Stepping into the cooler, ozone-heavy air following a storm felt like stepping into the middle of a new and secret world. At least that was what Andrew thought as he headed toward Evan's in the early twilight to catch a ride to school. Overnight, the summer heat had submitted to the onslaught of the pre-dawn tempest. The rain had tamped down the insistent dust that blew in from the New Mexico desert and left an obsidian veneer of puddles that hid the sidewalks. Rippled reflections of an infinity of stars provided a backdrop to the coach lights stationed like glaring minutemen. Tasked with marking off the modest homes along both sides of the street, they shattered and scattered as Andrew tortured them with careless footsteps. A shiver raced up his spine and chased a trail of goosebumps across his bare arms as he eyed the dark, dense clouds at the eastern horizon and listened to the loud, eerie gossiping of toads that could not be seen.

Evan was already waiting in his car, his cell phone lighting up his face with a greenish glow. With the engine running, the car's headlamps lit up the garage as if it were an abandoned stage waiting for the opening act to resume.

Instead of crossing to the passenger side door, Andrew ducked past the driver's side with a loud rap-rap on the window and continued to the front of the car where he threw his hands up and roared like a bear. Evan's phone had gone flying at the knock on the window, but he flipped a finger at Andrew before leaning down to fish it out from under his feet. Andrew laughed and got in the car.

"You're so funny," Evan said flatly, as he tucked his phone into his book bag and put the car in gear.

"You're so jumpy. Easy game."

Evan twisted for a better view to back out of the driveway and smacked Andrew in the head as he reached back. "Who's easy game now?"

Andrew poked him in the side. "That would be you."

The car was slammed to a stop, and Evan held up a finger. "Don't. Do that. Again."

"Oh. Touchy this morning." Andrew shoved his book bag between his legs. "What were you looking at?"

"When?"

"Are you kidding me?" Andrew shook his head. "Just now. On your phone."

"Oh! Hold on..." Evan cautiously maneuvered around the garbage container at the end of his drive. "I was reading about these blind spots that are all over the United States. You can't see them on any of the maps that are available on the Internet. Believe me, I checked them all."

"Because they're blind spots," Andrew murmured in a low, husky voice. It was a weak attempt at sounding spooky, and Evan ignored him.

"Exactly," Evan said.

"Exactly, what?"

"You're exactly two seconds away from finding your own ride to school."

"Someone needs a pill this morning." Andrew threw his hands up in self-defense. "Kidding!"

"You see that?"

"No, I haven't seen any blind‒"

"No, that." Evan nodded up the road.

Headlights stretched across the street as a dark sedan crawled up to a stop at the corner. Pinpoints of light glittered off the chrome around the wheel wells. Evan slowed to a crawl when the car turned onto their street. Heavily tinted windows obstructed their view of the driver as the car slid by.

Andrew shook his head at Evan who was craning his neck to look back and braced his arm against the dash. "Cat!"

Evan slammed on the brakes. His head swung wildly looking to the sides of the road and into the rearview mirror. "Where's the cat?" With his hand over his heart, he glared at Andrew. "There's no cat, is there?"

"Well, there could've been a cat. And you would have run it right over. Who taught you how to drive?"

"Your mom." As he started forward again, Evan's eyes continued to dart between the road and the rearview mirror.

"Well, I was there, as only a best friend would be, because wow, and I distinctly remember her saying there is some rule about keeping your eyes on the road." Andrew tapped the dash and pointed with two fingers at his eyes, then at the road.

"That car pulled into your driveway."

"What?" Andrew twisted around in his seat. Evan was right. The car in his driveway rocked back as it was shifted into park, and a man stepped out. His dark suit and dark glasses matched the black of the sedan. He walked straight up to Andrew's house and in through the front door without pausing to knock. "Turn around."

"We're going to be late for school again, aren't we?" Evan pulled into the closest driveway and backed out.

Andrew was patting his chest and pockets, eyes never leaving his drive.

"Here." Evan handed him his phone.

Without thinking, Andrew swiped Evan's code and dialed his mom's phone. "Come on! Answer the phone."

As they coasted to a stop at Andrew's drive, the man came out of the house. He left the door open and walked to his car without so much as a glance in the boys' direction.

Andrew flung open the door and popped out of his seat before the car had rolled to a stop, but then froze as his mother walked out. She stopped too. A brief look of surprise was washed away by a sudden cloud of anger.

"Uh-oh," said Evan. He slumped down in his seat.

"Andrew Anthony! What are you doing? Why aren't you at school?" She slammed the door behind her and marched up to Evan's car. "You are going to make me late."

"Who's the guy?" Andrew demanded.

"Knock it off. You know Danny." She hauled Andrew by his shirt and pushed him toward the window.

"Do I?" Andrew squinted sideways at the driver, but Danny, or whoever he was behind his dark sunglasses, continued to stare out the windshield.

