"And that's the third thing," said Danny. "I have never, not for one second, been invisible."

"I know what I saw."

"You did not see an invisible kid," said Danny.

Eric was about to say something scornful when Danny held up three fingers and began the count again.

"What were you if you weren't invisible?" demanded Eric.

"Not what, but where, where," said Danny.

"Oh," said Eric. "You weren't there-but-invisible, you were visible-but-not-there."

"And as for telling you," said Danny, "would you have believed me? And what if somebody overheard me as I told you? We were always around people."

"So if you can just go away, why didn't you split when I surprised you here?"

"I thought about it," said Danny. "But I decided that even though you ditched me me just because I wanted to see all the tourist stuff on the Mall, I wasn't the kind of guy who ditches a friend." just because I wanted to see all the tourist stuff on the Mall, I wasn't the kind of guy who ditches a friend."

Eric rolled his eyes at first, then closed them, nodded, and stuck out his hand. "Okay, man. Friends."

"Well, I know I'm I'm a good friend. But you just got through threatening to turn me over to the cops or the government. How do I know I can count on a good friend. But you just got through threatening to turn me over to the cops or the government. How do I know I can count on you you?"

"I didn't have to bring you with me in the first place," said Eric. "And I also didn't have to follow you up and down the Mall, Lincoln to Washington to the Capitol."

"Why didn't you just come walk with me instead of stalking me?" asked Danny.

"Can we just drop it?" said Eric. "I was worried about you."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"What did you think?"

"That you care care about me." about me."

"Okay, now's when I puke," said Eric.

"So you aren't going to try to boss me around?" asked Danny.

"Of course I am," said Eric. "It's just not going to work."

"As long as you know that."

"We decide stuff together," said Eric.

"Works for me," said Danny.

"But first you have to tell me how this thing works, this thing you do."

"And there we are, back to 'have to.'"

"How can I figure out how to turn it to our advantage if I don't know how it works?"

"Our advantage?" asked Danny. advantage?" asked Danny.

"Friends and partners, aren't we?" said Eric. "You didn't mind using the stuff I I knew how to do. Can you teach me to do that? Disappear and reappear somewhere else?" knew how to do. Can you teach me to do that? Disappear and reappear somewhere else?"

"In a word-no."

"Can't or won't?" asked Eric.

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself," said Danny.

"So when you disappeared from here, and then came back, where did you go?"

"Into the library," said Danny.

"What, you were having a library emergency? Jonesing for a book?"

"Needed the restroom," said Danny.

"So that's really where you went?" asked Eric.

"Really."

Eric studied his face. Seemed satisfied. "Well, there you are. You can go through walls."

"Of course I can," said Danny.

"Why 'of course'?" said Eric. "Why would I know you could go through walls?"

"Okay, not not of course. But yes, I can go inside buildings and leave buildings the same way. Without doors." of course. But yes, I can go inside buildings and leave buildings the same way. Without doors."

"Do you make holes in the walls?"

"No," said Danny. "It's a gate. gate."

"Please stop talking like you think this is stuff any idiot would know," said Eric.

"Sorry," said Danny.

"How far does it work? How far can you go?"

"I don't know," said Danny. "Most I've ever done is a couple of miles, maybe."

"But you can go anywhere?"

"Anywhere I wanted to, so far," said Danny.

"Can it be a place you've never been before?"

Danny thought about it. When he first made gates through the perimeter of the Family compound, he hadn't known where he was going on the outside. And when he gated his way into the s.p.a.ce inside the wall of the Family's library in the old house, he certainly didn't know what it was like in there. there.

"Yes, it can," said Danny. "But I'm not sure how I do it. I keep worrying that I'm going to gate myself into a tree or a stone wall or something and blow up half the city."

"But you haven't so far," said Eric.

"I'm still in existence," said Danny, "so no, I haven't so far."

"Can you take me with you?" asked Eric.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know." He held out his hand. "Want to try?"

Eric hesitated. "What happens to me if it turns out you can't can't take me with you?" take me with you?"

