CH. 6
Later that night, the She Spies are once again at Magic Eight Billiards. The traffic in the building was about the same as it had been for the past few nights. So far, there has been no sign of Gavin. The cleaning has already been done for the night, so the girls were free to play pool.
"It was nice of Amy to let us use the tab," says DD, taking a sip of her soda.
"Yeah. Even I have to admit that that's cool," agrees Shane.
"Yeah. Are either of you guys noticing that Amy's fine until you mention Cross?" asks Cassie, asking what they had all noticed within the past few days.
"Yeah, I wonder what happened between them," says Shane.
DD takes that moment to explain everything that Amy told her the night before. Since they hadn't known anything about it previously, Cassie and Shane listen intently.
"So, what you're saying is that Cross has always been overly judgmental," says Shane.
"Sounds about right," agrees Cassie.
"Have you guys ever wondered why guys are always so difficult?" asks DD.
"Only every day of my life," answers Cassie.
The girls begin to continue their game of pool when Brian, the guyShane met two days before, walks into the pool hall followed closely by a group of his guy friends. What the She Spies don't see yet, is that Gavin is in the group. They don't see him because he is towards the back of the group, trying to remain at least slightly hidden until he knew the coast was clear. He always had to be careful since he was related to a cartel kingpin. DD looks up as she awaits her turn and notices Brian.
"Hey, isn't that the guy you were playing pool with yesterday?" she asks Shane.
Shane and Cassie look up. They still don't see Gavin yet, mainly because they're looking for Brian.
"Yeah," says Shane, smiling and thinking about the night before. It had been nice to let go a little and flirt, after all, it wasn't very often her job allowed her to do so.
"Not bad," says Cassie, smiling and looking back at Shane.
"I know," says Shane, grinning in reply.
DD and Cassie grin as well.
"Now if only we could have the same luck with our mission," says DD.
"Right?" says Shane.
As Cassie leans over to take a shot with her pool cue, she glances up towards Brian and the group he's with. At that moment, one of the guys moves to the side, revealing Gavin. He had sensed the coast was clear, so he knew it was safe to move out into the open (or so he thought).
"Speak of the devil," she says.
DD and Shane look from Cassie over to where Gavin is to see that the person they had been searching for for the past few days has finally arrived. They almost want to smile at having made some progress, but they don't because they know that it's time to get serious and down to business.
"You know, I've never liked that phrase. It implies that you were talking about the devil, which is kind of creepy," speculates DD.
"Hey, some people do like to talk about him," says Shane, "Emphasis on the word 'him.'"
"Yeah, but still," says DD.
Cassie rolls her eyes.
"Well, as much as this talk about religion is enlightening, I'm going to go propose a game with Gavin," she says.
As Cassie walks over to talk to Gavin and his friends, DD looks back at Shane.
"You don't talk about him, do you?" she asks, worried and returning to their previous conversation.
"C'mon DD. Do you really think I'd do something like that?" asks Shane.
"Well, no, but-"
"There ya go," finished Shane.
DD just looks at Shane for a moment. After a few seconds, she starts taking the pool balls out of the pockets to set up for the next game. As Shane begins to do the same, Gavin and his friends look over towards them. The guys grin and look at Cassie, seeing that her friends were good looking as well and agreeing to the game.
DD and Shane finish setting up for the game just in time for Cassie to return to the table with Gavin, Brian, and a third person in tow. The rest of the group goes off to do their own thing, all the while staying close enough to jump to Gavin's aide, should he need it.
"So I hear you girls think you can take us on," challenges Gavin as the third guy goes to grab pool cues for the three of them.
"Think? I know we can kick your butt," Shane challenges back.
"Oh, I see," says Gavin, grinning to his friends cockily.
The She Spies glance at each other, annoyed at being underestimated. Sure, they didn't know how well Gavin and his friends played, but they were confident in their own abilities. Then again, they had to keep the guys interested so they could achieve their mission.
"Good, 'cuz we will," confirms DD, doing her best to sound tough.
"Then let's play," replies Gavin, giving a confident smile.
Each group locks gazes with the other, as if to prove how tough they are. Their gazes remain that way for several moments, before the game finally starts.
A while later, the game is still going. By then, both groups are enjoying themselves. Up until then, the She Spies had been trying to gain the guys' trust. Nothing about the cartel has been mentioned since the girls found it best to make sure the guys were at least temporarily on their side; otherwise they'd have next to no hope in their assignment.
Cassie takes her turn, and misses the pocket. She did it purposely, hoping to keep the guys interested long enough to get some information out of them. Luckily, it's working.
Gavin looks at his buddies and smirks. As he does so, the girls exchange glances as well, deciding then was the time to try and get some information. The guys (not Gavin) had been hinting about things for a while, trying to make themselves seem smart while at the same time not giving away anything. The She Spies could tell, but they bit their lips, biding their time.
As the third guy, Luke, takes his shot, DD looks at the table, taking the first leap into their investigation.
"I read something interesting in the paper today," she says to Cassie and Shane.
