Denny laughed. “Gee… thanks Mike. Did you get a chance to look at the note Ansel slipped you?”
“No, I forgot all about it.” Mike began digging around in his bag.
“You think Ms. Kincaid is looking to get lucky, you should have seen the way Ms. Ansel probed Mike in the office. It was hot.”
“Shut up, Denny.” Mike finally dug out the note from his pants pocket.
Joanie glanced from Mike frowning at his note to Denny with mounting confusion. “What the hell is going on at this school? Has there been a Zombie cougar love virus outbreak I don’t know about?”
“What’s it say, Mike?” Denny tried to lean closer to see what was written on it, but Mike jammed the note back into his jeans pocket again. “That good, huh?”
“It has her phone number and address on it and to call her if I need a friend.”
“With benefits?”
“Shut up, Denny.”
Joanie slapped the table in front of Mike. “Michael Rawlins! Did that note have ‘with benefits’ on it?”
Mike leaned forward with a less than pleased look on his face. “Hey there. I’m Mike, your older brother. You already know messing around with me is a bad idea if you don’t want to have a few details leaked to Mom and Dad about their little girl. Want a sample?”
Joanie’s face turned ashen. “Sorry… I’m just confused. Both of you getting hit on by a teacher and office staff is goofy even by our standards lately. Do you think it could be the big money Demon Inc might be getting? That rumor had a life of its own weeks ago.”
Mike relaxed back in his chair. “I don’t know, Sis. It doesn’t seem likely. Even if the two of them seduced us, what could possibly come of it other than a jail sentence if someone finds out? Secondly, what positive result could they be hoping for after they seduce us into an elicit affair? The authorities would find out, and we can’t marry them, so what’s the end game?”
“It does seem dopey when you… hey… wait a minute! What if this isn’t about money or cougar conquers? What if these two are looking for a way to blacken Demon Inc by getting you both caught up in a scandal?”
“She’s right, Mike. I was a little shocked when Ansel came on to you, but I was stunned when Ms. Kincaid suddenly thought I was irresistible. Did your note from Ansel hint at something more than a friendship or guidance?”
Mike nodded. “I’m game. What do you think this is, Den?”
“I know through Mr. Corbett the Syfy network is looking at a number of reality show possibilities. The ones they have are getting stale. Demon Inc offers reality, terror, and possible death. Steve says we have the inside track.”
“A competitor? Yeah… that would be worth a fortune if they could tie a scandal around Demon Inc’s neck,” Joanie added. “They wouldn’t be able to get to the others because they’re all over eighteen. You two would be perfect targets, both gullible enough to believe the two of you are God’s gift to women and-”
“Denny?” Mike interrupted Joanie, putting an arm around his shoulder. “Did I ever tell you about-”
“Mike!” Joanie grabbed her brother’s arm pleadingly. “I’m sorry… sorry… sorry. Think about it though. It would be a perfect setup to take out Demon Inc.”
“It does make more sense than coincidental cougar attacks. Since we’re thinking about getting into a sort of investigation line, why don’t we do some recon, Den? Think you could clone some phones like in the movies?”
“I can go up to the office and get Ms. Ansel’s after lunch, and Ms. Kincaid’s after history. I’ll take Joanie with me and ask her if she can get extra credit too while I’m cloning her phone. I’ll text Mr. Corbett and ask him if we have a particularly rabid competition for the new reality show gig too. Maybe he can get a lead on who our suspects might be.”
“Good one, Denny. That’ll give us a sign too about what’s going on. If she’s not interested in Joanie becoming part of this special project it would hint at us being on the right track. With a deal worth millions, they could have had a nice tidy sum already added to their accounts to do it.” Mike stared at Denny.
“Now wait a minute, Mike. Cloning a phone or two, or hacking into OnStar to follow Laura’s kidnappers would only get me a slap on the wrist at fifteen. If I hack into bank records, I may end up in prison so long Ms. Kincaid won’t want me anymore.”
Mike laughed, but Joanie’s features took on a grim cast. “Hey, if you have that phone cloning software with you, what exactly have you been doing, mister?”
