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Spy Games - Creative Essay
Being an international spy is no walk in the park. Death can be
waiting for you around the corner or around the world. However when you're
only 17 years old, death is the furthest thing from your mind. So here we
were on a hot summers day playing international espionage. Of course to six
of us playing, it was just another Saturday of playing spy.
Myself, Tim Wolfe, David Sullivan, Peter Shore, Jennifer Strong (who
was the only female to be amongst us) and Frank Robb made up the group. At
this age it was suppose to be above us to play in these spy games.
We were going to be graduating in a year or so after all. Thus
keeping the game secret was good practice for all of us. It also meant
lying to a lot of people as to why we were always busy on Saturdays. Mind
you, we never considered it lying. We preferred to refer to it as clouding
the truth. Many of us wanted to become employed in the intelligence area.
So really, we though of it more as an act of deception.
We took our game very seriously. In fact we never even referred to is
as a game. Mostly because we were working our maneuvers on real people who
didn't know we were just a group of teenagers pretending to be spies. Every
week we'd have at least one meeting at my house to talk about how things
were going. Sometimes depending on the case or goal we were pursuing, the
meetings would run on into the late of night.
I guess it could be said that I was leader of our group. The meetings
were held at my house, and I was the one who brought together the present
group of agents. In the theme of espionage, we referred to everyone as an
agent. Never as a friend. However we preferred to think of our agency,
which we had given the name of the Renegades, as a collective. That is,
everybody had a say in what we did.
My bedroom was in the basement of our house, and I had the entire
basement at my disposal. Against the far wall was a room with my bed,
stereo, and the usual stuff you'd find a bedroom. Perhaps the one
difference being I had posters of famous spies on my walls rather than
sports heroes. Igor Grouzenko is a good example. Outside my room was a
large table where we held most, if not all, of our meetings. Thanks to a
door located in the cellar, it made for easy access to the outside. In most
cases my parents never knew we held meetings on into the dead of night. The
door also made it easy to sneak out at night. Agents do their work best
under the cover of darkness you know.
Today our meeting was going to be a good one. Last Thursday we had
decided to draw up entire new names and careers for ourselves. Agents
usually have more aliases than friends, so we decided to change ours every
month. It was kind of hard juggling school work and memorizing new alias
information each month. Yet when we were out in the `real world' doing
maneuvers it all seems worth it.
The table was round, so there really was no one at the head of it.
From left to right there was Tim, David, Peter, Frank, Jen, then myself. "I
trust everyone had no problem coming up with a new alias" I asked.
Everyone nodded in agreement. From there we went about the table
saying who we now were and what our profession was. My alias was John
Inglis, and I went to one of the local high schools. As a part time job I
supposedly worked for McDonald's. Everybody's main story was that they went
to high school. It helps give credibility to your story. Perhaps the only
thing that varied from person to person was their name, and their part time
job.
After some more talking, we decided on our next target. We were
going to find out how much money the local computer store takes in on a
daily basis. Naturally they would not divulge such information to a bunch
of teenagers. The way we go about gathering our information is the basis
for our intelligence game. Finding out stuff about people and things which
they'd rather have us not know.
Since many of us had a chemistry test next morning, we kept the
meeting short. We all agreed to meet back at my house tomorrow - Friday -
night to discuss our plan of action. As a parting word I suggested that a
cleaning of our guns during study breaks would do us some good. Both to
help us relax to study, and ensure the guns worked properly. With that we
said our good-nights.
When I mention gun, I'm not talking about the kind that carry
bullets and actually kill people. The guns we carry are of a much less
harming sort. We carried CO2 powered paint guns which fired paint pellets.
Although they could do some damage if they hit someone in the eye, we
always ensured that the enemy was hit on the body. Preferable in the heart
to ensure what would normally be death.
We could carry the guns where-ever we wished, under one condition.
They must always be concealed. If your weapon could be seen, it was
considered that you were as good as dead. Personally, I carried mine tucked
into my pants behind my back.
After a few hours of studying, I didn't think any more chem would
sink in. So, it was off to bed. Tomorrow I'd write the test, and then get
to thinking about our weekend of intelligence work.
* * * * *
The test went ok. It's always hard to concentrate fully when you
know that you're doing spy techniques the following day. With that I went
home around 3:30 and waited for my fellow agents to arrive.
Eventually everyone showed up and we began to plan out what we'd be
doing tomorrow. The plan was to have Jen and Frank head down to the store
tomorrow with the front of wanting to buy a computer. The rest of us would
wait out in the car and watch who went in and out of the store.
Saturday rolled around and Tim came by around 10am. Since Tim was
the only one who owned his own car, he ended up doing most of the driving.
It seems I was the last one to be picked up, as everyone else was present
and accounted for. By the time 10:30 had rolled around, we were all down at
Compu-Tech.
Jen and Frank left the car, leaving the rest of us to sit and
listen to the radio. Time drags slowly when you're sitting and not
physically partaking in a mission. I mean aside from watching whose coming
and going, there wasn't much else to do.
