Upbeats

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The night was cold and windy and it threatened to rain any second. The moon was still full and managed to shine through the heavy clouds just enough so we could see where we were going.

  As we got closer to the warehouses, orange streetlights became more regular.

  This side of Downtown was the most decrepit part of town. Most of it was covered in graffiti, abandoned and left to crumble. People with no homes and no future hope of homes spend their days and nights in this area.

  The apartments, simple blocks about ten or twelve storeys high, were cheaply built and cheap to rent but not too many people wanted to live there unless they had no other choice or they didn’t know what it was like.

  Parts of Downtown were okay, like where Ned lived. Other parts were patrolled by ruffians and were often visited by the police: you didn’t go near there unless you were in a large group.

  This was the warehouse, factory and electrical-plant side of town.

  The warehouses were on the outskirts of the ‘left to crumble’ area. They were huge, empty buildings. There was a whole block of them all clustered together. But they weren’t too popular as it was situated right by the dump.

  No one in their right mind would be here for fun.

  Except us, of course.

  There was a tall, wire fence around the perimeter, guarding the block of warehouses. It was a known fact that it was once an electrical fence. Once. It’s not a shocking experience anymore to climb over it.

  Robyn ran at it and climbed up, using her speed to propel herself over. Ned tried the same thing. But he just ran straight into it and fell backwards.

  "Okay, let’s try that one again," he said, picking himself up and brushing dirt off his shoulders. Then he tried again and got it right, throwing himself over and landing like a squashed bug the other side.

  Brooke stretched her arms over it, placed them on the ground on the other side, and did an amazing back flip over the fence.

  "Style," she said. "I have it."

  Ned rolled his eyes. Brooke punched him, playfully, on the arm.

  Smithy teleported over and I walked through. No biggy.

  "Um, where’s System?" I asked, looking around me, searching for our furry friend.

  "I can’t get over!" System was pawing at the fence, with big sad eyes. He looked like Bailey when I left him outside in winter and he wanted, desperately, to come in.

  "Oh, sorry," Brooke stretched her arm over, wrapped it around little System, and brought him over. She set him down, gently, on the ground.

  "Thanks," he said.

  My team was likely to be spotted at any moment, it suddenly occurred to me. Thankfully, the shadows were hiding us for now. But that didn’t change the fact that I could hear low voices. "Duck!" I hissed. Everyone dropped to the ground, lying flat. It was muddy and cold and didn’t smell too appealing but we blended in perfectly and no one could detect us.

  "This ain’t my idea of a good time," Ned muttered.

  "At least you don’t have to do the laundry!" Brooke and Robyn said, hotly, in unison.

  "Shush," I warned.

  The voices talked for a few minutes. Then I heard chuckling.

  I crawled, army-style, to a pile of long metal pipes and peeked over. I saw two men, dressed in black uniforms that resembled SWAT uniforms, holding strange looking guns.

  Laser guns, I guessed.

  It would just fit in with the whole evil villain from space theme.

  I leaned forward in the hope of hearing more but my hand slipped and smacked against the metal. A hollow, metallic clang ran out. I tensed.

  The guards stopped their lively conversation and looked around with all seriousness.

  I ducked back down just in time.

  "There are guards here," I whispered.

  In the darkness, most I could see of my friends was the white of their eyes and the shimmer of Smithy’s face paint. My eyes were still trying to adjust to the faint light.

  "Okay, then all we need is a distraction," Brooke said, simply, as if this was a walk in the park for her. She slowly pumped her fist into the palm of her other hand. "You guys wait here: I’ll go and—distract—the guards."

  Robyn laid a restraining hand on her friend’s shoulder. "Brooke, don’t, just . . . don’t. Let Luke tell us what he had in mind. I’m sure he’s got it all worked out."

  To be honest, I didn’t have things planned to the bone. I was winging it badly. "No, let’s hear what you guys have in mind," I said. "Just, whatever it is, remember that we can’t be seen. We don’t want them to know we’re here. We want to keep them in the dark. Ignorance is bliss."

  Everyone fell silent as they thought up potential distractions.

  Ned put up his hand like he was in class.

  "Yes?"

  "We could start a fire," Ned suggested.

  "Ned, that’ll put their lives at risk and ours," I reasoned. "For all we know, they could be completely innocent."

  "Not to mention I think my matches got all soggy when I fell in that mud," Ned muttered.

  "Anyone else?"

  Brooke raised her hand.

  "Yes?"

  "We could throw a stone," Brooke offered. "It works in movies."

  "It won’t be enough," I said.

  Smithy lifted his hand.

  I sighed. "This isn’t school, people."

  "I have an idea," Smithy said, quietly.

  "Go on," I permitted.

  "What if I put this make-up to work? Walk on up to them and see if I can fool them. See if it’s really that convincing."

  "That can work," I said. "Just tell them to knock off for the night and if they object, roar like a tyrant."

  Smithy nodded and straightened up. When Smithy stands his full height, he just seems to keep growing.

  He was nervous but he walked with confidence, like a businessman, sure of whatever he was about to do.

  "Do you really think it will work?" Robyn asked me, careful to keep her voice low.

  "I hope so . . ."

  Smithy approached the guards who looked at him as if he had walked off the surface of mars.

  "Sir? What are you doing out here?" the tall one asked.

  "Fresh air," Smithy replied, deepening his voice to match Gemini’s. I must say, I could have mistaken him for the in disguise dentist.

  "But the transmission is in half an hour," the shorter one pointed out.

  "Well . . . that transmission is off now," Smithy said.

  The guards looked at each other. "But, Sir . . . I was all ready to send the information off. I promise you I won’t mess it up."

  "That’s not it. I’ve decided that if they’re not going to pay full price, then I am not going to hold my end of the bargain."

  "Sir . . ."

  "Tell the others to take the night off, too."

  The guards were still unconvinced. "Sir . . ."

  "DO I LOOK LIKE I WANT TO BE QUESTIONED?" Smithy roared.

  The guards shut up and whimpered away.

  When they were gone, Smithy looked over his shoulder at us and grinned. We came running to his side.

  "I can’t believe that worked," he exclaimed.

  Robyn smiled. "You are a fantastic actor, Smithy."

  "Don’t you think that was a bit easy?" Ned said, warily. "I mean, in movies, when things are that easy, it’s either a corny, cheesy, ill-directed and badly written movie or the bad guys are trying to get us into their trap."

  "Or . . . Smithy’s just a dead ringer for Gemini," Brooke said. She crossed her arms. "Ned, you gotta stop being so pessimistic."

  "What is the point of this ‘pessimism?"’ System asked.

  "Absolutely nothing," Ned answered. "But it’s better to at least expect the worst so that when it hits you in the face, it doesn’t sting so bad and no one can then say: ‘I told you so,’ with any more right then you."

  "Oh," System nodded, wisely.

  "Can we get a move on?" I asked, im
patiently.

  "Oh, sure," Brooke nodded.

  The door to the warehouse was wide open, inviting us in. "Too easy," Ned chimed.

  "Be quiet," Brooke said.