I shook my head and inhaled deeply. “Cookies!”
He looked at me blankly.
I spun in a circle to see where the aroma was coming from. Duh. Right in front of us was a small red storefront. Mrs. Fields. The scent of cookies right out of the oven wafted out onto the street. It smelled like Ella’s house, like safety, like home.
“I must have cookies,” I announced, and went into t
he store, Angel trotting at my side.
They were fabulous.
But not as good as homemade.
80
“So what’s your big plan for finding the Institute?” Iggy asked.
“I’m tired of walking,” Nudge said. “Can we just sit for a minute?” Without waiting for an answer, she sank onto some broad stone steps in front of a building. She rested her head in her hands and closed her eyes.
“Uh . . .” Just walk around until we see it didn’t seem like a good response. But Iggy had hit the nail on the head: I didn’t know how to find the Institute. I didn’t know what it looked like or even, really, if it was in New York City.
The Gasman and Angel sat down next to Nudge. I was struck once again by what incredibly cute kids they are—for mutants.
“How about a phone book?” Fang suggested. “Every once in a while I see one.”
“Yeah, that’s a possibility,” I said, frustrated by not coming up with something better. We needed an information system of some kind—like a computer we could hack into. A large marble lion caught my eye; this building had two of them. Very fancy-schmancy.
I blinked and saw four lions, like images superimposed on one another. They flickered in front of my eyes, and I shook my head a bit. I blinked again, and everything was normal. A heavy weight settled on my chest—my brain was malfunctioning again.
“So what are we going to do?” Iggy asked.
Yeah, leader, lead.
Stalling for time, worried that my head might explode at any moment, I looked up at the building in front of us. It had a name. It was called the New York Public Library of Humanities and Social Sciences. Hello. A library.
I jerked my head at the building. “We’re going to start in here,” I said briskly, and clapped twice to get the younger set on its feet. “I figure they’ve got computers, databases . . .” I let my voice trail off and started purposefully up the steps. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel followed me.
“How does she do that?” I heard Fang ask Iggy.
81
Inside, the library was awesome. None of us had ever been inside one, and we were staring like the out-of-town yokels we were.
“May I help you?” A young guy was standing behind a polished wooden counter. He looked faintly disapproving, but not like he wanted to rip our lungs out, so I figured he wasn’t an Eraser.
“Yes.” I stepped forward, looking as serious and professional as a fourteen-year-old mutant who had never been in a library can look. “I was hoping to find information about a certain institute that I think is in New York.” I smiled at him, putting real warmth into it, and he blinked. “Unfortunately, I don’t know the whole name or where in New York it is. Is there a computer I could use to search? Or some sort of database?”
He glanced over all of us. Angel stepped up next to me and put her hand in mine. She smiled sweetly at the guy, looking, well, angelic.
“Fourth floor,” the guy said after a pause. “There are computers in a room off the main reading room. They’re free, but you have to sign in.”
“Thank you so much,” I said, smiling again. Then we hustled to the elevators.
The Gasman punched number four.
“Well, aren’t you the charmer?” Fang muttered, not looking at me.
“What?” I asked, startled, but he didn’t say anything. We rode upward, hating being in a small enclosed space. Sweat was breaking out on my brow by the time the doors slid open on the fourth floor, and we leaped out as if the elevator had been pressurized.