by Stuart Gibbs
One down, four to go.
Jessica blew past the first few doors off the hallway. “These are all extra bedrooms. I think this place holds, like, sixteen people. Or maybe it was twenty. Anyhow, there’s a lot of rooms we don’t need.”
“Not counting the whole rest of the hotel,” I pointed out.
“Well, Dane and the other guards are staying here too.”
“Still, you’re renting out an entire hotel.” I tried to think of a tactful way to get back to the subject of Leo Shang, then decided I didn’t have enough time for subtlety. Instead, I did my best to sound concerned, rather than suspicious. “Why do you need all this space? And all the guards? Is your family in danger?”
Jessica laughed. “No, Daddy just likes his privacy. Here’s my room.” She led me into a bedroom that was larger than my entire house. There was a whole other sitting area, a flat-screen TV, and another piano—just in case the one in the living area wasn’t enough.
“My father likes privacy too,” I told her, “but he doesn’t rent out entire hotels.”
“No offense,” Jessica replied, “but I’ll bet your father can’t afford entire hotels.”
“No one can afford entire hotels. Except your father and maybe a couple sheiks.”
“I guess. Wait until you see his room.” Jessica led me back into the hall.
I quickly stuck the second bug underneath the keyboard of the piano and followed Jessica. It wasn’t a great location, but I didn’t have time to find a better one. Two down, three to go.
Jessica opened the door to her father’s room. Given the rest of the suite, I’d prepared for it to be impressive, but even so, the sheer size of it took my breath away. It was bigger than the Ski Haüs motel. For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would need a bedroom so large—especially when they had the whole rest of the suite.
I plucked another bug off my wrist as I started through the door.
Only, Dane stepped in front of us, blocking our way. “Sorry, Jessica, but your father doesn’t want anyone else in here.”
“Oh, lighten up,” Jessica taunted. “I’m just gonna show him the room real fast.”
Dane stepped aside, waved an arm to the master suite, then stepped right back into our path again. “There. Now he’s seen it real fast. Please return to the living area.”
Jessica growled in frustration. “This is ridiculous. This is my suite too. What does Daddy think we’re gonna do? Steal his shoes?”
Dane’s bulk filled the door so well, I could barely see any of the room behind him. Only a sliver of it. I caught a glimpse of an unmade king-size bed with dirty clothes strewn on it. A silver case the size of a steamer trunk poked out from behind the bed.
The case didn’t seem like normal luggage, but it didn’t appear I was going to get a closer look. Dane wasn’t about to let us in the room. So I quickly stuck a bug on the side of the doorjamb. Since the bedroom was much bigger than the bug’s twenty-foot range, I’d just have to hope that, if Shang did discuss anything important, he would do it near the door. Three bugs down, two to go.
Dane spoke to Jessica in Chinese again. He sounded very annoyed.
Jessica heaved an angry sigh, spun on her heel, and stormed back toward the living area. “Looks like the tour’s over, Ben. I’m not even allowed to show you my whole suite.”
I followed her. “What’d he say?”
“Nothing,” Jessica muttered.
“Actually,” Erica said in my ear, “he said, ‘You have already tempted fate by bringing this boy up here. If you push it any further, don’t be surprised when your father cancels the rest of this vacation.’ ”
It occurred to me that even though Jessica’s father had given her far more than most people could ever dream of, she was still annoyed by the boundaries he’d set for her. So I decided to see what I could do with that. “Is your father always like this with your friends?”
“Always,” Jessica echoed. “He’s the world’s biggest control freak. If you think this place is big, you should see our house. We have our own movie theater, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a trampoline room . . . But does he ever let me even bring anyone over there? No. I’ve never been allowed to have a movie night, or a slumber party, or anything. And half the time when I make friends, I swear, he scares them off. I don’t know how, but he does it. One day they’re nice to me—and the next they act like I’ve got the plague.”
