Fatal Error

delivery van and give chase when — and if — Norton Rome appeared.

Almost as soon as Jupiter parked, the first car pulled in next to the van. Branson plugged in the coffeepot, and Jupe quickly opened up the back to display the doughnuts and other treats.

“Snax Galore,” read a man in a denim jacket and jeans as he hopped out of his car. He looked in the back of the van and whistled. “My kind of food!” He bought two chocolate-filled croissants.

The customers formed a steady line after that. Jupiter served them, and Branson worked inside where his coworkers couldn’t see him.

“Maybe we should go into business!” Branson said during one of the infrequent lulls.

Jupe nodded, but he was thinking about how long it had been since he’d tasted chocolate. Not to mention real sugar. Or even a muffin. His stomach rumbled, and he reached for his jar of peanut butter. But somehow his hand made a detour… to the chocolate-dipped doughnuts!

“Jupiter!” Branson whispered. “Ek just arrived in his Subaru.”

Jupe snapped his hand back and peered around the van’s door. He caught a glimpse of Ek’s bald head, severe face, and spectacles, then ducked back out of sight.

“Don’t worry,” Branson whispered to Jupiter. He’d ducked down in the front seat. “Ek’s not like the rest of us — doesn’t touch sugar!”

Jupe almost said, “I don’t either!” but then he remembered how close he’d just come… He stared at the goodies still filling three quarters of the boxes, and suddenly he realized he was a dope. After all the calories in peanut butter, one little doughnut wasn’t going to hurt. Again he reached for the chocolate-dipped one…

“Jupiter!” Branson called. “We’ve got more customers.”

Throwing caution to the wind, Jupe grabbed the doughnut and took a huge, satisfying bite. It was just as good as he’d imagined!

The day passed busily. But by five o’clock the boxes were nearly empty, and there was still no sign of Norton Rome or his black pickup.

The mass exodus of Oracle employees began.

“Check every car!” Jupiter said. “Maybe he’s driving something different.” He jumped out of the back of the van to get a better look at all the cars as they left.

“I don’t see how we could’ve missed him,” Branson said worriedly. They studied car after endless car.

Across the street Jupe spotted Pete’s and Bob’s faces among the thick eucalyptus leaves. They looked as discouraged as Jupiter felt. It had been a long, long day.

Just then tires suddenly screeched in the street. A silver Subaru shifted gears and came roaring back to the van’s tail.

“It’s Ek!” Jupiter said, scrambling to get back into the van. “He saw me!”

Branson Barr ducked down in the front seat again. Jupe was just hopping into the back when his Garfield T- shirt was yanked abruptly backward.

“You punk!” Silas Ek said angrily. “We had a deal! Now you’re going to have to come with me!”

14 Cross Talk

“Norton Rome tried to wipe us out yesterday, Mr. Ek,” Jupiter responded angrily. “We have to catch him before he tries again.”

“He what?” Shocked, Silas Ek let go of Jupe.

Jupe told the Oracle security chief how Rome had tried to kill them with his pickup. “Now we’ve got to find Rome,” he finished. “And maybe that will help you.”

Ek stubbornly shook his bald head. “No deal. Okay, I understand you’ve got personal reasons to track him down, but I can’t jeopardize Oracle by helping you… or letting you help us.” He gestured at the delivery van and his voice rose in fury. “It’s good cover. But you’re loitering, and next time I’ll have you arrested! Now pack up and get out!”

The bald security chief waited impatiently with arms crossed as Jupe closed up the van, climbed into the driver’s seat, and took off for the junkyard. As they passed the eucalyptus grove, Pete pulled out behind them and joined the retreat.

“Brother!” Branson said as he sat up in the passenger seat. “I was hoping we could stick around until at least eight o’clock. By then everybody’s gone. Nort and I were the only ones who ever stuck around till midnight.”

Jupe lifted his chin with determination. “We’re going to get Rome yet!”

* * *

“Just think, we started out feeling sorry for Rome,” Bob said. “Now it looks like he’s going to bag a cool five mil!”

The sun had set, the stars were out, and Bob, Pete, and Branson Barr had just polished off a giant pizza while Jupe had emptied his peanut butter jar and demolished three bananas. Now Bob, Jupe, and Branson were sitting around the grease pit watching Pete clean up the delivery van. The four were discussing the case.

“Not to mention getting away with blackmail,” Branson added.

“And attempted murder,” grumbled Pete. “Don’t forget he tried to run us off the road. He should be shot for what he did to my paint job alone.” Pete removed the last bolt from the second Snax Galore sign. “Where is that sleazeball?”

“What are we going to do?” Bob asked Jupe. “Come on, man, you’re the brains. I mean, we can’t just roll over and play dead.”

“We’ve got to do something!” Pete leaped high and executed a powerful tobi-geri kick from the top of his jump.

Suddenly cheers and applause sounded across the dark junkyard.

“Go, Pete, go!” sang Kelly, shaking imaginary pom-poms as she ran into the pool of light around the grease pit.

“You are a lucky man, Bob Andrews. We are going to forgive you,” Elizabeth said as she sailed straight to Bob and smiled sweetly at him.

Bob stood up and grinned down at her. “Does this mean we have a date?”

“Well, yes,” she said. “If you’re not too busy.”

“I’m not, I’m not!”

Kelly had slipped her arm around Pete’s. She gave it a little squeeze. “You must come see Cosmic Trek tonight, Pete. We can’t spend our whole vacation fighting!”

Pete was about to point out that she was doing the fighting, but he thought better of it. “Let’s go!”

“We’ll go too, Bob,” Elizabeth said, and headed toward the junkyard entrance. “Okay?”

“You bet!” Bob started to follow her.

“Just a sec,” Jupe interrupted. “If you dudes want to catch Norton Rome, tonight’s our last chance!”

Pete groaned, and Bob reluctantly turned to look at Jupiter.

“Last chance how?” Kelly asked suspiciously.

“Haven’t you finished with that Rome man yet? ” Elizabeth demanded.

“We found out Rome’s behind the virus that trashed our disks,” Jupiter explained. “He’s done some other rotten stuff, but we can’t tell you what until we catch him.”

“Yeah, sure,” Kelly said.

Jupiter shrugged. One of the problems with most girls, he decided, was that they thought dates were more important than catching criminals. Now, Qute den Zom, he was sure, wouldn’t think that way at all. “What do you mean ‘tonight’s our last chance’?” Pete said.

“You got another good plan, Jupe?” asked Bob. “I mean, our plan today to stake out” — he couldn’t say Oracle’s name in front of the girls — “the company was a total waste!”

“What company?” Elizabeth said. “Pete, what’s going on?” demanded Kelly. Jupe ignored the girls. “We know Rome’s going to be doing one thing tonight for sure. He’s going to be collecting his money!”