Several days passed since the City Hall incident. Rodrigo had no choice. He and his group had to lie low for a few days until things cooled down. They heard on the news that the police were looking for the 'perpetrators' who broke into City Hall and while it was admitted that none of them have been identified, the police were using the city's cameras that were recording around the building to look for anyone suspicious.
"Oh my God!" Rhonda hysterically cried out as she and everyone else watched the news. "This is bad. They are going to find us and once they do, they are going to arrest us for breaking and entering."
"I'm..." She said rather tearfully and dramatically, "I'm going to prison. My life is over." She continued dramatically whine. I'll never get out and even if I do, the only job I will be able to hold down would be as a waitress at some gentleman's club! The food is terrible in prison and... they don't even have WiFi. I...I can't go prison! I just can't!"
"Calm down, Rhonda." Rodrigo said to her. "They are not going to find anything. None of us were in view of those cameras. We made sure that we were out of sight, remember?"
"Rodrigo's right." Lorenzo then said. "We planned everything out, including avoiding on getting recorded by any of the city's cameras. And for some reason, the room that contained all the storage data from everyone's computers didn't have security cameras. Come to think of it, that's weird."
"There, you see Ms. Rhonda?" Stinky said. "There's no need to get all glum. We are still in the safe house."
"Right, OK." Rhonda said while breathing heavily, trying to calm down. "You're right. They won't find us, we covered our tracks good. Everything will be OK."
"Well no, not really." Park said. "We still have a neighbourhood to save."
"Quite right, Park." Peapod Kid said. "While it is a bit of a risk to go out in public, I do urge that we put our contingency plan into motion as soon as possible."
"You actually want to go through with this?" Patty asked. "You actually want to try and break into the FTI building?"
"Yes." Rodrigo said without hesitation. "We don't have a choice. And besides, we're not breaking into the building itself. We are just doing it...from a distance."
"Ya, about that." Curly said as he finished typing. "We have a little problem."
"What?" Rodrigo asked.
"Here's the thing." Curly explained. "I can hack into Future Tech's main software, but it carries great risk. I'm not at all familiar with their system, so any wrong move and I may trip on one of their alert traps. Apart from the fact that not only will it shut me out, their system maybe able to track us. Even if they don't, Von Scheck will definitely know and that will work against us. He may want to speed up the demolition deadline or may send the coppers here. Even if none of that happens, he will put the building on high alert, so if you had any plans on actually breaking into that building, you won't be able to do so after that."
"Ugh, dang it!" Rodrigo exclaimed frustratingly. "What now?"
"Well, the other option would be to just break into the actual building." Curly suggested.
"How's that any better?" Sid asked.
"All IT security systems, including Future Tech's, are constructed and programmed to watch out for any break-ins or malware that comes from the outside." Curly explained. "While they still have security for any internal breaches, that part of their program is rather weak. If someone can get inside and connect me to their main hardware, I would be in a much better position to hack into their system and retrieve any evidence. The only thing is the person going inside must not get caught."
"That seems simple enough...I guess." Park hesitatingly said.
"Should we go for that option?" Peapod Kid asked.
"This seems awfully risky, fellers." Stinky said. "Isn't there another way we can do this?"
"There isn't." Rodrigo said. "Our only other chance was to get evidence from City Hall, but we all know how that turned out. But, that attempt wasn't a total loss."
"What do you mean?" Sid asked.
"We planned our break-in into City Hall very well." Rodrigo said. "Technically, our plan would have succeeded, had Arnold not intervened. None of the alarm system went off until Gerald and Harold got inside. Whatever they touched, or forced any of you to do something that alerted the building, I blame that on them. But, what I'm saying is that we now have experience on infiltrating into a building. I don't expect the FTI building to be easy, but we now at least have the confidence and know-how to pull this off."
"That sounds great, Rodrigo," Lorenzo said, "except for one thing; unlike City Hall, the FTI building will surely be secured like a fortress. At least, that is what we have to assume. Plus, none of us really know how to get around that building. Curly at least had a blueprint of the City Hall building that allowed us to sneak in without alerting anyone. With FTI, we will be sitting ducks if we try to sneak in blindly."
"I know." Rodrigo said. "but we have to risk it. We have no choice. We only have less than a few weeks before they demolish our neighbourhood and unless someone else has a better plan, this is our only option."
"Do you think we should perhaps ask Arnold for help?" Stinky suggested.
"What?" Rodrigo asked, looking a bit annoyed at that suggestion.
"Well, him and Gerald have been inside the building before." Stinky explained, "They have some idea on how to get around. Maybe they can help us."
Despite being annoyed at the fact that he should ask for Arnold's help, Stinky did have a good point. It would be better if they had someone who knows how to get around.
