Chapter Six:
SOCKs Goes to Work
In a scene that resembled most old western movies—with the heroes marching single file down a dirt road in the center of town—the four members of the SOCKs contingent walked very decisively toward Maple Forest and The Playground. The sun was starting to set behind Kid Combat, Gears, Wedge, and Rocket. The trees in centerfield cast off a shadowy glow.
The boys walked in silence with determination in their eyes. All their missions were important, but to the members of SOCKs, this one was different. Someone had messed with one of their own, and they were going to find out who it was, no matter what it took. The Thompsons were loyal friends of SOCKs, and their toy store was important to all the children in town, not just the members of SOCKs.
Each boy entered the tree line and descended into The Playground. Roller was inside, hard at work. He had stayed behind, instead of helping out at Spring Road Toys, to work on the finishing touches to Kid Combat’s newest gadgets. He was also tasked to gain more intel on the curator.
As the boys entered The Playground, they dispersed. The twins went into their respective rooms. Gears went to Main Computer Lab 1 to check on various scripts he had running. Kid Combat walked into the Main Lab A, where he found Roller.
Roller was busy getting the new Pepper Creek Acceleration Vehicles, or PCAVs, up and running. Designed to be watercrafts, the small two-person boats were experiencing some delays. Roller spent most of his time here, working on them.
The crude devices were made out of metal sheeting found discarded near a Jones Industries construction site, then heated and formed into the two bases of the ships. From there, Gears and Roller had designed the rest of the craft. It had two seats side by side, and the left one had a steering wheel in front of it. The seat on the right had a huge electronic control panel that housed buttons for a variety of different things. When finally functional, the buttons would control secret entrance and exit points into The Playground from various areas within Maple Forest. They would also have GPS built into them, running the latest of Gears and Roller’s locator software.
The project, however, was not going well. Constant problems kept occurring, causing headaches for all members of SOCKs. It appeared to Kid as he walked up to Roller that the situation was not getting any better. Roller looked stymied at the situation and sat back in his chair in frustration.
“Hey, buddy,” Kid said as he walked up behind Roller and patted him on the shoulder. Roller turned around and saw Kid.
“Hey,” a disheveled Roller said. “How’s it going?”
“I should ask you,” Kid said as he circled around the large table. On it sat several pieces of what looked to be formerly an engine. Kid picked up a piece, turned it over a few times, and set it back down on the table.
“Well, I wish I had better news for you, Kid,” Roller said as he pushed his wheelchair away from the table. He made his way over to another station behind him, grabbed another piece, and rolled back to his original work area.
“That bad, huh?” Kid asked.
“Worse. The mechanism isn’t working properly, the shifter keeps sticking, and the steering column broke this morning,” Roller said.
“Yeah, that’s pretty bad,” Kid said back.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to matter much,” Roller said disgustedly.
“What do you mean?” Kid said, startled.
“Oh,” Roller said quietly. “I guess she hasn’t told you yet.”
“Told me what?” Kid said back.
“Well …” Roller started. He pushed his wheelchair back a bit further from Kid. “Sam said there’s no way she’s going to be able to complete the access tunnel from the back of RD1 to Pepper Creek. She just doesn’t have the tools or man power to do it. It’s hundreds of feet. It would take her months, years even.”
Kid didn’t like hearing this news. He wanted a tunnel that would easily connect up with Pepper Creek. The creek itself ran through the heart of Maple Forest and had many accessible paths to every part of Elmcrest. The tunnel would make a great exit point as well as a quick getaway. The tunnel would also connect The Playground to a remote part of the creek, deep within the tree line of Maple Forest, making it difficult for anyone to find the entry way. The PCAVs that Roller was working on were supposed to be the vehicles used to traverse the creek. It was becoming clear that it would be awhile before either one was in service to SOCKs.
