Chapter 8: A New Goal and Dangerous Travel

Sam had become fond of fake facial hair. He had a goatee on to look older, but other than that he was wearing his normal clothes. It was his hope that he looked like a college student.

Cami was next to him wearing mascara, eye shadow, and lipstick in an attempt to look older. The only problem was that Cami didn't usually wear make-up and so she didn't know how to apply it. Sam was no help in this department. It had taken a ridiculous amount of time to make it look even remotely good. It had taken Cami exactly twenty-two tries to get it looking relatively good. She was wearing some of her normal clothes. She was hoping to look like a college student too.

Sam and Cami walked into an Internet café as soon as they were confident they were not being followed. Sam sat down at one of the computers as Cami went to get two teas. Cami placed one peppermint tea next to the keyboard once she paid for it. She sipped the lemongrass tea as she pulled up a chair next to Sam and looked over his shoulder.

Sam was typing rapidly in the search engine and muttering to himself.

"Contessa, Contessa." He typed that into the search bar along with 'real estate'.

"Found it!" Sam whispered. Cami leaned closer to him to hear. "Contessa works for the real estate agency called Homes Around the World in the Czech Republic. Here's the address and phone number." Sam pointed at the screen while Cami copied down the information.

"So, Sam, how are we getting there?" Cami asked Sam as she wrote it down.

Sam then started searching for a train from France to the Czech Republic. "Here's something: it leaves in five hours."

"Well, how are we going to get on the train? Do we really want to use our own passports?" Cami kept her voice down, but she needn't have bothered. The café was filled with people during the dinner rush.

"Well, we've probably been declared missing or someone might believe that we went on vacation with our parents." Sam muttered to Cami as he picked up his tea and sipped it. "But, I'd rather not use our passports, at least, not now. Someone went to a lot of trouble to get Dad and Mom, judging the damage down to the house and everyone thinking that they are on vacation. They might be looking for us too."

"That's a happy thought." Cami said tonelessly.

"Well, you killed the mood once, so it was my turn." Sam said, half-joking.

"Do you want to get food?" Cami said when she heard her stomach growl.

Sam stomach growled in response. "Yeah, let's." He said laughing.

Four and a half hours later, Sam and Cami were sitting on a ledge overlooking the train track. They thought it best that they jump onto the train while it was moving. It was Cami's idea.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Sam muttered as he and Cami watched for the train.

"You've said that about twenty times since we got up here." Cami commented. "You have any better ideas?"

"No, but this is extremely stupid and dangerous." Sam said looking at the tracks.

"Of course it is. Everything we've done today has been that." Cami punched Sam lightly on the shoulder.

"And probably everything we do tomorrow will be too." Sam finished the thought.

"And the day after that."

"And the day after that." Sam sighed. "It's insane. Yesterday morning, we were normal teenagers going to school, nothing like this."

"We didn't know about the thieving heritage, or how our parents met." Cami added. "Or about this Thievius Raccoonus."

"Thievius Raccoonus." Sam said slowly. "What do you think in it? Tales incriminating our father and ancestors?"

Cami shrugged "Dad said it held the techniques of the Cooper Clan."

Sam snorted. "Well, it's a good thing my name's not Cooper."

Cami snorted too. "Well, Fox, you're a Cooper by blood, so you're stuck with this, same as me."

"Dang." Sam laughed. Cami started laughing next to him. The laughter helped to lighten the mood from the quiet brooding thoughts that plagued both of them. The laughter died suddenly as they both heard the incoming train.

"It's early." Cami said scrambling to the jump area.

"Yeah." Sam said following her.

The train was moving fast. Cami and Sam waited for the train to move to the right place.

"Ready?" Cami asked Sam as the train started passing the right place.

"Nope." Sam said.

Cami laughed and jumped. For the most part she had managed to ignore the height of the ledge, but the split second she was airborne above a moving train a single thought entered her mind: I am an idiot.

Cami landed on the train almost impossibly lightly with Sam landing behind her. Each of them were desperately grabbing for a handhold.

"Hey." Cami said when she and Sam had each found a handhold and were right next to each other. "How are you doing?"

"Could be better, could be worse. You?" Sam said loudly over the wind.

"Eh, I landed on top of my first train and I'm not dead. I'm glad for that." Cami looked over her shoulder. "We need to wait a little longer for the conductor to take tickets."

"How much?" Sam asked. "Thirty minutes?"

"Probably." Cami tried to shrug as best she could. "Our hands are going to hurt after this."

Sam dropped down onto the caboose's balcony. Cami dropped down next to him. The balcony was very cramped since both Sam and Cami were carrying their backpacks. Sam pulled at the door. It was locked.

"Great." Sam said. "You know how to pick a lock?" He asked Cami.

"All I know is the stuff I've seen on TV and movies." Cami said. "Do you want to try it? I've got some wire."

"Where did you get wire?" Sam asked, perplexed.

"My hair wouldn't stay up with that disguise so I had to use pins. Here's one." Cami pulled one out of a side pocket and handed it to Sam.

"Thanks." Sam handed his backpack to Cami and tried his best to kneel down to the lock's level. He gently slid the pin into the lock and jiggled it around. After a minute or so, Cami asked him if he knew what he was doing.

"Not a clue. All I know is the stuff I've seen on TV." Sam mumbled, still jiggling the pin in the lock. "You want to try?"

"Sure." Cami and Sam switched what they were holding and Cami gave it a try. She jiggled it back and forth for a bit and then switched off with Sam who later switched off with Cami again. Suddenly, she and Sam both heard a quiet click. Slowly, Sam turned the handle while Cami held the pin in place. The door swung easily open.

Cami pulled the pin out and walked in. Sam followed with the bags. Luckily the last car happened to be for storage. Large crates were stacked up to the ceiling and there was only a thin walkway that was clear of crates.

"Should we go forward or stay here?" Sam asked as he shut the door behind them. He looked at the surrounding crates with a slightly curious look.

"I'll look ahead to see if it's any better up there." Cami said.

She walked to the other end of the car and slowly turned the handle of the next door. It was locked. Cami pursed her lips and turned to Sam.

"It's locked." Cami said quietly.

"Dang!" Sam said loudly.

"Shhh!"

"Sorry." Sam said softly. "Let's just stay here. I've had enough with the locks."

Cami smiled. "Me too. Let's try to shift some of the crates."

Sam and Cami discover a hidden clear spot behind a wall of crates. Why it was there, neither of them knew. It was just big enough for Cami and Sam to both lie down and use the backpacks as pillows. They stacked the crates so they were hidden from view, but in such a way that if they needed to get off quickly they could. Cami chucked her bag on the ground and lay down. Sam lay down next to her.

"When this is all over and we get back home, what are you going to do?" Cami asked when Sam flipped over to face her.

Sam smiled and looked up at the ceiling. "I am going to sleep in a real bed and not get up until eleven in the morning. You?"

"I am going to eat something I've made and it's going to be spicy." Cami said smiling. She licked her lips. "'Night, Sam."

"'Night, Cami. Sleep well."

"You too."