Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Chapter Fourteen

THERE'S MARTIN, TALKING TO the woman behind the counter," Emily said. "He's supposed to break down the door to the vault." She explained how Martin was supposed to demand money and unleash his superpowers when the teller treated him like a stupid little kid. A customer came out of the bank, leaving the door slightly ajar. Now they could hear Martin's shrill voice.

"But I want some money now!"

A man wearing a name tag approached him. "I'm the bank manager. Is there a problem here?"

The teller behind the counter spoke. "I'm trying to explain to this young man that we don't give money away."

The manager chuckled. "I see. Come with me, young man. I'll show you how banks operate."

"I just want some money," Martin whined.

"Yes, of course you do," the man said kindly. "And I'm going to show you how to open a savings account and earn interest."

"I don't want interest, I want money!" Martin screamed.

"Where's Tracey?" Jenna asked Emily.

"Well, if my vision was right, she should be invisible. She's supposed to get the money out of the vault. See the curly haired man? That's Howard. The skinny one by the door is George." She turned to Jenna. "How did you find us?"

"Howard's mother," Jenna said. "Long story, tell you later."

Emily clutched Jenna's arm. "Uh-oh, it's happening now!"

They couldn't hear anything, but they could see, and the expression on Martin's face was something they'd seen before. And then, like a tornado, he tore across the room and crashed through a door.

Emily's heart sank when she saw a security guard draw his gun. Then she saw Amanda-Sarah running for the exit before she slipped on the floor and fell, hard.

"Ohmigod!" Emily shrieked. George was reaching inside his coat. For a gun?

She'd never know. Amanda-Sarah, still sitting on the floor, looked at him. And George froze.

Emily stared at the little scene for a second, thinking, Wow. Amanda really has got the hang of Sarah's gift. But something was off. Something about Sarah's eyes looked different …

Emily gasped. "It's Sarah!"

"Well, of course it's Sarah," Jenna said. "Who else?"

Obviously, Jenna hadn't bothered to read her mind.

"Long story," Emily said. "Tell you later."

Then they both clapped their hands over their ears. Three police cars, sirens wailing and red lights flashing, pulled up in front of the bank. Six officers jumped out of the cars and ran in, shouting for everyone to put their hands in the air.

Now Madame, Ken, and Charles were by their side.

"What happened?" Madame asked in bewilderment. "I hadn't called the police yet."

They heard Tracey's voice before they saw her. "I pushed the alarm button." Now Tracey was visible and beaming happily. "It's silent in the bank, but it alerts the police that something's going on. As I sneaked into the vault, I looked over my shoulder and saw you outside. I knew Emily must be safe, so I ducked back out the vault door and hit the button under the tellers' counter before Martin even broke the door down. How did you get away from Clare, Emily?"

"Charles got the gun," Emily told her.

Tracey stared in disbelief at the boy in the wheelchair. Charles gave her a haughty look. "I'm the real hero," he said.

Emily was sure he'd never let them forget it either. But that was okay with her.

Martin was the next to emerge from the bank. "That teller didn't bother me," he announced. "I used my strength all on my own."

Emily didn't have the heart to tell him they'd heard the whole thing-he'd definitely lost his temper.

Sarah followed him. She was the only one among them who didn't look relieved or happy. She actually seemed a little bit sad. She slipped past the others and stood beside Madame.

"I had to do it," she whispered.

"I know," Madame said and put a comforting arm around her.

Emily looked at her curiously. Had it been that awful for Sarah, using her gift? Maybe someday she'd learn why the girl was so sad.

Two police officers emerged. One had George in handcuffs, and the other had Howard. As they passed, Ken spoke.

"Howard, your mother is not very happy with you.

Howard gaped at him. George's eyes were searching the parking lot. But Clare was long gone.

Another policeman came out. "Are you all okay?"

"Yes officer, we're fine," Madame said.

He shook his head in puzzlement and looked at Martin. "One of the tellers, she said she saw this boy break open the door to the vault."

Madame let out an odd little artificial laugh. "Well, that's hardly possible, is it, officer?"

He shrugged. "I guess one of the robbers set up an explosive charge and it went off when the kid was by the door. Good thing you weren't hurt, young man."

"Nothing hurts me," Martin bragged. Madame grabbed his arm. "Ow!"

"You didn't get all the bad guys," Emily told the policeman. She explained about Clare. The policeman took out a notebook.

"Can you give me a description of this Clare?"

Emily, Tracey, and Martin exchanged looks. What could they say?

"Blue eyes," they chorused, and then fell silent.

The officer smiled. "Don't worry, kids, I know you're still pretty upset. We'll get details from the guys we caught." He closed his notebook. "So who's the hero here?"

Emily glanced at Sarah.

"Tracey hit the alarm button," Sarah said softly.

"But this is the real hero," Tracey said, putting her hand on Charles's shoulder.

"He got the gun away from Clare," Emily added. Madame glared at her, and she bit her lip.

"Here's the gun, officer," Ken said quickly and handed it over.

"Good work, young man," the policeman said.

Emily looked at Charles. She wasn't surprised to see that he was pouting. She knelt by the wheelchair.

"Don't worry, Charles. We know you're the real hero. And we're going to treat you like one."

Slowly, his face cleared. His cheeks reddened. He smiled. And without even trying to look into his future, Emily suspected that it was going to be very different from what she might have predicted for him just days earlier.