Chapter 28: Showdown!

Malibu was a city of beaches, spectacular resorts, fine dining, and souvenir shops.  It was not a city of fine Victorian architecture.  There was no clocktower containing a bell that tolled the hour, the half hour, or even the quarter hour.  11:30 rolled in as quietly as fog without a foghorn.  Yet it did not roll in without action.

A Maserati pulled up to the curb, across the street from the restaurant.  Drew cut the ignition and switched off the headlights.  “Alright!” he said.  “Here we go!”

The four spies got out, crossed the street, and walked towards the building.  “No lights on inside,” noted Edward.

“No doubt they’re trying to keep a low profile,” said Drew.  “Let’s take a look around before we go in.  Sneak up to the windows and see what’s going on inside.”

They wandered up to the front and crouched next to the building.  Then, they peeked through the front window.

“The main room’s empty,” said Carol.  “The only lights in it are the drink machine and the exit sign, but there’s a light from that room at the back.”

“So there is,” said Drew.  “I can’t really see anything.  Come on.”

The four wandered around to the back of the building.  It wasn’t much to look at, just blue steel cobbled together.  There were no windows, just a rusty door.  The door, though, was closed and locked.  Beyond this, a shabby dock ran out into the water, where a large motorboat was moored.

“That’s where we’ll put the dynamite,” whispered Drew.  “Let’s go back to the front.”

They gathered at the door, and Drew explained his plan.  “Renee, you stay out here and stand guard.  The rest of us will sneak inside.  Carol, you go around the right wall once you get in.  I’ll go around the left, and Edward, you can go straight through the center.  When we get to the door to the back, I’ll lead the way.  Got it?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good luck.  Keep a sharp eye out, Renee!”  Drew grabbed the doorknob and pushed without twisting.  The door swung open easily.  Renee had done her job well.  The hinges weren’t even that squeaky.  The only noise came from the beeper right above the door.

Beeper above the door?

“Duck!” hissed Drew.  He, Carol, and Edward all crouched next to the wall and readied themselves for a fight!  They stared expectantly at the backdoor and waited.

Nothing.

Ten seconds passed, then Drew stood up.  Carol and Edward followed.  The three worked their way around.  Drew and Carol had a wall (or tables at least) to feel on their way around, so they didn’t have much trouble.  About halfway to the backdoor, though, Edward tripped over a chair.  The thing clattered to the floor.  Once again, the three spies ducked.

Nothing.

Again, they all got up and made their way towards the door, one of those swinging double doors for kitchens.  Drew peeked through the window on the left door.

Then, he pushed his way through.

Nothing.

“I guess no one’s around,” said Carol, following.

“Shh!” hissed Drew.  He looked around the kitchen.  It was full of normal kitchen stuff—pots, pans, oven, packs of food, walk-in freezer—

Drew nudged his sister.  “I’d better go check that freezer; make sure no one’s locked inside.  You two wait here.”  He started across the kitchen, all too afraid of what he might find behind the heavy, steel door in front of him.  It was not locked, of course, and Drew swung it open, revealing—

Frozen packs of food.  Nothing abnormal.

Drew turned around and shook his head.  Edward relaxed.  Carol let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall.

Beep!  Click.  Whirr!

Carol let out a small scream as a section of the wall slid back behind her!

“Silly!” said Drew.  “It’s only a secret closet!”  He shone his flashlight at it, then started.  “Pearson!”

There was the missing spy—bound, gagged, and propped up against several sacks of flour—but very much alive.  Drew quickly ran over and untied him.

“Drew!” exclaimed Pearson.  “Am I glad to see you!”

“What happened?” Drew said.  “We thought you were dead!”

“Ah, I tried to call you.”  Pearson staggered to his feet but immediately sat back down; it had been a while since he was last up.  “I spotted Schlegel going in this place one night.  I followed him in, and bam!  That’s all I remember, until now.”

“Well, never mind that,” said Drew.  “The Schlegels have been arrested, and we’re here to get the sub.  In less than a half hour, this place is going to be buzzing!  If you feel well enough, you can participate in the action.  If not, we’ve probably got this under control.  Let me get you something to drink!”

Just as Drew stood up, he heard Renee calling from the front door.  “Someone’s coming!”

“Oh-oh!” said Drew.  “Hide!  Let’s see what they’re up to before we take them.”

He, Carol, and Edward slid the pantry back shut, then all hid.  They heard a key in the front door, which slowly opened.  Then, two sets of footsteps sounded, heading across the main room of the restaurant.  The kitchen doors opened, and two men walked in.

One of them yawned.  “What a night,” he said.  “I wonder where the Webers are.  They’re usually early.”

“They’ll be here,” said the other.  “Otherwise, we’ll go back to Germany without them.  I’m really looking forward to this!”

“Should we call the sub?” asked the first.

“Yeah, why not?” said the second.  “I’ll ring up the captain.”  He pulled out his cellphone and hit a number.  “Zeller?  Bring up the ship.”

