Free The Never War by D.J. MacHale

millions of people. This is so far out of our league, it’s not even funny.”
    â€œSo when does it all happen?” he asked.
    I had to stand up and pace, hoping it would rattle loose some factoids I might have picked up somewhere.
    â€œI don’t know the dates. But it wasn’t all of a sudden. There was a buildup. The wheels were definitely turning by 1937 but I don’t think it got to be a full-blown war until almost 1940. Guys, this sounds exactly like something Saint Dane would stick his nose into, and we are way over our heads.”
    Gunny had been listening quietly. It must have been tough for him to hear that the world was about to be turned upside down again. Finally he said, “Don’t be so sure about that.”
    â€œAre you crazy?” I shouted back at him.
    â€œThink about it,” Gunny argued innocently. “We know the war is coming, and we know Saint Dane is here to cause trouble. It all sort of fits. Our job might be to stop this war from happening.”
    â€œThat’s impossible!” I shouted. “There’s no way the three of us could stop something so big.”
    â€œMaybe,” Gunny said thoughtfully. “Or maybe we’re thinking about it the wrong way.”
    â€œGunny,” I said patiently. “It’s a world war. Airplanes. Guns. Bombs. Soldiers. Millions of soldiers. We’re two kids with big underwear and a tall guy in a fancy suit. I don’t mean to sound negative, but I’m thinking Saint Dane may have picked a winner here.”
    Gunny nodded thoughtfully. “I hear you. There’s no way in heaven we could stop something like that once it got going.But the thing is, what if it’s only a little thing that gets it going in the first place?”
    â€œExplain that, please, mate,” said Spader.
    â€œI’m saying that you never know what leads to what. There might be a little old something that happens that seems like nothing at first, but it might lead to something else, and that leads to something else, and so on and so on until you find yourself in the middle of a big old war.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œDon’t ‘but’ me so quick, shorty,” Gunny interrupted. “Think about it first.”
    â€œOkay,” I said, forcing myself to stop hyperventilating. “You’re thinking there might be something small about to happen, that’s going to start a chain reaction that will lead to World War Two…and we have a shot at stopping it?” I asked.
    â€œMaybe.”
    â€œYou’re dreaming!” I shouted.
    â€œI might be, at that,” Gunny said. “But I know we’re here for a reason. I also know that Saint Dane is here, somewhere. From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t show up just to sightsee.”
    â€œHe’s right, mate,” exclaimed Spader. “What if Saint Dane is here to make sure something happens that leads to the big war? Or what if he’s trying to make the war into something bigger than it was going to be already? Hobey, if we find out what it is, we could make sure it doesn’t happen.”
    I wanted to believe it was possible. I really did. But it just seemed too incredible. The idea that we could do something to stop the worst war in history was a total fantasy.
    â€œIf you’re right,” I said, “and I’m not saying you are, then it would have to have something to do with the gangsters Saint Dane sent to the flume to kill Uncle Press.”
    â€œNow you’re thinking!” Gunny exclaimed. “If we find aconnection between those thugs and what’s brewing overseas, I’m guessing it’ll lead us straight to Saint Dane.”
    The three of us looked at each other. Was that it? Was our mission to figure out how Saint Dane was using some gangsters in New York to cause World War II?
    â€œIt sounds crazy,” I said. “But one thing is for sure: Whatever Saint Dane is