Secrets of Bearhaven (23 page)

Marguerite swept into the passenger car of the TUBE, a silver tray piled high with covered dishes balanced gracefully between her shoulder and paw. Spencer raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet, and nodded toward Ro Ro's cubs. She put the tray down on a side table and tiptoed over to where Spencer stood looking into one of the car's reclined seats. There the cubs lay snuggled together, fast asleep.

“Little darlings, they've had quite the time of it,” Marguerite whispered as she carefully pulled the segmented hood down. Clicking it into place, she closed the cubs into a pearly cocoon. “And you have, too, Spencer,” Marguerite said gently. “You should get some rest.”

Spencer sighed, exhausted. If he sat for even a minute on one of these cozy seats, he'd be asleep instantly, too, but he was determined to wait for Uncle Mark and B.D. to arrive with Ro Ro, no matter how late it got. He looked at Marguerite's tray. He didn't want to sleep, but he
definitely
wanted to eat. Marguerite chuckled.

“Okay, how about a rest
after
you eat?” she said, retrieving her tray before leading Spencer into the first car of the train.

Evarita looked up from her tea when they entered. “Not tired yet?” she asked Spencer, waving him over to join her.

“I have two sleepy cubs and one hungry one,” Marguerite chimed in. She slid her tray onto the table beside them and started uncovering and recovering dishes. Finding the two she was looking for, she placed steaming bowls in front of Spencer and Evarita. Spencer raised his eyebrows.

“What?” Evarita asked slyly as she lifted a heaping spoonful of macaroni and cheese to her mouth. She closed her eyes, savoring the bite. Microwavable mac and cheese was Evarita's favorite food.

“Your uncle has
that
stashed all around the train, too,” Marguerite said, eyeing the bright orange food suspiciously. Evarita blushed. Uncle Mark was a health nut. If there was microwavable mac and cheese on the TUBE, it sure wasn't for him. Not that Spencer was complaining. He scooped up as much as would fit on his spoon and shoveled it into his mouth. It was delicious. He wondered if it would be rude to ask for seconds already.

“Well, you two enjoy. If you need anything else, just holler. I'll be right next door.” Marguerite gave them a bright smile, then bustled away to check on the cubs.

“B.D. will be able to carry Ro Ro up the elevator shaft, right? With Uncle Mark's help?” Spencer asked through a mouthful of mac and cheese. “Even if she can't hold on very well?”

“Yes, I think so,” Evarita answered thoughtfully. “This sort of situation is why B.D. comes on the missions in the first place, Spencer. He's trained for things like—” Evarita stopped midsentence, her eyes focused on something outside the window. Spencer followed her gaze.

Uncle Mark was stepping out of the elevator onto the station platform, holding his backpack in one hand and a bundle of thick ropes in the other. With a smear of blood staining one sleeve of his shirt and the bottom half of his fake goatee missing altogether, he looked disheveled . . . and very serious. B.D. stepped out after him. Spencer jumped up.
Where's Ro Ro?
He sprinted out of the train.

“Where is she?” he demanded, hurtling onto the platform. His voice caught, a lump already rising in his throat.
I promised her!
He glared at Uncle Mark.

“Marguerite!” B.D. called, staying close to the elevator. Spencer rushed forward. B.D. held out a paw to stop him. “Ro Ro's lost a lot of blood and she's in pain,” he grumbled. “Don't startle her.” Spencer stepped carefully into the elevator.

Her eyes closed, Ro Ro was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall.

“Anbranda?”
Spencer growled softly. The bear's breath was labored, and she didn't open her eyes, but after a moment, she replied.

“Anbranda.”

B.D. and Marguerite stepped into the elevator. Marguerite motioned for Spencer to move aside. On the platform, Spencer watched Evarita roll a low, bear-sized gurney up to the elevator door just as Marguerite and B.D. were backing out with Ro Ro in their broad arms. They laid the injured bear on the gurney, then swung it around and headed onto the train.

Evarita and Spencer were left standing on the platform.