“Great,” was all that Kid said to Roller. With obvious disappointment, Kid saw that his comment upset Roller. Seeing this, Kid tried to mend Roller’s feelings. “You’re doing your best, I know. It’s just a pain that we are having these issues. I’ll see what I can do.”
“OK, Kid,” Roller said back to him. “What do you want to do now?”
“Gather the troops in Main Lab B. We need to figure out how to help the Thompsons.”
“Sure thing,” Roller said, and he pulled up his laptop attached to his chair. He sent instant messages to Gears and to the twins telling them to gather.
Within a few minutes, the boys were seated around the large conference table in Main Lab B. Kid was the last one there.
“First things first,” Kid said as he walked in the room, not wasting any time. “We need to find the culprits behind the attack. Gears, pull up the intel Samantha provided us on those two boys.”
“Right away, boss,” Gears said as he started pounding on his laptop. Kid went over and took his usual seat at the table. A Security Level 3 folder on Main Server I projected up on the south wall of the room. Prompted for a password on the screen, Gears typed in the necessary security word and was granted access to the folder. From there, Gears pulled up the files on the two boys that Samantha had created the night before.
“If my hunch is right, these are the boys we are looking for.” Kid added.
“OK, here we go,” Gears said. He clicked on one of the files and a photo of the first boy was brought up on the screen. To the right of that photo was all the intel SOCKs had on him.
“This is Tommy O’Toole, age eleven. He is a sixth grader at Byron Middle School. He’s pretty much your average bully. Tommy has been known for petty crimes around school—stealing money, lunches, bikes, stuff like that. He’s been arrested once for vandalizing the school and expelled once for pushing a teacher,” Gears read.
“Great. We’re gonna have to go to school with this guy after next year?” Rocket said, a little intimidated. No one responded, and Gears continued.
“He’s an only child and his parents are divorced. He chose to live with his dad and he is never around. Tommy pretty much has free reign,” Gears finished. He minimized the bio on Tommy and loaded the second boy’s profile.
“Now this guy here is our main problem,” Gears continued. “Jake Henderson, otherwise known as “Ace.” He’s the so-called brains of the operation. Jake’s twelve and is still in sixth grade. He was held back last year for never going to class. He’s been picked up by the cops countless times for various crimes, but since he’s a minor, they detain him for a few hours, try to scare him straight, and send him back on the street. He’s the one you can bet the curator contacted first and hired. Tommy was just brought in to help out. Although their rap sheets are pretty long, this would be the first time they have acted out on something that wasn’t their school.”
Kid sat back and absorbed the information. “From what Samantha said, these are our two likely candidates, but we have no proof. As you know, Samantha’s camera was busted in her breakout attempt from the museum. And since there was no surveillance in Spring Road Toys, we don’t even know if these two jokers had anything to do with this.”
“They must, Kid,” Wedge chimed in. “If Sam says these are the two guys, then these are the two guys.”
“She thinks these are the two guys. There’s a difference. And unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of time to track down every thug,” Kid said, and then paused. “Wedge, Rocket, we need to find out anything that w
ill pin the break-in on them. And we need it quickly.”
“We’re on it!” Wedge said in a huff. He sprang out of his chair like a jack rabbit and was ready to start his mission. “Where should we start?”
“According to this file,” Gears said, whacking away on his keyboard, “the sixth graders usually hang out at the far end of the Jonestown Mall. If you hurry, you should be able to get there before it closes.”
“Let’s go!” Rocket yelled. The two twins disappeared into the hallway.
“What do you need me to do, Kid?” Gears asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.
“Gears, you have the most important job. When we find out those two boys are indeed the ones who broke into Spring Road Toys, I need you to somehow find out when they are meeting with the curator again. I don’t care how you do it, but we need that information. Without it, we have nothing to go on. Also, we need some way to catch them all together.”
“Don’t worry, Kid. I’ll think of something,” Gears said.
