Second night of the investigation and the whole team was ready. The crickets were chirping as Flip brought out a tall and full trash can and emptied in the dumpster before stepping back in to his establishment. A moment later the opposite door to the dumpster opened, with Lola excitedly opening the side where flip just threw away his trash.
"Lola!" Lincoln chastised with his sister quickly going back in. On their side of the dumpster was a mobile equipment room with Lisa on the computer typing away.
"Standard security system security so far, nothing too suspicious about his network."
"We could be trying to access the wrong entry point." Lucy suggested. Lisa hummed as she turned to Lincoln.
"I have a suggestion."
"Shoot." Lincoln told her. Lisa quickly turned back to her computer to snatch some shiny bits before turning back to her brother and sisters.
"I need you guys to insert these data snippers. If there really is a network I can't find then we need to find the hard lines." She told them handing the snippers to Lincoln who distributed them to his sisters minus Lisa, she was always their vigilant pair of eagle eyes.
"You guys know the mission, find any cord you can find and clip these on there. Numbuh 52 you're with me. Numbuhs 62 and 63 you're going to tackle the inside."
"Got it!" Lana said excited, Lincoln quick to shush her.
"Don't forget we're incognito, no talking unless needed." He stressed. His sisters nodding in response before jumping out of the dumpster and splitting up. Lucy and Lincoln quickly started tagging whatever cords they could find while the twins were finding the air vent Lucy had opened the night prior.
"You know there is no way I'm dragging my dress through that dusty thing." Lola whined.
Rolling her eyes, Lana said "Okay princess then you figure out a way in.". Before Lola could protest Lana hustled herself into the vent. Lola growled, annoyed as she looked over to the bright light coming from the inside of Flip's, making the gears in her head start to turn with an idea.
Lincoln and Lucy were quick to set up the data snippers where they could so they made it back to the dumpster in no time. Lana was still crawling around the vents finding whatever wires she could find.
"Nothing unusual so far." Lisa said to Lincoln and Lucy.
"The twins should have better luck than us." Lincoln said aloud.
"Twin, princess didn't come with." Lana told them as she set up another snipper.
"Oh my gosh you're kidding…" Lincoln said annoyed.
"You want me to go in for back up?" Lucy asked.
"No guys I got this. No worries." Lana said as she continued on.
"Lola you better come in!" Lincoln said aggravated. Only getting more so when Lola didn't respond. "Lola!" he yelled out, grunting when she again didn't answer. "Numbuh 52 go find her please!" Lincoln told Lucy. With a nod she was quickly out of the dumpster just as Lisa was groaning.
"Nothing." She said frustrated.
"Its got to be there!"
At the storefront, Flip was behind the counter fighting off winks of sleep when a tall woman walked in. A long pink dress with a pair of glasses and a big sun hat walked to the counter striking Flip's attention.
"Afternoon mame." He said tiredly.
"Hi there." The woman said sweetly and high pitched, catching Flip off guard. "You sound tired."
"Well long nights are a given here mame. Do you need help?" He said standing up straight as the woman sweetly said.
"Oh I'm in a bit of a pickle. My car broke down and I've seemed to lost my phone."
"Oh no." Flip said.
"No worries though, but may I borrow your phone?" She politely asked as Flip nodded handing her his land line over the counter. "Thank you so much." She said sweetly making Flip smile.
Just as this was happening Lana had a clear view through the vents to see what was going on.
"Huh?" she hummed to herself looking on the scene. "Wait… what?"
"Something the matter numbuh 62?" Lincoln asked.
"I think I found our princess." Lana said.
"She's in the vents with you?"
"No." Lucy spoke up, looking at the scene from the front of the store. "She's playing dress up again."
"Oh nuts…" Lincoln said to himself.
The woman brought the phone to her ear as Flip relaxed a bit behind the counter. Without him seeing she seemed to clip something on to the phone cord.
Lisa's Computer then lit up when it was connected.
"We got something!" Lisa said excited as she started to type away.
"Wait really!?" Lincoln said excited.
"Lola seemed to have done that one." Lucy said.
"Good job on princess." Lana said.
"Yeah good work to the all of you but return to the dumpster. Try and signal Lola to get out of there." Lincoln ordered.
"I'm on it." Lana said as Lucy just as quickly got back to the dumpster. "Psst."
Lola looked up at the vent seeing Lana signaling her to go back to the dumpster. Lola nodded quick as she set down the phone. "Thanks sooooo much."
"Oh no problem little lady, so what's the new?"
"My papa is just down the street so I'll meet him up there."
"You can just wait for him here if you like." Flip insisted but Lola shook her head.
"Oh no I wouldn't want to stretch your hospitality. Thanks again." Lola said with a skip in her step out the door. Flip waved bye as a tiny red light started to blink by the cigarette rack.
Lola hurried back to the dumpster, ditching her disguise before hopping back in. "Did we get it?" Lola asked, Lincoln turning to her looking a little ticked.
"We've located a hidden connection covered up by Flip's wifi signal thanks to your efforts." Lisa said as she continued to type away. Lola cracked up a smile just as Lana got back to the dumpster.
"Oh well then you're welcome." Lola said in her normal bratty tone with a smile. Lincoln then started to her as Lana shook her head at her twin. "What?" Lola asked half offended, expecting a cheer or some praise for her actions.
"Numbuh 63 what were you thinking?" Lincoln asked.
With a scoff Lola answered, "My job, and as you can see I got some results." she gestured to the computer still a lit with information.