"Good point Stinky," Rodrigo admitted, "but no. Arnold has already caused us enough trouble. He's the reason why we are even taking this road now. Besides, I doubt he will want to help."
"Then, how do you plan on getting in?" Sid asked.
At that instant, Rodrigo thought about asking Helga for her help. She had thus far remained neutral. He thought that might make it easier to convince her. Perhaps she would be willing to...
No! Rodrigo thought. I can't get her involved. She has her own battles to deal with.
"I don't know how, but I'm going to give it a try." Rodrigo responded.
"You?" Sid asked, surprised. "You're planning on breaking into FTI?"
"Yes, alone." Rodrigo responded. "I can't ask any of you to do that. It's too risky. This one is on me."
Everyone said nothing and just stood there while looking at him, surprised, if not a bit amazed that he was willing to take this risk on his own.
"Well, it was nice knowing you, Roddy." Curly sarcastically said. "I'll be sure to plant flowers on your grave."
"Gee, thanks." Rodrigo said while rolling his eyes.
"Well, that sounds nice and good Rodrigo," Lorenzo said, "but you're going to need help getting inside. So, I'm going with you."
"No." Rodrigo said firmly. "It's too risky. I'm better off alone."
"Tough luck." Park said. "You're stuck with us. This isn't just your fight. This is ours too."
"Darn tooten." Stinky said. "We're your friend, Rod. We ain't going to let you go there alone. You'll at least need help getting inside the building."
Sid and Patty also nodded.
"Hmpf! Well, it's yours graves." Curly remarked.
"Oh well." Rhonda sighed. "Since we're all going to prison anyways, we might as well pull this one last attempt to save the neighbourhood. I can at least go down while holding my head up high, knowing that I tried to do the right thing. I'm sure that'll score me a few good points with my fans." She continued with a genuine smile.
"Thanks guys." Rodrigo said with a smile, feeling a bit touched that they all had his back. "That means a lot."
Meanwhile's in Arnold's room...
Arnold had just gotten off the phone with someone from City Hall. It wasn't bad news, but it wasn't good news either. Arnold just quietly hanged up and looked at his phone with a growing frustration and disheartening look.
"Any luck?" Gerald asked him.
"No." Arnold dryly responded to him.
"Cheer up, Arn." Gerald said. "You only submitted that permit just a few days ago. I'm sure they will get it approved and give you an answer."
Arnold just sighed and frowned. It wasn't just a 'few days ago' that he had submitted a new permit to protest. He had submitted it the day after the City Hall incident. It has been almost a week and thus far, the only answer that he kept getting was that his application was still 'in progress'. Much to his frustration, he wasn't able to give his permit to the Mayor again. Ever since the building went into lock down, it had been difficult to contact her. Worse, Arnold wasn't able to give it to her in person, due to the tight security in the building. Unless a person had a clearance or an appointment, no one was allowed to step inside it.
"You're right Gerald." He finally said to him. "I'll call them back tomorrow."
"While we're waiting for a response, are you sure it's a good idea to protest in front of the FTI building?" Gerald asked.
"We don't have a choice, Gerald." Arnold responded. "The City has closed off the entire block where City Hall is tat. No one is allowed to enter it unless there is a clearance. This includes any protests, regardless of the issue. I thought about holding the second protest somewhere else, but it would make no sense to do that. No, we need to show our determination to keep our homes and what better way is there than to do that in front of FTI?"
"I guess..." Gerald said with a worrying looked on his face.
"What is it, Gerald?" Arnold asked, noticing his best friend's worried look.
"Well, not to sound pessimistic, but do you really think Von Scheck is going to allow us to protest right in front of his headquarters? If he does have influence at City Hall as Rodrigo and Helga claim, then he will no doubt use that to his advantage and prevent us from protesting. That, or..."
"Or..." Arnold asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Or, that is exactly what he wants us to do." Gerald said. "We wants us to protest there, where he will be lying and waiting to spring his trap."
"Trap? How?" Arnold asked.
"I haven't figured that part out yet." Gerald said. "I just have this funny feeling that our protest won't end well."
"You maybe right about that, Gerald," Arnold admitted, "but what else can we do? We have to do something. We don't have much time. We can to try this one last time and get to Von Scheck's face that we will not stand by idly while he demolishes our neighbourhood."
Gerald's more sense of being realistic to the situation was not lost to Arnold. Apart from the fact that the chances of holding his protest in front of the FTI building was next to none, they also had lost a considerable amount of support online.
