CHAPTER ONE
Tom Hanson
The convenient part about working undercover at a high school? Getting the summer off. When I went to school as a student I usually longed for June. A student spends the school year working hard and frying their brains by studying and writing essays. As Doug has announced the world, I was (and still am) a complete nerd, so studying and frying my brain came naturally. But man, when school let out and summer officially started, I went wild and partied my brains out – of course, being a nerd, to party meant to go out, hang out at the bowling alley and come back by curfew. I wasn't much of a party animal like Doug, but I would soon learn his tricks of the trade.
Even though as students (a.k.a. undercover cops) we had the summer off, we still had to work. For some of us this meant sitting behind a desk, for others it meant traveling across the state to sit-in summer classes and continue undercover work. For the most part I didn't get a chance to hang out with many people on the force with the exception of Doug. He and I were working undercover as the McQuaid brothers (HEH!) at a local school. Judy and Ioki were off doing individual jobs to get through the days of summer. However all four of us made sure to take off the last two weeks of summer before school started again. We made a pact to road trip our way to California. This would take a few days, but the ride over was the best part. We pitched in for an RV, stocked the fridge with food and brought all the music we could get our hands on.
Summer flew by in a flash and our vacation had arrived. The four of us were at Ioki's place and gathered in front of the RV. This was going to be a blast, but there was one problem…
"What do you mean you can't find the keys!"
That would be Doug screaming at Ioki. Usually Doug had a cool head about these sorts of-
"I can't find them, okay?!"
That would be Ioki screaming back at Doug. Usually Ioki had a cool head about these sorts of things but he, along with the rest of us, had a stressful summer. We really needed this vacation to wind down and relax.
"There's a huge RV just sittin' here in front of us, Ioki." Doug pointed out. "You just can't lose the keys."
"Remember the time you lost the keys to your car?" I chimed in. Doug glared at me.
"Hanson," he growled. "Shut up."
"They ended up being in your back pocket. So before you start yelling at Ioki-"
"Hey!" Ioki laughed as he looked in his back pocket. "There they are!"
I looked over at Doug, making sure he saw me give a nice big smirk. He narrowed his eyebrows.
"Hanson, just shut up." He snatched the keys from Ioki's hand and turned to unlock the door. "Just don't say anything." Fumbling with the keys, he finally managed to stuff the key in the lock. He pushed on the door and stumbled inside with a slam of the door.
"What's wrong with him?" Judy asked as she looked at me. "Somethin' happen back at the school?"
"I have no idea," I replied. "He was fine last night, but this morning he's been biting off heads."
"Well I'm not letting him drive," Ioki stated as he pat the side of the RV. "He might have some serious road rage and we can't afford to get into an accident. This baby cost one pretty penny."
There was suddenly a rumbling sound. It was the sound of the motor. Ioki's eyes grew wide and swinging the door open, he rushed inside.
"Penhall!" Ioki called. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm gonna drive, what's it look like?" Doug defended.
"No you're not!"
"Why is that!" Doug asked. "What makes you think I'm not a good driver?"
"'Cause you're yellin' at people!"
"So are you, Ioki!"
"I'm only yellin' cause you're acting all crazy!"
"Me crazy? You're the one who lost the keys to a vehicle worth more than my mortgage!"
"It wasn't that much!"
And so they bickered on and on and on… Judy and I looked at each other. We knew this was going to be a long day. She sighed and leaned against the side of the RV.
"We're eventually going to have to head in there," Judy shuddered. "You know that right?"
"The way I figure it?" I looked through the window and watched those two go back and forth. "One of them will get knocked unconscious, they'll both knock each other out, or one will die. Either way, give it five minutes. It'll get quiet."
"Oh, Hanson," Judy laughed. "You're so optimistic."
"Hey, at least we'll have a quiet ride, or maybe just the first few minutes."
"Tom?" Judy asked.
"Yeah, Judy?"
"Have you told him yet?"
"Um," I ran my fingers through my hair and shook my head. "Nah, I haven't told him yet."
"You should really tell him, Tom." Judy reached out and touched my arm. "We have some time off. You could tell Doug everything and have time to work it out, you know?"
"He'd completely flip out." I paced from the side to side, scared to even mention any of this conversation to Doug. I had something to tell him and I had been putting off talking to him for nearly three weeks. "I'm gonna head onto the RV."
Judy sighed and stared at me with those worried eyes of hers. She rubbed my shoulder. "Trust me, Jude." I pat her arm and made my way onto the RV.
