been trying to find him for the past month, and it turns out he’s been in jail in Denver. I just need to get a statement from him.”
“What’s he in jail for?”
“Auto theft.”
“Oh. Are you going to defend him too?”
“He has a lawyer. It’s a first offense, so I doubt he’ll do any jail time beyond the time he’s already served.” He shrugged. “Nobody gets too excited these days about stolen cars.”
“I was sure you were going to back out,” Deke said with a grin.
I sat down across from him. There were two Phrap-o-chinos sitting on the small table. His was half empty.
“But you bought me a Phrap anyways.”
“Just in case.”
“What if I hadn’t shown up?”
“I’d have drunk it myself.”
That wasn’t exactly what I’d meant.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
“Just a couple minutes.”
I took a sip of my drink. It was warm, but not hot. I got up and went over to the station with the stir sticks and sugar and stuff, added three packets of sugar, stirred it in, and went back to the table.
He watched me take another sip, then said, “So…you really up for this?”
I’d always thought that stealing cars was something you did at night, but according to Deke, the best time is in the middle of the day, and the best place is in a big busy parking lot, like at a mall where nobody pays any attention to just another teenager.
“Best part is you just have to drive it about a mile to the Park & Ride and leave it there.”
I didn’t get it. “What’s the point?” I asked.
“To make sure it doesn’t have a transmitter on it,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“You know—those signal things they put in some cars so if they get stolen the cops can locate them. We drop the car at the Park & Ride, and if no cops show up, my guy has one of his guys pick it up the next morning.”
“So all I have to do is drive the car a mile and I get a thousand dollars?”
“Minus for the key. Minus my cut for setting it up.”
“Leaving what?”
“Two-fifty?”
I laughed. “How about five hundred?”
“It’s only like two minutes of work!” he said.
“Yeah, and I risk getting caught and going to jail.”
“Look, I have to deal with the guy, then locate a car like what he wants, then get the VIN number so I can order a key, and pay the key guy—five hundred bucks just for the key! Then I got to follow the guy whose car it is to work or whatever so we know the best time and place to grab the car, and then deal with you, and—”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “I’ll do it for two-fifty.”
“And you won’t go to jail, because you’ve got a clean record and you’re only sixteen.”
I corrected him. “Fifteen.”
His eyes widened. “You don’t have a license?”
I started laughing at the expression on his face, then he was laughing too because if I got pulled over, not having a license would be the least of my problems.
You hear a lot about car thieves hot-wiring cars, but it is much easier to use a key. That way you don’t have to damage the car. Also, many new cars are equipped with antitheft devices that make hot-wiring impossible, or they might have transmitters so the police can track them down by following a signal. To get around that, the thief must park the car in a safe place for a day or two to let it “cool down.”
I should say something about my mental state during all this: Happy and Relaxed.
I think it was the rules. There was no fuzziness about what Deke and I were doing. It was immoral, illegal, risky, and entertaining. I was not distracted by thoughts of Jen or Will or Jim Vail or Elwin Carl Dandridge or even, in a way, Deke Moffet. Because Deke was not really Deke the Boy—he was more like Deke the Auto Thief. He was not who he was —he was what he did. Like we each had a job to do, and until the job was over we were defined by what we did. What we had to do. I think this is why guys like football, and whythey join the army, because as
“What’s he in jail for?”
“Auto theft.”
“Oh. Are you going to defend him too?”
“He has a lawyer. It’s a first offense, so I doubt he’ll do any jail time beyond the time he’s already served.” He shrugged. “Nobody gets too excited these days about stolen cars.”
“I was sure you were going to back out,” Deke said with a grin.
I sat down across from him. There were two Phrap-o-chinos sitting on the small table. His was half empty.
“But you bought me a Phrap anyways.”
“Just in case.”
“What if I hadn’t shown up?”
“I’d have drunk it myself.”
That wasn’t exactly what I’d meant.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
“Just a couple minutes.”
I took a sip of my drink. It was warm, but not hot. I got up and went over to the station with the stir sticks and sugar and stuff, added three packets of sugar, stirred it in, and went back to the table.
He watched me take another sip, then said, “So…you really up for this?”
I’d always thought that stealing cars was something you did at night, but according to Deke, the best time is in the middle of the day, and the best place is in a big busy parking lot, like at a mall where nobody pays any attention to just another teenager.
“Best part is you just have to drive it about a mile to the Park & Ride and leave it there.”
I didn’t get it. “What’s the point?” I asked.
“To make sure it doesn’t have a transmitter on it,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“You know—those signal things they put in some cars so if they get stolen the cops can locate them. We drop the car at the Park & Ride, and if no cops show up, my guy has one of his guys pick it up the next morning.”
“So all I have to do is drive the car a mile and I get a thousand dollars?”
“Minus for the key. Minus my cut for setting it up.”
“Leaving what?”
“Two-fifty?”
I laughed. “How about five hundred?”
“It’s only like two minutes of work!” he said.
“Yeah, and I risk getting caught and going to jail.”
“Look, I have to deal with the guy, then locate a car like what he wants, then get the VIN number so I can order a key, and pay the key guy—five hundred bucks just for the key! Then I got to follow the guy whose car it is to work or whatever so we know the best time and place to grab the car, and then deal with you, and—”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “I’ll do it for two-fifty.”
“And you won’t go to jail, because you’ve got a clean record and you’re only sixteen.”
I corrected him. “Fifteen.”
His eyes widened. “You don’t have a license?”
I started laughing at the expression on his face, then he was laughing too because if I got pulled over, not having a license would be the least of my problems.
You hear a lot about car thieves hot-wiring cars, but it is much easier to use a key. That way you don’t have to damage the car. Also, many new cars are equipped with antitheft devices that make hot-wiring impossible, or they might have transmitters so the police can track them down by following a signal. To get around that, the thief must park the car in a safe place for a day or two to let it “cool down.”
I should say something about my mental state during all this: Happy and Relaxed.
I think it was the rules. There was no fuzziness about what Deke and I were doing. It was immoral, illegal, risky, and entertaining. I was not distracted by thoughts of Jen or Will or Jim Vail or Elwin Carl Dandridge or even, in a way, Deke Moffet. Because Deke was not really Deke the Boy—he was more like Deke the Auto Thief. He was not who he was —he was what he did. Like we each had a job to do, and until the job was over we were defined by what we did. What we had to do. I think this is why guys like football, and whythey join the army, because as
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