About half and hour later Jen and Frank emerged. Chit chatting
about what they had seen and what the salesman had told them. As always we
decided not to talk about anything concrete until we were back at my place.
Arriving home, we descended into the basement and took our usual
seating. Jen started the meeting by telling everything and everything about
the store. Frank sat beside her and interjected his opinion every now and
then. By the time Jen had given us her report we felt fairly comfortable
with the information we had heard. Yet we still didn't know what their
daily income was.
"One more thing" Jen said. "One of the sales people was Tammy
Contenda. Maybe she can give us the information were after".
Tammy Contenda was a girl we all knew from high school. Although
she was fairly popular, none of us could be considered her good friend.
Acquaintances is perhaps a better word. None the less, we had our lead. Now
all we had to do was pump the information from her. If she could tell us
about Compu-Tech without any of us entering the building ourselves, so much
the better.
It was decided that myself and Dave would approach her. After all,
she may recognize Jen and Frank from the store if they decided to talk to
her. We spent the rest of our day figuring out step by step what we would
do in the following weeks. Many of our missions took about a month to
finish, sometimes even longer. So speed was not of the essence.
* * * * *
"On Monday" I began "Dave and I will approach Tammy to see what we
can get find out about Compu-Tech. Chances are good that she won't
volunteer the information readily. So, it may take some time."
"What, instead of waiting a week for this project to come to a
close we may end up waiting three or four?" This was Peter talking. Pete
always was in a rush to get our missions over and done with. Were it not
for the fact that he was an incredible agent, and excellent at recruiting
people, we might have let him go. These factors alone were enough to keep
him in the Renegades.
"Unfortunately it just might" I replied. "You know as well as
anyone else that having Tammy tell us how much money the store brings in
lessens the risk to us".
"I know I know" said Pete. "I just wish it wouldn't take so long".
Monday arrived before we knew what happened. Saturdays are always
dedicated to Renegade work. That means Sundays are left to doing homework.
At school, Dave approached Tammy under the guise of needing help in Algebra.
As luck would have it, her and Dave were in the same class. Later on into
the conversation, I happened by and Dave introduced me to her. Bingo,
contact had been made. The group of us don't hang around together at school,
so there was little chance of Tammy associating our intentions with Frank
and Jen. Still we decided to play it safe, so they ate lunch on the other
side of the cafeteria.
By Wednesday, Dave and Tammy had made arrangements for algebra
tutoring outside of class time. I had more or less fallen from the picture
as Dave had become good friends with her. Aside from a guest appearance
here and there, that was it for me. At our regular Thursday meeting though,
we found just how good a friends they really had become!
"She what?" exclaimed Frank from across the table.
"She asked me to go to prom with her" repeated Dave.
A chorus of laughter could be heard coming from the rest of us. The
prom wasn't for another two months, and tickets had just gone on sale at
the beginning of the week. Its a safe bet that none of us had even thought
of getting a prom date. Plus considering our original plan was too just
involve Tammy and then end it, this was an interesting turn of events.
"Have you decided what you're going to tell her?" Frank continued
to probe the issue. I couldn't help but pick up a hint of jealousy in his
voice.
"Of course. I told her that I'd love to go with her".
Silence echoed through my basement for what seemed like an eternity.
At last I asked "Have you found out anything about Compu-Tech?" This
seemed to throw everyone for a loop. We'd all been wrapped up in the gossip
concerning Dave's life that we forgot about Compu-Tech.
"Yeah, I've been able to find out a bit about the place. Tammy's
told me about the establishment. It's owned by a husband and wife team
Linda & Jason Proton. Business seems to run in spurts."
"How long has Tammy been working there?" asked Jen. In this shuffle
of prom dates, everyone had forgotten to consider her matters on the
situation.
"She told me she's been there for about a year and a half. Business
seems to come and go in spurts according to her. The summer months
including September along with Christmas time are their peak times."
"Any complaints with regards to her treatment from them?" Jen
continued.
"None really. Just the usual you know. More pay, not to work on
Friday nights..."
"Yeah yeah" I interjected. "Any word on what we're after?"
"Nope, not yet. I plan on asking her Friday night."
"Friday night?" we all seemed to ask in unison.
"Yeah, when we go to the movies together."
Again, laugher could be hard all around the room.
* * * * *
Saturday's meeting was relatively short one. Everyone was at my
place by 1pm, and the meeting begun. "How was your date last night, stud
man?" asked Frank. You could tell from the tone in his voice that he was
mocking Dave.
"Fine thanks" Dave replied, not lowering himself to reply with any
snide comments. "Incase you were wondering, I asked her about the
information we're after."
"Oh yeah, asked her between kisses I suppose eh?" quipped Frank.
Now listen..." Dave began. "My love life is none of your, or for
that matter anyones' business, so if you don't mind I'd..." Dave's voice
was tensing as we could sense his anger.