“Alright,” he said, hanging up.  “It won’t be long now.  Have you got—”

“Ah-choo!”

That wasn’t Schlegel’s pals, unfortunately.  It was Carol.  It seems that one of the cooks had been a little careless with the pepper that evening.  Carol had held it in as long as she could, but resistance was futile.  The decidedly feminine sneeze filled the room.

“What?”  The two men whirled and faced the oven, which was where Carol was hidden.  “There’s someone over there!  Alright, on your feet!”  Both of them reached for their guns.

Suddenly, Drew jumped into the air from behind them.  He delivered a flying double-kick, knocking down one with his left foot and one with his right.  He picked up the guy on the right, swung him around, and delivered a hard right to the chin!

Carol took the other one.  He came toward her, not seeming to have any reservations about hitting a girl.  That was fine.  Carol had no reservations about hitting him.  He staggered across the room, not expecting her punch.  Before he could get back at her, Edward was in the fray, conking him with a frying pan!

Drew’s opponent ducked Drew’s next blow, grabbed him by the legs, and tried to throw him across the room!  Drew, however, grabbed hold of the handle of a cabinet.  The door shuddered, nearly falling off, but it held, and Drew swung back across, delivering another kick to his opponent.  As the man fell, Drew jumped down and pummeled him with both fists.

The other one shoved Edward away and started for Carol again.  There was nothing between her and him.  However, this gave her a perfect opening for

Hiss!

“Ahh!”

Pepper spray!  Carol always had some on hand.  As the man tried rubbing his eyes, Carol grabbed him, and Edward returned with a chloroform-soaked rag.  The man slumped to the floor, out like a light.

“Good work!” called Drew.  “You finish this guy off.  I’ve got something to do!”  He rushed through the front of the restaurant and out into the night.  “We’ve got them, Renee!” he called, running down the walkway to the road.  He sped across and hopped in the Maserati.  He drove down the street a bit, put the car in reverse, and quickly backed down a side street next to the Grotto, stopping just before the dock.

“Give me a hand, Edward!” he called, getting out.  Edward came running out the door, and Drew opened the trunk.  He grabbed a crate of dynamite and carried it to the boat.  Carefully, he put it in, then turned to get another one.  Edward loaded one in, Drew loaded one, Edward loaded one, and Drew put in the last one.

“Alright!” said Drew.  “Do we see the ship yet?”

Carol came out the back door and pointed.  “Look!” she said.  “That green light—way out in the ocean!”

“What—I see!” said Drew.  “You’re sure that’s not a buoy?”

“Do you see any other buoys that far offshore?  Besides, there’s a telescope sticking through a hole in one of the cabinets, and it’s aimed straight at that light.”

“Well then, I’m off!  See you all soon!”  Drew threw the rope off the boat, hopped in, and headed off to sea.

It was dangerous work.  Five boxes of dynamite sat in the back, each stick of which was enough to sink his craft.  If Drew hit anything else before the sub, he was in trouble.  Deep trouble.

Spray whipping past his face, Drew concentrated on the light.  He was moving at a good clip, but the light seemed to take forever to grow.  “They’re pretty far offshore,” he thought.  “This is going to be some swim.  Good thing we’re not in Alaska.”

Eventually, the light swelled to a greater size.  As he neared it, Drew could vaguely make out the fin of the enemy sub.  He saw someone standing on deck, waiting expectantly for four spies—none of whom had the last name Lawrence.

Closer Drew came.  “Looks like a nice sub,” he said.  “Too bad it’s in enemy hands.  Oh well, we have our own.  A couple hundred more feet, and—”

Drew braced himself and jumped out of the boat.  Instantly, he pushed away from the sub and started swimming towards shore as fast as he could.  Five seconds went by, then—

BOOOOOMMM!!!!

There was a terrific explosion, and the Pacific Ocean turned orange with the large fireball from the damaged sub.  Viewed from land, it almost looked like a second sunset.  The fiery, orange cloud filled the air as it sent smoke pouring towards the heavens.

A wave billowed out from the wreck, headed straight towards Drew.  He took a deep breath as the water swept into him, propelling him several feet.  Then it broke.  He struggled back to the surface, aided by a lifejacket.

When he got back, more lights had appeared, all from the coast.  Six boats were headed towards the wreck.  The Lawrences had notified the Coast Guard as soon as they figured out where the meet was.  Undoubtedly there would be survivors, and they’d be in good hands—even if they didn’t see it that way.

Drew flipped over and started doing the backstroke.  A few minutes passed.  Then, he became conscious of a motor.  It was louder than the Coast Guard ones, as if it was right nearby.  He flipped over and looked around.

There was another motorboat, piloted by his sister.  “Ahoy!” called Carol.  “Need a lift?”

“Sure!” said Drew.  “I swam all the way here from Japan, and I’m getting tired!”

“Hop in, quitter!”  Edward gave him a hand.  As soon as Drew was in the boat, Renee handed him a towel.