“She'll be okay, won't she?” Spencer asked. Evarita put her arm around his shoulder.

“She's lost a lot of blood, but I think she's going to be all right. Marguerite and B.D. will be able to stabilize her until she gets to Bearhaven, and then she'll get proper medical care and go to Pinky's for rehab.”

“Okay, good. Where's Uncle Mark?”

Evarita started walking toward the train. “He went to clean up. If Ro Ro needs stitches right away, he'll be able to do it. Come on, let's go wait inside.”

Uncle Mark joined them in the first car after a while. Goatee gone, he was dressed like the Uncle Mark Spencer knew so well, and he had three bowls clutched precariously in his hands. “Marguerite thought your food might have gotten cold,” he said, focusing on not dropping anything. He set fresh bowls of mac and cheese on the table, then sat down next to Evarita with a bowl of oatmeal and berries for himself.

Spencer reached gratefully for his food. “How's Ro Ro?” he asked.

“Her neck's scratched and sore, and the deep bite on her leg is the worst of it. It'll take some time, but she'll make a full recovery.” Uncle Mark sounded relieved.

“Marguerite's bandaging the leg now,” B.D. said, entering the car. “She'll get Ro Ro to sleep before she leaves her.” The weary-looking bear pulled the seat beside Spencer away from the table and sank into it.

“Before we know it they'll be fixing up Ro Ro in Bearhaven,” Uncle Mark finished.

Spencer gulped down a mouthful of mac and cheese. “And Margo?”

Uncle Mark shook his head. “No sign of her—or of Ivan. But we couldn't risk leaving the elevator shaft to look into it.”

“Mom and Dad aren't there,” Spencer rushed on. “I mean, I saw Mom, and she's not at Grady's.”

“Then how . . . ?” Evarita began, but didn't finish. Both she and Uncle Mark looked shocked.

“Go on, Spencer,” B.D. prompted, leaning in.

“I saw Margo on a video conference with a really creepy guy, Pam, who I think is the boss, and Mom came onto the screen.” The story started to pour out of Spencer. “She was serving the man tea, like she was a maid. It didn't really look like her. She's got an awesome disguise, and I know Margo didn't recognize her because she asked me when the last time I saw Mom was, even though she'd just seen her on the screen. So Margo's trying to find her. And Bearhaven. Margo tried to make me tell her about Bearhaven, too.” Uncle Mark opened his mouth to say something, but Spencer continued. “I didn't say anything, don't worry. And I memorized the creepy guy's face so that we can find him, because if Mom's there, then Dad's there, too, right?”

It took a moment for Uncle Mark to answer. “Yes,” he said. “We think so, yes.”

Marguerite opened the door and shooed the cubs into the car. Tripping over their paws, they scrambled over to stand between Spencer and B.D.

“They're a bit frantic, I'm afraid,” Marguerite explained, before switching off her BEAR-COM.

“Excuse me,” B.D. said, then switched off his own BEAR-COM. Spencer watched as the two adult bears growled gently in Ragayo to the cubs. It didn't matter that he couldn't understand what they were saying. B.D.'s demeanor softened, intent on calming the little bears. Marguerite drew
the cubs closer to her, letting them burrow into her fur as they listened to B.D.

Spencer thought of Mom and Dad and the way they called him their cub. A lump started to rise in his throat, but then his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a word he recognized.
“Anbranda.”
The cubs were looking up at him, calmer now.
“Anbranda,”
one said again.

“Anbranda,”
Spencer answered.

B.D. turned his BEAR-COM back on. “You did well tonight, Spencer. We were all very lucky to have you on the mission.” With that, B.D. left the car, the cubs trotting along behind him, and Marguerite followed them out.

“You were right, Spence,” Uncle Mark said after a moment. “We need your help to find your parents.”

Spencer pushed his bowl away.
I did it!
he thought.

“Does this mean you'll have peanut butter toast on the TUBE for the next mission?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Spencer woke up to the sound of snuffling coming from both sides of him, circling the closed hood of his seat. He smiled.
Sounds like the cubs are awake.
He pushed up the first segment of the hood. Immediately, two dark brown snouts poked in, sniffing rapidly. Spencer pushed the hood up the rest of the way and pressed the button to return his seat to its normal position.