"Ok, ok Dave. We understand your point" I stated. "Now, if you will
continue your report on what Tammy told you, I'm sure we'd all be glad to
hear it".
"Well, according to her, Compu-Tech pulls in around $500,000 a year.
Mind you, keep in mind that these figures are just coming from the top of
her head."
"Would it possible for her to find out the exact amount of money
the store pulls in?" Jen inquired.
"I suppose she has access to that kind of information. Yet how to
propose I ask her? Wouldn't you become a bit suspicious if someone asked
you to find out the exact financial position of the business you worked
for?"
"Well, I suppose I would" Jen continued. "What if you asked her to
take a look at one of their accounting programs, under the guise that you
wanted to buy a computer system. Then you could ask her to use the real
numbers from Compu-Tech's income."
"I suspect it might. Yet I don't really don't want to put myself in
such a position. It could jeopardize my relationship with Tammy."
"Mind you, it could be done, right?" I asked.
"Ok, ok. I'll see about doing it. If I lose my prom date over this
though, you can count me out of the Renegades."
"We'll take that chance..." Tim commented.
After that comment, the meeting broke down. Jen and I stayed back
to do a bit of target practice in my back yard. The targets we used were of
cut-outs of people which we propped up. Ideally we'd like to have them jump
out at us; as in real target practice, yet such a feat was not possible.
So, we stood about 40 feet back from the target and began to take
aim. We aimed for the heart area and the head. In real life though, with a
real gun, you'd aim for the person's head. After all, leaving any witnesses
around was sealing your fate. However with only paint pistols, we didn't
want to take any chances on hitting someone in the eye. For that reason we
concentrated our shots to the person's heart region.
Jen was a much better shot than me. Where 8 out of 10 shots of mine
would hit the proper area on the target, all 10 of Jen's would land
perfectly. I was jealous yes, but there wasn't much that could be done. We
worked on various techniques. Such as doing a forward summer salt, standing
up and shooting at the target. Another one was to walk by the target
unsuspiciously, the quickly remove your gun and shoot.
The later was my strong area while Jen seemed to have mastered them
all. In a while, both targets were covered in red paint. A quick hose down
with water, and they looked as good as new.
"Nothing like an afternoon of target practice to relieve a bit of
stress eh?" I said.
"Yeah, now all we have to do is improve your aim."
Thinking to myself, I decided that this would be a good time and
place. "Jen" I began. Already I could feel the sweat forming in my palms. I
mean I could pull of this spy stuff with no problems. Yet when it came to
asking a girl out, I was as weak as they come. "Would you like to go the
prom with me?" There, I'd said it. Now all that was required was the word -
yes- and everything would be perfect.
"Well its really sweat of you to ask" oh oh, here it comes I
thought to myself. "Yet I've already said I'd go with Dan Scoff. I hope
you'll understand."
"Sure" I replied. Inside my heart dove to the bottom of my stomach
and began to be burned by its acid. Shot down again. Ah well, that's life.
Jen helped me put the targets away and I bid her good-bye. Looking
at my watch, I noted the time was close to 4pm. I decided to head inside
and help Mom with dinner. For a guy whose suppose to feel great about his
accomplishments, I sure never felt lower in my life.
* * * * *
Sunday evening I found myself staring at my Physics book. Nothing
was sinking in. My mind seemed to race everywhere. School, girls, Jen, the
prom, the Renegades, everything. Suddenly the phone rang.
"How soon can you get over to my place?" It was Dave. From the
sound of his voice something was up.
"If I can get the car, I'll be over in about 5 minutes. Soon enough
for ya?"
"Perfect." and with that Dave hung up. Usually Dave can go on and
talk your ear off. In fact the two of us usually sit around and chat on the
phone from time to time. Out of everyone in the group I'd say I knew him
the best.
Putting on my Levis and grabbing a baseball cap I proceeded
upstairs. A quick check with Dad that I could take the car, and I found
myself headed towards Dave's place. In my rush to get out the door, I
didn't bother phoning any of the other Renegades. No matter, if Dave had
wanted them at his place, he would have called them himself.
Arriving at Dave's I saw the familiar appearance of everyone's car
with the exception of Pete. Since Tim and Pete live on the same street, I
assumed that Tim had brought Pete along with him. Parking my car I walked
up to the door and rung the bell. Within a matter of seconds Dave was
standing at the door.
"Quickly, come in, come in" Dave said closing the door behind me.
In all my years of being friends with Dave I'd never seen him so pale. "Go
on upstairs, everyone else has already arrived."
"What's up Dave?" I asked.
"Just get up stairs. I'll tell you once we're in my room."
I climbed the stairs to Dave's room, passing family portraits of
him and his brother growing up. The odd family portrait of the four of them.
Kind of makes me wonder why my parents stopped at one child. Anyway, before
I knew it I was walking into Dave's room.
I walked past Jen and sat beside Tim. "What's going on here?" I
asked him?
"Beats me. I just received a call telling me to get my butt down
here. Yourself?" replied Tim.
