The Elephant of Surprise (The Russel Middlebrook Series Book 4) by Brent Hartinger Page B
Authors: Brent Hartinger
Ads: Link
book had just been an uptight genius, not a jealous lunatic like my Min.
Sure enough, Min said, "No."
"What do you mean 'no'?" I said. "You're not going to tell us the plan?"
"No, but don't worry. I've got it all figured out. Trust me."
I rolled my eyes. Then I looked at Gunnar. He stared at Min like an adoring puppy. In other words, he was totally eating up this whole secret spy thing. I didn't even bother trying to enlist him into my demand for details.
First, Min had us dress all in black. Not cat-burglar black: Goth black, with lots of make-up and painted-on tattoos. This way the dark clothes would make us invisible to the residents, but if we happened to get caught by police or security guards, it wouldn’t look like we were thieves, but just a bunch of kids who’d stumbled somewhere we didn’t belong.
I had to give Min full credit for this: it was pretty clever.
We waited until it was dark, then told Min's parents we were going to a costume party (in February?) and drove over to where Leah lived, this gated community on the outskirts of town. It was called Cranberry Creek, but there were no cranberries or even a creek—just a bunch of big, expensive houses. We parked outside, and the gate itself was easy enough to get around: we just had to climb this stone fence and sneak through someone's backyard.
Leah's parents' house was even bigger than the other houses: they were really, really rich. It was one of those sprawling suburban mansions that seems to be all garage doors. It had been built up against a hillside, and the perfectly pruned yard was thick with trees and shrubs. That was the good news, at least from a breaking-in perspective. The bad news was the whole thing was lit up like a carnival, with porch lights and driveway lights and yard lights in rows along the pathways.
"It's fine," Min said. "Leah told me her whole family is away visiting her mom's sister for the night."
But by now even Gunnar was having second thoughts. "A house like that, I'm sure it has a serious security system," he said.
Min's eyes never left the house. "It does. But the windows are only alarmed on the first floor, and the motion detectors are in the stairwell."
"How are we going to get to the windows on the second floor?" I said. "Levitate?"
She looked at me and smiled. "Trust me."
I didn't say what I was thinking, which was if the police caught us inside the yard or house, they'd call my parents, Goth outfits or not. Then I'd be totally grounded for weeks, if not months, and by the time I had any freedom again, Wade would have left town for the big city. If I was grounded, I wouldn't even have any way to let him know.
My relationship with him would be over before it had even begun.
But Min was one of my two best friends. It had taken me a while, but I'd finally learned that my friendships with her and Gunnar were far and away the most important things in my life—more important than any potential boyfriend, that's for sure. Basically, I'd do anything for them. So if my helping Min meant possibly losing my shot with Wade, so be it.
We climbed up the tree closest to the house. It hung out over the roof, so we were able to jump down right onto the shingles. Then we scrambled up toward the chimney. At first I couldn't figure out what the hell Min was thinking: were we going to pull a Santa Claus? But she was wearing a black backpack from which she pulled out a sturdy rope. At one end was a very secure lasso that she threw around the chimney. The other end was firmly tied to a lifejacket that Min slipped on and snapped into place.
"The window to Leah's bedroom is right below us," Min said. "Lower me down."
"Lower you down ?" I said. "Min, this is crazy! Crazy and dangerous!"
"You're doing a really crappy job of trusting me, you know that?"
"Won't it be locked?" Gunnar asked, meaning the window below us.
"When I was here the other day, I made sure to leave it open just a crack when Leah's back was turned. Once I’m
Sure enough, Min said, "No."
"What do you mean 'no'?" I said. "You're not going to tell us the plan?"
"No, but don't worry. I've got it all figured out. Trust me."
I rolled my eyes. Then I looked at Gunnar. He stared at Min like an adoring puppy. In other words, he was totally eating up this whole secret spy thing. I didn't even bother trying to enlist him into my demand for details.
First, Min had us dress all in black. Not cat-burglar black: Goth black, with lots of make-up and painted-on tattoos. This way the dark clothes would make us invisible to the residents, but if we happened to get caught by police or security guards, it wouldn’t look like we were thieves, but just a bunch of kids who’d stumbled somewhere we didn’t belong.
I had to give Min full credit for this: it was pretty clever.
We waited until it was dark, then told Min's parents we were going to a costume party (in February?) and drove over to where Leah lived, this gated community on the outskirts of town. It was called Cranberry Creek, but there were no cranberries or even a creek—just a bunch of big, expensive houses. We parked outside, and the gate itself was easy enough to get around: we just had to climb this stone fence and sneak through someone's backyard.
Leah's parents' house was even bigger than the other houses: they were really, really rich. It was one of those sprawling suburban mansions that seems to be all garage doors. It had been built up against a hillside, and the perfectly pruned yard was thick with trees and shrubs. That was the good news, at least from a breaking-in perspective. The bad news was the whole thing was lit up like a carnival, with porch lights and driveway lights and yard lights in rows along the pathways.
"It's fine," Min said. "Leah told me her whole family is away visiting her mom's sister for the night."
But by now even Gunnar was having second thoughts. "A house like that, I'm sure it has a serious security system," he said.
Min's eyes never left the house. "It does. But the windows are only alarmed on the first floor, and the motion detectors are in the stairwell."
"How are we going to get to the windows on the second floor?" I said. "Levitate?"
She looked at me and smiled. "Trust me."
I didn't say what I was thinking, which was if the police caught us inside the yard or house, they'd call my parents, Goth outfits or not. Then I'd be totally grounded for weeks, if not months, and by the time I had any freedom again, Wade would have left town for the big city. If I was grounded, I wouldn't even have any way to let him know.
My relationship with him would be over before it had even begun.
But Min was one of my two best friends. It had taken me a while, but I'd finally learned that my friendships with her and Gunnar were far and away the most important things in my life—more important than any potential boyfriend, that's for sure. Basically, I'd do anything for them. So if my helping Min meant possibly losing my shot with Wade, so be it.
We climbed up the tree closest to the house. It hung out over the roof, so we were able to jump down right onto the shingles. Then we scrambled up toward the chimney. At first I couldn't figure out what the hell Min was thinking: were we going to pull a Santa Claus? But she was wearing a black backpack from which she pulled out a sturdy rope. At one end was a very secure lasso that she threw around the chimney. The other end was firmly tied to a lifejacket that Min slipped on and snapped into place.
"The window to Leah's bedroom is right below us," Min said. "Lower me down."
"Lower you down ?" I said. "Min, this is crazy! Crazy and dangerous!"
"You're doing a really crappy job of trusting me, you know that?"
"Won't it be locked?" Gunnar asked, meaning the window below us.
"When I was here the other day, I made sure to leave it open just a crack when Leah's back was turned. Once I’m
Similar Books
