Masterminds by Gordon Korman

“Heard enough yet?”
    â€œSomething’s not right, something very basic to this town and our lives,” Eli says earnestly. “And whatever it is, all our parents seem to be mixed up in it.”
    My head is pounding and my pulse is racing. What happened to Eli is scary, but that can be blamed on two people—Mr. Frieden and Dr. Bruder. But the Plastics Works is everybody —every adult in town—including Steve and Elizabeth Pritel!
    Mom and Dad, who spoil me, who spent a fortune finishing the attic so I could have an art studio! Dad, who calls me Torific, and tells me I’m the princess of his heart! They go to that factory every day and come home and talk about the traffic cone business!
    Is it all a lie? “There must be some explanation—”
    Malik reads my mind. “Don’t even think about asking your parents! They’re up to their necks in this, just likeeverybody else. That’s rule number one—no parents!”
    Eli regards me kindly. “You can still back out, you know, Tori. We trust you to keep this secret.”
    Secrets. Lies. Those used to be dirty words, alien customs of an outside world we don’t have to worry about here. How could so much have changed so quickly? Oh, how I wish I could roll back the last month and erase all this craziness.
    But it’s too late for that.
    I have one final question for them. “What do you mean ‘back out’? Back out of what?”
    Eli mulls this over a moment. “Well, we can’t ask anybody, because we can’t trust anybody. If we want to get to the bottom of this, we’re going to have to do it on our own.”
    â€œNow you’re talking,” Malik approves. “Where do we start?”
    They stare at each other, and it’s obvious they’ve thought not an inch beyond deciding to take action.
    To my surprise, the voice that breaks the silence is my own. “We start with the one thing we know for sure—the Plastics Works. If they’re not making traffic cones, what are they doing in there?”

11
ELI FRIEDEN
    It takes a few days for things to get back to normal around our house. Eventually, though, life resumes its regular boring rhythm. Boring is good. My father likes order and sameness, which makes it hard for him to peek into my room and check on me at all hours of the night. Soon I’m the one checking on him. He sleeps like a baby, and snores like a buzz saw.
    That’s when I give the go-ahead to put our plan into action.
    Every time I think about what I’m doing, I feel like my head’s going to explode. That’s when I remind myself of what my dad and Dr. Bruder did to me. It’s always good for a surge of courage.
    Serenity isn’t the liveliest place in the middle of theday. At night you could safely roll a giant boulder up Amity Avenue without putting anybody in danger. And at two o’clock in the morning, it’s dark and silent as a tomb.
    I ease myself out through the back door, convinced that I’m going to be the only one crazy enough to report for this expedition. The kids of Serenity follow the rules 100 percent. The town charter has no provision for sneaking around.
    The meeting place is under the big maple tree at the corner of Amity and Fellowship. I’m equal parts amazed and relieved to find Tori there waiting for me. She seems terrified.
    â€œI thought for sure it would be just me,” she says, a slight tremor in her voice.
    â€œMe too. Where’s Malik?” I’m wondering if something went wrong—a medical issue somewhere in town that would have Dr. Bruder awake and about. We have no backup plan. Do we go home or continue on as a twosome? The thought of weaseling out of this is more attractive than I’d like to admit.
    But no such luck. I make out a hulking dark figure approaching along Amity.
    â€œSorry I’m late,” Malik greets us. He may be big and tough, but he looks