One of the cubs scrambled up. The little bear tumbled around, smothering Spencer with soft fur until it settled in beside him. The other cub raced to the window and stood up on its hind legs to see over the edge.

I must have been asleep for longer than I thought!
Spencer realized happily. They were pulling into Bearhaven.

As they glided out of a tunnel and into the brightly lit station, Spencer could see that the platform was crowded with bears. The cub beside him kept his big brown eyes glued to the scene in the station and whispered something in Ragayo that Spencer didn't understand.

“Shala,”
Spencer replied, trying to reassure the cubs, but “safe” wasn't really what he wanted to say. What he wanted to say was “home.”

The TUBE whispered to a stop, and Evarita and Uncle Mark walked into the passenger car.

“Oh!” Evarita exclaimed. “You're up! We were just coming to wake you.”

“Yup, I'm—” Spencer started to answer, but all of a sudden the cub beside him decided that it was time to get down. Spencer was overtaken by a little storm of fur and flopping limbs as the bear awkwardly rolled out of the seat.

Uncle Mark chuckled. “Looks like you've made some new friends.”

Spencer stood up and brushed himself off. He grinned. Maybe having a few more friends in Bearhaven wouldn't be such a bad thing. Even if they
were
bears. Ramona and Cheng would never believe it.

Marguerite stepped into the passenger car. “Your welcome party awaits!” She winked at Spencer. As though on cue, the TUBE's doors hissed open.

Marguerite switched off her BEAR-COM and knelt at the window beside the cubs. She spoke to them in Ragayo as she pointed to things on the platform.

“Ready, Spence?” Uncle Mark asked, starting toward the door.

“Ready,” Spencer called.

Stepping out onto the platform alongside Uncle Mark and Evarita, Spencer scanned the crowd of bears. The maintenance team was already getting to work on the train, calling instructions down the length of the TUBE to one another. Up ahead, two Bear Guard members boarded the first car. Spencer guessed that they were off to do a security check, but he was disappointed to see that Aldo wasn't one of them. He turned
to look down the platform in the other direction, only to find that his view was blocked by a handful of bears in white vests.

“Paramedics,” Uncle Mark explained as the bears filed onto the train. “They'll take Ro Ro and the cubs to Pinky's.”

“Spencer!”

“Kate Dora Weaver! What did I tell you about running near the tracks!” Bunny's reprimanding mom voice echoed through the station. Kate ignored her.

Spencer turned to face the oncoming bear.
“Anbranda!”
he roared happily. As she got closer, Kate tried to slow down, but her paws slipped on the smooth platform and she started to slide. Spencer jumped out of the way just before she bowled him over. She slid to a stop at Uncle Mark's and Evarita's feet.

“You okay, Kate?” Uncle Mark asked, trying to hide his smile.

“Oh, yes! I'm fine!” the cub answered.

“All right, then!” Uncle Mark squeezed Spencer's shoulder as he and Evarita walked by. “We're going to catch up with the Weavers. We have a lot to discuss.”

After a few attempts, Kate got her paws beneath her. As soon as she did, Spencer gave her a huge hug.

“We did it?” Kate asked, sitting back on her hind legs.

“We did it! And I needed everything you helped me train for—the Bear Stealth and the Rescue Ragayo and the boulder rolling and the tech! And I climbed! I climbed up a huge elevator cable!” Spencer put his hand up for a high five, but Kate just looked at it. “Remind me to teach you how to high-five one of these days,” he said, dropping his hand. If Uncle Mark's contribution to Bearhaven was the TUBE, Spencer could at least bring the high five.

“Well, you better teach me
something,
after all of my hard work!” Kate said, headbutting him lightly. She looked around the platform, sniffing as she turned her head from side to side. “Is your mom here?” she asked. “I don't smell her . . .”