“Thanks,” he said, wiping the saltwater off his face.  He turned and watched the flames with the rest of his siblings.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Carol remarked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Hallett was stunned the next morning when he found out his vacation was over.  “Thanks for your work, John!” his host told him that morning at breakfast.  “I’m all ready to buy those fairways now.”

“What—oh, really?” said Mr. Hallett.

“All set!” grinned Mr. Blaine.  “I’m certainly going to miss you, though.  Are you sure you have to leave today?”

“Today?”

“Why Dad, did you forget?” said Drew.  “Our tickets are for today, remember?”  He shoved six airplane tickets over to Mr. Hallett’s spot.

Mr. Hallett looked at them, in surprise.  “Oh—well, yes!” he said.  “You’re welcome, Steve.  Uh—it’s all—”

“It’s all under control,” said Mr. Blaine.  “All of it!”

So, just as unexpectedly as they’d arrived, the Halletts departed.  Goette drove them to the airport.  Mr. Hallett hoped he might get some explanation on the way, but none came.  The surly Goette said nothing, in fact, all the way to Los Angeles.

At the airport, the Halletts dropped off their bags and went through security.  They were an hour and a half early, and they found a seat to wait for their flight.  A TV had the LA news on.

“—and the Coast Guard is investigating a mysterious explosion,” the news announcer was saying.  “We take you now to Malibu, where Chip Hale is standing by.”

“Thanks, Shannon.  People along the Malibu coast were startled about eleven o’clock last night by this!”  A grainy home video showed a huge light way offshore.  “Sources say a fishing boat caught fire on its way back to port.  No one was injured, according to the Coast Guard.  Authorities are encouraging boats to stay out of the way as the wreckage is cleared.”

“Oh, look!” said Renee.  “A fishing boat exploded!”

“Huh!” said Drew.  “That’s pretty big for a fishing boat!”

“I wish we could’ve seen that!” said Carol.

Mrs. Hallett wondered why the four youths were exchanging grins.

Finally, it was time for their flight.  Once again, they went through Denver and caught a connection to Des Moines.  Not once in the air did the Lawrences mention anything about their assignment.  They kept quiet about it as they retrieved their baggage and headed out to the car.  But once they were driving away from the airport, Drew spoke.

“Mr. and Mrs. Hallett, I’d like to thank you all for being our parents,” he said.  “You did a marvelous job!  Not once did you jeopardize our cover!”

“Uh, thanks!” said Mr. Hallett.  “We were glad to—”

“You should be getting a check for thirty thousand dollars within the next five days,” said Drew.  “If not, drop by our house and let us know.  Sometimes they forget.  We’ll take care of it.”

“Thirty thousand dollars!” exclaimed Mrs. Hallett.

“Of course!  Remember the terms?  Your services were probably worth more than that, but the government only has so much money.”  Drew smiled.  “This goes without saying, but if you all ever need any help, please let us know!”

“We will,” said Mrs. Hallett.  “Thanks for the vacation!”

“Drew,” said Mr. Hallett.   “And the rest of you.  I think my wife will agree that if you ever need ‘parents’ again, you can just give us a call.”

“Oh, we will!” said Carol.  “We sure will!”

The Halletts drove back to their quiet little neighborhood and let the Lawrences off at their house.  Mrs. Hallett sighed as she watched them run inside.  “It’ll be so boring without them,” she said.

“I agree,” said her husband.  “At least they’re still in the neighborhood.  We’ll see them again soon enough, I’m sure.  Right now, let’s just enjoy the peace and quiet of our own house.”  He backed into the driveway, opened the truck, and yanked a couple suitcases out of it.  Then, he and his wife wandered down the front sidewalk to the door.  Mr. Hallett pulled his keys out of his pocket, turned the lock, and opened the door.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling!

“What’s that?” asked Mrs. Hallett.

“It’s our phone, in case you’ve forgotten it,” answered her husband.  “Probably just a telemarketer.  I’ll get it.  Hello?” he said, picking up the receiver.

“Dad!”

“Cathy!  How’s my favorite daughter?”

“Dad, Drake and I have been trying to get a hold of you all week!  Where in the world have you and Mom been?  Did you all go out of town?  What did you do?”

“What did we do?” repeated Mr. Hallett.  “Well we—we—Cathy, that’s a very difficult question.  There are some things in this world that just can’t be explained, and this is one of them.  Even if I could tell you, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

“What—”

“Call us tomorrow after we’ve had a chance to rest.  Have a nice evening, darling!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

COMING NEXT WEEK…

A community service club...a small town…a rampant crime wave!  When trouble sweeps through the town of Blackwell, Oklahoma, there’s just one person that can stop it!  But doing so won’t be easy, as the truth is too crazy for anyone to believe.  Who’s the hero, and who’s the villain?  With crazy schemes, action, and a ton of suspense, you won’t want to miss…

THE BLACKWELL TERROR

Check back next week for Chapter 1: A Town of Evil