We arrived back in the living room. Dane resumed his place by the entry hall, staring at me ominously. The other two guards hadn’t moved, but they now fixed me with equally intimidating stares. I glanced toward them. “I can see how that’d happen.”
“It makes me angrier than a wet panda,” Jessica seethed.
I didn’t have the slightest idea what she was trying to say in English this time, so I didn’t even bother trying to correct her. Instead, I did my best to be supportive. “I don’t blame you.”
“Ben,” Erica said in my ear. “I just heard from my grandfather. Leo Shang’s caravan is en route to the hotel and moving fast. You have five minutes left, max.”
All three guards’ hands went to their ears at the same time. Each of them probably had an earpiece as well. And they were all getting similar information. Only, they were getting it from Shang.
Jessica flopped on the couch, exasperated. “I know it must seem insanely cool to be as rich as I am, but it sucks. I mean, I like having a huge house and a private jet and our own island and all the ponies I want, but . . . it’d be nice to be normal for once. To go somewhere without all these jerks . . .” She waved a hand toward the guards.
“Now, that’s just mean,” Dane said, sounding hurt once again.
“. . . or to have a friend who likes me for just being me,” Jessica continued. “And not the fact that I’m rich.”
“I didn’t know you were rich when I met you,” I said supportively. “And I liked you for being you.”
Jessica gave me a shy smile. “Really?”
“Really,” I said, and I meant it. I was actually starting to feel kind of sorry for her. I sat on the couch next to her, shifting another bug to my free hand. “I don’t care that you’re rich.”
“You’d be the first.” Jessica’s eyes suddenly narrowed suspiciously. “And you’ve been asking an awful lot of questions about what my father does.”
This caught me completely by surprise. “Er, yeah,” I stammered, scrambling to come up with an answer. “Because I, um . . . I thought he, uh . . . might be a criminal.”
Which was probably a mistake.
Jessica gaped at me in shock. Dane and the other guards in the room tensed.
“Tell me you didn’t just say that,” Erica said in my ear.
But I had. And there was no way to undo it. I held my breath while Jessica and her guards stared at me. The most uncomfortable silence I had ever experienced filled the room.
And then Jessica burst into laughter. “Daddy? A criminal? That’s ridiculous!”
Dane and the guards laughed too, like this was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.
I did my best to hide my relief, then soldiered on, acting like I’d been joking all along. “Well, he is kind of suspicious. He’s got, like, a billion dollars. And all these security guys. And when I met him in the lobby the other day, he was, well . . . pretty scary.”
“I know.” Jessica sighed. “He can be a huge pill sometimes. But I swear, he’s not a criminal.”
“So he’s really going helicopter skiing every day?” I teased. “Not plotting some sort of world domination?”
Jessica giggled. “Well, he did spend yesterday in a secret underground lair with a bunch of evil world leaders.”
I laughed along with her, definitely getting the vibe that her jokes were merely jokes. Either she truly believed her father was an honest businessman—or she was one heck of an actress.
Dane and his fellow goons didn’t seem to think any of this was funny at all, though. They were growing more a
nd more on edge by the second.
“Okay, Romeo,” Erica said over the radio. “Shang’s caravan is pulling up right now. T minus three minutes until he’s up there.”
I wanted to stick the fourth bug under the coffee table, but Jessica and all three guards were staring right at me. So for the moment, I held back and gave my best acting a shot. I asked, nice and innocent, as though it had just occurred to me, “Who is your father skiing with?”
Jessica stopped laughing. “What do you mean?”
“You guys didn’t come here with any friends, right? Because they’d be staying in the hotel. So who’s your father skiing with every day?”
Jessica pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You know, I’m not sure.”
“Is he just going by himself?”
Jessica considered this some more. “No. He must have some friends here. The other day, right before he left, I heard him say he was going to see someone named Molly.”
The moment she said this, the three guards in the room grew even more alert than they already were.
I pretended not to notice.