By now, Rhonda had deleted Nadine from her special privilege on her online account, even going so far as to cut all online connection with her and Phoebe. Most damaging, Rhonda had to publicly declare online that she was not in support of the protest that Arnold held days prior and the post that was active was not of her own doing. Although she didn't acknowledge who the hackers were, she did confess that her account was hacked and she was not in control of the post. As a result, Arnold's group lost a good number of support, both in numbers and influence. Without Rhonda's connections and popular support, Nadine, Lila, Phoebe and Sheena had to scramble with whatever support they were still able to muster. They had only just managed to rally some support, albeit very limited.
However, despite these setbacks, Arnold was still determined to hold another protest. He was not going to go down quietly, of that he was sure. However, what he was not so sure was about a particular Latino kid and what other crazy plan he was conjuring up. After what happened at City Hall, Arnold had a funny feeling that Rodrigo might also be targeting FTI's headquarters. Like him, he felt Rodrigo didn't have much of a choice. Unless Rodrigo was crazy enough to try and break into City Hall again, which Arnold doubt he would have succeeded, targeting the FTI building was his only logical choice. If that was the case, he just couldn't allow that to happen.
"And besides," Arnold continued to talk to Gerald, "we have a bigger issue to deal with right now; Rodrigo."
"What about him?" Gerald asked.
"I think he might be planning on targeting the FTI building as well." Arnold responded. "I think he might be trying to break in."
"That's crazy!" Gerald said. "Rodrigo would not be dumb enough to do something like that. He knows that building is guarded like a fortress and he doesn't know how to get around inside. He'll be going in there blind. Plus, no doubt Von Scheck will be waiting for one of us to try that. It's suicide."
"I know," Arnold said.
"He might just try to hack into their system." Gerald added.
"Even if that's the case, it carries a lot of risk." Arnold said. "A risk that we can't take. We have to know if Rodrigo is planning on breaking into that building."
"What are you saying, Arnold?" Gerald asked him with a worried look.
"We'll need to spy on him." Arnold said with a serious tone in his voice.
"Say what?" Gerald exclaimed with his eyes shooting out. "You want to relive the Cold War or something? So what if he tries to hack or break into the building? I say we let him. We tried to reason with them and they refused to listen. It's their choice if want to go ahead with such a crazy plan."
"Don't you see, Gerald?" Arnold countered, "if we let him do that, he'll be putting not only himself, but the rest of our friends in jeopardy. That's probably why it never occurred to me to call anyone else to help us the first time. I guess I just didn't want to get anyone else involved and see them get hurt."
"But you had no problem if I got hurt?" Gerald asked with a frown.
"I couldn't have done it on my own, Gerald." Arnold reassured him. "I needed you then, like I need you now."
"Fine." Gerald, letting it go. "You are pretty useless without me." He smirked.
Arnold just smiled back.
"And we can't let Rodrigo break into that building, for fear that it could jeopardize our attempt to protest there." Arnold continued. "I don't want to happen what happened at City Hall. This is our last chance and if we blow it, I don't know what else we can do."
"We could just move." Gerald suggested with a shrug.
"Gerald!" Arnold annoyingly exclaimed.
"Alright, alright, I'm just joking." Gerald said. "I guess we'll need to tell the others?"
"Yeah." Arnold said.
Everyone else was in his room, but were either busy organizing for the second upcoming protest, or were busy relaxing and eating, AKA Harold. Arnold got their attention and explained what his concern was with Rodrigo.
"Arnold, isn't this getting a bit out of hand?" Phoebe asked. "You are suggesting that we spy on our friends. They are not our enemies."
Everyone else nodded in approval, while also giving a concerned look.
"We're not spying on our friends, Phoebe." Arnold clarified. "We are just spying on Rodrigo. And we only need to know if he is indeed planning what I think he might be planning. I'm not saying that we should interfere. We don't have time for that. If he is planning something else entirely, we can leave him alone. And it is precisely because they are our friends why we need to know what they are planning; for their sake."
"Well, who do you suggest should spy on them?" Sheena asked.
"Well, I was thinking I should do it." Arnold suggested. "I know some of you are weary about confronting them, especially after what happened last time. So, I think it is only natural for me to volunteer."
"Fat chance, Arn." Gerald said. "That would be too obvious. If you are caught, it will alert everyone and they will suspect that you are spying on them. And after what happened with your little 'slip of the tongue' incident, I doubt any of them will warmly receive you."
"Well, who do you suggest should do it?" Arnold asked.
Gerald said nothing and thought about it. Indeed, everyone else just looked around, waiting to see who would put their hand up.
"I'll do it." Eugene then put his hand up, much to everyone's surprise.
"Eugene? Are you sure?" Arnold asked.
"Yes." He responded with confidence. "It is because of me that we are in this mess with our friends."