Chapter Seven:
The Twins
6:00 pm
Four wheels made out of rubber raced down the streets of Elmcrest. The small wheels turned quickly as they screamed down the pavement. Attached to a black skateboard with a white skull spray painted on the top of it, the wheels whistled in the air.
Right behind this set of four wheels, another set came. These were attached to a brown skateboard that was void of any markings. The deck, however, was damaged in several areas, and chunks were missing from the tail. This caused the board to wobble more than the black one.
Ace and Tommy zoomed down Main Street in Elmcrest. Having no regard for anyone around them, they rode in the street and up on the sidewalks and grinded on street benches. It wasn’t until Ace ollied a water fountain in Ben Allis Park that people started to gawk and take more notice of the two youths.
“Oh, man, that was awesome!” Tommy said to Ace as the two made their way out of the small park in central Elmcrest and back onto Main Street. The two zigged and zagged between a few cars as onlookers shouted out their displeasure to the kids. The boys rolled on as if they hadn’t heard them.
Ace did a few more ollies over fire hydrants and park benches, and Tommy made his way down a few rails and over a small boy’s wagon. The boys reached their destination a few minutes later.
The two boys stopped their boards in front of the entrance. Ace popped his board up, grabbed it, and then threw it in the bushes. Tommy, noticing this, looked questioningly at Ace.
“What?” said Ace. “It’s not like it’s mine. We’ll just steal some new ones on the way out.” Tommy shrugged and threw his board in the same set of bushes. “Let’s get inside,” Ace finished as the two boys disappeared.
The Jonestown Mall had become the focal point in downtown Elmcrest. People came from miles around to shop inside and see the wonderment that Jones created. Every day, the mall saw thousands of people entering its doors and spending their hard-earned money on overpriced merchandise.
Businesses flourished inside its lavish interior, and no one flourished more from the growth and popularity of the mall than its owner, Phillip Arthur Jones.
Inside the white marble exterior that once was a courthouse, people flocked by the hundreds to each of the individual businesses. They shopped for hours, buying more meaningless items to heighten themselves in the greed-driven society that had become their small town.
The Jonestown Mall had become a place for kids to hang out on their own or while their parents shopped. Like ants to a picnic, the children of Elmcrest, of all ages, came to cause some mischief.
Wedge and Rocket arrived at the mall’s main entrance. The two young boys proceeded through the lavish entryway that was decorated with Jones’s pictures and propaganda supporting his company, Jones Industries.
Posters promoting Jones Industries with the letters JI in bold type covered the walls to the boys’ right and left. Red banners hung from the rafters above them. Twenty feet in length, the banners swayed back and forth slightly in the wind. They too had the Jones Industries logo on them.
Wedge and Rocket walked right by it all, never paying any mind to any of Jones’s decorations.
As they proceeded down the hallway, flying by stores, Wedge and Rocket kept their eyes open for the two boys suspected in destroying Spring Road Toys, Ace and Tommy. As if their heads were on a swivel, the two boys searched the mall.
“They’re here somewhere, Rocket,” Wedge said as his eyes wandered over all of the stores.
“Everyone hangs out in the courtyard in the middle of the mall. Let’s go there,” Rocket said.
One of the new additions to the Jonestown Mall, in its short existence, was a large central atrium. An oversized courtyard was lit by large skylights and surrounded by dozens of various plants. In the center was a large oak tree. The massive tree was real and grew from the floor to the ceiling.
The whole courtyard was littered with benches for shoppers to catch a moment’s breath before continuing on with their spending. It turned into a perfect place for groups of kids to sit around and have a good time.
Wedge and Rocket entered the courtyard and started to look around the pack of kids, trying to identify their suspects. Even though it was getting late, the courtyard was still full of kids.
Representing different age groups, they were all divided into various circles. They laughed, pointed, and gawked at shoppers and even ridiculed one another. Wedge and Rocket looked through the various packs of kids, but they couldn’t find Ace or Tommy.
“I don’t see them anywhere, do you?” asked Wedge.