"Same."
"Now, you're probably asking yourselves why I called you here at
this time of night." began Dave. "Well, its about Tammy. She..."
Pete cut in "She what? Found out you have frog lips?"
"No you monkey head." howled Dave. "She's been kidnapped!"
* * * * *
"Kidnapped!" I exclaimed. "Are you sure? Who told you this? When
did you find out?" The questions just seemed to roll off my tongue.
"All I know is that when I called her tonight her Mom told me that
Tammy hadn't come home from work on Saturday. She figured that Tammy had
gone out with me or was spending the night at a friends house. Yet when I
called at six tonight she still hadn't come home." replied Dave.
We all sat silent for a few moments. Everyone seemed taken back by
this information. I was letting it sink in. Trying to find some hole or
something that I could say to indicate it may not have been a kidnapping.
Then Jen spoke up.
"Have you tried to contact the owners of Compu-Tech? Perhaps they
know what happened to her."
"Mr & Mrs Contenda tried to contact them. Yet she doesn't have
their home number written down. Besides, its an unlisted number so
information is out of the question. We have to do something!!" exclaimed
Dave. "This is what we've been training for all these years. To actually
get out and use our talents. Well, now's the time!"
"Hang on a sec here Dave" I began. "We're not even sure that some
foul play has happened here. Why don't we wait until Monday and find out
what the police have to say. Then we can take it from there. Agreed?"
"Agreed" everyone said in unison, although Dave's may have been a
bit less then enthusiastic.
Slowly we stumbled out of Dave's house. On way out we mumbled our
"don't worry, everything will work out" speech and what have you. We had
decided to hold a meeting tomorrow after school and get organized. The
original plan of finding out the income of Compu-Tech seemed to be of
minor concern in the recent news.
I was home and in bed in no time. Sleep though didn't smile upon me
tonight. My mind was racing through the potential kidnapping that Dave had
dropped on our laps. Although I issued my words of encouragement to Dave
along with the others, I couldn't help but think Dave was on to something
here.
* * * * *
School came and went. By 4:00pm everyone was assembled in my
basement, ready to figure out our next step.
"Tammy wasn't in algebra today" Dave began. "I called her place
when I arrived home from school and still no luck. None of her friends have
seen her either."
"Have the police been contacted yet?" asked Frank?
"Yeah, Mr. Contenda said he went down to the station this morning
and filled out a missing person report. The officer on duty told him they'd
be in touch if anything turned up."
"Well, calculus was not the most exciting class today. So, rather
than pay attention I came up with a game plan of sorts. Do you folks have
any objection to hearing me out?" I said.
Everyone seemed to nod in agreement, so I proceeded.
"Now from the way I look at things Tammy was a good kid. The only
reason someone would want to have her kidnapped would be if she found out
something she shouldn't have. As I understand it, the Contenda's are not
the richest people in the world. So a possible ransom reason may be hard to
swallow.
For that reason this is what I propose. Jen and Dave head down to
the hall of records. Photocopy or write down everything you can find on the
owners of Compu-Tech Mr. & Mrs. Proton. Maybe they've had some bad dealings
or what ever.
I'll head down to the police station and see if I can get a look at
the missing person report. I doubt they'll just show it to me, so I may
have to push a few buttons if you will.
Pete, I'd like you to head down to Compu-Tech and see what you can
find out. Just kind of browse around and look and/or listen for anything.
If you're approached talk like you want to purchase a computer. In the
small talk that ensues, ask about Tammy. You know, as any nosey customer
would. Anyone have any questions?"
"Yeah, what am I suppose to do?" asked Frank.
"You and Tim are in charge of coordinating all the information we
gather. Go over everything with, as the saying goes, a fine tooth comb.
Maybe you'll be able to tie things together and make some sense out of it."
"Ah bummer man" said Tim. "How come we stuck with the loser job
while the rest of you get to rock and roll?" If we lived near a beach, Tim
would have been on the waves 24 hours a day. I honestly think he should
have been born in California rather than Ontario. From the way he talks
you'd think surfing was all he lived for.
"Come on Tim, give it a break. Not everyone can have the glamorous
jobs you know?" I replied.
"Yeah yeah, I know dude. It's just I'd rather be out rocken and
rollen with you cats"
We sat around for a while and talked about the specifics of our
assigned missions. Everyone seemed happy with their assignments. Even Tim
and Frank seemed pleased with what I had assigned them, albeit they did
grumble a bit.
"Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes" my Mom yelled down the stairs.
"Will your friends be staying with us tonight?"
I glanced around the room and everyone shook their heads. "No, they
have to be heading home." I replied.
With that we decided to call the meeting to an end. We'd have our
usual meeting on Thursday when everyone could tell us what they'd managed
to find. I saw everyone out the door in the basement, and reassured Dave as
he left. As Jen approached the door I turned away and half heartily said
"see ya". Ever since she'd said no to me about the prom I'd been treating
her coldly. Not intentionally mind you. I just couldn't relate to her
anymore. I felt like she'd ripped my heart out by saying no.