With disapproval Lana shook her head, "No you ran off to play dress up again!". Lola glared at her sister then spat out.
"It's not dress up! In case you didn't notice I fooled Flip so you could get your little snipper on there!"
"Only cause you didn't want to get dirty!" Lana spat back.
"Girls." Lincoln interrupted.
"Well maybe I don't like crawling through dirty rat trap vents!" Lola yelled.
"Girls!" Lincoln interrupted again.
"It's part of the job princess get over yourself!"
"Girls!" Lincoln shouted making them stop. "Enough." Lincoln said exasperated before taking a breath. "You both did a good job, but Lola the results don't mean anything if you don't tell us what you're doing."
Lola scoffed again "The job was done Lincoln see!" She said gesturing to the computer again.
"Just because the job was done doesn't mean you didn't take a big risk doing that without telling us." Lincoln explained. Lisa and Lucy were staying out of the line of fire on this, more so just keeping their eyes on the computer that had a lot of scattered files poping up on the monitor. Lisa began to type more furiously as they began to pop up more rapidly causing Lucy to look at her with some concern, she could see her glasses fogging up as if she was struggling with something.
"Everything okay?" Lucy asked
"Slight problem, just need to set up some quick firewalls. No big deal." She responded.
"Lucy does stuff on her own all the time, so what if I do the same thing?" Lola protested.
"That doesn't mean she's excused from it!" Lincoln told her. Lucy turning to them at the mention of her name while Lisa began to get increasingly more flustered with what was going on on screen.
"Lincoln, chill out." Lucy told him entering the fray. "It's not a big deal in the long run."
"Well what if Flip recognized her? The entire operation would've been a failure." Lincoln said to her.
"But she didn't." Lucy reminded. Then unnoticed by the others, Lisa screen began to flash red.
"Oh no…" she said to herself before picking up the pace with her keystrokes.
"So your defending her?" Lana asked Lucy.
"I'm just saying it's not a big deal." Lucy stated again.
"We're a team, we're not supposed to stride off on our own." Lincoln reminded them again. Lisa gasped as the screen went black, quickly she yanked out her flash drive just as Lola spoke up again.
"Well it'd be better team if the leader wasn't such a worrier all the time!" Lola yelled. Lincoln was going to blow at what she said but before he could Lisa hit a button on the wall of the dumpster making the lights in it flash red, catching everyone's attention.
"Evacuate!" Lisa yelled at the top of her lungs, hurrying to the dumpster's exit.
"What? Lisa what's going on?" Lincoln demanded as a computer voice said.
"SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. PLEASE VACATE THE DUMPSTER."
"We've been compromised, retreat, retreat!" Lisa shrieked as she jumped out of the dumpster. In a panic, everyone else hurried out running away from the dumpster. But waiting for them outside was something unexpected. Lincoln and company had the color drain out of their face when they saw something right out of the KND history. Teenagers in battle ready armor. Lincoln and Lucy's mouths were agape with the twins and Lisa frightened and taking shield behind them.
"You're the ones hacking us?" One the teens, a boy, said shocked as the team found themselves pinned next to the dumpster.
"Kids next door…" Another teen, a girl, said under her breath.
"Lincoln… I'm ready play team member now." Lola said as Lincoln looked around the area. They were pinned, not much room for an escape, and there were three armored teenagers not looking like they were going to go easy on them. All in all Lincoln could think of a few worse scenarios he's been a part of.
"What were you doing!?" the boy teen demanded.
"Lincoln?" Lucy asked a little shaky.
"Follow my lead and work up a distraction." Lincoln said not only to Lucy but to his other sisters.
"I asked you a question! What were you doing!?" The teen yelled again taking a step closer, Lincoln then charged at him.
"Kids next door! Battle stations!" Lincoln yelled shoving himself into the teens knee making him fall before the other two tried to grab Lincoln. Lucy acted fast and turned to the actual dumpster and just reached in, cringing when she grabbed a wad of trash and threw it at the other two teens.
"Ew!" Lola shrieked as Lucy shook her hand off. "Quick move!" She ordered them and they listened. His sisters hurried toward Lincoln and started running away like they intended but not before Lucy played a wild card. "Lincoln help." She said stopping right behind one of the trash covered teens still trying to get some sticky newspaper out of their eyes.
"Lucy c'mon let's go!" Lincoln ordered. Lucy brought back on of her legs.
"Can't have them following help me out!" She told him, but he just store blankly not knowing what she wanted to do. With a frustrated sigh Lucy did a quick hitting both of the trash disoriented teens making them trip over the one that Lincoln rammed and hitting their dumpster. Lucy ran back to Lincoln with their other sisters far ahead of them now.
"Was there a reason for that?" Lincoln asked.
"In five seconds there will be." She said flatly.
"Why what happens in?" Lincoln began to ask but the explosion just then gave him the answer.
"Huh, guess I meant two."
Mission report
Operation: T.R.A.S.H.H.E.A.P
TACTICAL
RECONISANCE
ACCOMPLISHED
SPITE
HARD
HEADED
EGOMANIAC MAKING
A
PROBLEM
We've lost the dumpster, request for a new one already being sent through. Numbuh 37 did retain her flash drive but it holds a risk of opening due to the enemy's hacking attempt. Request to open the drive in the moon base labs have been sent through as well. Action is being taken to punish numbuh 63 are in progress, considering banning from going on missions until seen fit. It's just as thought, and the footage recorded from Flip's will prove it, the TND have returned.
Numbuh 24 signing off…
END TRANSMISSION