“No, nowhere. We better split up to cover more ground,” Rocket said.
“Good idea. I’ll radio if I find anything,” Wedge said. He then proceeded off to the left.
“Channel nine,” said Rocket back to his brother. He referred to the frequency on their radios.
“No, channel ten,” Wedge said defiantly. Rocket stood there and looked disbelievingly at his brother.
“Why do you want it to be channel ten? Why couldn’t you just go along with channel nine?” Rocket said back to his brother.
“Because. I like ten better. Sounds cooler,” Wedge said with a big grin.
“Oh, jeez!” Rocket said, rolling his eyes. He knew he couldn’t win this fight, so he let his brother have his way. “OK, Mr. Bond, we’ll go with channel ten,” Rocket said, turning away from his older brother.
As the two boys separated, they took different sides of the mall. Rocket started to cover the north end of the courtyard, while his older brother, Wedge, went about to the south.
The mall was packed with kids, and the search would not be easy. For several minutes, the two boys investigated. Rocket went up and down the different eateries in the food court looking for anyone who matched the description and pictures the boys had gone over at The Playground. Wedge searched high and low in the different surrounding stores, but he found no one.
Finally, Wedge spotted a pair of boys trying to pick up a group of girls just to the right of the food court. He snuck his way over behind a few pillars and plants and was able to ID the boys.
“Bingo,” he said to himself. Radioing back to his brother, Wedge reported his findings.
“Rocket. Come in, Rocket. Over,” he said.
“Did you find them?” his brother came back.
“Right outside the sports store,” Wedge said. “What’s our next move? Over.”
“Get in closer and try and pick something up on the microphone. I’ll be there in a minute,” Rocket said, making his way around the courtyard.
“Roger that,” Wedge said as he started toward the boys. Cautiously, he worked his way over to them, staying close to the storefronts.
As Wedge got closer, he drew the attention of the two boys. Ace, the leader of the two, looked right up at Wedge. Wedge panicked and ducked into the first neighboring store. Quickly, he started rummaging through one of the racks in the front of the store, trying to act
casual. Ace dismissed his suspicion and continued back to the girls.
Occasionally looking over his shoulder, Wedge kept an eye on the two boys. They eventually tired of the girls and headed off on their own. Wedge, continuing to look through the racks, slid his hand down into his pocket and took out a small, round microphone. With its attached booster signal, it was able to pick up the conversations of the two boys. Wedge moved in closer, trying to pick up their signal. After a couple crackles and hisses, their conversation became audible.
“Stupid girls. They don’t know what they’re missing,” said Tommy O’Toole.
“Yeah. We’re rich now,” Ace said with a sinister laugh.
“Not yet. We still need to get paid,” Tommy countered.
“Yeah, but after tomorrow, we’ll have it made,” Ace said back to his friend. “We still have a couple hours before we have to get home. What do you wanna do?”
“Let’s go to the movies. What time does the show start?” asked Tommy.
“Don’t know. I’ll call on my cell phone,” Ace said, and he started dialing. As he dialed, he spun around, and his back became visible to Wedge’s vantage point. A blue object seemed to be nestled in Ace’s back pocket.
“Rocket, can you make out the back pocket from your location?” Wedge said to his brother over his radio.
Rocket sat at a table across the food court. He tried to sit inconspicuously behind a group of men who were eating at the table in front of him. He lifted his hands up to his face and looked through the window on his camera.
“Scanning,” Rocket radioed back. With his 20X digital zoom camera, Rocket zoomed in on the boy’s back pocket. The object, a blue slingshot plane, became clear as he focused the camera. Rocket gasped and radioed back to his brother.
“That’s KC’s plane!” Rocket said as he snapped off a couple photos. “No one has a plane like that. He ordered it special from Spring Road Toys. It’s one of a kind!”
The Adventures of Kid Combat Volume Two: The Heist of Spring Road Toys Page 5