Heavenly Returns Read online

  I think we both knew that was a lie, but I appreciated her pep talk. “You’re the best.”

  She gave me a huge smile. “So you keep saying.”

  As I watched her fly away, I felt grateful I had someone who believed in me so much. With Gram away in Senior Heaven, it was like she knew I needed a new cheerleader. She should win the best guardian angel for eternity award.

  I leaned against the three-story brick building and waited for Celery and Austin to arrive. It felt strange to be back in this part of New Life City again. The broad, tree-lined boulevard had gone through quite the transformation since the last time I’d been here. The trees had lost most of their leaves, as if winter had descended on Heaven.

  The huge bronze sign that declared, Mr. Pollor’s Out of this World Emporium now hung sideways, having lost one of the bolts holding it to the large brick building. Below the sign through the large, cracked picture window, still sat several rows of shelves and a case full of all kinds of space-age toys any boy would love to own. Except they were covered in a heavy coating of dust, which continued the wintery theme.

  The flutter of wings signaled Celery and Austin’s arrival. They hopped off the back of their angels and ran up to meet me. Celery’s face, rimmed with sweat, had turned her bright green hair a forest green. She pulled off a backpack. “I grabbed everything I could think of we might need.” She untied the top. “I snagged two ray guns, a butcher knife, and a rope.” She held out a Godiva chocolate bar. “In case we need a fix.”

  I laughed. “You’ve thought of everything.”

  Austin looked down at his hands. “Sorry, I didn't bring any weapons. Hope an extra body will help.”

  “Sure will, Austin.” Celery handed me a ray gun. “Thanks, you must be psychic. I forgot mine.”

  She smiled. “No problem. So what’s the plan?”

  Good question. I’d been so afraid for my father that my mind had lost all focus. I’d better come up with one quick. I looked down at the GPS. “He’s inside the Emporium. Let’s spread out. I’ll go in the side window, you and Austin head in the back. Be careful. Even though the GPS shows he’s alone, Palmer’s men might have figured out a way to block their signals.”

  Celery nodded. “Got it.” She tapped her earpiece. “We’ll meet you in the middle. If I see any men I’ll give you a head’s up.”

  I watched as they hugged the building and darted down the alley. If anything happened to them I’d be responsible. I better find father first. Moving to the side of the building, I gently budged the window open. It let out a high-pitched whine as I pushed the sash to the top. I slid across a case full of Alice in Wonderland dolls and several dainty tea sets. On the far wall hung a familiar selection of Mad Hatter hats. But the astronaut helmets I spied the first time I’d visited the store were gone. Did Palmer and his men take them to use on the spaceship? No time to think about how close they were to heading to Earth. I had to rescue Father.

  Moving slowly through the store so I wouldn’t knock anything over, I pushed the storage room door open. By the looks of the GPS, Father must be in the large warehouse behind the store. I held my ray gun high and took a deep yoga breath. The door creaked open and on the other side stood shipping boxes full of crayons stacked three deep. Strange. They weren’t here before. What would someone do with that many crayons? A low, rumbling noise spread from the far side of the room and the ground began to shake. Being from California, instinct drove me toward the doorway. I just missed getting hit by a stack of crayon boxes as they tumbled to the floor. What the heck? Was that an earthquake? Felt like a 3.0.

  A chill ran up my neck. Father could be hurt, I needed to find him. I checked the GPS and he had moved, just a few feet. I raced through the back of the store to the warehouse.

  Celery called out when she saw me. “T, we’re over here.”

  Leaping over a small plastic container, I headed straight for her voice. Celery stood next to a large wooden box the size of a refrigerator. “Are you okay? That tremor was scary.”

  “I’m good.” I brushed some dirt off my jeans. “What did you find?”

  Celery crouched down next to Austin as he pushed with all his strength, trying to pry the box off the floor. She let out a gasp as Austin lifted the corner of the box. “T, your father…”

  I bit my lip, afraid to know the truth. “Is he okay?”