Gavin glances at DD, interested, but trying not to seem too much so. He knew if he seemed like he was paying too much attention, his cover would be blown. He had learned long ago the tricks of seeming nonchalant.
"Oh really? What's that?" asks Cassie, acting like she didn't know anything about what DD was referring to.
"They've recovered a valuable set of ancient artifacts in Peru. They're supposed to be worth millions of dollars," continues DD as Luke takes his shot.
Gavin exchanges a glance with Brian. They've heard about the artifacts. In fact, the cartel was involved in negotiations to steal them while they were en route to the United States. The cartel stood to gain at least several millions of dollars if they succeeded in the transport.
"Yeah, weren't they nervous someone was going to try and steal them?" asks Shane.
"Probably, since the carbon date revealed them to be really old and, in such good condition, their value is higher than the average artifact," says Gavin like it was something that everyone should know, not just the son of a cartel kingpin involved in smuggling much of the same items into or out of the United States for profit.
All three She Spies look at Gavin, holding back smirks at having his knowledge proven. They were also happy that that part of their mission was established. Gavin notices the looks he's receiving and spouts off what is usually a very believable excuse. It would've been too, if the She Spies hadn't already known who he was.
"I read a lot about that sort of thing since ancient stuff like that interests me. It has been since I was little. It's like looking through a window into the past," he says.
"Oh, really? You must know a lot then," speculates DD, trying to entice Gavin to reveal more about the cartel or at least some moreof whathe knows.
Just as Gavin opens his mouth to say that he knows a fair amount, with no intention to reveal how much, his cell phone rings. He opens it up as the girls look towards his phone, annoyed at having their progress interrupted. Despite this, their experience tells them that the phone call may help them achieve their goal for their mission. Unfortunately for them, it's Amy on the line.
"Hello?" says Gavin, keeping his face blank as he answers the phone.
"You're in trouble," says Amy, cutting to the chase.
Gavin's face gets serious at those words. He can tell instantly that it has to do with the cartel, since that's the only thing that would get him into trouble at the moment. The cartel was really the only thing he worried about, since he didn't want to blow the chance at making a lot of money. That and he didn't want to go to jail.
"Are you sure?" he asks, making sure to keep his voice neutral so it wouldn't give anything away to the She Spies.
"My uncle has three agents working against you. They're probably there now."
As Amy goes on to describe how DD, Cassie, and Shane look, Gavin glances up at them to see if they were the three that she was describing, all thewhile making sure to chime in with random replies so no one would suspect anything.
"Okay, thanks. Be out in a minute," he says after Amy explains she'd be at the pool hall shortly. He could sense that it was imperative to get out of there as soon as possible.
With that, he hangs up his cell and places it back in his pocket.
"Well, sorry to play and jet, but a coworker of mine brought an issue to my attention that demands immediate intervention," Gavin says, phrasing it so it would sound normal while at the same time letting Brian and Luke know that something was up.
"What's wrong?" asks Cassie as Luke and Brian exchange a quick glance.
"Nothing I can't handle. I'll have to take a rain check on the game though," he says.
On that note, he turns and walks towards the door.
"But-" starts Shane, taking a step after Gavin.
She, like the other girls, was a little frustrated at having the progress that they had finally achieved interrupted. If they let him leave, it may be a while before they'd run into him again. If they couldn't catch up with him, they'd have to hear it from Cross, in his serious and un-subtle way of giving them one of his "pep talks".
Instantly Brian and Luke stand side by side in front ofShane so she can't get to Gavin. The She Spies now know that the jig is up.
"I thought we had something special," Shane says to Brian, feigning disappointment.
"Sorry to disappoint you sweetheart, but the only loyalty I have is to my job," Brian replies as Gavin slips outside.
"Us too,"replies Shane.
At those words, a fight begins. Before it gets too far, Luke puts his fingers to his mouth and lets out a loud, shrill whistle, signaling for the other guys they had come in with to help them. Sure enough, the others soon enter the fray to help defend their friends. As things continue, it becomes apparent to the guys that the girls are a lot stronger than they had originally thought.
Outside, Gavin waits with his arms crossed, impatiently tapping his foot. He knows that the feds could be on him at any moment and he wants to get out of there as fast as he can.
"C'mon," he says impatiently.
Seconds later, Amy pulls up in Duncan's car. Gavin sees her and rushes over.
"Took ya long enough," he says as he opens the door.
Amy's face remains serious as she rolls her eyes and absent-mindedly rubs her right arm, waiting for him to get into the car. What most people don't know is, despite having been together for over a year, they fought constantly, often making up shortly after. Other times, things would get physical and, quite often, Amy would end up with a new bruise.
"It wasn't that long of a wait," she mutters as he gets into the car.
After shutting the door, Gavin looks at her, seeing that she was a little annoyed. At the moment, he didn't care that much, he was more concerned with getting himself out of there before the She Spies came out of the building.
"Thanks for the tip," he says simply as Amy stops rubbing her arm.
"When those I care about are in trouble, I do what I can to help," Amy replies just as simply, putting her hand back on the wheel and peeling the car out of the parking lot, the sudden speed causing a loud noise.