“Molly who?” Erica pressed.
“Molly who?” I repeated.
Jessica looked at me suspiciously, as though I had just asked one question too many. So did the three guards.
“I have an aunt named Molly who lives near here,” I said quickly, trying to cover. “It’d be really weird if your dad knew her.”
Jessica’s suspicions seemed to fade. “You’re right, that would,” she agreed. “I think he said her name was Molly Denham. Or something like that. Is that your aunt?”
“No,” I said.
Dane was suddenly at our side, doing his best to look like he was being a gracious host, rather than a guard trying to divert us from what we’d been discussing again. “Hey, kids, I just got word that your hot chocolate is on the way up, along with your s’more fixings. Maybe we should get the fireplace ready.”
“Okay!” Jessica agreed enthusiastically, completely diverted. She leapt to her feet and went to move the grating from in front of the fireplace.
“Obviously, you struck a nerve there,” Erica told me. “The big guy’s doing damage control. And Shang’s coming in hot. Making a beeline from the car to the elevators. Not looking happy.”
I got to my feet as well, acting like I was trying to help Jessica, though I really took the opportunity to finally stick the fourth bug underneath the coffee table. One to go.
“I love s’mores,” Jessica said to me. “Don’t you love s’mores?”
“I do,” I said, even though I didn’t like them all that much. I was doing my best to be agreeable, trying to figure out how to get her back onto the subject of her father’s business before he showed up again. “S’mores are awesome.”
Jessica picked up an enormous fireplace poker. “Think we could roast the marshmallows on this?”
“If the marshmallows were each ten pounds,” I said.
Jessica laughed once more, and then a thought struck her. “Hey, remember when I told you my father would take me heli-skiing at the end of the week if I got good enough?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, maybe you could come with us too!”
“Really?” I asked, genuinely surprised. “Are you sure your dad would be okay with that?”
“Sure. He’s not always a jerk. I know he seems scary at first, but he’s a big old teddy bear when you get to know him.” Jessica’s eyes were alive with excitement now, the firelight dancing in them. “So what do you say? It’d be soooo much fun.”
“Sure,” I said. “I’d love to go with you.”
“All right!” Jessica exclaimed happily. “This is gonna be great!” And then, to my surprise, she gave me a hug.
It wasn’t a big, meaningful, “I’ve fallen in love with you” hug. It was a more of a quick, friendly, “hooray, we’re going to go heli-skiing” hug. But Jessica was still a beautiful girl, and she smelled like rose petals, and it would have been really nice . . .
If her father hadn’t walked in at that very moment.
The elevator doors pinged open and Leo Shang stormed out. He was probably already angry that I was there in the suite, but now, having seen his daughter hugging me by the fireplace, his face contorted in rage. “What is going on here?” he demanded.
Jessica sprang away from me, startled. “Oh, hi, Daddy!” she said. “Ben and I were just about to make s’mores!”
“That didn’t look like making s’mores,” Leo growled. “I want him out of here. Now.”
The guards quickly sprang into action, swarming toward me.
“Daddy!” Jessica protested. “It was only a hug!”
Leo shifted into Chinese to speak to his daughter. Although I couldn’t understand it, I definitely got the gist. It seemed to be along the lines of “First you brought this boy up here when you knew you weren’t supposed to, and now this.” Jessica tried to plead her case, but it only made Leo angrier, which made Jessica angry right back at him.
Meanwhile, the two Chinese guards took me by the arms, lifted me off the ground, and carried me to the door. Like I was a piece of furniture, rather than a human being. With my arms constrained, I didn’t have a chance to place the fifth bug.
Jessica’s argument with her father was growing even more heated. She was screaming at him now, livid at the way he was dealing with me. And he was just as livid at her.
Dane met me at the elevator with my ski parka. The other two guards allowed me to use my arms just long enough to put it on, then picked me up again.