  She couldn’t look me in the eye. “I don't think so.” Celery pulled a purple hoodie out from under the box and handed it to me. Blood stains covered the left side of the hood. “I’m sorry, T.”

  I clutched the hoodie to my chest, fighting back tears. “He could still be alive.” I ran my hand over the sticky bloodstain. Could it be the last part of my father I would ever touch? No. It can’t end like this. Then my finger hit something small and metallic stuck in the seam of the hood. I pulled it out and showed it to Celery and Austin. “This must be the GPS chip. He’s still alive!”

  Celery took the hoodie from my hand. “Palmer’s men must have left it here to throw us off.”

  Austin put the box back down on the floor. “This is actually good news. I know your father is still alive. Palmer wouldn't go through the trouble to fool us if your father was dead.”

  He was right. I wiped away a tear.

  Celery stashed her ray gun back in her pocket. ‘We’ve got to find him, but how?”

  I clicked on my earpiece. “Mr. X, Palmer tricked us. Father isn't here. Only the GPS chip. What do we do now?”

  “Come to the Temple. We will find him.”

  “Mr. X, did you feel that earthquake?”

  “I’m afraid I caused the tremor when I turned on the de-humidifier. Be careful, there may be more.”

  “Okay, we’ll be there ASAP.” I motioned to Celery. “We need to get to the Temple of Truth, Mr. X has a plan. He warned me there may be more earthquakes, so we should be safe there.”

  Celery tucked father’s stained hoodie into her backpack. “We’ll find him, I’m sure of it. Palmer isn't as clever as he thinks.”

  My father thought the same thing and look what happened. But I gave her a weak smile. “I’m sure you’re right. Let’s book it to the Temple and whip up a plan to kick his ass.”

  She gave me a high-five and we raced out the back door of the warehouse and down the alley. Dodging a few fallen signs and toppled trashcans, we hit the main boulevard. The street had a few new cracks, but nothing we couldn’t navigate. All the tree leaves fell to the ground creating strange, faded green confetti carpet on the asphalt. The team walked quickly down the street in case an aftershock hit. I motioned to an alley I’d used before. “This is a great shortcut.”

  Celery sucked in a breath. “Don't you think it’s weird there is no one around?”

  I’d been so absorbed about rescuing father I never even noticed. “Maybe the tremor scared them and they are all hiding inside.”

  She shook her head. “No, something feels really wrong.” She pulled her ray gun out of her pocket. “Let’s take cover.”

  Austin tugged on my sleeve and pointed to the building at the end of the block. “Taylor, look!”

  There stood a massive electronic billboard with an image of my father chained to a steel pillar. Palmer stood next to him holding a small oval shaped object up for everyone to see—the explosive my father never had a chance to use. My horror only grew when I read the electronic banner that scrolled under my father’s feet. Taylor Anderson, if you want your father to live, you must turn yourself in to me in front of the Ministry of Celestial Events at T-minus 13:00 today.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Fake Me

  It felt comforting to be sitting crossed-legged on the Persian carpet in the palace living room—my father’s favorite place. But it didn’t soothe my rattled nerves, so I took a series of deep yoga breaths. In three hours I was going to turn myself over to Palmer. Or at least it had to appear that way. Mr. X was frantically working on a solution.

  In the meantime, I’d been trying
to do damage control after Palmer blasted the news all over Heaven that the One and Only was actually my father and not the Boss of Heaven. To calm the people of Heaven down I had the angels fly in formation over New Life City spelling out; Don’t Believe the Words of Evil. Believe in The One And Only. When Austin asked about who my father was I told him the billboard was all lies. Just Palmer stirring the pot as usual. My father was alive back on Earth. He seemed to believe me—for now.

  Mrs. Schwartz barged into the living room, interrupting my tranquil moment. She took her promise to my father very seriously and never left me alone for very long. She even went so far as to set up a cot outside my bedroom. I stuffed back a laugh when I caught her wearing pajamas with bunnies frolicking on a pink background, and a pair of matching slippers with ears neatly placed next to the cot. Having my afterlife coach in residence did have its benefits. I finally knew the answer to one of Heaven’s biggest mysteries. How did the Helmet stay so perfectly coiffed? Mrs. Schwartz slept with the Helmet encased in a wide elastic band like the ones people put around their waist to lose weight.