"Dave..." she began.
"Ah, look. Dinners almost ready otherwise I'd love to sit and chat
with you" I interjected.
"Yeah, right" Jen snapped back.
Tim was the last to leave, and he closed the door behind him. I
stood for a moment in silence and starred at the meeting table. For about 1
year we had been doing our spy stuff. In all the time we'd never actually
tried a real case. I chuckled to myself in the silence. Just to think of it.
A group of kids calling themselves The Renegades, was going to try and
solve a possible kidnapping crime. It all seemed a bit hard to believe.
* * * * *
I arrived home from school around quarter to four. Dad was home, so
I asked him for the car. I fabricated some excuse about going to the
library for research a school project. Telling him that I was on my way to
the police station would just result in a bunch of questions which I was
not in the mood to answer.
Before I left the house I gave Dave a call. I wanted to know if
he'd had the presence of mind to ask the Contenda's if they knew the
officer's name who took the missing person report. Dave told me the name
was Lublanski. I thanked him and hung up the phone. The drive to the
station was a relatively short one. In the area of fifteen minutes at the
most.
Parking the car, I walked up to the front desk and asked for an
Officer Lublanski.
"Over there" replied the desk Sergeant in a deep voice. I thanked
him and made my way over to the corner of the building.
Sitting at a desk with what mounds of paper folders everywhere
possible, was Officer Lublanski. She seemed like a fairly young cop, fresh
out of the academy. I guessed her age at 23 maybe 24. A pen wedged behind
he left ear indicated that she was a lefty. Intelligence officers notice
everything. Well, at least we had that in common.
"Officer Lublanski?" I asked as I approached her desk.
"Yes" she replied. "What can I do for you?"
"Hi, my name is John Inglis" I began, giving her my alias rather
than my real name. "I was hoping you could give me some information on a
friend of mine. Her parents seem to have reported her missing to you a
couple of days ago."
In reality they had filed the report only yesterday. I didn't plan
on telling the cop any more than I had to though.
"Hmm, what's the name?" she asked.
"Contenda, Tammy Contenda."
The officer opened up a drawer and started flipping though a few
files. Before long she pulled out a file and placed in on her desk. In the
corner was written Contenda, Tammy K. K must have been her middle name. I
was beginning to wonder what it may be when I was brought down to earth
again by Lublanski's voice.
"What interested do you have in this case?" she asked me. "Do you
have any information that can help us out?"
"Unfortunately I don't" I began. Great. How was I going to tell her
I was interested with the case without looking like a complete fool. Then,
I remembered Tammy worked at a computer store, I decided to go at it from
that angle. "Tammy sold my Dad a computer when she was working at Compu-
Tech. The two of us struck up a friendship for a while. When we moved I
kept in touch with her. My dad had to come to Toronto for business and I
decided to give her a call. When I found out she may be missing, well I
decided to come down and see what you people could tell me."
The cop looked at me for a while. Trying to figure out if I was for
real I guess. None the less, she swallowed my story because the next thing
I know she handed me the file.
"So far, its all we've got. Do you have any idea of the number of
abductions we get on a daily basis. Then their man power cuts, and what
have you. It all makes for an increasing pile of work."
I mumbled my "yeah, I can relate" reply, and poured myself over the
file. It contained the usually information such as age, hair colour,
address, etc. nothing out of the ordinary really. I was just about to hand
back and thank her when something caught my eye. It seemed that the last
reported citing of Tammy the police had was one of in a red pick-up parked
outside the local 7-eleven. To our knowledge the last time anyone had seen
Tammy was when she was at work.
I handed back the file and asked "It says here the last time she
was seen was at 7-eleven."
"Yeah. One of the workers saw her sitting in the passenger seat of
the truck. He thought it odd that the girl was sitting with the windows up
when it was such a hot day outside."
Windows up eh? Could indicate the driver of the truck didn't want
Tammy making a scene of anything. I'd tell my friends about this info later.
"Thanks for all your help" I said. "Before I go, do you have a
business card I could have? I'll be in town for a while longer and if I
find anything out I'll give you a call".
"Sure, here you go".
"Thanks."
"You're quite welcome" she replied. From there she dove back into
the files piled up on her desk.
* * * * *
Jen and Dave arrived at the Hall of records shortly after four.
Upon entering the building, they noticed that was close to empty.
"I guess not many people care about history" Dave remarked.
They made their way down the hall into a room containing the
computer catalogs. Dave having the more experience with computer systems
sat down. The main screen presented him with many choices.
"Let's see" Dave began. "What do you say we pick name search."
"Sounds good to me" replied Jen. The question was a rhetorical one,
although Jen must have felt compelled to answer.
Dave typed in "Proton" where it asked for last name and pressed
return. The next display on the screen contained a listing of five people
with the last name of Proton. Not know the first name of the Proton's who
own Compu-Tech, Dave decided to print out the information on all of them.