"What do you mean?" Arnold asked him.
"I should not have abstained from voting." Eugene, feeling guilty, explained. "I should have voted for one of the plans. Perhaps if I did, we wouldn't be in this situation with Rodrigo. I don't want our friends to go to prison for my mistake."
"That's very noble of you, Eugene," Arnold said, "but you can't blame yourself for this. You didn't know how things were going to turn out. No one knew."
"And besides," Gerald interjected, "it's best if you don't on spy on them, for the exact reason why you abstained from voting."
"I'm afraid both Arnold and Gerald are quite correct in their analysis, Eugene." Phoebe interjected. "It's not your fault that Rodrigo and half of our friends left. You couldn't have known this was going to happen, nor was this an outcome that you wanted. You did what you thought was best at that time and no one should hold you against it."
"Gosh, I didn't think about it that way." Eugene said. "Thanks Phoebe, that actually makes me feel a bit better." He said with a smile.
"Everyone here appreciates what you have done Eugene," Phoebe continued, "but perhaps its best if you sit this one out. Gerald is right; you don't do well under pressure and spying is a lot of that."
"Ya, I guess you're right, Pheebs." Eugene agreed.
"So, if not Eugene, then who?" Nadine asked.
"I'll do it." Harold then said with a determined tone and face as he move forward.
"You Harold?" Gerald asked in surprise, but that was only short lived. "Uh, no offence man, but given your size, you kind of stand out."
"I won't be hiding in order to get the information that we need." Harold clarified.
"What are you planning on doing?" Arnold asked.
"I'll talk to Patty." He said. "She will know what's going on there and she will talk to me."
"How will you plan on getting her to spill the beans?" Gerald asked.
"Well, I haven't gotten that far yet," Harold said as he scratched his head. "but I figured I would just take her on a romantic date, get her guard down, and then get her to spill some information."
"No, absolutely not." Arnold said firmly.
"Why not?" Harold asked.
"Harold, if you do that, you would basically be toying with her feelings in order for you to get information." Arnold said. "How do you think that would make her feel if she finds out you had essentially used her and your relationship like that?"
"Umm, not that angry?" Harold replied, albeit with some confusion and hesitation.
"She would be furious with you!" Gerald exclaimed. "Not to mention that you will probably end up in the hospital."
"Exactly." Arnold said. "You're relationship with Patty is already being hurt by all of this. Had I known you were going to confront Patty the way you did inside City Hall, I never would have gotten you to go with Gerald. It would be wrong for us to let you do this at the expense of your relationship."
"Arnold, that's a risk I'm willing to take." Harold said firmly, much to everyone's shock.
"What? But why?" Arnold asked.
"Because I'm angry at Rodrigo!" Harold angrily shouted. "It's his fault for influencing my Patty this way and I want to stop this before she gets into even more trouble! I may not be as smart as Rodrigo, but I know Patty is in trouble, even if she doesn't see it. I'm willing to risk my relationship if it means saving her."
"Harold," Arnold said softly, "I know you love Patty and you don't want to see her get hurt, but I can't support your plan. I'm sorry. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you both break up because of this."
"Arnold, we don't have a choice." Harold firmly insisted. "We can't spy on them. No one here has any experience on spying or stalking people. We could easily get caught. That leaves the only choice to get close to someone in Rodrigo's group, but even that we are limited. Nadine and Phoebe are now on Rodrigo's and Rhonda's black list. After what they did, neither of them would be able to get close and everyone will suspect Lila and Sheena if they try to talk to someone. Gerald also can't do it for the same reason why you can't spy of them; he's too obvious. So who else can do it other than me?"
"Uh, I can." Brain then suddenly, but softly wheezed.
"What?! You?!" Harold exclaimed in shock. "Hahahahahah! Good one Brainy. You, spying on people, hahahahaha!" He laughed
"I uh, actually have experience on this spying stuff." Brainy said, undeterred by Harold's laughter. "I would be able to hide well without them seeing me. No one would know I am there."
"How exactly do you have this 'experience'?" Gerald asked him suspiciously.
"Kids stuff." Brained wheezed vaguely as he shrugged. "When you're bored, you tend to keep yourself occupied with your friends."
Everyone gave Brainy a suspicious look. None really knew what he meant by that, or even whether they should be a little worried. Actually, everyone was even suspicious what 'friends' he was referring to. No one that is, other than Arnold. Only he knew full well what Brainy was talking about, courtesy of Helga who ended up telling Arnold of Brainy's infatuation with her, as well as his tendency to 'follow' her around.
"Yes, Brainy can do it!" Arnold quickly approved. "He would be the perfect person for the job."
