As Nate tried to assess how the Jets would fare against the other clubs, he had to admit that both the Tanks and the Racers intimidated him. If the Jets could stay in the sky, nobody would be able to touch them. But the speed of the Racers and the strength of the Tanks would be problematic on the ground or in confined areas.
The Subs didn’t seem like much of a threat, unless an assignment had to be carried out underwater. Which probably meant that part of the treasure hunt would involve getting wet, or else why would Jonas have created sub stamps in the first place?
Before any of the other clubs had arrived, Nate and his teammates had experimented with how much weight they could carry while flying. The incident when Summer kept him grounded had left Nate concerned. He discovered that holding a 30-pound dumbbell in each hand was pretty close to his limit. The exertion required to fly with that much weight felt like an uphill sprint, and his stability became erratic. Twenty-pound dumbbells required effort but weren’t too bad, especially over short distances. He had hardly noticed any difficulty when carrying tens.
Chris had theorized that exerting themselves by carrying heavy weights might eventually allow them to handle higher maximum loads. Nate thought it was worth a try, but he suggested they shouldn’t reveal their weakness by doing it in front of the other clubs. The rest of the Jets had agreed.
Roman had pointedly avoided acknowledging Chris, Risa, or Nate all afternoon. Nate had caught him staring a few times, but Roman had repeatedly averted his gaze. For the most part, he kept his head down and focused on training with Summer and Derek.
“Nate!” Chris called. “U-turn!”
Chris was flying his way clutching a long jump rope. Nate held up his hands and tried to mentally brace himself. He had come up with this idea earlier in the afternoon, and they had practiced it for the last hour.
Without slowing, Chris tossed one end of the rope to Nate, who caught it and focused on holding steady. Chris was doing his best to turn sharply, so Nate never pulled against his full weight, but the force was still almost enough to jerk the rope from his hands. Unable to remain completely stable, Nate hung on and managed to help Chris slingshot around in a much tighter turn than would have otherwise been possible.
“Good one!” Risa called. “That might have been the best yet!”
Chris flew over to hover near Nate. “Not bad.”
“You caught me daydreaming,” Nate replied. “Maybe the trick is to not pay attention. Hey, do you think we should talk to Roman?”
“I don’t know,” Risa said, drawing near with Lindy. “He’s avoided us ever since we let him know the Jet stamps were gone.”
“He was kind of a jerk,” Chris said. “It made me feel a little better about him getting left out.”
“If we’re going to compete with him, we should try to clear the air,” Nate said. “Those Tanks are strong. We don’t want him hating us more than necessary. You guys are friends, right?”
“We know each other pretty well,” Chris said.
“He and I have been friends since we were little,” Risa said.
“Then Nate’s right,” Lindy agreed. “You should talk to him.”
Risa sighed unenthusiastically, but nodded.
Nate led the way down to where Roman was throwing a large medicine ball in a triangle with Summer and Derek. In their hands the bulky exercise tool might have weighed no more than a basketball. The Tanks paused as the Jets approached.
“Hi, Rome,” Risa said.
“Hey, guys,” Roman replied without much warmth. “What do you want?”
“We just hope there are no hard feelings about the jet stamps,” Chris said. “Nobody was trying to exclude you.”
“I know,” Roman said. “Summer told me how Lindy was earning stamps on her own. Nate didn’t know. It might have been a lucky break for me. Being a Tank feels really good. Even if I had the chance, I don’t think I’d switch.”
“I assumed it was you who had taken the second-to-last jet stamp,” Nate explained.
Roman waved away the comment. “I get it. I don’t blame you or Lindy. You and Summer and your other friends worked together to win tickets. If Chris and Risa had done that for me, I would have had my stamp days ago.”
“We weren’t sure if it was allowed,” Risa said uncomfortably.
“We had to train,” Chris said. “We gave you money.”
“You did,” Roman said. “It’s okay, I understand, I don’t hate you guys. I appreciate the money you shared. But things have definitely changed. We’re on different teams. It’ll be fun to beat you.”
“I guess that’s the idea,” Chris said, hands on his hips. “Good luck.”
“Keep doing that trick with the ropes,” Derek said. “I bet you guys could join Cirque du Soleil.”
“It’s not cool like medicine balls,” Nate fired back. “I thought they stopped making those things in 1905.”
Risa held up her hands like a peacemaker. “We don’t need to get nasty.”
“You guys do your thing, we’ll do ours,” Chris said. “Have fun on the ground.” He soared up into the air, spinning as he curved first left, then right, flying with impressive speed and precision.
Nate and the others followed suit, leaving the Tanks to stare up at them.
*****
Under a pale moon, Nate, Trevor, Summer, Lindy, and Pigeon met behind the candy shop. It had been a hot day, and the night was warm.
“Sorry we couldn’t really talk earlier,” Summer said. “The other Tanks are really getting into the rivalry between the clubs.”
“Mindy is too,” Pigeon said.
“Everybody will,” Nate predicted. “But we need to remember our real purpose.”
“How do you like being a Sub?” Summer asked Pigeon.
“It’s pretty amazing when I’m in the water. I can breathe it just like air. And swimming feels like flying. We might not move as fast as the Jets, but we can move way faster than a normal swimmer. I bet we could outswim sharks.”
“Anything else?” Trevor wondered. “Is it just that you swim well and breathe water?”
“There are little things,” Pigeon said. “I can feel where objects are positioned in the water around me without looking. Like an extra sense. And when I’m underwater, I feel a little stronger than normal. If you guys have to go against us in the water, you’ll be in trouble. Out of the water, the sub stamp doesn’t make much difference. Mindy is a competitive swimmer, so she’s in heaven.”