Returning to the main screen, the next choice was a business
inquiring. Dave typed in "Compu-Tech" and was greeted with a screen showing
all of the information about the business. A print-out of this information
was also obtained.
"Well, I guess that's about it eh?" said Dave. "Should we find out
any thing else while we're here?"
Na. We can always come back if we have to" replied Jen.
* * * * *
Pete walked in to Compu-Tech and walked around for a while. Looking
at the various IBM computers that were on display. After a while, an older
looking gentleman approached him. The name on the clerks tag read "Rajiv".
"May I help you" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm heading off to university next year and was interested
in buying a computer. What can you tell me about them?"
From there the man started spouting off information of megahertz,
memory, and everything under the Sun. Pete was quite bored with the
information being thrown at him. He already owned a computer and knew
everything the sales clerk was telling him. None the less, he put up with
it and let him finish.
"Ok, so this one here is a 386, right?" asked Pete.
"Correct" replied the salesman.
"Hmm, I'm kind of torn between the 386 and 486. A friend of mine
Tammy Contenda works here. Is she around? I love to hear what she has to
say on this issue" Pete said.
Looking a little flustered and nervous the man replied "Tammy
hasn't been in to work since Saturday. I was under the impression she had
gone missing. Hadn't you heard?"
"No, I hadn't heard." Replied Pete. "Do you know anything about
it?"
"Nothing. Now look. The police have already been in here asking me
questions and everything. Just what's your connection to her?" asked the
clerk.
It was obvious form his reaction and tension that something was
bothering him. Pete decided to play it cool.
"Nothing, we're just friends. Anyway, thanks for the information on
the computers. I'll get back to you".
With that he shook the clerks hand and left the store. Driving home,
Pete couldn't help shake the feeling that the clerk knew something which he
wasn't letting on to.
* * * * *
Thursday and our meeting came before I knew what had happened.
Suddenly everyone came running in to my basement. After the usual round of
pleasantries were sorted out, we sat down to business.
"Hey dudes, check this out" echoed Tim. "These cats, the Protons'
are heavily into debt. Check out the mortgage the have on their pad.
There's also this problemo of all the computer surplus they have on hand at
the stores".
Whenever Tim started talking, I always had the shivers. Something
about his surfer persona bothered me. I think it was the fact he actually
look like a surfer. The long blonde hair, the air headish attitude,
everything. None the less, he was right.
"What are you suggesting then Tim? That the Proton's kidnapped
Tammy for ransom?" asked Jen.
"Uh, no way dudette. I was just making a causal observation. Chill
out will ya?"
"I'd have to agree with Tim on this one" I began.
"So what do you propose then, McDuff?" asked Pete.
I sat in silence for a while trying to think. Things had become so
clouded all of a sudden. Issues with Jen and I were still tense. "I think
we should head down to Compu-Tech and see if we can talk to the Proton's.
Maybe they'll crack under pressure and say more than they should.
Comments?"
Everyone sat and nodded in silence. "Good, then its agreed. I
propose that Pete and Dave be the ones to go in the store and talk with
them. Dave is already known to be with Tammy, so the owners will not be
curious is Dave goes in there asking question. Pete, I just want you to
look for anything suspicious. Ok?"
Both Dave and Pete nodded. "Hey, I was talking with Tammy's folks
last night" began Dave "and they told they found a computer disk in her
room when they were looking for clues as to where she may have gone."
"Well bring that sucker in here. It may have valuable stuff on it!"
I replied.
From here the meeting deteriorated. We decided to order in some
pizza and sit around & shoot the shit. I tended to keep my distance from
Jen as she did from me. It seems that when she shot me down for the prom I
was more hurt than I realized.
* * * * *
Monday afternoon we met at my place and went down to Compu-Tech.
After fifteen minutes Dave and Pete came out. Both had defeated looks on
their faces.
"Nothing they said" as they entered the car.
"What happened dudes? No wave action or what?" said Tim.
"Naw, the Protons have taken off for an unspecified amount of time.
It appears that this Rajiv guy is going to be running things until they
return."
"Did he mentioned why they'd be returning?"
"Naw, the guy said nothing. Then he tried to sell us some computer.
Dave and I spent the entire fifteen minutes trying to leave the bloody
place."
"Hey" said Dave. "I have that disk from Tammy's place back at my
own. Why don't we go get it and take it over to Pete's. Maybe there's
something on it we can use".
Shortly the six of us were al crowded around Pete's computer as he
drew up a directory on his disk drive.
"Nothing here but a bunch of lotus 1-2-3 files" said Pete.
"Dude, do you have Lotus" asked Tim.
"Yeah. I suppose I could load them in to the computer and see what
they're all about."
A few whirls of Pete's hard disk brought up the Lotus program and
in a short while we were starring face to face with the Lotus files from
the disk dave obtained from Tammy's folks.
"Hey, do you realize what this is" I screamed out.
"A bunch of meaningless numbers?"
