O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
mainly because the cops would never have believed it, which would
have been disastrous to their flimsy self-confidence. The worst thing
you can say about someone trying hard to rebel is that they really
mean well but are just misunderstood.
“Those cops didn’t know who they were messing with,” said Vlad
haughtily as he left the station with Don Wong, Jewel and Shiva. “If
they only knew how brilliant and dangerous we are, they wouldn’t
have laughed at us so much.”
Displays of bravado always made Shiva laugh, but this time she
was far too concerned about Harvey and Milo to do anything but
wince. While the Fern members were let off on their own
recognizance, Harvey and Milo were in big trouble. Harvey had been
charged with auto theft and Milo faced a litany of charges: attempted
rape of a minor, supplying of alcohol to a minor, lewd conduct, an
open container violation, auto theft, stealing a firearm from a
policeman, hit-and-run with a police car, possession of illegal
narcotics, and transporting a stolen animal. He felt pretty confident
that they would let him off easy, though, as these were all first-time
offenses.
Harvey and Milo had been brought back to Los Angeles County
since both of their cars were registered there.
Spinoza was returned to the VTV lab yet again, though it wasn’t
without a struggle. Fearing that he might escape again, the VTV
scientists put him under mild sedation, which he actually kind of
enjoyed, and was caged together with a female monkey, which he also
enjoyed. He forgot about freedom and his human friends for a while.
“What do you mean, ‘Dr. Futterman is gone’?” Shiva demanded of a
detective after they had arrived at the police station in Los Angeles
where he had been held.
“His bail was posted by an anonymous source this morning. After
questioning, we let him go. For some crazy reason, he demanded to
stay, but I told him that we aren’t running a hotel. We practically had
to throw him out!”
“Really? And Mr. Hernandez?” Victoria said, surprised.
“Milo Hernandez has been refused bail. His report read like the
Encyclopedia Britannicatook the officer all night just to type it up.”
—
Shiva called Don Wong and broke the bad news. His friend’s
disappearance worried him immensely. What was more, Harvey was
now unavailable to help rebuild the machine, thereby throwing the
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