  Mrs. Schwartz hovered over me. “Mr. X needs to see you right away.”

  I reluctantly uncrossed my legs and stood up. “Okay, I’ll call Sabrina.”

  The Helmet listed slightly back and forth as she shook her head. “No need to bother your guardian. To save time, Mr. X will use the transporter device.”

  My earpiece clicked on. Mr. X said, “Taylor, are you ready? Do you have everything you need? We have a lot of work to do.”

  “Sure, not like it’s the first time I’ve been folded into a pretzel.” I turned to Mrs. Schwartz. “You don’t trust me, do you?”

  She smirked. “I remember the debacle with the ringed dress from the Cloud Nine Contest.”

  She would have to mention that screw up. So I became a ghost for a little bit. No biggie. “Right. Point taken.”

  A strange prickly sensation spread through my body as a high-pitched hum grew louder. Instead of feeling like I’d been folded into an origami animal as usual, I just felt a little lightheaded. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was standing in Mr. X’s lab. I blinked twice when I saw myself standing on the other side of the room. “What’s going on? Is that some kind of ginormous mirror? That’s your big plan to foil Palmer?”

  Mr. X cracked a smile. “As a matter of fact, it is. Meet your hologram. I call her Quiet Taylor.”

  Was he trying to say I talk too much? “It’s a bit freaky to look at myself and know it’s not a reflection.”

  Mr. X laced his long fingers together. “It’s going to get even more unsettling.”

  Uh oh, that didn't sound good. “Why? Is she going to start talking?”

  He let out a high-pitched noise. “No, I named her quiet for a reason. I haven’t perfected the voice activation yet.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  He motioned for me to stand in front of the hologram. “I need to calibrate her to mimic your movements. Stand in front of the hologram and walk in place.”

  I did what he asked. Prickles formed on my arms as I stared at the fake version of me. It was like standing in front of a mirror that went on forever. Something happened the longer I walked in front of her. Just like in the green screen simulations I’d seen on TV where the actors were hooked up to electrodes to capture their motions, the hologram began to act more and more like me. Her image grew denser, and soon she mimicked my every move. Her auburn hair swung back and forth to the same rhythm as mine. I went from fascinated to creeped out in seconds. “Mr. X, can I stop now?”

  He jotted a few notes down on his tablet. “Take a moment to rest. Then I need you to run for me. Be sure to look natural.”

  Right. Like I ran in place every day. But I sucked it up and picked up my speed to a run. Just like before, my double’s arm and leg movements lagged a few seconds behind mine. Almost like I pushed a slow motion button on a video camera. But after a minute, she followed my movements precisely.

  Mr. X looked pleased. “Very good. Now we need to work on synchronizing her lip movements.” He handed me a paper. “Now read this.”

  “I am here as you asked. Please release my father to me.” The hologram mouthed the words like bad lip-syncing on a foreign film. “Mr. X, this isn’t the way I talk.”

  He stopped writing on his tablet. “All right. Then say it as if you were standing in front of Palmer.”

  “Release my father now or I’ll nuke your ass.” The hologram followed my lips much closer this time.

  Mr. X shook his head. “You wouldn’t say that would you?”

  “Probably.”

  He clicked a button and the hologram faded away. “I think we are as ready as we can be in the limited time I’ve had to prepare.”

  Part of me actually missed the fake Taylor. “I hope Palmer falls for it.”

  Mr. X put down the tablet. “For your sake, I hope so too. Or you will have to turn yourself over to Palmer.”

  ***

  The moment of truth arrived. Time to put the hologram to the test. Once again I sat on the sidelines, unable to help with the mission. But this time I’d insisted on being nearby. Plus Mr. X wanted to make sure if something went wrong with the hologram I’d be able to step in to save my father. Celery and one of my father’s officers stood waiting for the hologram to appear. To try and stay out of sight, I dressed in a grey top and pants as a form of camouflage. I took up position on the roof of the building directly across from the Ministry of Celestial Events headquarters.