Denny met her accusing stare without looking away. “Listen, if you’re hinting I’ve cloned your phone, and your calls are on every Demon Inc member iPad, that’s exactly what I did. I cloned all the iPads from Demon Inc including the iPad you fell in love with and wanted as our mascot. If you think I’ve been enjoying all your cutesy calls to your friends, think about how the rest of Demon Inc has enjoyed them. What part of ‘this iPad is cloned’ didn’t you understand when I issued it to you?”
Mike had already been reduced to helpless howls of laughter watching Joanie’s face during Denny’s straight faced initiation into realism for his sister. Joanie looked around frantically as if trying to figure out where she was.
“Oh my God! Stan and Jerry have monitored… everything?”
Denny smiled. “That is what network cloning is my little naive flower. You are on the Demon Inc network. You know why you don’t get traffic from Demon Inc? Because they know not to use the iPads for personal use.”
“Why…why didn’t you tell me, Denny?”
“I did. Remember… ‘this is a cloned iPad’? That was me telling you.”
Joanie dropped her head into her hands. “You…you’re a monster! No one should be allowed to do what you do. If my friends find out, they’ll kill me in my sleep! I’m doomed.”
Denny stood up. “I have to go see if I can brutalize Ms. Ansel. Are you going to help me with Ms. Kincaid or not, little munchkin?”
That set Mike off again. Joanie merely nodded still with head in hands.
“See you later, Mike. I’ll meet up with you after my monster missions.”
Mike wiped tears from his eyes. “Until then… until then. That was an ace, brother.”
Denny crouched down to look at Joanie. “What, no kiss goodbye? How about a text?”
Joanie launched at Denny across the table but he pulled back easily and walked toward the exit. Mike held her shoulders. “He did tell you, Sis. I’ll have a talk with the others. There will only be a minimum of taunting. By the way, I didn’t know, or I would have warned you. I carry the iPad with me everywhere so Laura can contact me with Demon Inc business, but it’s been a while since I’ve done anything with it besides charging.”
“Denny’s changed,” Joanie muttered as she slouched back into her chair.
“Yeah, he has. He’s not the target he was before. He’s gained respect from people he cares about, and that, my dear sister is not an easy task. You want hard facts? Here they are. Denny’s a genius and he ain’t hard to look at. In case you haven’t noticed, with the workouts, he’s getting impressive. I think Denny’s consciousness is expanding past the ‘I worship Joanie’ phase. He cares for you, but it’s a two way street, Sis.”
“I…I did show it on Friday night.”
“Yeah you did, but then you followed it up with orders he quit the one thing that’s changed his life for the better: Demon Inc. Rooming with Laura may be affecting your judgment. By the way, has she hinted at a possible return to the living quarters at Demon Inc we fixed up for her?”
“I don’t want her to leave,” Joanie replied. “She hasn’t shown any sign of wanting to either. That was really nice of you to volunteer to be her birth coach.”
“When she asked me, I was too shocked to say no. Nice had nothing to do with it. The first class is in three weeks. It’s not like I needed more to do.”
“I can’t believe they didn’t throw Moomoo in prison.”
“They deported the Jamils
back to Saudi Arabia. Since he is the baby’s Father I guess they figured it would be tough to convict him and his Dad of kidnapping. We’ll have to be on the look-out after the baby’s born. They have Mahmoud and Farris Jamil on the no fly list too, but it seems like anyone can sneak into this country.”
Joanie packed up what she hadn’t eaten and stood to go. “I’ll find out how Denny did with your office girlfriend. See you after school.”
“I’m glad you’re going with him to get a read on Kincaid.”
“It’s only because I want to see for myself if this theory of scandal holds up.”
“If you say so.”
* * *
Denny saw Joanie waiting outside their history classroom. She smiled as he approached, so he figured there wouldn’t be any bad conversation on tap. “Hi.”
“How’d you do?”
“Good. I told her I had an extra video clip to show her on my notebook computer. Like most people she had her cell-phone set to be discovered. My software program picked off her ESN while the video clip played.”
“What’s an ESN?”
