The Disappearing (4 page)

The four met in secrecy.

They had to be so careful now. The town was crawling with authorities.

It had been a highly successful trip, but there was one more thing they needed to do, one more thing that
must be done
before they returned home.

Home . . .
?

The man with the yellow hair thought about the word for a while.

He was ready to go home. But his job was not yet complete.
Their
job was not complete.

He looked around the room at his partners; a motley crew of mercenaries. Like most in their profession, instead of using real names, they each had a nickname.

First, there was “Lone Star,” who chose hers for being born and bred in Texas. Then “Blaze” for his red hair. Another called himself “Mud Puppy,” a name earned in the Army. And finally there was “Canary,” for his blond hair.

Under the circumstances, the names were too long to actually use, so they went by the initials L. S., B., M. P., and C.

The house where they stayed was off the grid.

Way off.

No one would suspect where it was, or even bother looking in the area. It was a perfect hideout. Hidden in the forest, and bathed in large, old trees, the outside of the large two-story wood cabin blended in flawlessly with its surroundings.

But he was anxious to get this whole thing over with. He was ready to move on.

“Okay, let's get started,” Canary called to the group. “We all know what the objective is now, but the question is how do we achieve it? The town is on complete lockdown.”

It's not as if they hadn't anticipated this. They had. A major reaction is appropriate when four kids go missing.

But what they didn't count on was a group of kids who didn't follow the rules.
They
were definitely becoming a problem. Moving around unseen was getting increasingly difficult, and they were not ready to leave . . . not yet.

“We just continue with the plan and we don't deviate from it,” M. P. cautioned.

L. S. stood up from a large leather chair and walked right up to him, getting close enough to look him right in the eyes.

“I say leave with what you got now,” she snarled. “Those kids are nothing but trouble, and if you stick around, you'll find that out.”

“We are under strict orders,” B. fired back. “You know that.”

L. S. grunted and turned her back to him and faced Canary.

“You know what could happen,” she said. “Do you really want to risk it?”

Canary knew exactly what could happen, but he had no choice. They had to see this mission through to the end. No matter what the risk.

Taking Eva had been almost too easy.

She constantly bickered with her parents and made a habit of storming out of the house. Her favorite place to go and cool off from an argument was the forest—she practically delivered herself right to their front doorstep. Eva hadn't been scared at first. Certainly she never thought someone would try and kidnap her. Not in this safe haven where crime of any kind was practically a nonissue. But once she realized what was happening, she had cried and called out for help. But there was no one to hear her.

Likewise, Anthony had been a relative walk in the park to take.

B. had handled that one. He moved among them with ease. No one thought anything was out of order until it was too late. A game of hide and seek was the ideal moment to nab him. And it didn't hurt that Anthony knew and trusted B. He fell right into the trap.

Isabelle was a little trickier. Being younger and under the watchful eye of her overbearing, militant parents had made finding the right moment to take her difficult.

L. S. had played that one perfectly, being a female. What little girl would think she was one of the “kidnappers?” Usually brutish and hard, L. S. managed to find her softer side long enough to convince Isabelle to help her find a lost puppy, which of course she happily agreed to do. Yeah, Isabelle never suspected a thing.

Certainly, the most difficult acquisition was Luke.

He was already big for his age, standing nearly six feet tall, athletic, and muscular. They knew he was not going to be easy. Especially when B. had to attend to other important business on the same night they planned to take him.

And then there was the fact that Canary had been careless. Outside of Luke's house, both Luke and Tim had seen him. But it wasn't a problem because no one believed them. Canary had made sure of that.

They had seen him again outside Tim's house. So when Canary finally did come face to face with Luke, you can bet he was terrified. Come to think of it, he had screamed, but it didn't matter because no one could hear anything that went on inside that big house of his.

They were home free with one exception.

Tim.

He was the last one they needed.

The four met in secrecy.

They had to be so careful now. The town was crawling with authorities.