"I have a new assignment. Hence! The reason I can't be late. And here you are, making me late and acting like you've never known me to get last-minute assignments."

"Where are you going? How long are you going to be gone? Are we still going to the Casa Chaco ruins this weekend? Is he‒"

"Take a breath, Andrew. I'm flying to Houston for an investigation. I should be back in two days. Yes, we're still going to the ruins." She pushed him toward Evan's car. Evan had scooched so low in his seat that only his wild red curls and green eyes showed over the steering wheel. "I really don't have time for this."

Andrew sat down in the car. Evan found something to look at out the driver's side window, but Andrew wasn't so lucky. His mom framed the doorway and leaned in close with a low, firm voice. She pulled his chin around to face her. "You know, Andrew. It's my job to protect you. Not your job to protect me."

Andrew bit his tongue. It was embarrassing to be chewed out in front of other people, even if it was just Evan, but he'd learned long ago, it went quicker if he just kept his mouth shut.

"Take him to school, Evan. No more games." It was an order.

"Yes, ma'am," Evan said sheepishly. She shut the door and he put the car in reverse while she glared at them with her hands on her hips.

"Bad ass," Evan said. He dragged the words out longer than a normal two-word sentence.

"What?"

"A woman with a gun. So badass."

Andrew looked at Robin's waist. Sure enough, her Beretta was visible where the jacket was tucked behind her wrist. She jabbed a finger at them and pointed up the street then stomped to Danny's car as Evan back out of the driveway.

Andrew sat brooding silently with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"You aren't grounded are you?" asked Evan.

"No, why?"

"Those blind spots."

"What about them?"

"Okay, so this guy mapped all these blind spots, right? Oh, wait, back up." Evan's eyes sparkled, and he started waving his free hand around. Andrew's mom had once laughed at how animated his body became when he was excited and said he reminded her of Pinocchio when the puppet was suddenly free of his strings. Andrew found it annoying and pointedly stared at Evan's hand until he put it back on the steering wheel.

"Satellites go around the Earth and take pictures of everything and we can see those pictures on our computers because they get shared with all the mapping apps. Or leased, or whatever. Well, mostly. The blind spots aren't shared. They're just these pixelated gray spots. And there aren't just a few. There's like six hundred of them. Out of curiosity, I compared a couple to the public maps pilots use for restricted air space. Follow?"

Still moping, Andrew shrugged.

"Area 51?" Evan raised his eyebrows and waited for Andrew to respond.

"Okay, yeah, I know Area 51."

"Right. Well, it's one of those blind spots. A bunch of Air Force bases are too."

"No mystery there," Andrew said. "They don't want everyone to know what they have on the ground. National secrets and all."

"Exactly," Evan was nodding wildly. He pulled into the school parking lot and settled into a space, turned off the car, and twisted in his seat to face Andrew. "But some of them aren't explained. Some of them still have no-fly zones. So, what do you say?"

"About what?"

"There's one practically in our own back yard."

"Well, that will get me grounded. Especially if I skip school."

"Okay, then, this weekend."

"No dice."

"Oh, come on! Let's go see what's in a super-secret no-fly zone blind spot."

"No, I mean, not this weekend. I'm going to Casa Chaco with my mom this weekend and..." Andrew's voice trailed off as he glanced out his window.

Evan looked around Andrew at the car parked beside them. A blond was snuggled up in the driver's lap, and she must have been there for a while because the windows were starting to fog over.

"Is that Danielle? And Brent Standish? That girl has no taste at all."

Andrew didn't say anything.

"Oh. Sorry. I mean that girl has no taste since you broke up with her."

"She broke up with me."

They both continued to stare into the car beside them.

"Oh. Right. Well, clearly she has no taste now. I mean, she's tasting something, but. Ew. Gross."

"Was this the only spot left in the lot?"

"I...I don't think so." Evan craned his neck and looked for another spot.

"Well, do you think we could move?"

"Only if you promise to go with me to find the blind spot."

"You really think it's another Area 51?"

Evan shrugged. "Maybe. What else could it be?"

"I don't know, but the government keeps Area 51 pretty well guarded. You know, like with guards. Who have guns."

"Well, we won't go in the front door. We'll sneak in from the back."

"How do you know what the front door is on a super-secret no-fly zone blind spot?"

"I can show you after school. I've been looking at some geological maps. Not those run of the mill maps used for driving around."

"You've been looking at some geological maps. Of course, you have." Andrew stared into Evan's expectant face. "Okay."

"Okay? We're going?"

"Not this weekend, but yeah, we're going."

Evan moved the car.

~~~ * Author Note * ~~~
Thank you for reading Argent Glass. I hope you are enjoying my story. Feel free to continue on and skip this author note. If you have a moment to think about what you just read, would you give me a bit of feedback on the first chapter?

Was it engaging or did you find it slow?

Was it too wordy or did it seem about right?

Do you feel like you've learned enough about who Andrew and Evan are?