Arnold didn't really think Brainy would make a perfect spy. The amount of times Helga caught him spying on her, Arnold didn't bother to count. However, he was a better candidate than Harold.
"He hadn't yet caught Rodrigo or everyone else' attention," Arnold explained, "which works out great. If he gets caught, he can just make the excuse that he was walking around the neighbourhood without drawing any serious suspicion."
"Works for me." Gerald shrugged.
Everyone else also nodded in approval. Harold too, albeit a bit reluctantly.
"How close do you think you can get to them?" Arnold asked.
"Uh, very close." Brainy wheezed. "I just need to be careful."
"OK good. Just, be careful and don't put yourself in harm's way." Arnold said.
Brainy said nothing and just gave him the thumbs up.
The next day...
Brainy wasted no time and got right to work. The previous day, he left the boarding house as soon as he was given the all clear and went straight to find Rodrigo or any members of his group. He initially thought this would be an easy thing to do, as he expected Rodrigo and his friends to lay low and remain at home.
To his frustration, Rodrigo and his group were nowhere to be found in their homes. To make matters worse, Brainy couldn't just walk around the neighbourhood looking for them. He had to consistently hide behind alleyways, dumpsters, mailboxes, anything that would conceal him, which only served to slow him down. He essentially looked all over the neighbourhood, but was not able to find any of them. He then figured that they were probably hanging out somewhere in the city. Where exactly? He didn't know.
After many hours of searching through the still blazing heat, Brainy, exhausted and hungry, retired for the day. He had moved out of the neighbourhood years ago. His parents had moved to the other side of town, which for him, meant a long bus ride home.
As he rode the bus home, Brainy was in deep thought about how he was going to find Rodrigo and his group. He thought for a while about perhaps asking Helga if she had spoken to him recently and might know where they were. However, he eventually dropped that idea, for the same reason why Rodrigo didn't want to involve her.
Uh, how am I suppose to find them? He wheezed in thought. They could be anywhere...
Just then, a thought occurred to him. Perhaps instead of trying to find anyone of them, he should instead focus on one particular person, one that is not overly conspicuous with her whereabouts. If he found her, he would find Rodrigo, or at least Curly.
Excited about his idea, he immediately grabbed his phone and called Nadine. He had never been really close this person so he was virtually clueless about what her favorite hang out spots were. That's why he needed Nadine. He was sure that she would be able to tell him everything about Rhonda Lloyd.
The next day Brainy got up early and set out to try and locate Rhonda. He went to the Hillwood Complex Mall, where Nadine informed him was her usual hang out spot. It wasn't difficult to get there, but once he arrived, he had to be extremely cautious and covert in order to not get spotted by her or any of her associates. Using any means to hide himself, he sneaked his way towards Rhonda's spot where she would usually get a massage and a pedicure.
As he tried to get there covertly, Brainy couldn't help but remember the last time he was at the mall. It was just last Boxing Day and he was shopping around when he accidentally saw Helga. It was at that very mall where Brainy not only reunited with most of his PS 118 friends and classmates, but also the same place where he first met Rodrigo Castile.
After sitting down and getting to know him a bit, Brainy could instantly see why Helga was 'drawn' to him, despite Helga denying it and claiming they were only friends. All in all, he made a good impression on him and like everyone else, thought he was a really nice guy.
He is uh, still a nice guy. Brainy thought.
Unlike some of his friends, Brainy knew that Rodrigo was only doing this to help save everyone's homes. His ideas lacked a strong moral fibre, but he knew his heart was in the right place. Besides, how was he or his ideas any different than from a particular blonde, two pigtailed teen? He really didn't get why Arnold was acting so hostile towards him. He knew that the football head had met worse people than Rodrigo and had always given them the benefit of the doubt.
Perhaps this has something to do with Helga. He thought. I don't think Arnold ever got over her, even though he claims he has.
Finally, Brainy made it to the hair and nail salon that Rhonda frequently visits. Luckily for him, there was a big vase that contained a large plant, big enough for him to hide in. Once he was in position, all he had to do now was wait.
It wasn't long before Rhonda, predictably, arrived at the place. True to his suspicious, Rhonda made no attempt to act cautiously or covertly. She happily arrived at her salon while talking to someone on her iPhone. He wasn't surprised. Given what he knew about her when they were kids, she was always the type of person that liked to be on the spotlight. As he glanced at her, he wondered if that was perhaps why she joined Rodrigo's group; just to be famous for doing something so notorious. Or, like Rodrigo, perhaps she really did care about the neighbourhood and was willing to go through extremes to keep it safe.
Brainy quietly and patiently waited while Rhonda went in and began her day.
A few hours later...