Tim, Nina, Max, and Emily were going against everything their parents and the police had told them to do. Kids were not allowed off their own property. The town was shut down like a clogged drain—nothing getting in or out—except perhaps four clever kids.

Tim had told his mom that he was going to sleep early. His parents bought it because he'd been so depressed lately. All he'd been doing was lying in bed, except he hadn't been asleep. He'd been thinking and planning and plotting a way to find his friends.

He realized that if the authorities really thought he and Luke had made up the story about the stranger that meant the police were not looking for him. So Tim had to find him, before it was too late.

Since they couldn't see each other in person over the last few days, Tim and his friends had been burning up the phone lines to stay in touch. They decided to formulate a plan to rescue their friends.

Max had snuck over a couple times to strategize in person. But when his mom realized he had left, she threw such a fit that both Tim and Max would have certainly been grounded for a month, had they not already been relegated to their house 24/7.

But on this night, the four of them made the same excuse of being tired and headed to their bedrooms, then right out their windows.

Tim and Max met up at a local park and then rode their boards over to get Emily and then Nina. They didn't want the girls out on their own.

Leaving the skateboards hidden in a bush outside Nina's house, the group silently jogged through the back paths and across the shortcuts in Briny Deep. They stayed off the main roads and away from the watchful eye of authorities.

They made their way behind the school and down the hill to Luke's house.

Once there, Tim was able to open a window in the back by the kitchen. They always left this window unlocked because both Rusty and Luke said the lock was too hard to turn. And anyway, Rusty had reasoned,
‘Why bother, who's going to break in?'

Tim motioned for them to follow him. They stumbled in the dark as they made their way to a large, cozy den just off the main dining room.

He chose this room because it had no windows, so no one would see the small light that went on as he flicked a switch.

They knew the house would be empty because Rusty was at Emily's house right now, getting ready to have a meeting with the police. It would be hours before he returned.

Everyone quickly found a seat.

Tim and Max had to fill the girls in on their plan. It was too dangerous to talk about it over the phone or within earshot of their parents, which is exactly why they had insisted on meeting in person.

Tim explained that the plan they had devised was based on something Max had learned when he was over at Emily's house several days ago. He overheard the grumpy investigator tell Emily's dad that the authorities were staking out a house, Mr. Kull's house, the reclusive man who always yelled at kids when they tried to cut though his yard. The investigator had shared something else, too. They were waiting for him to return because Mr. Kull wasn't there and no one could locate him.

Except maybe for Max . . .
Max knew something most people did not. Mr. Kull had done handyman work for Rusty. With such a vast piece of property, there was a lot of work to do, and Rusty didn't have the time or the desire to do it.

At this point, Max took over the story.

He explained to the girls that more than a year ago, he and Luke had been climbing trees on Luke's land. It used to be one of their favorite ways to spend a lazy afternoon. On this particular day, they had separated in order to find some new spots to climb.

Max had wandered off deeper into the woods than he'd ever been before.

That was when he came across Mr. Kull.

He was out there, just past a thick band of trees that made him hardly visible, putting the finishing touches on a huge cabin. The construction materials covering the forest floor around him made it clear that this cabin was freshly constructed. And it looked to him like Mr. Kull had done an amazing job.

“I remember thinking at the time, man, Luke is so lucky. Not only does he have the best house in town, and the best land, but now he has this awesome cabin, too.”

Max admitted that he wanted to get a closer look. But because Mr. Kull had done his fair share of yelling in Max's direction over the years, he was in no rush to be seen by him and forced into an awkward “Hello.” He made his way out of the woods and headed back to find Luke. It was a task that took more than hour, by which time Max had completely put the whole Mr. Kull scenario out of his mind and never mentioned it to Luke. He had actually forgotten about it—until now.

“Okay, here's what we're going to do,” Tim began. “We're going to find that cabin because I think that's where they've got our friends.”

Nina looked visibly shaken.