“Oh… ah, it means electronic serial number. I have an EPROM burner that will create a chip and I can record all the numbers she calls out to or receives. I didn’t really clone your iPad. It’s just set up so all conversations or text messages are recorded and relayed into all Demon Inc iPads’ inboxes. I’ll take you off the network if you want.”
“I want. I’m sorry about the way I’ve been getting on your case lately.”
“It’s nice of you to worry about me, but-”
“I know I was out of line,” Joanie interrupted. “You need to do everything you’re doing with Demon Inc. I know what a tough time you had before this year, and I realize what getting in with Mike and Demon has meant for you.”
Other teens were arriving to attend class, some stopping to say hi and tell Denny they loved the video clips on YouTube from the weekend, while protesting the shortness.
“We better go inside,” Joanie said. “Did you figure out how we’ll do Kincaid?”
“All we have to do is get near her desk. I’ll ask her if you can come along for extra credit too while my software clips her ESN. She’ll either have some lame excuse why you can’t join us or she’ll embrace it, which will mean we’re overreacting about this nefarious plot to sexually abuse me.”
Joanie laughed and entered the classroom with Denny trailing. “Good one, Worm.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Joanie bowed her head slightly. “Sorry, weapons master.”
“That’s better.”
“Oh crap,” Joanie whispered back at Denny. “What the hell’s Rory doing next to your seat staring at you? Did you do something to him I don’t know about?”
Denny slowed as Joanie blocked his way to the desk. “What could I have done? He’s six feet tall and weighs around one eighty. If you’ll get movin’ I’ll ask him.”
“Don’t start anything, weapons master.”
Denny peered closely at her with a grin. “Have you ever seen me start anything with anyone? Maybe he wants help with his homework. Take it easy, Joanie. Not everyone is like those seniors in my Physics class.”
“I’m turning into a paranoid freak lately, huh?”
“A very cute one though.”
Joanie smiled while turning to walk past Rory Jacobs to her desk. He glanced her way with a grin that did nothing for her perception this was just a casual greeting session about nothing. Jacobs straightened, letting his arms fall loosely at his sides, and Joanie began glancing around for their history teacher, Mr. Evers. She looked up at the clock, noting class would not begin for another five minutes. The class was still only half full with the students attending. Joanie looked back toward Denny. He was meeting Rory’s stare with a smile, while setting his bag down by the chair.
“Hey Rory.”
“I want in on that Demon Inc gig you people have goin’.”
“I’m not in charge of recruitment,” Denny explained affably. “Mike Rawlins needed an IT guy for computer and equipment needs, including upkeep and repair of Demon Inc’s network. That’s the roll I fill. If you want to apply with someone, Mike’s the guy to talk to.”
Jacobs poked his finger into Denny’s chest and moved closer. Conversation and background noise dropped into silence around them. “I want you to front my application with Rawlins and get me in.”
“I can’t do that, Rory. I’m an employee not a manager. Talk to Mike. If you have something special in the way of skills Demon Inc needs, maybe he’ll give you a tryout like he did me. I have no clue what Mike has in mind for future needs, or what his plans are. I probably should, but it’s never come up before.”
“You get me in or I make life miserable for you.”
Joanie leaped up from her seat, all semblance of calm fleeing in a moment. “Jacobs! I can tell you right now my brother wouldn’t add you to Demon Inc even if you grew wings and chirped like a bird! Denny told you the truth. He doesn’t call the shots. My brother does!”
Jacobs spun toward Joanie with more than a hope for joining Demon Inc lighting the rage in his eyes. “Stay out of this you little-”
“Don’t say it!” Joanie warned, facing off with him. “Are you high? Ask Brad Sanderson what happens when you call me names! We have a video clip of it. Want to watch?”
Denny chuckled, which immediately drew Jacobs’ ire back toward him as he intended. “Joanie’s right, Rory. What is this all about? You must know beating me to a pulp or calling Mike’s sister names ain’t going to get you anywhere near Demon Inc. Mike would rip your head off and let Demon take a dump down your neck. Hell, if Demon were here now, you’d already be on the floor with his teeth at your neck.”