Brainy remained virtually still and motionless while he waited for Rhonda to be done. The long wait was nothing new to him. Actually, it kind of felt like old times and Brainy used that to appreciate and enjoy the nostalgia that was brought on by his memories of him spying on Helga when they were kids.
After the events in San Lorenzo, Brainy eventually came clean with Helga about his feelings. He had no illusions about it. He knew that Helga loved Arnold and his love for her was, quite sadly, unrequited love. Nevertheless, Brainy mustered up the courage to tell her his feelings for her, even though it meant a full on rejection.
Helga in turn was strongly sympathetic. She neither scoffed him, or ridiculed him. If anything, it saddened her. She knew full well the huge burden that unrequited love can bring onto your shoulders and heart, but unlike her, Helga knew she could never return his love. As gently as she could, she thanked him for his honesty, but made it clear that she loves Arnold and they could never be together. Thankfully, Brainy fully understood and told her that he was happy for her and wished her all the best. After that confession, Brainy stopped spying on her. Helga was initially saddened by Brainy's absence, but she knew that there was no point in him spying on her and hoped he would be able to move on, which thankfully, he did, emotionally and literally.
Finally, Rhonda then suddenly emerged from the salon and made her way out, getting Brainy's attention and forcing him to push memories of him and his time with Helga aside. Brainy then began to walk in order to get closer to her.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure Dominic would love that display, but you also have to remember that he doesn't like surprises, so you're in a bit of a blurry area, girlfriend." Rhonda said to the person on the phone, oblivious to the fact that someone was spying on her.
Uh, wow. She is really terrible at this. Brainy thought.
"Hold on Tiffany, I got someone on the other line." Rhonda then said as she put her friend on hold in order to take the second call, the call that Brainy had been waiting for.
"Hey Rodrigo." Rhonda said. "Yup, we're still a go to meet up at my place later today. What time? 4 pm? Really? That's early, I got...ugh fine, I'll cancel my massage appointment...again." She groaned.
"Ya sure, I'll see you soon." She somewhat retorted back before then hanging up and reverting back to her friend.
Uh, good. Brainy happily thought before he then left her and went straight to her house.
At Rhonda's mansion...
Brainy was already inside Rhonda's property, but remained just outside of the house itself when Rhonda came home. How did he managed to get inside without being detected, a skill that even Nick Vermichelli didn't have? Well, that was his little secret. He was just that good. Brainy even knew which room they were going to have their meeting. But, that wasn't hard to assume. That room was littered with various IT equipment, walkies-talkies and other gadgets, so he just assumed that was where they usually hanged out. So, he waited by the window that was opened and hid under some big and thick bushes that surrounded the mansion.
Rhonda arrived back at her house and immediately prepared herself before Rodrigo arrived. She quickly went to her room and changed into something more comfortable. Then, she went down and went inside the very room where Brainy suspected they were going to talk. No sooner had Rhonda sat down when the doorbell rang, but she didn't bother getting up. She just sat there and waited while playing with her iPhone. Soon, the door opened and footsteps were heard.
"Hey." Rodrigo said, as he and everyone else came in.
"Hey." Rhonda said back while still looking at her phone. "So, have you guys settled on a date?
"We did." Lorenzo said. "We decided to do it in two days time."
"We just need to buy some more gadgets tomorrow," Park said, "at Eddie's High Gadget store."
"Again?!" Rhonda exclaimed in annoyance. "How much more stuff do you need? You have all of this stuff lying around in this room. Can't you use any of them?"
"We will be using some of them," Rodrigo said, "but some of this stuff won't work with the type of security system that the FTI building has. Curly said we will need to buy a certain program that we can only get 'underground'."
"You must be joking." Rhonda annoyingly said. "You want to use my money to buy things on the black market? Do you know what will happen if you get caught? We're already in trouble with the police trying to find us. This is just enticing them to arrest us."
"Well, if you want this operation to succeed, I suggest we get what we need." Patty said. "Breaking into Von Scheck's headquarters won't be easy. We're gonna need every advantage that we can get."
"Besides, we think it's best if you and Ms. Patty just wait outside of Eddie's store;" Stinky said. "Just to be safe."
"That's for sure." Sid said. "We just need some money to buy what we need from the guy and that's it. We're hoping this will be the last time we get to do this."
"Ugh, fine." Rhonda said annoyingly. "But this is the last time. I'm not made of money, you know." She said as she went back to look at her phone, to which almost everyone just rolled their eyes. Sid just snorted, trying not to laugh.
"What time are we going to Eddie's?" Rhonda asked.
"Sometime in the afternoon; probably 2pm." Curly said.
"Can you be a little more specific?" Rhonda asked.
"No can do, toots." Curly said. "He's the one that calls the shots. He'll let me know when he has what we need."