  Palmer, dressed in a flashy silver-grey metallic suit, stood with five men flanking him on either side. He had my father hidden inside the building trying to build the suspense. He still acted like he was on the stage of The Cloud Nine Contest putting on a show for TV. Everything to him was all about grandstanding.

  Mr. X was inside the Celestial Jewels store putting last minute tweaks on the hologram program. The fake Taylor needed to be as convincing as possible if we wanted to save Father. As a backup, I pulled a video camera out of my backpack and placed it on the roof. I aimed toward where I would be standing. Mr. X could see my moves and reactions and make sure the fake me was following my moves correctly. Then I put on a headset so that I could respond to Palmer when he spoke to the hologram.

  One of Palmer’s guards glanced in my direction and I crouched down behind the concrete roof façade. I felt like a complete coward. My brave father faced Palmer head on. Instead, I hid behind a fake. Mrs. Schwartz told me Father would never want me to jeopardize my life for his. That’s why we were using the hologram. I still felt like it was a copout of epic proportions.

  It was too late to change the plans now so I focused my binoculars on Palmer as he signaled one of his men by the ministry door. I looked at my watch. T-minus 13:00—show time.

  Two men stood on either side of Father as he staggered out the massive door of the ministry. The side of his head was caked in blood where they removed the implant. Although he had only been Palmer’s prisoner for a little over eighteen hours, he looked like he had been captive for weeks. I shouldn’t have been surprised after seeing what he did to Austin; still it made me sick to my stomach to see Father so weak and vulnerable.

  The gilded door of the Celestial Jewelry store opened and out walked Celery next to one of my father’s top officers. Celery wore a matching military dark blue suit with the insignia of the Katran royal command. She looked like a total badass. Right behind them came the fake me. She walked a bit too far up on her toes but I doubted Palmer would notice. Mr. X had put her in my usual uniform of a black T-shirt and skinny jeans. I’d never realized until I saw it on the fake version of me why I loved the outfit so much. My hair looked stunning against the dark background.

  Fake Me walked forward until she was standing between Celery and the officer. Palmer stood fifty feet from the hologram. He had no clue I wasn’t actually standing in front of him. Palmer signaled he wanted to speak. “The conditions of the exchange are as foll
ows. Taylor, you will move forward unaccompanied until you are twenty paces from me. I will have Blaine and my man move your father the same distance.”

  The hologram slowly walked closer to Palmer. Would he be fooled when it stood right in front of him? I circled my birthmark trying to calm down. It was like watching the lead in a scary movie as the killer snuck up behind them to cut their throat.

  Palmer put up his hand like a stop sign. “That’s close enough.” He motioned for Blaine and one of his men to bring my father the same distance. Palmer clasped his hands together. “I have up held my end of the bargain.”

  He always tried to get the upper hand. Not this time. I had to come out strong to convince Palmer the hologram was real. I positioned the headset mic in front of my mouth and crossed my fingers the hologram would be able to keep up. If not, our trick would be exposed and Father would die. I took a deep breath and tried to sound like I was Palmer’s equal.

  “On what planet do you think I would fall for that kind of a deal? No way. I want to make sure my father isn’t on the verge of death before I will hand myself over to you.”

  He did his usual chest puffing routine. “I dictate the rules, not you.”

  Good, he really thought it was me. I turned on my heels and the hologram followed suit. “Then were are done here.”

  It broke my heart to turn my back on my father, but I had no choice. I needed to show Palmer I wasn’t afraid of him.

  He cleared his throat. “All right. I will release him.”

  Palmer must want me very badly to give me the advantage. I was the key, he’d said, but to what?

  The officer raced to Father’s side. He slung Father’s arm across his shoulder and they walked slowly toward the hologram. At first Father had no idea he wasn’t standing in front of his daughter. But as he moved closer, his eyes grew wide. Father knew something was wrong when he couldn’t read my mind. Thankfully, Father played along as he stood next to the hologram. “Taylor, please don't do this.”