The Winning Element (26 page)

Authors: Shannon Greenland

Tags: #Suspense

BOOK: The Winning Element

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Closing my right eye, I sighted down the length of the pencil. One of Eduardo’s men stood in front of him.
Good thing I’m farsighted.
The needless thought popped into my brain as I lined up the lead end of the pencil with the man’s forehead. With my tongue, I pressed the eraser. A tiny, nearly microscopic tracker sailed from the pencil twenty feet across the portico.

A couple seconds later, Eduardo’s man brushed his forehead and glanced into the air.
One down, three to go.

“. . . Mr. Scallione. You remember him? He totally made a pass at me. Did I ever tell you that?” Beaker shook her head. “I couldn’t believe it. I was visiting my grand . . .”

Nodding at Beaker’s babbling, I handed her my pencil, she handed me hers, and I resumed my eraser-in-the-mouth position. In my peripheral vision, Beaker recalibrated the pencil I’d just handed her, getting it ready for the next usage. To an onlooker, it appeared as if she was merely twirling it as she continued talking.

“. . . all that ended, and she made me eat her famous egg casserole. I don’t know what’s so famous about it.” Beaker gagged. “I almost threw . . .”

I bet this is the most brainless yapping Beaker has done in her whole life.
Another needless thought, but it popped into my head as I sighted down the length of the pencil, narrowing in on another one of Eduardo’s men. He shook hands with a bellman as they exchanged a key. Lining up the lead end of the pencil with the man’s hand, I pressed the eraser.

A couple seconds later, he gave his hand a little shake and wiped it on his pants.
Two down; two to go.

“. . . later that night I climbed up on the roof.” Beaker propped her hand on her hip. “Guess who was up there? Timmy, our next-door neighbor. Only he didn’t look like the Timmy I remember from first gr . . . ”

Exchanging pencils with Beaker again, I kept Eduardo and the one remaining man in my sight. Eduardo said something to the man, the man nodded, and then headed back into the hotel. TL was positioned in the lobby. He’d get that one.

“. . . the horse’s name was Bunny. Or maybe Sunny.” Beaker shook her head. “Either way it was the most beautiful horse I’d ever seen. I can’t believe my sister got it for gradu . . .”

Putting the pencil in my mouth, I sighted down the length and lined up the lead end with Eduardo’s neck. I put my tongue on the eraser, and a bellman moved right in front of Eduardo.

“Crap,” I mumbled around the eraser.

Beaker kept right on talking. “. . . do you know what he’s probably going to get me? A set of encyclopedias or something equally boring and educat . . .”

The bellman shifted away. I resighted Eduardo, lined up the lead end, and clicked the eraser.

A couple seconds later, he smacked his neck and looked straight across the portico at me.

My heart lurched.

As carefully, smoothly, and naturally as I could, I opened my right eye and moved my gaze to the left a fraction. I kept chewing on the eraser, pretending to be enthralled with Beaker’s prattling, and gave an understanding nod for good measure.

“Keep talking,” I murmured. “He’s looking right at us.”

“. . . it’s been that way my whole life.” Beaker threw her hands in the air. “Anyway. Hey, did I tell you I went to the zoo? It was the saddest thing that poor monkey . . .”

Taking the pencil from my mouth, I gave Beaker all my attention. “The monkey had been abused?” I grabbed her up in a huge hug. “That
is
sad.”

She didn’t hug me back.

I pulled away, and it occurred to me that I’d never hugged Beaker before. And from her sour face, I gathered she didn’t much appreciate it.

Nodding down the driveway, I grabbed my backpack from the ground. “Let’s go for a walk.” We headed off away from the sun, giving every appearance we were out for a morning stroll.

Eduardo’s car passed us about a minute later, and we kept right on strolling until it disappeared from sight.

Beaker and I nonchalantly turned and headed back up the driveway to the hotel. I wanted more than anything to sprint it, grab TL, and book it out of here. But the last thing I needed to do was to draw attention to us.

Reaching inside my pocket, I pulled out my cell phone and clicked over to tracking mode.

Four blue dots popped up—Eduardo and his men. Lessy and Jessy’s red dots appeared in the bottom corner of the screen.

Smiling, I put my cell away. “Everything’s in place.” I turned to Beaker. “You’re pretty good at carrying on a one-sided conversation. Mr. Scallione? Egg casserole? Timmy? Bunny? Sunny? Encyclopedias? A monkey?” I laughed. “How’d you come up with all that?”

Beaker shrugged. “I have my moments.”

It made me remember all the fake conversations Jonathan and I had struck up on my first mission. I’d gotten such a kick out of saying stuff that took him off guard. It had surprised me more than anyone that I had come up with the things I had.