Their destination is a nearby warehouse that is used for a lot of cartel related stuff. Amy's been there before, so she knows the way quite well. In fact, she knew the password to get in and even had her own key. She had been involved in drugs before, even selling some on occasion for money, and that's how she met Gavin - when he was looking for a fix. He knew instantly she wouldn't take any crap. After getting to know each other, he found out that her uncle was a federal agent. He knew they got along and was wary of her for a while, but he figured that someone who had an inside source might be good for the cartel - maybe even to steer federal traffic away from his father's cartel. His father posed a test, unbeknownst to her, and she passed with flying colors, earning the trust of the cartel. Because of this, she was often involved in some of the deals that went through the cartel. After going through several deals successfully, she even earned a rank in it, so she had some authority. She kept all this secret, especially from Cross.
A little while later, the fight has ended at Magic Eight Billiards. The end victory was, of course, the She Spies'. As they leave the pool hall to try and find Gavin, Cassie's cell phone rings. She takes it out and looks at the caller ID.
"It's Duncan," she observes, a little confused.
DD and Shane exchange glances, wondering why he would've called. They knew he wouldn't call unless it was an emergency, since they were working on a mission.
"Hey, Duncan. What's up?" asks Cassie, pressing the speakerphone button.
"Uh, yeah. It seems Amy decided to take my car on a joyride," begins Duncan.
"She took your care?" asks DD disbelievingly.
"Now I'm really questioning her relation to Cross," mutters Shane.
DD nods in agreement as Cassie tries to get more information out of Duncan. They know that if anything happens to Amy, Cross would be angry. If he got angry, they'd be in trouble and none of them particularly felt like getting chewed out by him any time soon.
"Is she there now?" asks Cassie.
"No, but I think I know where she is," he continues, "and it has to do with Gavin Marcel."
The She Spies exchange confused glances, unsure as to why and how Amy could have connections to Gavin - especially one that Cross didn't mention. They figured that, if it was true, he either didn't know about it or he was too ashamed to mention it.
"We'll be right there. Thanks Duncan," says Cassie.
With that, she hangs up her cell phone and looks at Shane and DD.
"Is it just me or are things getting weirder and weirder with Amy?" she asks.
Shane and DD nod as the three walk towards the car.
"I guess that proves she is related to Cross," says Shane.
"Yeah, they both hide an awful lot," adds DD.
"Well, if things keep going the way they are, we may be finding out more soon enough. Probably more than we want to know," says Cassie, as they get into the car.
The girls nod once again in agreement, amazed at all that's been happening in the past few days. Everything started with them finding out that Cross had a niece that he had never mentioned - not even once. Things just seemed to escalate from there. And, at the rate things were going, they would only escalate more.
A little while later, Duncan is pacing back and forth by the She Spies' front door, anxiously awaiting their return. As he does so, he gently clasps a silver locket in his hand. He had found it on the floor next to the coffee table. Amy had accidentally dropped it there earlier that day and neither had noticed. What made things interesting to Duncan was that the photo inside was of Gavin. He knew thatthe She Spies, and Cross, would be interested to know his findings, though he figured he'd talk to the girls first, not wanting to get Amy in trouble (or himself, since he knew he'd get yelled at for letting her leave the house in the first place).
Moments later, the front door of the beach house is opened, signaling that Cassie, Shane, and DD are home. The second Duncan sees them, he stops pacing.
"Boy, am I glad to see you guys," he says, walking over to them.
"We got here as fast as we could," says Cassie.
"Yeah. So, where's Amy?" asks Shane, wanting, like the others, to find her and Gavin as soon as possible.
"Well, judging by the locket I found, I'd say she's with Gavin Marcel at the moment," he says, handing the locket over to DD.
DD opens the locket while the other two look over her shoulder. All three of them hold back gasps as they see the picture of Gavin.
"How'd she get a picture of Gavin in her locket?" asks Shane.
"Unless…" speculates Cassie, realization hitting her.
"Gavin's her boyfriend," finishes DD, realization striking her as well.
"Boy, would Cross love to find this out," says Shane.
"I'm sure he would. And there's something else you may want to take a look at," he says.
He walks over to the coffee table and sits down in front of Amy's laptop. He presses a button to get it out of sleep mode. Once the picture is on the screen again, it reveals the email that Amy had received from Gavin earlier that day. As the girls read the email, their eyes go wide.
"Wow," says Cassie, at a loss for other words.
"He sounds mad," observes Shane.
"Maybe we should call Cross," says DD, sensing the urgency of the email.
"That's a good idea. But might I suggest listening to a proposition that Amy informed me of first? She explained a few things to me earlierthat you might want to know about. She knew you guys would want to contact Cross once you found out, so she asked me to tell you about them."
There is a chorus of agreements before Duncan goes on to explain what Amy had said to him over the past day or so. All three girls find everything interesting, even a bit intriguing. They don't go over it for long though, because they know they have to act fast before Gavin gets too far away. Than, and they knew if Amy got into trouble they would too. Either way, things were about to get very interesting.