“Just the letter on the block. Really,” Finn said.
“Uh-huh. Right. Now, there should be five of you. Where’s the other boy?”
Finn didn’t like how much Joe knew.
“Schedule says five of you. Where’s the fifth? Huh? Hiding somewhere? Like you two?”
“We weren’t hiding,” Finn said defiantly. “I told you, we were—”
“Yeah. I got that the first time.” He stepped closer. “Must be coincidence, all of you just happening to arrive early.”
“Don’t trouble your brain,” an annoyed Maybeck said. “You must have a microphone to go plug in or something.”
Finn scowled at him. Cool it!
“Stage manager would like to speak to you. Downstairs. We’ll go this way.” Joe College indicated the port side of the stage.
The strongman remained a few paces behind Maybeck, squeezing the boys between himself and his partner.
“Actually, we’re going to meet the girls. Wouldn’t want them to worry,” Finn said.
“Boys,” Philby said into Finn’s and Maybeck’s ears, “I can throw a breaker, killing the lights but not the presentation. Emergency lights will kick in. You might get a second or two.”
“We’ll make sure the girls join you. Trust me.” Joe had a hungry glint to his eye.
“Yes!” Maybeck said, a little loudly given the presentation taking place a matter of yards away. Finn saw his hand on his radio; Maybeck was signaling Philby.
The backstage went black.
Maybeck attacked the strongman, diving blindly into his legs and knocking him down. He drove an elbow into the back of the man’s neck, stunning his spine and briefly paralyzing him.
Finn had kept his eye on Joe, knowing it would be dark by the time he attacked. He shoved the guy, hoping to knock him down.
The emergency lights flashed, went dark, and came on again for good. As the sterile white light strobed like something on a dance floor, Finn saw Joe College halfway across the backstage area, just getting to his feet.
Had he done that? he wondered. In years past, when the other guys on the baseball team hit triples, Finn could only manage singles. He was fast and agile, but he wasn’t exactly muscleman material.
Had the guy taken off in the dark, slipped, and fallen? If so, why the look he was giving Finn—one of both anger and…respect?
Joe charged. Finn’s knees went to rubber. But as the lights flickered off and then on for good, Finn balled his fists and connected on an upswing with Joe’s chin. Joe looked like he’d hit a patch of ice.
“Sorry,” Finn said, forgetting himself for a moment.
He stared at his own hands. Did I do that?
Willa and Charlene appeared from the right, running frantically.
Maybeck lay faceup on the stage floor where he’d dived. Finn offered him a hand, and with one arm lifted Maybeck onto his feet. Reminded of his explosive swimming, Finn wondered what was going on. A spell?
“Quickly,” he said.
Maybeck looked dazed.
“I’m okay,” Finn said, thinking that was the source of his friend’s bewilderment.
“Piñata,” Maybeck said in a harsh whisper.
Just the one word: piñata.
* * *
The four Keepers passed behind the projection screen. The reversed image showed what the speaker called a “ceremonial arch.”
“Carved into the stones of the arch you can see pictographs and glyphs. These are an example of the ancient Mayan language, which is not dissimilar to glyphs found in Aruban caves. Historians and archeologists speculate that there was much trade and cross- cultural exchange within the Caribbean during the Mayan and Aztec dynasties.”
Finn led the team around to the far side, aware that their opponents would be fast on their heels. As they hurried, a close-up of one of the pictographs appeared on the screen, now fifteen feet high.
“This is janaab, the Mayan symbol for ‘flower,’” he said.
“Seriously? That’s number four!” Willa cried. As a group they arrived at stage left. “That’s the Mayan character I couldn’t find: flower! So it’s gold, island, cave, flower.”
Charlene said, “Gold island, flower cave.”
Her rearrangement of the words made it a kind of game; a game the boys weren’t interested in. Their attention was fixed on the backstage area, where Philby had restored the blue light.
The two zoned-out stagehands were up and moving.
“Island cave, gold flower.”
Both girls gasped and repeated the words in unison, voices rising in excitement: “Island cave, gold flower!”
* * *
Dixon appeared at the top of the stairs, blocking the stage-door exit. The other two, Joe College and the weightlifter, approached from backstage.