As soon as Curly was done talking, Rhonda immediately got up from the couch, approached him and grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him towards her.
"Don't...ever...call me...that again, Curly." Rhonda angrily snarled at Curly.
"Whoa, whoa, no need to get all sour...sugar." Curly flirtatiously said.
Now furious, Rhonda was about to take a jab at him, but Rodrigo intervened.
"Alright you two lovebirds, enough." Rodrigo firmly said. "Let's just get things ready."
Despite still growling at him, Rhonda let Curly go.
"What if by some chance, Arnold holds a protest in front of the FTI building, on the same day?" Peapod Kid asked.
"We cancel the operation." Rodrigo said. "I do not want another repeat of what happened at City Hall. I should have just cancelled the first one, like you guys suggested. This time, Arnold will not interfere in our operations. Besides, I'm willing to bet Von Scheck will have that building on high alert if Arnold holds a protest right in front of his office. I think he might be a bit antsy, knowing that Arnold, the same kid who broke into his building several years back, is right in front of his office and will not want another repeat of that. So it's best if we just cancel our plan if we see Arnold there."
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
Brainy just gasped in horror when he heard all of this. Arnold's worst fears had come true. Worried that Rodrigo was going to do something he didn't fully understand, or didn't seem to grasp the consequences, Brainy heard enough. He immediately went about to get out of the property and headed back to the public sidewalk. After managing to weasel his way out of Rhonda's property undetected, he made a dash for it, wanting to be as far as possible from the area before he hopped onto the bus to head directly Arnold's house.
Brainy made it to the second nearest bus stop. Once the bus arrived and he safely made it inside, he proceeded to quickly text Arnold.
Brainy: Hi Arnold. Are you home right now?
Arnold: Hi Brainy. Yes, I am. Why?
Brainy: I'm heading over there now. It's about what we discussed about Rodrigo...
Brainy didn't bother to wait for Arnold to respond and just his cellphone away, too stunned and worried about what Rodrigo was doing.
This is uh, really bad. Brainy worryingly thought. How does Rodrigo plan to get into the building and come out of there alive? He doesn't know the building. He can easily lose himself. Von Scheck will surely catch him before he even gets inside. I just hope Arnold is able to come up with something...
Back in the boarding house...
Once Brainy arrived at the boarding house, he went up to meet Arnold in his room. By the time he got there, Gerald and Phoebe were also there. Arnold had called them to come over the second he got Brainy's text message. Brainy wasted no time and explained to everyone everything he heard.
"No!" Arnold stunningly and furiously shouted as he banged his fist onto his desk. "I can't believe Rodrigo would actually do this. For a kid who prides himself on being rational, I had hoped he would see the folly of trying to break into that building alone. Doesn't he know how dangerous that is?!"
"Well I'll be." Gerald said, also stunned. "I didn't think the kid would ever extend the level of craziness, but he just did."
"Oh dear." Phoebe said worryingly. "We've got to do something. We can't just let them put this plan into action."
"I'm with ya, babe." Gerald said. "Any ideas on how we are going to do that?" He randomly asked.
"I uh, think the only logical way to stop him would be to confront him." Brainy suggested after thinking about it.
"Uh, I was expecting more of an 'unconventional' plan on stopping him." Gerald said. "Like, planning a virus on their computers so they won't use them. Or perhaps sneaking into Rodrigo's house and kidnapping him."
"How would kidnapping him help?" Phoebe asked.
"Hey, it's more 'logical' than confronting him." Gerald said. "That kid can be as stubborn as Helga and after our last little confrontation, I really don't think he will listen to us. Plus, that would mean exposing the fact that we were spying on them."
"Hm, you maybe right, Gerald." Phoebe agreed.
"About kidnapping him?" Gerald asked.
"No!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I mean that if we are admit to the fact that we were spying on him, I do not think that would entice him to listen to us."
"Sssoooo, we kidnap him?" Gerald joked.
"No, but I do prefer the method of planting a computer virus on their laptops." Phoebe said. "I believe it would be less 'lethal', but just as effective."
"Do you think you can do it?" Gerald asked.
"It'll be a bit tricky, but I think I can manage." Phoebe said.
"That won't work Pheebs." Arnold said with a frown. "That will only delay them. With Rhonda's vast wealth, they can easily replace their laptops or programs. I don't think he's going to stop unless someone restrains him."
"Sssoooo, we're back to kidnapping him then?" Gerald asked.
"No." Arnold said. "We have to confront him about this. This has to end."
"But uh, what about Von Scheck?" Brainy asked as he wheezed.
"That's why we need to confront him and end this quickly, Brainy." Arnold explained. "We can't move forward with our plan unless we put a stop to Rodrigo's first."