The elevator pinged open again. The waiter stepped off with the hot cocoa and s’more fixings, saw the two guards holding me while Leo and Jessica argued volcanically, and stepped right back into the elevator, figuring this probably wasn’t the best time to intrude.
The guards threw me inside the elevator as well.
Jessica stormed away from Leo Shang, heading for her room. She yelled one last thing to him as she went, shifting into English, probably for my benefit. “I just spent half an hour trying to convince Ben that you were actually a nice person! And then you show up and act like the worst father in the whole world! I hate you!”
The elevator doors slid shut.
As they did, I caught a final glimpse of Leo Shang. He no longer looked angry at Jessica or me. Instead, he looked devastated by what Jessica had said to him.
“Whoa,” said the room service waiter as we descended to the lobby. “What was that about?”
“I don’t know,” I lied.
“Looked like he wanted you out of there in a big way,” the waiter said, then held up the tray. “Want a s’more?”
I took a single graham cracker. I was so shaken from the stress of my visit to the Shangs’, I didn’t think my stomach could handle anything more. “Thanks.”
The elevator opened at the lobby. Two more menacing guards were waiting for me there.
The waiter immediately pointed at me. “That’s the guy you want. I had nothing to do with any of this.”
The guards brusquely escorted me out of the hotel, though at least this pair let me walk under my own power, rather than carrying me. They shoved me out the front door, then formed a human blockade there.
I set off down the street.
“Well,” Erica said in my ear, “that was intense.”
I waited until I was well out of earshot from any other people, then asked, “What set her off so much at the end there?”
“Leo told her she was grounded. No ski school for her tomorrow. Or the rest of the week. Looks like you just lost your contact.” Erica didn’t sound upset with me about it, like this was a failure on my part. She simply said it like it was a fact.
I still felt like I’d failed, though. “Are they leaving town?”
“Doesn’t sound that way. Whatever Leo’s plotting, it’s still in the works.”
“I only placed four bugs. I didn’t have time to get the fifth down.”
“Four’s better than
none. And you didn’t have much time. I knew Shang wasn’t going to be pleased to see you, but he ran you out of there a lot faster than I expected. What got him so angry at you?”
“Jessica hugged me.”
Erica didn’t say anything in response. I looked around for her, figuring she had to be somewhere close, where she could keep an eye on the hotel—and me. But I couldn’t see her anywhere.
“Erica . . . ,” I began.
“Grandpa wants you to return to base, ASAP. Going to radio silence now.” With that, my earpiece went dead.
I was caught off guard by how abruptly this happened. It wasn’t unusual for Erica to be blunt, but she’d been even more blunt than usual. As though she was angry at me.
I suddenly got the sense that someone was watching me. I turned back toward the Arabelle.
Leo Shang stood at a window on the top floor, looking down at me. Even though he was quite far away, I could still make out his gaze. There was total and complete hatred in it, all focused directly on me. I had no idea if he was so angry simply because his daughter had hugged me—or if he suspected I was up to something more—but it was terrifying either way. I shivered, then hurried toward the Ski Haüs, fearing what Leo Shang had in store for me.
EAVESDROPPING
The Ski Haüs
Vail, Colorado
December 29
1830 hours
That night, my motel room became mission control. Everyone crowded into it, grabbed what space they could, and hunched over their computers. There was no time to go out for food. We ordered pizza and everyone scarfed it down while they worked.
Hank, Jawa, Zoe, and Warren, who were all learning Chinese, were put on bug duty. They sat on the beds, each eavesdropping on a different one of the bugs I’d placed, transcribing everything they heard to English on their laptops, alerting us if anything of interest came up. Erica had commandeered the tiny bureau, where she was using her computer to try to figure out who Molly Denham was. Alexander was pacing about, on the phone with various people at the CIA, updating them on our progress and discussing how to proceed. And Cyrus was debriefing me by the bathroom, going over everything that had happened in the Shangs’ suite.
