Hotwire

by Cindy M. Hogan

  He shrugged. “I don’t get involved. All this stuff goes over my head, really. I’m just the analyst, glorified tech support, remember? They put me out in the field because it’s easier than having me answer questions over the phone, but I’m not one of you guys. I just hand out the gadgets and keep my mouth shut.”

  “But don’t you think we should talk about this?”

  He shook his head. “Come on, I’ve got some new toys for you.” He turned around and headed up the stairs.

  I stood in the kitchen for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. I scowled, then followed Ace up the stairs, shoving the disturbing argument from my mind. I’d have to figure this out later. I had to focus on the one thing I had any control over right now—my own mission.

  ***

  “Just stick this little dot somewhere on one of the girls’ upper body.” Ace handed me a piece of stiff paper that had a little clear dot on it. “The closer to the mouth you get it, the clearer it will be.” He lifted up another stiff piece of paper, but this one was blue instead of white. “You can stick this anywhere on whichever girl you want. It’s the tracker. I didn’t have time to get more than one of each made.”

  “I’ll be shadowing you tonight,” Halluis said. He acted completely nonchalant, as if he had not caught me eavesdropping on his argument with Jeremy moments before. He held up a little metal device and said, “If the kids are going after a car, I’ll put this little baby on there, and it’ll lead us to their storage facility or chop shop. Done and done. And Jeremy will be in the shadows, waiting for the girls or someone to make a move on cars. I’ll stick to you and the girls, and he’ll watch out for S-Dub, the boss, or even the boys.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Do you have an earpiece for me?”

  Ace handed me a tiny com to stick into my ear. “There’s only one problem.”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  “You won’t be able to talk to me or Halluis once the listening device is active on the girls. I couldn’t figure out how to stop the terrible feedback from having both active at the same time. Only know that Halluis will be somewhere in the shadows following you. You can’t have better backup than Halluis.”

  I smiled, but the fact that Jeremy thought I needed a shadow at all pricked at me. When he’d first suggested Halluis shadow me, I’d thought he was being overprotective. I’d even found it a little charming, if irritating. But now, realizing that he’d assigned Halluis to follow me because he was concerned I couldn’t do my job—I had to fight back the blush of shame that threatened to creep over my face.

  Well, whatever Jeremy thought, I’d have to prove him wrong. And I couldn’t let his doubt affect me, or the rest of my team.

  “Thank you,” I said. “I’ll do my best not to need any backup.”

  Chapter 7

  At 6:15, I sat on a bench about a block away from the entrance to the girls’ building, disguised as a bum—an outfit inspired by one of my trainers, Cort. Ace had accessed the school’s directory and found the addresses for both girls. It turned out they both lived in Prospect Park, in a massive apartment complex built on what had once been the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ebbets Field—one of the infamous New York City projects.

  We’d agreed that it would be less conspicuous to watch for the girls out here—they’d have to pass right by me to get to the nearest subway hole—rather than try to catch them at Karina’s apartment. Even though I would have done it, I was glad I didn’t have to go inside. The run-down apartments had an ominous feeling.

  In my disguise, I’d be able to place the trackers and then follow them the whole night, hopefully to watch them steal a car and follow them to the car’s end destination. Sure enough, at 6:40, the girls walked by, heading for the subway, Gina in a puffy black parka, a royal blue dress underneath it, and Karina in a pea coat with a hint of red poking out. I furrowed my brow. They were supposed to be stealing cars tonight, unless I’d completely misinterpreted their conversation. Why were they dressed for a dance?

  Before entering the subway, Karina spun around, throwing her arms into the air.

  Gina laughed and said, “The guys won’t be able to take their eyes off of you tonight!”

  “You either, Gina!”

  They stood under a streetlamp, and the delight on their faces and the way they walked, as if walking on air, made me smile. They looked happy. A tall, husky man with a black leather jacket over a black hoodie, followed close behind them, a ski cap pulled down tight against his head. He’d been behind them since they’d left the projects. Did they know each other? My heart sped up. If he tried anything, I’d have to stop him.

