6
Security Theater

 

LOCAL BUSINESSMAN MURDERED — POLICE MIA! screamed the headline on the copy of the Colta City Herald in the hands of one Cindy McNeil, who waited on the corner across the street from City Hall. They’d agreed to meet there at eight a.m. sharp, and it was already pushing eight fifteen.

The article was interesting enough… seemed some old rich guy named Dexter Stonehouse was shot and thrown into the river the night before. The strange thing, according to the reporter’s eyewitness account, was that the police weren’t even looking for the body. It seemed fishy, but Cindy figured he was rich enough that they’d find him so they could read the will if nothing else.

A bus pulled away across the street, revealing the whole group: Nuncio, Axle, and the unwilling but agreeable Bugs. Jennifer was with them too, sporting her long wig like it was a matter of habit instead of a disguise.

They crossed at the crosswalk and met Cindy, who was still reading the article.

“Did you guys hear this?” she asked. “Some guy got shot at Liberty Pier last night. Sounds like he owns everything Mayor Lane doesn’t. I was down there right after too. You’d never know anything even happened.”

“Sounds like your best pal Dogboy was involved,” Axle said, thumbing through another copy he’d liberated from the machine next to the light pole. “Why ain’t he here? Too busy chasing after murderers… flying around shooting lasers like he’s better than us I guess.”

Bugs pushed past Axle, tearing the newspaper out of Cindy’s hands. “You know Dogboy… And you didn’t tell me? What the heck, McNeil? I owe that kid my life and I never even got to thank him.”

“I knew you looked familiar,” Jennifer said. “I saw you on the news the day those thieves, like, captured him or whatever. You’re the wimp they beat up on, right?”

“They’re lucky I was distracted,” Bugs said, rubbing his leg as he thumbed through the paper he’d taken away from Cindy.

“Distracted by them giving you a pounding maybe,” Cindy said. She took the paper back from Bugs and put it in the trashcan.

“All I’m saying is a kid with powers like his could come in handy,” Axle said.

“Do you know who he is under the mask?” Bugs asked. He grabbed Cindy by the shoulders. “Good grief, McNeil, he goes to school with us, doesn’t he?”

“Enough about Dogboy,” Cindy said, shaking free from Bugs. “We’re here to break in—”

She looked around them then lowered her voice. “We’re here to break in to the mayor’s office, not talk about the mutt. Did you guys bring the thing?”

Jennifer unbuttoned the pocket on her jacket and pulled out the small thumb drive, sliding a USB port in and out a few times using the white slider on the side.

“Totally,” she said. “You got the card?”

Cindy handed Bugs the key card, holding on to it for a second before letting go. “I need this back, Bugs. And if it doesn’t make it back I might need to give my good buddy Principal Kane a call. You got me?”

“Aw, can it, McNeil,” Bugs said, sticking the card in his pocket. “You got the right man for the job. I ain’t never failed at anything in my whole life.”

“So you, like, meant to get your butt kicked?” Jennifer said, holding her hand to her face to hide the size of her smile, if not its existence.

Inside City Hall, Jennifer and Bugs stood at the front of the security line. A rotund security guard with gray hair poking out from under his cap sat behind a large computer terminal attached to several devices.

“We’re here to get some stuff from the planning office for a school project,” Jennifer said as she put her jacket in a plastic blue container. It moved up the conveyor belt, entering a small gray box. A monitor on top showed the contents of her pockets: a bus pass, some lip gloss, and the thumb drive.

“What kind of ‘stuff”?” asked the guard.

“Um… blueprints. For our houses,” she said. “We’re supposed, like, sketch out as stage sets.”

The security guard looked Bugs over. “He doesn’t seem like the theater type,” the guard said.

“We’re techies,” Bugs said without missing a beat.

The guard puffed out his cheeks then pointed at the metal detector. “Step through please,” he said.

Jennifer held her breath as she stepped through the machine. Silence. She stepped out the other side.

“You now,” the guard directed Bugs.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

“Step back, sir,” the guard instructed. Bugs took a step back and started patting the pockets in his running pants to find the offending object.

“Empty your pockets in the bin, sir,” the guard said, putting one down on the belt.

Bugs fumbled around in his pocket for a moment then pulled out a set of keys. “Here it is,” he said, placing them in the bin. He took a step toward the machine.

The guard held out his baton, blocking the way. “Empty your pockets, sir,” he said. “Turn them inside out.”

“It was those keys. Here, just let me—”

“Standard procedure, sir. Now are you going to empty your pockets or do I need to call for assistance?”

The guard waved to a policeman stationed at the building’s entrance. The officer put his hand on his weapon and crossed the lobby.

Jessica stepped back, prepared to make a run for it if needed. Bugs looked at her, his mouth twisting up, his eyes begging her to jump in and help.

She shrugged, then edged down the hallway.

The policeman walked up behind Bugs, who smelled the sweat pouring down his face.

“We got a problem here, Henry?” the officer asked.

The guard taped his baton on the bin. “Boy needs to empty his pockets is all,” he said.

The officer grabbed the bin and shoved it in front of Bugs. “Do it, or we’re going to have to take you back to the station until your parents can come vouch for you.”

Bugs frowned for a moment. This was a far worse possibility than getting in trouble for hanging out in the school after hours.

He smiled for a second then reached into his pocket.

“Fine, let’s get this over with,” he said. Jennifer gasped as Bugs tossed a handful of items into the bin.