"What exactly do you mean by 'confronting' him?" Gerald asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean we need to talk to him." Arnold clarified. "Someone has to get it through his head that his plan is suicide."
"Hm, do you think we should get Helga involved?" Gerald suggested. "If there is any person that can talk any sense into him, it would be her."
"I agree," Arnold said, "but, I don't want to get her involved." He continued. "She already has a lot on her mind. If she finds out what he is trying to do, it would only add more stress for her. I don't want to add another burden on her shoulders."
"What do you mean?" Gerald asked confusingly. "He is her boyfriend after all. I'm sure she would want to be involved."
"Gerald, as much as he is her boyfriend, this is not her fight." Arnold argued. "This is not between them, but between me and Rodrigo. It's my fight, my problem. Therefore, I should be the one to solve this."
"And besides," Arnold continued. "It was Helga's idea to infiltrate into the FTI building in the first place. I'm not so sure she will even try to talk him out of it. Worse, she might even join him."
"OK the second part, you got a point there. But, as for the first part..." Gerald was about to protest.
"Come on Gerald, give me some credit." Before Arnold interrupted him. "This is me you're talking to; the guy who always tries to do the right thing. How many times did I reason with people to get them to stop from doing something bad? This includes Helga."
Gerald just sighed.
"Plenty of times, man." He said.
"You're not planning on fighting him, are you Arnold?" Phoebe asked.
"Of course not, Phoebe." Arnold said. "I just want to reason with him; get him to see that his plan will not work. If he is a rational person like he always says he is, he will take my arguments into consideration."
Phoebe was not entirely convinced. Although she trusted Arnold's word that he would not instigate a fight with Rodrigo, she wasn't sure if he was the right person for the job. She was convinced that only Helga would be able to talk some sense into him. And while Arnold did have a point that there was a slight chance Helga might join Rodrigo to break into the FTI building, Phoebe had a strong hunch that she would only do so if Rodrigo allowed her to. Given how dangerous that operation was, she doubted he would let her join him. However, she agreed with Arnold on one thing; Helga did have a lot in her mind right now. Although Arnold could only assume what Helga was going through, Phoebe had a far better idea on how Helga was feeling.
Given how busy Phoebe was with helping Arnold, she hadn't seen her best friend since that fateful day when the friends split up. But, she had been in constant contact with her and it was through that that Phoebe was able to tell just how much this was all affecting Helga. Her own house was at risk of being torn down and yet, because of her conflicting emotions between these two male teens, she wasn't able to help out. For that reason, for her best friend's sake, Phoebe didn't protest.
"So, you're just going to walk up to him and try to talk to him." Gerald remarked. "Do you really think he is going to listen to you?"
"I'm not sure, but I have to try." Arnold said.
"Alright, but you're going to need some backup." Gerald said. "We're all coming with you to talk to him."
"Thanks Gerald, but it's best if I do this alone..." Arnold began to say,
"Arn," before Gerald cut him off, "first off, they are not just your friends. They are our friends too. You're not the only one who is worried about them. Secondly, this is not just your fight. It's our fight. We are in this together."
"Quite right, Arnold." Phoebe agreed. "We're doing this with you."
"Uh, right, Arnold." Brainy wheezed.
"Thanks guys." Arnold relented with a smile. "Brainy, what time did they say they will be going to Eddie's tomorrow?"
"Uh, sometime tomorrow in the afternoon." Brainy responded. "They didn't say. Curly said it's whenever the guy calls him to pick it up."
"Do you think you can keep an eye on them tomorrow to find out when they are going?" Arnold asked.
"Sure thing, Arnold." Brainy said. "I'll text everyone when they will be going."
"Thanks Brainy." Arnold said.
Despite having the support of his friends, Arnold was not confident that this will turn out the way he would like it to. After how things have been turning up, it was slowly eating up his unique sense of optimism. He hadn't felt this discouraged since when Lasombra imprisoned him and his friends at San Lorenzo and exposed to everyone his 'secret' dealings with him. Yet, he wasn't about to give up. Given how delicate this situation was, Arnold knew he had to track this carefully. This could easily go the wrong way. He didn't want to further antagonize Rodrigo. He just wanted to stop him from doing something that was so dangerous.
For the first time since this whole thing started, Arnold was now worried not just about his friends, but also about Rodrigo. As much as he resented him, he didn't want to see him get hurt.
This has gone too far. Arnold thought. And it's all because of me. I pushed him to do this. I have to fix this. I have to get him to see that I don't want him to do this because I don't want to see him get hurt. I just hope he is able to see that. Arnold thought. I guess we'll find out tomorrow...