"I don't know," said Danny.

"Or what if you can only move me away from here here, but you can't deposit me there there? Do little bits of me get scattered all along the way?"

"You really do have a weird imagination," said Danny.

"Got to try to think of the consequences," said Eric. "There's always consequences."

"I don't know how any of this works, Eric."

"I think I'll pa.s.s on testing whether you can take me with you or not."

"For what it's worth, I take my clothes clothes with me every time," said Danny. "And all the stuff in my pockets. And I've pushed stuff through gates without going all the way through myself." with me every time," said Danny. "And all the stuff in my pockets. And I've pushed stuff through gates without going all the way through myself."

"That's 'clothes' and 'stuff.' You tried it with anything alive alive? And was it still alive when you got there?"

"Never tried it."

Eric grinned. "See? I don't want to be the first experiment, in case I end up having my body half-swapped with a fly and I'm trapped in a spider web waving my arms and saying, 'Help me! Help me!'" He said this last in a high soft voice.

"What are you talking about?" asked Danny.

"You never saw the old black-and-white The Fly The Fly? Not the Jeff Goldblum but the good one?"

"Movies? You're talking about movies?"

"Why not?" asked Eric. "This is is a movie. I mean, I'm just minding my business and along comes a kid and I take him under my wing, and then it turns out he can disappear in one place and appear in another. I'm in a a movie. I mean, I'm just minding my business and along comes a kid and I take him under my wing, and then it turns out he can disappear in one place and appear in another. I'm in a Twilight Zone Twilight Zone episode. Teleporting. episode. Teleporting. Stargate Stargate!" Whatever "Stargate" was, Eric apparently thought it was brilliant. "Why didn't I think of that already? Of course, you you don't need some pyramid or a big machine or anything so it's not the same." don't need some pyramid or a big machine or anything so it's not the same."

"I don't see a lot of movies," said Danny.

Eric shrugged. "Let's see what we know. You can go through walls. And you can push stuff through gates without actually going through yourself, right? So you're, like, the perfect burglar."

"Burglar?"

"You know, guy breaks into a house, steals stuff without waking up the people."

"I know what a burglar is."

"How would I know you know that? If you don't know The Fly The Fly or or Stargate, Stargate, I figure you might not know how to put your pants on frontward." I figure you might not know how to put your pants on frontward."

He said it with a grin. Danny grinned back. "I'm not a burglar."

"Really?" asked Eric. "Where'd you get those clothes?"

"Wal-Mart," said Danny dryly.

"Credit, debit, or cash?"

"Shopping cart plus gate," said Danny.

"So you're a burglar."

"Shoplifter."

"So you'll steal stuff from Wal-Mart and that's okay, but stealing stuff from rich people's houses..."

"You gotta draw the line somewhere," said Danny. "Stealing from Wal-Mart just causes them to raise prices a tiny bit to amortize the cost."

"'Amortize'?" Eric said it slowly and mockingly, as if there was something wrong with knowing the right word.

"Breaking into somebody's house is different, Eric, it's stuff they own personally."

"So... what if I promise that we'll only steal stuff from the houses of people so rich they'll barely notice that it's gone?"

"What kinds of things do we steal?"

"Whatever the fence wants to buy," said Eric.

"In your life of crime in Washington, you know who deals in stolen goods?"

"No, but I know people who know people who probably know people who deal in stolen goods."

"And we trust these friends of friends of friends? That That experiment worries me a lot more than trying to take you through a gate." experiment worries me a lot more than trying to take you through a gate."

"Why should you you worry?" asked Eric. "No matter what happens, worry?" asked Eric. "No matter what happens, you're you're okay. I'm the one taking all the risks." okay. I'm the one taking all the risks."

"So does that mean you think you deserve more than fifty percent of what we make?"

"Yes," said Eric. "I deserve twice as much as you."

"Even though I'm the one who goes into the house and risks getting caught."

"But it's not a risk for you. You can't can't get caught." get caught."