  “Do you really think this dress makes me look skinny?” Gina asked.

  “Girl, it doesn’t make you look skinny. You are skinny. If I were a guy, I’d be all over your sexy self.” After a few minutes, Karina added, “I barely ate anything for dinner I was so nervous.”

  “Don’t be nervous. You got this. Those boys won’t know what hit them.” Gina looked from side to side like she didn’t believe her own words. They were definitely going to the dance I’d heard kids talking about all day. This complicated things.

  I didn’t have time to worry about the implications of this change in plans. The husky man was getting closer, and it was obvious he was headed in the same direction as the girls. He moved quickly in front of them just as they were about to take the steps down into the subway. I darted forward, ready to strike, but then had to redirect myself down the steps at the last second, brushing against him slightly. I mumbled an apology.

  “You can’t go into the subway without first giving Uncle Laron a goodbye hug. I know you won’t be so willing outside the school or on the train. I’ll be close enough to help you if you need it. Don’t worry, your friends won’t know I’m there.” He hugged Gina. They knew him. He’d been their escort. I felt pretty foolish listening to them follow me down the steps, Laron still talking.

  “Have a good time. I’ll meet you at the school at 10:20. Be safe.”

  If they were planning on doing something illegal tonight, no one would have expected it. They took a seat facing the middle of the train. I held onto a pole only feet from them. Uncle Laron sat at the other end of the car.

  “I can’t wait to dance with Mateo,” Karina said. “Sure, I’ll only come up to his waist, but he’s so hot.”

  “You can say that again,” Gina said. “And he smells so yummy.”

  They nodded and giggled. Was I following the wrong girls? I wished I could consult Jeremy, but he’d never come back after the argument with Halluis. I had to go with the intel I had, and that was that the girls were involved with something tonight, something more than a dance. I’d just have to trust my gut and follow through with the plan. I’d figure out what to do about the dance when the time came. For now, I needed to plant the trackers.

  I pretended to lose my balance on the train when it took a curve, and I plopped the flat locator bug onto Gina’s sleeve, then pressed a listening device on Karina’s collar. They both screamed and squealed, standing up and brushing themselves off as I stumbled away. Laron made his way over to them, so I hurried into the next car.

  I sat in the train car next to theirs, body hunched over, earpiece in, listening to the two girls talk about how disgusting it was to get groped by some bum and lamenting the fact that they had to ride the subway at night to the school. That would suck. Most kids would find a ride in a taxi or with someone who owned a car, especially at an expensive school like Bell. I opened the GPS function on my watch and made sure that the locator I’d put on Gina was transmitting. A purple dot flashed hot on the screen. They were mine.

  Now I had to figure out how to blend in at the dance, when I’d planned to be disguised as a bum the entire night.

  Gina, Karina, and their escort exited the station at the stop nearest the school, and I slunk out behind them, making sure they didn’t notice me. I watched them exit the subway and head toward the school.

  I made m
y way to the back stall of the closest restroom in a deli, cleaned off the makeup on my face with a wet wipe, and pulled out the clothes in my go bag.

  First, I selected a plain white blouse—the type commonly used by waiters and valets, a convenient disguise in a city like New York. I quickly shed the coat, scarf, T-shirt, and torn-up sweater that was my bum disguise and yanked on the white shirt. It looked a little austere, so I rolled up the sleeves, then unbuttoned the bottom five buttons and tied the ends into a chic little knot. I went through my options for the bottom half of my body, but they all seemed wrong—the muddy, baggy jeans I was currently wearing were definitely out. The black dress slacks that normally accompanied the white shirt were definitely too formal, and the only other pants I had were a pair of wool uniform pants. I grimaced.

