“A couple of months ago, my dad transferred to this branch of DMA. Then, after we moved, there was about a week before I could start school. So my dad decided to bring me to work. Didn’t want to leave me alone in the house, he said. Like I needed a babysitter. Anyways, I was able to explore around some of the DMA buildings while I was there. It’s like a small city out there, big gate around the whole thing. Here, take a look at this.” He pulled out his smartphone, swiped at it for a moment, then handed it to me. There was a series of pictures on it-a bunch of big ware-houses, clearly unused for a long time. The inside of some kind of lab, lots of wiring and computers, crazy- looking equipment scattered around. It looked like an abandoned mad scientist’s lab. It looked totally amazing.
“So I had this idea,” Kieran continued. “The company owns a ton of space with all these warehouses and labs. But they only use a tiny part of it now. Most of that place is basically abandoned.”
“But your dad still works there, right? So it’s not all abandoned. Doesn’t that mean there’s security? If it’s military, pretty serious security?”
Kieran looked smug. He lowered his voice.
“My dad is the head of security for the DMA site. That’s why I’ve got blueprints, plans of the entire place. Everything we need to figure out how to get in.”
“You stole them from him?”
“Copied them from his laptop to mine,” said Kieran. He pulled out his lighter and started fiddling with it. “So what do you think?”
“What if your dad figures out you stole stuff from him?”
“Whatever. Forget about my dad. We won’t get caught. It’s not like he’ll suspect me. He barely knows I’m around most of the time.”
Kieran’s cold blue eyes studied me. The whole situation seemed seriously sketchy.
“You just want to get in there to explore? It doesn’t seem worth the risk,” I said at last. I drained the last cold puddle of coffee from my mug.
“Well, I haven’t told you every-thing,” said Kieran. “This is where the money comes in. In these files I got from my dad’s laptop, there was an email. The company is storing a bunch of stuff in one of the old warehouses. Crates of high-end smartphones that DMA was going to use for testing or something.”
“So what?” I asked.
“So we figure out a way in. We bring a couple of backpacks, fill them up with the phones and stuff. I’ll take care of selling them and give you half the profits.”
I shook my head. “I’m not a thief. I’ve never taken a thing from the places I’ve been. No way.”
“This isn’t even stealing. DMA won’t even know that the stuff is missing. And we could make five grand, easy.” The number was a shock to me-that was a ton of money. My bank account had never broken a thousand, even when I was working after school.
All of a sudden, exhaustion came crashing down on me.
“I don’t know. I need to think about this,” I said. The coffee shop felt over-heated and damp. I looked at my watch. It was close to midnight. “I need to get home. My parents are going to freak if they catch me out this late.”
“Don’t sweat it. I’ll drive you home. So you never steal and you always stick to your curfew?” Kieran said. He tossed some cash on the plastic table, and we left. His car was parked nearby, a used sports car, a little beaten up. We took off, Kieran accelerating hard. The way he drove, I’d make it home before my curfew. No problem.
“One more question,” I said, watching as Kieran steered expertly in and out of traffic. “Why me? Why not just do the whole job yourself?”
Kieran stared straight ahead, wrist draped over the wheel. Cars blurred by.
“Why you?” he said. “Because you’re actually as good as your online rep. You’re smart. You know what you’re doing.”
We were driving faster now, the speed pushing me back into my seat.
“I want to get into DMA,” said Kieran. “And I know exactly how tough it’s going to be. I can’t do it alone. I need you, man.”
Chapter Six
“Belay on?” I asked, my hands resting on the craggy plastic holds.
A couple of days later, Asha and I were at the climbing gym. It’s one of my favorite places to go, and Asha was always into it as well. Things had been tense between us since she had told me about her summer job. I thought having a proper date might help sort things out between us. A proper date for us involved climbing up a fifteen-foot wall. I was about to head up, with Asha belaying me. I glanced over to see her holding the safety rope attached to my harness.
“Belay on,” she said. I started up the wall. At five feet, I lunged for a big jug-shaped grip and missed. I fell back, feeling the safety rope lock tight. Damn. I wasn’t focused.
Asha unlocked the belay device and let the rope slip through her fingers, dropping me down. When I was about a foot from the blue crash mats, she tightened the harness. I jerked to a halt. I was stuck like a fish on a line, dangling just off the ground. She grinned at me.
“Cute,” I said. “You’re gonna let me down?”
“I guess. You want to try again?” said Asha. She looked pretty with her long dark hair back in a ponytail. The tight white T-shirt didn’t hurt either.
“Actually, maybe I’ll hang out for a while like this,” I said. “It’s a nice view.”
Asha laughed. All right, things were going well. Time to get something off my chest.
“Listen,” I said. “We never finished that conversation about you going away this summer.”
“What’s there to finish?” she said. “You obviously don’t like it. And I don’t have a choice. I need the money for tuition.”
“So it’s just about the money?” I said. Okay, now this felt awkward with me stuck at the end of the climbing rope. But I couldn’t go anywhere without Asha letting me down.
“Well, I guess not,” she said. She coiled some loose rope around her hand, thinking. “I’m also kind of proud that I got this job. It wasn’t easy. It’ll look good on my resume, and that’ll help on my college application. I sort of thought you might be proud of me too.”
Why would I be proud of her? I actually thought she’d come up with the worst possible way to earn money. But I was smart enough not to say that.
“I am proud of you,” I said. “It’s just that I don’t understand how money can be more important than-”
“Than what, Bex?” Asha cut in.
“More important than you?”
“No! More important than us,” I said. “We’re pretty great together, you know?”
“I know.”
“Then how can you leave?”
“Bex, part of liking someone is trusting them. Letting them do what they need to do.”
“And, what-you don’t need me anymore?” I cut in.
“I didn’t say that, Bex,” said Asha. “For such a smart guy, you can be a real dumbass sometimes.”
Asha unhooked her harness from the line and spun away. I dropped down onto the crash mats on the floor and watched her go.
Crap. That got out of hand fast.
So much for my great plan to fix things.
But there had to be a way for me to manage this. I was the one who always figured out the angles, who came up with the solution to the problem. Why couldn’t I figure her out?
Then it hit me. If I did the DMA run with Kieran, I could make enough money to convince Asha to stay home for the summer. I’d give her all of the money, and she’d have her tuition. She wouldn’t have to go anywhere until the fall. It was more extreme than anything I’d done before. Way more extreme. But it would be worth it. This was the way to fix everything.
I dug my phone out of my backpack. My hands shook a little as I texted Kieran.
