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“That’s the best part,” said Brock. “Being Christmas week their shop is closed for the holiday, so it’s pretty much wide open. We’ve got the place all to ourselves.”
“We could go tomorrow if you wanted to,” said Kade.
“Tomorrow?” I gasped. “On Christmas?”
“Uh huh.”
“I want to!” I shouted. “I definitely want to!”
At that, Kade laughed and pulled something out from behind the tree. Another present, wrapped in the same red paper.
“We figured you might say that,” he grunted. “So we got youthis.”
He pushed the giant package my way. Somehow it evenrolled.
“This last present is mostly symbolic though,” chuckled Valerio. “So I wouldn’t get too excited.”
I stared at the package for a moment, letting a thousand crazy ideas float through my mind. In the end however, I remained happily stumped.
“Well… what is it?” I asked, practically dying of suspense.
The guys looked at each other again, this time with even more satisfaction than before.
“Your luggage.”
Thirty-Six
SLOANE
“This place isenormous!”
I spun in a circle, taking in the main work area of the gargantuan foundry. The machines were newer, the technology that ran them much more advanced. But when it came down to it, they all did the same things.
“The technical manuals for everything are stacked up near the workstations, in case you need them. Plus, you can always call. If you need help, that is.”
The man who’d let us in was friendly and amiable, or at least as friendly as someonecouldbe who got dragged from his home on Christmas Day. He put his fist to his mouth and yawned.
“And you’re doing two pieces, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Well then,” he shrugged. “That shouldn’t be too bad.”
I’d already weighed out my materials and paid for them with the money the boys had gifted me. Luckily the foundry had reserves they were willing to sell. The statues were big, but not huge. One of them, the angel, had wings, so it required a much wider flask and a more intricate spruing structure.
“I’ll leave you with the key,” the man smiled wearily. Like us, he had the look of someone who’d been up late on Christmas Eve. “Lock up when you leave, and let me know how it goes.”
He looked at Brock, and the two men shook hands on the way out. “Give your father my regards,” the man said. “Happy holidays too, and all that jazz.”
“We’re grateful for this,” Brock told him. “Very grateful.”
“No worries,” the man smiled, waving back without looking as he left. “And good luck!”
Again I took stock of the room, which was absolutely cavernous. As big as it was though, I didn’t let it intimidate me. It was a lot like the place I worked in Buffalo, only on a much grander, more impressive scale.
“Alright,” Valerio cried, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. “Let’s do this!”
I chuckled back at his boyish enthusiasm. “Take it easy,” I said. “There are a lot of steps.”