Denny’s remark about Demon caused a tittering of background laughter from the students raptly watching the unfolding drama. Jacobs’ eyes brightened, his fists clenched, and Denny knew he would launch an attack without warning. Denny dropped his right foot back slightly, and his right hand along with it while turning to present a smaller target.
“You’re high on something, Rory!” Joanie grabbed his arm. “Don’t do this!”
Jacobs shrugged her off with enough force to send Joanie plummeting into her seat while grabbing for support. He then fired a right hand toward Denny’s head. Denny chopped his right into Jacobs’ wrist and pivoted a straight left into his solar plexus. Jacobs froze, his hands clutching the spot while his knees buckled. Falling forward, Jacobs desperately tried to wheeze air into his lungs. Denny caught him before he fell face forward into his chair. Denny maneuvered him into a sitting position. A pin could have been heard to drop if not for Jacobs’ tortured intake of breath.
“Sorry, buddy, but you’ll have to suck air until the pain eases,” Denny whispered, pulling up under Jacobs’ arms to ease his airwaves.
“What the heck is going on here?” Ned Evers surveyed his history class students with undisguised confusion. A big man himself, Evers had played college football as a defensive tackle. He hurried over to where Jacobs sat gasping, his arms in a death grip against his chest while Denny Stossle worked to exercise his body’s upper half. Evers put a huge ebony hand on Denny’s shoulder. “Stossle! What are you doing?”
Denny glanced up at Evers and around at his stunned classmates. “Ah… I… that is… I’m trying to help Rory get his breath back.”
“I see that! What happened to him?”
“We… ah… I hit him,” Denny said finally, still working his maneuver under Jacobs’ arms.
“Jacobs swung at Denny, Mr. Evers!” Joanie’s initial shock at the abrupt ending to the drama faded as she gestured at the downed student. “I don’t know what caused it, but he was pushing to get into my older brother’s new enterprise and tried to browbeat Denny into getting him in it. We tried explaining my brother is in charge but he just went off!”
Evers heard a murmur of agreement from the rest of his class. He crouched down and helped Denny lift J
acobs into Denny’s seat. Jacobs’ breathing eased and the pasty white pallor receded. Evers checked his eyes, a grim cast set into his features.
“What the hell you on, boy? I’ve seen the red eye express before. Tell us so we can help you. C’mon now, breathe and answer me.”
Jacobs glanced up at Evers sullenly. “I ain’t sayin’ nothin’. I’m the one that got hit. Stossle’s nuts. I asked him a-”
“I’ll give you nuts!” Joanie went for Jacobs with both hands for his neck but Denny intercepted her.
“Hey! Don’t make this worse, Joanie,” Denny urged, hugging her to him. “We have a whole classroom of witnesses. Rory’s so goofed up, he thinks it’s our word against his.”
Evers glanced around his classroom. “What about it? Was Stossle here only defending himself?”
Melissa Kirkland, Joanie’s friend, who also attended Denny’s tutoring sessions, had entered the classroom in time to see most of the altercation. “Jacobs knocked Joanie back onto her chair, and tried to sucker punch Denny, Mr. Evers. I didn’t hear the other conversation that went on before that, but he definitely tried to clock Denny first.”
“You lyin’ bitch!” The revived Jacobs tried to launch out of the chair toward Melissa who cried out in surprise while backtracking. Evers gripped Jacobs’ shoulders and shoved him back into Denny’s seat powerfully.
“You calm down now, kid! Whatever you’re on is screwing with your head! You hear me, boy?”
Jacobs fury trickled slowly from his features in Evers’ grip. He glanced around nervously after a moment, his situation becoming clearer with each passing second. “I…I don’t feel too good. Let me go.”
Evers knelt down in front of him without easing his grip. “I will, son, but you will then get to your feet and walk with me to the office. Do not try and make any movement other than doing exactly what I say. Do you understand me?”
Jacobs could only meet Evers’ stare for a second before dropping his gaze to the floor and nodding his understanding.
“Good. Get up and walk with me,” Evers ordered. With Jacobs under his guidance, he turned to the class before walking out with his charge. “Begin reading chapter six. I will be back shortly.”
Demon Inc (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 2) Page 8