“No, Tim, you can't do that!” she practically yelled. “It's way too dangerous. We have to tell our parents.”

Her reaction took Tim by surprise. Nina was always the adventurous one—up for anything. She had more courage than anyone he ever knew. He'd never known her to be afraid of anything.

Wait, was she shaking?

“You're right, it might be dangerous, that's why you and Emily aren't coming along,” he said looking directly into her eyes . . . her green eyes. “But Max and I are going out tonight to find this cabin and bring our friends home.”

Nina was in a panic.

Tim and Max had just explained their plan to her, and even though she begged them not to go through with it, she could see they would not be deterred.

After quickly escorting both girls back to the safety of their respective homes, the boys set off on their own, into the dark maze of woods on Luke's property.

Nina climbed up the trellis leading to her bedroom window and pulled herself inside.

She had to tell someone . . . fast.

•••••

The section of property closest to the house was manicured to the hilt, dotted with flowers, gardens, a huge barbecue pit, and a pond filled with colorful fish. Paths led out to various other areas, including a sand volleyball court, and benches where one could sit and take in all the beauty of nature.

But the path Tim and Max took was not well traveled. It led to the woods and some of the most enormous trees Tim had ever seen.

“I can't remember exactly where it is,” said Max. “I found it by accident last time.”

So the two boys walked . . . and walked . . . and walked . . .

And the woods became thicker, and darker, and wilder.

Finally, Max stopped.

“This looks like the area.”

Tim had no idea how he could tell one area from the next out here, especially in the dark of night.

“Take a good look around,” Max whispered. “It's really hard to spot. It's hidden by the trees.”

Tim could barely see the ground beneath him. The darkness was overwhelming.

He slowly turned in a circle and tried to make out the shapes around him.

All of them were trees.

There were huge, hovering, massive trees everywhere.

Wait . . . what's that?

Tim squinted, thinking for some crazy reason this would help him see better in the dark.

There . . . just up that hill, was it a . . . ?

“Over there!” Max shouted, immediately realizing that shouting wasn't a smart thing to do right now.

He was pointing at the exact spot Tim had been trying to focus on. It did look like there was something up there—something big.

It was the cabin . . . and there was a light on inside.

•••••

Canary was watching, just as he had almost every night for days.

He knew the family would be asleep any minute now. The lights had gone off, as they did each night at ten o'clock on the dot. No earlier and no later—right on schedule. He would give it an hour for everyone to be fast asleep, and then he'd go in the house and get Tim, right from his bed. He wouldn't know what was happening until it was done.

•••••

Nina paced the length of her room. Her parents were in a closed-door meeting over at Emily's house, and every attempt to reach them had failed. She
must
get through, even if it meant walking over there herself.

•••••

Tim and Max tried their best to walk silently, but with every step, twigs would snap and leaves crunched under their feet. Tim winced when he stepped right on a pine comb that seemed to explode with sound.

They made their way through the thick wooded brush and up the hill leading to the cabin.

As they got closer, they could see that the light inside was flickering—maybe it was a candle?

Max reached the cabin first and waited for Tim to catch up. Once he did, they crouched down and quietly discussed their next move. They needed to get closer to see if anyone was inside. But nerves were getting the best of them right now.

Tim stood up.

“Okay, let's go.”

The boys walked to the back of the cabin and up to a small window. Max peered inside.

“I can't see anything.”

Tim motioned Max towards a larger window. They kneeled down and crawled under it, waiting just a moment for a burst of courage before they stood up to look in.

Finally it came. They rose up together and looked inside.

They could see the candle flickering on a table just a few feet away. It illuminated a large room that was empty for the most part, except for what looked like a leather couch, a chair, and a large table with several chairs around it.

There was no sign of anybody inside . . . yet.

The boys moved farther down to another window and peered in—it was a kitchen. A few coffee cups littered the countertop, and a plate with the remnants of some meal lay in the sink. But there was no sign of any people.

“Let's see if one of these windows is open,” Tim whispered.