"Naw, this is the financial report for the company. This is the
stuff we were original after. And look at this. Looking at these files
shows their company is making major bucks. Yet when we looked at their
government records, it showed they were loosing money. My fellow Renegades,
I think we've found what we were after."
* * * * *
I think everyone felt better now that we knew the Protons were
behind Tammy's appearance. We all agreed that Tammy must have discovered
the Protons were taking money off the top of their company and falsifying
their tax records. Scared that Tammy would expose them, they decided to get
rid of her. This news did not sit well with Dave. He was still pretty upset
over her disappearance, and knowing her life may be in danger did not quell
his nerves. However it was decided to call it night. Tomorrow we'd hold an
emergency meeting of the Renegades to figure out what to do.
At 4pm sharp everyone arrived at my place.
"Ok, we know the Proton's are behind this" I began. "Now the
question is what to do from here. Ideas?"
"Like, lets take this to the police cat." remarked Tim.
"And what? Tell them a bunch of 17 year olds know who kidnapped
Tammy Contenda. Do you honestly think they'd believe us?"
A chorus of "no's" went around the room. Tim could be heard letting
out a muffled "bummer" in the background. Suddenly Jen stood up. "I have a
plan" she boldly said.
We listened to her idea, and after and hour of hammering out the
details, we knew exactly what we were going to do. The plan went something
like this.
I was to call Compu-Tech and tell them I knew all about their plot
involving Tammy. From there I'd tell them if they valued their business,
they should meet me Friday night behind the local A&P. Even though Rajiv
told us they were on vacation somewhere, we felt that he was relaying
messages to them somehow.
The next day when I arrived home from school the plan was set in
motion. Rajiv told asked me my name, which as all good spies do, gave him a
false one. I always warmed up to the name of Jim Mackinnon, so that was the
name I gave him. Rajiv told me he didn't know what I was talking about, but
he'd try to get the message across to the Proton's. I thanked him an hung
up.
Quick phone calls followed to my fellow Renegades telling them the
trap had been set. I think calling Jen was the hardest call in my life.
None the less, I made it.
* * * * *
Friday seemed to take for ever to arrive. However when it did,
everything was planned out. Jen being the crack shot, hid herself behind a
few milk crates. Derek was there with her hold a tape recorder. Tim was
nearby in a parked car ready to pick them up. Over a bit closer to me were
Dave and Frank. Again, the two of them waiting in a parked car to get me.
Everything was in place. Suddenly, from across the parking lot, a pair of
car lights came at me (us). Slowing, the car eventually came to a stop. Out
emerged the Proton's.
"Who are you Mr. Jim Mackinnon and what have I done against you?"
"Slow down there Jason Proton" I started. "The only thing I have
against you is that you're endangering the life of a friend of mine. I want
to see her returned."
"What are you talking about? The police are handling the Contenda
investigation as a teen-age runaway. I have better things to do with my
time than stand here and be insulted by the likes of some 18 year old".
In reality I was only 17, but hey. Jason Proton thinks I'm older,
so much the better. Slowly, the two of them began to get back in their cars.
"I know about the imbezeling" I screamed. That comment sure stopped
them in their tracks. Even from where I was standing I could here his jaw
hit the ground.
"What...What...Tammy had no right to tell you that." the words
seemed not to flow so easily for Mr. Proton now.
"Oh it wasn't Tammy. YOu see I have this little computer disk
here..." I said holding up a computer disk.
"You scum, that's breaking and entering!!" he began to run after me.
Dave's car engine roared to life as I dove in the back seat. Tim's
engine could be heard starting up as well. Then the noise of a gun going
off a few times was heard next. Not an ordinary gun however. Jen's CO2
powered gun. I looked up from the back seat of to see Jason Proton's shirt
covered in paint. I honestly believe he though he was shot.
"Argh!!" he screamed as he fell to the ground. I'm not sure if he
was playing up the effects for all they were worth of if physiologically
his mind told him a bullet had ripped through him. Whatever the case, Jen
and Derek jumped into's Tim car and both cars sped off into the night.
We met no more than ten minutes back at my place. Quickly I pulled
out officer Lublanski's business card and called her at home. Even though
it was 12:30am, I still felt she should know what he had found out. To say
the least, she was not amused that I had woken her up. She did however
remember my name (luckily I remembered the alias I had given her) and that
she'd be glad to hear what we had to say tomorrow morning. After begging
and pleading my case she finally relented to see us tonight.
Hurriedly I jotted down the directions to her house and within 10
minutes were at her house. With bed head and all, officer Lublanski came to
the door and welcomed us in. I didn't even bother introducing my companions.
"Tammy's life is in great danger" I blurted out.
"What do mean?" she asked kind of sleepy like.
"We have proof that her employers may have done something with her"
spurted out Dave.
"Wait, who are these people?" she asked.
"These are fellow Renegades. Look, I don't have time to explain it
all to you now. Please, just get a police car over to the Contenda house
hold. Please!!"