  Just as I was about to despair—I couldn’t show up at a school dance in my uniform!—my eyes lit on the scarf I’d discarded. An idea struck. I quickly slipped out of the jeans and started wrapping and tucking the scarf around my waist. In one minute flat, I had a stylish draped skirt—perhaps a little shorter than I would have preferred, but still school-dance appropriate. A few well-placed safety pins ensured the skirt would stay in place the whole night. I smiled in satisfaction.

  Luckily, I had a pair of slim, strappy black heels in my go bag—they didn’t take up much space, and they took the waiter disguise upscale if necessary. I quickly traded them for my raggedy sneakers, then I used my mirror and wipes to completely clear myself of the disguise makeup and put my normal teenage makeup back on. After carefully arranging my go bag so that if anyone looked inside they’d think it merely a high-schooler’s bag, I brushed my teeth. After a quick once-over with the mirror, I deemed myself completely transformed and hurried out of the deli.

  I listened in on the girls the whole time, figuring out a new plan for the evening. If they were going to the dance, perhaps all the other thieves would be at the dance, too. Maybe I’d be able to ID the two I’d seen in Shareweather’s class, but didn’t recognize. If I could figure out who they were, that would give us nine kids to track, including Jericho and Mikado. More bodies to track would be a definite bonus. I could also keep track of all the thieves and give the team a heads up when they left the building in case of equipment failure. Maybe I’d overhear something that would give us a jump on the gang.

  The only interesting thing I heard from the girls was a comment about how they hoped no one would be by a particular door. I figured that was my only clue. They would most likely be sneaking out a door at the dance to go do whatever it was they were going to do. I hoped it had to do with stealing cars. Best case scenario, Halluis would place his tracker on whatever car they stole, and then the tracker would lead us to the storage facility where they kept all the stolen cars. We could then go in, retrieve the Mercedes 300 we’d been assigned to retrieve, and send the authorities to get the rest.

  I let my team know about the change in plans as I continued on my way to the school. Since we weren’t able to use the com except to listen in on the girls, I pulled out my phone and sent a coded text.

  The girls are going to the school dance. If they leave, Halluis will have to follow. I’ll be at the dance, trying to learn everything I can about S-Dub’s gang. There may be more kids involved than just the ones I saw this morning.

  A moment later, my phone buzzed, and I read the coded response. Got it. Halluis is in position to tail the girls.

  I heard the girls arrive at the school and enter the main lobby, where the dance was held. I had to promptly turn the volume down on my earpiece. I wouldn’t be able to understand most of what they were saying unless they left the room. That was when I wanted to hear them anyway.

  Once I arrived, I listened to the same spiel given to Karina and Gina from the people at the door.

  “Once you enter the dance, you are obligated to stay until nine. No ins and outs.” I wouldn’t be leaving. My job was to keep track of anyone else who left the dance.

  I signed in and went through the doors to the sound of pounding bass. Tables and chairs lined the walls, but only a smattering of kids sat in them. I stood back and perused the crowd. I found the five kids I had ID’d from Mr. Shareweather’s auto theft class. Only Gina and Karina were together, but they were all dancing their hearts out. I set my bag under a chair by the bathroom and turned back to the dancing mass, intending on working my way over to the girls.

  Before I could do that, though, a curious thing happened as I looked over the crowd. A teacher made her way out to the dance floor and tapped a guy on the shoulder. He stepped out of the dancing mass and leaned down to listen to the woman, then they both looked my way. He immediately started toward me. I turned my head to see if someone was behind me, but no one was. He kept on the path to intersect with me. I felt my face flame for some reason as I started to walk out onto the dance floor.

  The guy heading my way was in no way knock-your-heart-out gorgeous, but the idea he was heading for me made my insides buzz. As he got closer, I squeezed my hands together and realized this guy was slightly cuter than average—someone I could easily talk to and not worry that I was about to come face-to-face with someone way out of my league. He could make a good cover as I tried to inconspicuously keep track of the thieves at the dance. By the time he reached me, I had calmed my thudding heart and was able to give him a genuine smile.

