Fatal Error, стр. 15

14

Cross Talk

“Norton Rome tried to wipe us out yesterday, Mr. Ek,” Jupiter responded angrily. “We have to catch him before he tries again.”

“He what?” Shocked, Silas Ek let go of Jupe.

Jupe told the Oracle security chief how Rome had tried to kill them with his pickup. “Now we’ve got to find Rome,” he finished. “And maybe that will help you.”

Ek stubbornly shook his bald head. “No deal. Okay, I understand you’ve got personal reasons to track him down, but I can’t jeopardize Oracle by helping you… or letting you help us.” He gestured at the delivery van and his voice rose in fury. “It’s good cover. But you’re loitering, and next time I’ll have you arrested! Now pack up and get out!”

The bald security chief waited impatiently with arms crossed as Jupe closed up the van, climbed into the driver’s seat, and took off for the junkyard. As they passed the eucalyptus grove, Pete pulled out behind them and joined the retreat.

“Brother!” Branson said as he sat up in the passenger seat. “I was hoping we could stick around until at least eight o’clock. By then everybody’s gone. Nort and I were the only ones who ever stuck around till midnight.”

Jupe lifted his chin with determination. “We’re going to get Rome yet!”

“Just think, we started out feeling sorry for Rome,” Bob said. “Now it looks like he’s going to bag a cool five mil!”

The sun had set, the stars were out, and Bob, Pete, and Branson Barr had just polished off a giant pizza while Jupe had emptied his peanut butter jar and demolished three bananas. Now Bob, Jupe, and Branson were sitting around the grease pit watching Pete clean up the delivery van. The four were discussing the case.

“Not to mention getting away with blackmail,” Branson added.

“And attempted murder,” grumbled Pete. “Don’t forget he tried to run us off the road. He should be shot for what he did to my paint job alone.” Pete removed the last bolt from the second Snax Galore sign. “Where is that sleazeball?”

“What are we going to do?” Bob asked Jupe. “Come on, man, you’re the brains. I mean, we can’t just roll over and play dead.”

“We’ve got to do something!” Pete leaped high and executed a powerful tobi-geri kick from the top of his jump.

Suddenly cheers and applause sounded across the dark junkyard.

“Go, Pete, go!” sang Kelly, shaking imaginary pom-poms as she ran into the pool of light around the grease pit.

“You are a lucky man, Bob Andrews. We are going to forgive you,” Elizabeth said as she sailed straight to Bob and smiled sweetly at him.

Bob stood up and grinned down at her. “Does this mean we have a date?”

“Well, yes,” she said. “If you’re not too busy.”

“I’m not, I’m not!”

Kelly had slipped her arm around Pete’s. She gave it a little squeeze. “You must come see Cosmic Trek tonight, Pete. We can’t spend our whole vacation fighting!”

Pete was about to point out that she was doing the fighting, but he thought better of it. “Let’s go!”

“We’ll go too, Bob,” Elizabeth said, and headed toward the junkyard entrance. “Okay?”

“You bet!” Bob started to follow her.

“Just a sec,” Jupe interrupted. “If you dudes want to catch Norton Rome, tonight’s our last chance!”

Pete groaned, and Bob reluctantly turned to look at Jupiter.

“Last chance how?” Kelly asked suspiciously.

“Haven’t you finished with that Rome man yet? ” Elizabeth demanded.

“We found out Rome’s behind the virus that trashed our disks,” Jupiter explained. “He’s done some other rotten stuff, but we can’t tell you what until we catch him.”

“Yeah, sure,” Kelly said.

Jupiter shrugged. One of the problems with most girls, he decided, was that they thought dates were more important than catching criminals. Now, Qute den Zom, he was sure, wouldn’t think that way at all. “What do you mean ‘tonight’s our last chance’?” Pete said.

“You got another good plan, Jupe?” asked Bob. “I mean, our plan today to stake out” — he couldn’t say Oracle’s name in front of the girls — “the company was a total waste!”

“What company?” Elizabeth said. “Pete, what’s going on?” demanded Kelly. Jupe ignored the girls. “We know Rome’s going to be doing one thing tonight for sure. He’s going to be collecting his money!”

Branson Barr snapped his fingers. “I get it! All we have to do is find out where Ek’s taking the money and wait for Rome to pick it up!”

“Who is this Ek person?” Kelly asked Pete. But Pete was watching Jupiter. “How do we find that out, Jupe?”

“Another stakeout.”

Branson nodded. “Ek’s supposed to get the call between ten forty-five and eleven forty-five tonight at his house, telling him where to take the money. We’ll follow him to the drop and trap Nort.”

Kelly’s green eyes narrowed. “You don’t all have to do whatever it is you have to do. Jupe, why don’t you and your friend go do it. That way Pete and Bob can come to the movies with us.”

“Good idea, Kelly!” said Elizabeth.

Jupe shook his head. “Someone should also stake out the, er, company again. We still don’t know what Rome was doing there yesterday. And it makes sense to cover all bases because we won’t get another chance.”

“Yeah, this is it,” Branson assured the little group. “After tonight you can count on Nort taking his dough and going where no one’ll ever find him again!”

“Okay,” Pete said. “I want to follow Ek to the stake-out so I can meet Rome up close and personal!”

“Pete!” Kelly wailed. “You’re doing it again!”

“Fine with me, Pete.” Jupiter checked his watch and stood up. “We’d better get a move on. It’s almost ten o’clock.”

Elizabeth flashed a smile at Bob. “I guess we’ll have to go to the movie alone, Bob.”

Bob looked uneasily at Elizabeth.

“Come on, Bob,” Pete said. “You can go with me. We’ll let Jupe and Branson stake out the company, and we’ll grab Rome ourselves!”

“Right!” Bob said enthusiastically.

The girls exchanged looks of disgust.

“We’re through, Pete Crenshaw!” Kelly said, and she stalked away.

“You’re history, Bob Andrews,” Elizabeth announced haughtily, and she followed Kelly out of the junkyard.

Jupiter laughed. “They’ll get over it,” he said. “Come on, let’s go close this case!”

15

Live Action

Pete and Bob sat in Pete’s car in front of the address Branson Barr had given them. They glanced up and down the moonlit residential street.

“We’re here!” Bob announced into the walkie-talkie.

“Roger,” came Branson’s voice.

“Let’s go,” Pete commanded.

Pete and Bob slipped out of the Aries, crept up the lawn to the lighted front window of the ranch-style house, and squatted behind bushes there.

“I hear voices,” Bob whispered.

Slowly the two inched up until they could just see in the window.

“It’s Ek all right,” Pete breathed.

With Ek was a blond woman in a black leather pantsuit.

“And Phyllis Hyem,” Bob said.

Pete nodded. “We saw her painting at Oracle.”

The famous founder of Oracle Light & Magic sat on a sofa and nervously smoked a long brown cigarette. Ek paced around the telephone. He wore a business suit and carried a smallish package wrapped in black plastic. Their voices were a low drone. The guys could hear the sound but couldn’t make out the words. “He’s waiting for the call from Rome,” Bob deduced.

Pete nodded. “Let’s get back to the car and tell Jupe and Branson what’s going on.”

As Branson took Bob’s latest report over the walkie-talkie, Jupiter rolled down the van window and slipped Branson’s employee I.D. card into the sentry box slot. Silently the great steel gate to Oracle Light & Magic swung open.