Officer Lublanski looked at us like we were nuts. However she must
have figured we had a good reason for being there. After all, why else
would we wake up a police officer at 12:30? "You guys had better be right
about this" she mumbled.
Stumbling off to the kitchen she invited us in to sit down and
relax. We looked "exhausted" as she put it. She was right to. The six of us
clasped in the furniture she had set about her living room. In a few
minutes she was on her way back over.
"Ok, a squad car is on its way over. Now, John do you care to tell
me what this is all about?"
With the mention of the name John, looked at me. They never ever
though I'd actually give a false name to a police officer.
"Well, its a long story I began. For starters, my real name is not
John..."
I guess the story didn't take as long as I though, because just as
I was finished up with how we had met the Proton's tonight, her phone rang.
After the usual "yeah's" and "okay's" she hung up the phone.
"I don't believe it" she was saying as she approached us. "I just
don't believe it".
We all jumped up as she came back. "Well, don't keep us hanging'"
exclaimed Tim.
"I don't know how to tell you this, but the police found Tammy
alive and well. It seems that when the Protons found out their scheme was
up, they didn't bother going back home. Tammy had managed to take off her
gag and was screaming at the top of her lungs for help. The police took her
home. She's going to be ok".
The group of us let out a collective sigh of relief and sank back
into our chairs. "Speaking going home, I should be heading out myself" said
Derek. Everyone murmured their agreement and we stood up to leave.
"I'd like to see you all down at the police station tomorrow is you
don't mind" officer Lublanski began. "You know, to clear up all the lose
strings and stuff".
"Sure, no problem. Good night" we more or less said in unison.
* * * * *
We agreed to meet as a group and head over to the station at 9am.
When we arrived reporters and journalists were everywhere. The police kept
saying "no comment." As we emerged from our car, they all ran over to us. A
tad intimidated with the rush of media types, we ran at full tilt into the
police station. Bursting though the doors we found ourselves face to face
with the Proton's.
"You little scum bag. I don't even know a Jim Mackinnon" screamed
Jason Proton.
Officer Lublanski was standing beside him and looked my way. I just
smiled and said "old habits are heard to break."
"I bet they are" she replied. "We caught these two at the airport.
It seems they were making a run of Brazil. We arrived just in time to foil
their plot."
At the moment Tammy came running into the room and ran up to Dave
giving him a huge hag. "Dave, it's so nice to see you again." The rest of
us turned away politely, not wanting to stare.
"If you don't mind, I'd like all of you to come into my office
please."
We looked over to our left and saw an older type man with gray hair
standing infront of an office. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was
the chief of police. I can't speak for the others, but I was pretty scared.
I mean we had interfered with a police investigation. We had shot a firearm
at someone. Technically we could be in a lot of trouble.
Entering the office we noticed seven chairs infront of the chief's
desk. "Pease, take a seat" he motioned us as he closed the door behind him.
Dave and Tammy sat together, holding hands. For the first time since Jen
shot me down I sat beside her. For some strange reason it felt good to be
beside her.
"I'd like to begin by saying that I'm very glad miss Contenda is ok.
The last thing we need in this area is another homicide. In that respect
I'd like to congratulate you group, the Renegades isn't it, on a job well
done". began the Chief. Whew, that wasn't so bad I thought. "But..." as
yes, there's always a but "what you did was terribly dangerous. Shooting
off a fire-arm without a permit. Stealing personal information, endangering
your lives, interfering with police work..."
"Uh, sir" asked Tim. For me it was the first time I hadn't heard
him talk like he was out at the beach. "Are we going to be rockin' and
rollin' in jail". Ah there it was. Rockin' and Rollin'. I knew the surfer
in Tim couldn't stay hidden.
The Chief of Police let out a little chuckle. "No, you're not going
to be rockin' and rollin' as you so put it. In fact I'm going to honour you
all with distinction medals. How does that sound?"
"Totally tubular" exclaimed Tim.
"I think our comrade speaks for all of us sir" said Derek.
"Great. Then lets go outside and give the press what they came here
for." With that, we stood up and proceed to meet the media...
* * * * *
It was a dream come true. Although spies don't want their picture
published on the front page of a daily paper, that didn't bother us. After
all, its not every day a high school student helps solve kidnapping cases.
The group of us decided to put Renegade activities on hold until
school was out for the summer. The prom turned out to be a fun time for
everyone. I ended up going stag, which wasn't too bad. Derek and I managed
to share costs for a limo as he went stag as well.
I had the front page of the newspaper in which we our picture
appeared framed. It now hangs at the head of my bed, reminding me that all
the hard work we'd done over the years finally amounted to something. The
six of us, Tim Wolfe, David Sullivan, Peter Shore, Jennifer Strong, Frank
Robb, and myself Edward Cohagen. No more would we be embarrassed to tell
our friends we were playing spy. Although we were no longer a spy agency.
Now we were "The Renegades - Private Investigators for Hire".
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