  He spoke first. “Hi. I’m Carson. Would you like to dance?” He cocked his head to the side, the minimal light dancing off the light blond highlights in his dark blond hair.

  “Sure.” I smiled at him. Dancing would give me plenty of casual-seeming eye contact on all the different elements of S-Dub’s little group. This would be a piece of cake surveillance job.

  He bit his bottom lip with his front teeth, and I took quick stock of my dancing partner. I couldn’t tell if the close-cropped beard and mustache were permanent or if he’d simply chosen not to shave today. Permanent was good in this case. It would be nice to have a good-looking guy on my arm while I kept an eye on the crowd.

  “Great.” He held out his hand to me, and I took it. He led me out to the herd of dancing students, and I took a mental snapshot of the crowd. As I twirled around with him, I noticed everything. The longer we danced, though, I felt a momentary silliness come over me. I knew I knew how to dance, but I hadn’t been to a high school dance in forever and didn’t want to look like a fool. I reminded myself that I was Amber, a high school student, not Christy, an agent for D57. The deejay played a familiar pop-rock song that eased my tension in a hurry. Carson totally got all into the music, singing along while he danced. His self-assuredness made him slightly better-looking. When the song ended, he led me away from the dance floor.

  “So,” I said, leaning toward him so he could hear me over the music. He leaned down toward me. “That teacher made you ask me to dance?” There was no way a guy like this wouldn’t have multiple girls after him. He had to have been forced to seek me out.

  He chuckled. “Yeah. Sorry. I should have noticed you before she did.”

  I looked at him in question.

  “I’m one of ten ambassadors at the school. It’s part of an Honor Society project. We’re supposed to help new students feel at home.”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Gotcha.” A ping of sadness hit me that he hadn’t asked me of his own accord. I quickly pushed that silly idea out of my mind. This was not about me. It was about the car thieves. We hadn’t had long to dance before the next song had started and the changing of dance partners was in full swing. My eyes took everything in, and I counted all the people there. Jericho was missing, but the six others I could recognize were all there—Gina and Karina, three of the auto shop boys, and the mysterious Mikado.

  “Want to dance again?”

  I looked out into the crowd--I hadn’t seen the faces of the other two auto shop boys, but I hoped to uncover their identities tonight. Maybe I could catch one of the three boys’ attention and dance with them. Maybe I’d get some
more insight into the car thieves before they all disappeared. “Sure.”

  After that, I danced with Greg and then Tanner, neither of them were my marks, but both guys were fun and interesting and kept me near two of my marks. By the end of the second dance, Mikado had gone missing. Before the music stopped, the deejay called out, “See ya back in ten for some good ole country line dancing.”

  The group dispersed, and I caught a glimpse of Gina heading for the bathroom. I scanned the crowd and found Karina heading for the drink table and one of the guys from S-Dub’s class heading for the men’s room. The other two boys had scattered about the room. While Karina talked to a few people, I walked in her direction. She turned toward the bathroom, but then carefully detoured to a doorway that led out of the room. She stood in front of it, holding a cup and drinking with one hand, while the other was behind her back. Was she picking the lock?

  I looked away for no more than a few seconds, and when I turned back, she was gone. Three of the seven were now gone. I glanced at my watch monitor and could see Gina had made it out of the building and was walking along the side of the school. Karina’s ragged breathing told me she was running down the hallway she’d just entered and would probably be joining Gina any minute.

  I made my way to the door Karina had gone out. With my back leaning on it, I tried to push it open. It was locked. I slipped a bobby pin out of my hair and made quick work of unlocking the door. I pushed on it, ready to disappear for a few minutes into the hall and give the team an update, when I saw Carson heading my way. I took the pressure off the door and smiled at him, assuming a relaxed posture. I even took a half-step toward him, letting my hands fall to my sides. I hated not being able to just follow the girls. It made me feel pretty helpless to stay inside at the dance, and I was curious how they would do. But Halluis and Jeremy were out there with their eyes on the girls and guys. They would be able to tell me everything.