir.”

“Good.” Andrew Hawkes threw back the rug from his legs, straightened his back, and stepped out of the wheelchair. He was tall and distinguished-looking, and didn’t seem half as old as he had before. He winked at his grandson. “See what I mean, boy?”

“Not exactly.” Andy frowned. “Why do you pretend to be weak and sick if you’re not?”

“A necessary masquerade, my boy. For years a certain criminal element has been after my inventions. They will stop at nothing to get their hands on some of them. What these people haven’t figured out is that most of my inventions don’t come from my corporations and laboratories. They come from here.” He pointed at his head.

Andy looked over his shoulder at Henry. “I thought you told me he wasn’t—”

“What?” The older Hawkes laughed. “Crazy? That too is part of the charade. I had Henry start the rumor. If the world thinks I’m a little off my rocker, they won’t have a clue what’s really going on.”

“What is really going on?” Andy asked, shaking his head to clear it.

“Are there any servants lingering about, Henry?” Andy’s grandfather asked.

“None, sir. The gardener and cleaning service come tomorrow. At present we are alone.”

“Very good.” Andrew Hawkes rubbed his hands together. “Then let’s take Andy up and show him the backbone of Hawkes Laboratories.”

“What you are about to see could put you in great danger. You will have to be very careful from now on. If anyone suspects that you know what really lies at the heart of my success … well, let’s just say they wouldn’t think twice about hurting you.”

Henry fumbled with a key and then opened the door. He stepped aside so that Andy and his grandfather could go in.

“Wow. This room looks like it’s right out of a Frankenstein movie. It must cover the whole fourth floor.” Andy watched as a strange blue
light danced across an electric wire. He walked past some counters with beakers full of chemicals and stopped at a computer terminal. “Do you know how to work all this? It looks like the cockpit of a jet.”

“Not only do I know how, I’ve instructed Henry. He’s been an able assistant, although it is a little hard on him to be the cook, butler, chauffeur, secretary
and
lab assistant. If I had someone I could trust who was interested in learning …”

Andy scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I might be interested. But before I decide, tell me what kind of stuff you make up here.”

“Why don’t you show him, Henry?” Andrew Hawkes sat on a stool and waited.

Henry touched a button and the computer terminal came to life. He punched up a list. “If you want to know more about any of these items, just use the arrow keys.”

Andy studied the list. “Is there anything you haven’t invented? There’s everything from women’s makeup to radiation-free cancer treatments in here.” He turned in his chair. “But I still don’t understand. Why
would anyone want to take your inventions away from you?”

“I take pride in the fact that my inventions have always been used for the good of human-kind. But once I patent something, it usually makes a lot of money. The people who have tried in the past to steal my ideas are only interested in the money. Kingpins of the underworld have broken into my laboratories. They’ve made threats on my life … and on my son’s.”

“Wait a minute.” Andy sat back in his chair. He sighed heavily. “Are you saying that my parents’ deaths weren’t accidents?”

Andrew Hawkes’s voice was faint. “I don’t know. I did everything I could to distance myself from them to ensure their safety. But last week I received a letter. It simply said that I should start watching because someone was going to show me an example of how rough things could get if I refused to hand over my latest invention.”

“Did you go to the cops?”

“Not personally. I had Henry take the letter to the police station. Because of my reputation
they practically laughed him out of the building.”

“But we can’t let these people get away with it! There’s got to be something we can do.”

Andy’s grandfather ran his fingers through his hair. “I had the letter analyzed for fingerprints. There weren’t any. I also had my lawyer hire a private detective agency. So far they’ve found nothing.”

Andy was up early the next morning. He gobbled down the cereal and fruit Henry had waiting for him in the kitchen and ran to the elevator.

He found his grandfather already hard at work in the laboratory. Andrew Hawkes pointed to a white lab coat and goggles and Andy slipped them on. Then he watched as the older man carefully poured a green liquid with shiny gold flakes in it into a glass test tube. “There. I think I’ve finally found it. We’ll do the other tests later, but I’m pretty sure that’s it.”