Free Deviant by Adrian McKinty

said.
    â€œNo, not yet, but my dad works at NORAD.”
    â€œReally? NORAD? He ever see any UFOs? I hear they track lots of UFOs there all the time,” Bob said.
    â€œHe’s not allowed to talk about it,” Tony said happily.
    â€œYou’re one of the prisoners?” Danny asked Bob, feeling both horrified and also a little bit impressed. He’d thought Bob was a warden or a foreman or something.
    â€œYup,” Bob said.
    â€œIs this your boy, Walt?” one of the other convicts asked. A big guy with a beard and a New York accent.
    â€œYes, this is my son, Danny,” Walt replied.
    â€œNo, I’m not,” Danny muttered inaudibly.
    â€œSo, Danny, how was your first day at school?” Walt asked.
    By now Danny’s cheeks were burning. His father worked with criminals. Tony’s father worked at NORAD. The criminals were talking to Tony. There was a man guarding them with a shotgun.
    â€œIt was OK,” Danny said.
    â€œI remember my first day at school—many first days at many schools—it’s always a bitch … oh, ’scuse my French, young lady,” Bob said.
    â€œDon’t worry about me,” Tony said.
    â€œYou’re in Danny’s class?” Walt asked.
    â€œYes, we live opposite you,” Tony said.
    Walt turned to Bob. “These kids are at Cobalt Junior High. It’s a charter school, supposed to be one of the best in the country,” he said with pride.
    Bob nodded. “Yeah, I know the place … or rather, I know of it. I’ve never actually been to Colorado Springs, despite living here for the last five years,” Bob said, and winked at them.
    â€œHow do you know about it?” Tony asked.
    â€œThere’s still a gigantic Tesla coil in there, isn’t there? One of the biggest in the country. I don’t think they’ve taken it out,” Bob said.
    â€œOh, that thing. Yeah, it’s still there in the science room. It looks weird. Our science teacher, Mr. Burke, loves it,” Tony said.
    â€œWhat’s a Tesla coil?” one of the other men asked.
    â€œUh, we should probably be heading on now. We’ve got
Oliver Twist
to read and I’m real excited to see if he manages to get more gruel,” Danny said.
    Walt nodded. “Oh yeah, of course, homework … and actually, you know, we should be getting back to it, right, Vern?”
    â€œI suppose so,” Vern said unenthusiastically.
    The men nodded and grunted in agreement.
    â€œBye!” Bob and Walt said almost simultaneously.
    â€œBe careful on the roads,” Walt said.
    â€œBe better than careful,” Bob said. “Be smart.”
    â€œBye,” Tony replied.
    Danny said nothing. He led Tony quickly back to the sidewalk as the sound of pneumatic machines shattered the quiet of the Colorado day.
    â€œThat was cool seeing your dad like that,” Tony said.
    â€œUh-huh,” Danny muttered.
    â€œI liked that Bob guy, he was funny,” Tony said.
    â€œWas he?” Danny said, and lapsed into silence for the rest of the walk home.
    When they came to Johnson Close, their own little cul-de-sac, Tony sensed that Danny wanted to be by himself. He’d seemed OK, but now she wondered if she’d done the right thing, telling Tom to let him into the Watchers. Danny was a bit moody and they couldn’t kick him out now that he’d taken one for the team at the hands of Charlie and Todd. But then again, maybe it was just first-day blues.
    She said good-bye to him and walked up her garden path.
    â€œBye,” Danny said quietly.
    He hadn’t meant to be weird. He’d been looking at the road, thinking.
    Now that he could evaluate the blacktop, he saw that the sidewalks weren’t great but the roads were new and freshly laid.
    He rummaged in his pocket, found the front-door key, and went inside his house.
    He knew there was homework, but he didn’t feel like homework. His computer