Masterminds by Gordon Korman Page B

and comes into view.
    Flashlight beams crisscross the ground in a rhythmic pattern. My eyes follow the cones of light to their source on the cart—the indigo uniforms of the Surety.
    Nobody breathes. Trembling, we crouch amid the scratchy branches as the beams sweep over us. The tension is like a fog surrounding us. I recognize one of the Purples’ faces—Screaming Mimi. And the other—I squint to see past the brightness of the bulb—Alexander the Grape.
    What difference does it make which ones they are? If they catch us, it’s the end of the world!
    In my mind, we’re impossible to overlook—three clumsy bodies trying to disappear behind a few brambles.
    And then the flashlights move on past. The patrol continues to parallel the wall and disappears around the far end of the complex.
    It’s only when the sound of the cart’s motor has completely faded that we muster the courage to emerge fromthe bush, one figure at a time—one . . . two . . . three . . . four . . .
    Four?!
    Frantic, I identify Tori and Malik. Someone else is here too! I can see him in silhouette.
    Were we so worried about the Purples in the cart that we didn’t notice the one hiding three feet away from us?
    Tori and I stand frozen, but Malik doesn’t freeze so easily. Like a panther, he lunges at the stranger, hauling him up by the scruff of the neck.
    â€œOw, Malik, that hurts!”
    Hector.
    Malik is furious. “Where do you get off following us here?”
    Hector stands up to him. “I didn’t follow them ; I followed you ! Why are you leaving me out?”
    â€œYou think this is some kind of game?” Malik demands.
    Hector spreads his arms wide. “Whatever it is, I can help you guys!”
    â€œNo!” Malik rasps. “You’ll treat this like a club you want to join. And then you’ll get scared—”
    â€œI won’t! I swear! I’m a part of this!”
    Malik is beside himself. “If you don’t know what it is,how do you know you’re a part of it?”
    I have a thought. “Randy’s note said some of us are special. It could be Hector as much as any of us.”
    â€œYeah, I’m special,” Hector says, pleased. “Special how?”
    â€œWe’ll explain later,” Tori assures him. “Let’s get out of here.”
    From my jacket pocket I pull out my iPad, and snap pictures of the loading bay, the Keep Out door, and the high windows. “Maybe we’ll notice something that we missed,” I explain.
    I’m about to slide the tablet back into my jacket when I see something that makes me frown. Along the bottom of my screen, right beside the battery indicator, I spot the icon for Wi-Fi. Why would I have Wi-Fi? I’m too far from home where our router is, and there are no other houses here, so I can’t be piggybacking on someone else’s network. This Wi-Fi has to be coming from the factory!
    I open the browser, and a pop-up appears, asking for a security code.
    I’m a little surprised, since we don’t use passwords a lot in Serenity. We know what they are —our parents order things from online stores from time to time. But I’ve never seen the internet itself protected by a PIN.
    The others gather around, offering suggestions. “Try Serenity ,” Malik supplies. “Around here, every toilet is stuffed up with that name.”
    I type it in. ACCESS DENIED.
    â€œHow about plastic ?” Hector puts in. “Or plastics works ?”
    ACCESS DENIED.
    â€œMaybe Honesty ?” Tori offers. “ Harmony ? Contentment ?”
    We test them all—every word or phrase we’ve ever heard associated with our town— Serenity Cup , Pax , traffic cones , factory , and the last names of every town official. No luck.
    Then I notice something. The sign-in page isn’t all that different from the screen that’s on display when I hack