Free Chameleon by Cidney Swanson

dear,” here he looked at Mickie, “but he always intended it to raise me from inaction.”
    “I don’t understand,” said Mickie.
    As we waited for his response, the old man pressed fingers to the corners of his eyes. Tears?
    “I have been a selfish creature. As bad, in my own way, as my cousin. Helmann acted according to principles, however diseased. I have rarely been led to action by my own principles. Pfeffer believed that I needed a reminder as to why I should act against my cousin. The experiments recorded in that journal are intended to, how do you say … light a blaze beneath my derrière .”
    “So, if the man keeping the journal was Helmann,” began Will, “What was up with all the kid–torture? Sam thinks he was trying to create some kind of Special Forces.”
    “An astute guess.” Sir Walter nodded at me. “Conditions in Germany during the Second World War allowed Helmann the opportunity to raise from infancy an especially loyal group of followers, some of whom serve him to this day.
    “At the war’s end, I rescued Pfeffer from Helmann’s abandoned compound. Pfeffer was a child of ten years. Girard had already taken four of his favorite children to South America once it became clear Germany would lose the war. Of those who remained imprisoned, only Pfeffer and two girls were still in health when I arrived. I placed the girls, who were not chameleons, with kind German families. Pfeffer, I raised myself. It was clear to me even then that he had chosen a different path from my cousin.”
    “So Pfeffer did grow up with those kids,” Will said. “Like Sam thought.”
    “Unbelievable,” said Mickie. “But, wait—Pfeffer wasn’t a chameleon. He would have told me.”
    Sir Walter looked thoughtful. “He must have decided it was not in the best interest of your safety to know that of him. Yes, he was a chameleon. But he did not choose to live as one. This was one of our great disagreements. Some thirty years ago, Pfeffer began to take the Neuroprine drug to counteract his abilities.”
    I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
    Sir Walter continued. “However, he monitored the drug’s effects upon mice so that he would know if one day Girard decided to destroy the gene pool of potential chameleons through the use of a tainted drug.”
    “Why wouldn’t Pfeffer want to maintain his ability to ripple?” I asked.
    “We argued constantly over his choice to deny his true nature as a chameleon. He told me there was no choice—that for him, the ability was tied to Girard, that is, Helmann, and his aims. He chose to live an ordinary lifespan as a distillation of his rejection of his father.”
    “You just said his father .” Mickie’s face turned ashen.
    “Ah, yes. But more of that later.” Sir Walter gestured to the clusters of students arriving at the bus.
    Mick wasn’t about to quit asking questions. Lowering her voice, she herded us away from the bus. “Okay, listen, Sir Walter. The history lesson was nice and all, but what we’re really here for is to fight Helmann, right? And I for one would like to start as soon as humanly possible.”
    Sir Walter regarded her with amusement. “Indeed, I thought you were here,” he gestured towards the students, “to learn about La Belle France . Unless your school system provides such opportunities on a regular basis?”
    Mickie fumed. “Oh, come on. You know what I mean. I’m not here to learn about France.”
    “How charmingly Américaine, ” said Sir Walter, looking anything but charmed.
    Mick scowled.
    “I shall have completed my translation of the black book by morning,” said the French gentleman in cool tones. “I will provide copies for each of you to examine as you travel tomorrow.”
    “My sister meant no disrespect, Sir Walter,” said Will, glancing at his sister like she might contradict him. “It’s just that we’ve come a long ways to meet you, and we were hoping, especially after that video you sent, to do something a little