I rose and stalked past the line of grown-ups trying to figure out snappy comebacks. Good luck with that, I thought. I burst out the heavy door, ready to slug anyone who tried to stop me. But no one did, and I glanced back quickly to see the flock, Total, my mom, and Jeb all hurrying behind me. At the end of the hallway was another conference room. It had huge windows, some of which were cranked open for cleaning or something.

Without thinking, without planning — in other words, in true Max style — I gave my mom a fast, hard hug, put on my jacket, then stepped to the window and jumped out. I thought I heard her gasp, but the sound was torn away by the air rushing past me as I snapped my wings open. Then I was aloft, held securely by the air, supported and cradled by the atmosphere. I couldn’t help smiling, pulling cold air into my lungs, feeling free.

“Where are we going, Max?” Gazzy called. My flock was sailing powerfully alongside me, all looking as happy and relieved as I felt.

“Does it matter?” I called back, and he shook his head.

“Didn’t think so,” I said to myself, and surged upward.

Chapter 16

16

“LOOK, THE PENTAGON!” Gazzy said suddenly, pointing. He wheeled into a tight left turn and headed for it. “I always wanted to see it!”

“Me too!” said Iggy sarcastically, already flying after Gazzy.

“Yeah, you can touch it and feel that it’s white,” I said.

The rest of us turned to follow them, and it felt good to see how happy everyone was to be flying.

“Dive-bomb!” Gazzy cried, tucking in his wings and angling downward toward the Pentagon.

“No, Gazzy, don’t!” I yelled after him. “It’s a government building! They’re even more paranoid than we are!”

Cackling maniacally, Gazzy swooped down to within fifty feet of the Pentagon’s roof, then tucked into a fast flip and aimed upward again. The six of us soared and tilted and raced, remembering the tricks we’d learned from the hawks and the bats, performing split-second formations and upside-down turns like the kind swimmers make at the end of the pool.

“Okay,” I called finally. “Let’s head out —”

The air was filled with a roar, and I turned my head to see two jets streaking toward us, their pointy noses looking mean.

“What’s wrong with them?” Nudge cried, rushing closer to me.

“We violated the Pentagon’s airspace,” Fang guessed as the jets roared closer at incredible speed.

Total, in Fang’s arms, nodded. “I should have stopped you! I, at least, should have known better!”