TL met us in the lobby when we entered. “Twenty-one hundred hours. Be ready.” With that he strode off.

Twenty-one hundred hours. Nine o’clock tonight. In under ten hours I’d hopefully see the end to Eduardo Villanueva and finally stop this madman before he ruins another family.

That thought echoed in my mind as Beaker and I quietly opened the rehearsal hall door and slipped inside.

From her spot up front, the America’s Cheer team leader pointed across the crowd.

In unison, all heads turned toward us.

“You’re late,” team leader echoed in her mike. "L-A-T-E! Sorry we’re late!” She circled her finger in the air. “Three times around the room and make it look good.”

Beaker and I exchanged annoyed looks while snickers filtered across the crowd.

We took off around the perimeter of the room, clapping, chanting, "L-A-T-E! Sorry we’re late!”

As when Beaker had chanted her gum mantra, some girls began sarcastically clapping, others bopped in their chairs. I caught sight of the twins on our second time around. They shook their heads in amused pity.

We circled the third time, came to a stop at the front, and went into simultaneous back handsprings. “Go, America’s Cheer!”

Everyone leapt to their feet. “Go, America’s Cheer!”

Thank
God
this was the last meeting.

seven P.M.

We were back in our room with the twins after getting cut from the team. In two hours Beaker and I had to be ready to go, and we still hadn’t gotten rid of Jessy and Lessy. And I’d tried,
believe
me. We needed, more than anything, to access the secret headboard panel for supplies.

“You all should go down to the beach for one last stroll,” I suggested. “Come tomorrow morning, you’ll be heading back to Alabama. No more Barracuda Key, Florida, sand.”

Lessy shrugged. “Don’t feel like it.”

“Come with us.” Jessy perked up. “Yeah, let’s all go.”

Beaker and I exchanged a this-is-not-working glance.

“Nah.” Beaker flopped back on our bed. “We don’t feel like it either.”

Seven thirty-one P.M.

“You two should go into town and gorge on pizza,” I suggested. “You know your mom won’t let you have any when you get home.”

“Come with us.” Lessy perked up.

Beaker and I exchanged a glance.

“Nah.” Beaker rolled over. “We’re not hungry.”

Eight oh-four P.M.

“You two should go sit in the hot tub,” I suggested. “Make use of the spa facilities before you head back home.”

“Come with us.” Jessy perked up. “Yeah, let’s all go.”

Beaker and I exchanged a glance.

“Nah.” Beaker shoved a pillow under her head. “I don’t feel like getting wet right now.”

Eight forty-nine P.M.

I stared at the clock, my jaw getting tighter and tighter. We had to be outside in eleven minutes, and still no luck with the Jessy/Lessy issue. They’d changed into their pajamas and lay under the covers watching TV.

With the way they were settled in, I highly doubted we were getting rid of them.

“You two,” I tried one last time, having no idea what to suggest, “should . . . hurry and get dressed and . . . go down to the, um, lounge, and start singing right there. Yeah, that’s what you should do.” I jabbed my finger in their direction. “If you were
really
serious about this singing thing, you would do it.”

Even to my own ears, I sounded stupid.

The twins just looked at me.

I cleared my throat and glanced at Beaker, hoping to get some backup.

She rolled her eyes and fell back on the bed.

I sighed.

A knock sounded on our door. I trudged across the room and opened it.

TL grinned. “Thought I’d take my two favorite girls out for an ice cream to cheer you up for not making the team.”

“Wow.” This came from one of the twins. “Your coach is so nice. Ours yelled at us for an hour.”

Beaker and I grabbed our back packs and followed TL out into the hall.

“Sorry,” I whispered. “No supplies.”

He shook his head. “Got it covered.”

Of course he had it covered. TL had a backup for everything.

In, down, and out the elevator we went. Bypassing the lobby, we cut through a hall and out the back exit door. We jogged past the pool and down the path leading to the beach, followed the moonlit shoreline about a quarter of a mile, then jogged through the dunes and came out at the back side of a grocery store.

A black van sat idling, waiting. TL led us to it and opened the back door. Beaker and I climbed up and sat down. TL followed, shutting the door behind him, and the van pulled away.

I stared across the cargo space at Nalani and a woman sitting beside her. They both wore black jumpsuits and black knit caps.

“Hello, Sissy,” the woman greeted Beaker.

Beaker looked up and blinked. “Ms. Gabrier?”

Ms. Gabrier focused on me. “I was Sissy’s chemistry teacher back in her old life. I helped her find her way to the Specialists.”

“Really?” I smiled. “That’s cool.”

Ms. Gabrier turned back to Beaker. “I’m here to assist you with defusing the chemicals.”

“
You’re
,” Beaker pointed at her, “assisting
me
?”