“No, she's not here . . .” He cleared his throat and looked back at Kate. “But I
saw
her, Kate. She's undercover and in such a good disguise that I almost didn't recognize her!” Kate's eyes widened. “She's spying on this really creepy guy who has my dad.”

“Really?” Kate whispered. “That's so cool . . . and so scary . . .”

“We're going to get them back. And Uncle Mark and B.D. said they need my help!”

“I told you I'd train you so well they couldn't say no!”

“You were right, Kate! Now, come on, I bet your mom wants to yell at me for sneaking onto the train.”

“You bet she does,” Kate said as they headed over to her family. “She hasn't let me play
Salmon King
since you left. Do you know how many times Jo-Jo and Winston got to play in the last
two days
? As many times as they wanted!”

Bunny rushed forward. “Oh, Spencer!” she gushed. “I've been so worried!” She looked him over. “Mark says you aren't hurt. You
aren't
hurt, are you, dear?”

“Bunny, the boy is fine, look at him,” Professor Weaver said warmly as he joined them. “Glad to have you back, son,” he said to Spencer. “I hear you really proved yourself out there. And then some.”

“WHAT?”
Kate squealed. “He's not in
trouble
?” Spencer shot her a look. She pretended not to see. “No fair,” she grumbled quietly.

Professor Weaver shook his head and smiled. Bunny ignored Kate altogether.

“Spencer, honey, are you hungry?”

“Yes, ma'am!” he replied.

“Well, then, why don't we all say our good-byes. It's about time we took you to Raymond's, isn't it? I think a celebratory dinner is in order!” Bunny looked at him happily, waiting for his reply.

“Uh . . . good-byes? To who?”

Uncle Mark and Evarita stepped into the circle, exchanging a sideways glance. “Sorry, Spence, I meant to explain before we got back to Bearhaven. I just didn't want to wake you, and now, here we are.” Uncle Mark looked at Spencer apologetically. “Evarita and I have to get back—”

“Back to Grady's?” Spencer interrupted.

“Back home. There's work we have to do to find your parents that we can't do from here. And now that we have your leads—”

“But, wait. What about me?”

“You're going to stay with the Weavers,” Uncle Mark said. “Evarita and I will video in for a council meeting in a few days. In the meantime, we'll look into some of the things you brought to light. By the time we speak with the council, we'll be ready to plan the next steps—”

Spencer opened his mouth to protest, but Professor Weaver cut in. “You'll be included in that council meeting, Spencer.”

“Oh,” Spencer said sheepishly. “Okay.”

“It'll just be a few days, Spence. A week at the most before we plan our next move with the council. With your parents gone, this is the safest place for you,” Uncle Mark finished.

“You can keep training here!” Kate exclaimed. Spencer looked from Uncle Mark to the Weavers. Kate was right. He
could
keep training here. In fact, Spencer had been planning on it. He just hadn't planned on Uncle Mark not being here with him. He sighed. If Uncle Mark and Evarita had to leave Bearhaven to help figure out how to bring his parents home, then Spencer wouldn't stop them.

“Okay,” he said. “If it'll help Mom and Dad.”

“Yes!” Kate cheered.

“We can stay a day or two more, if you'd like,” Evarita said, looking at Spencer with concern.

“No, that's all right. I think I'll go to Raymond's with the Weavers. And I want to visit Ro Ro and the cubs.”

“You sure?” Uncle Mark offered.

“Yup. I'm sure.” Spencer nodded. “I'll be fine, and we don't have any time to waste if we're going to get Mom and Dad away from Pam and Margo and Ivan.”

“We'll just be over here, dear, when you're ready. Bye, Mark!” Bunny sang, shuffling Kate toward the elevator. “Bye, Evarita! See you soon!” Professor Weaver waved good-bye and followed his wife.

Kate did a little dance. “Salmon nuggets, here we come!”

Spencer smiled, watching them go. Exploring more of Bearhaven didn't seem like such a bad way to spend the next few days. His stomach growled. Especially if he could start by exploring Raymond's menu. Besides, he had to train for his next mission.