UNDERCOVER - Dark Fire Data (Book 3)

Part 26 - The Guerrilla Grannies

'What?!' Denny looked at her sardonically. 'Pull the other blooming leg, it's got bells on it. Oppy is a computer! How can she be anyone's mother?'

'I didn't believe it at first either,' I said, 'but now I'm beginning to think Licia may be right.'

 'Anyhoo,' Miguel interjected. 'Is there anyway to contact Dr Zhang? We really need to let him know about these, er . . . developments.'

Denny pulled is cell phone out of a belt holster. 'He is not answering calls but I could try a text message.' 

 A few minutes later Denny read off the reply. Dr Zhang said he would meet us in his office at 9 am tomorrow. The meeting broke up and we each went home. 

 As Miguel and I reached the creepy old house at rue 65 Sumac street where I lived, I noticed an old-fashioned Volkswagen van parked outside. It was a rectangular box shape on wheels with rounded edges and large windows on all sides. But what made it unusual was the paint job. It had been decorated all over with large colourful flowers in psychedelic reds and yellows with splashes of white and vivid orange on a bright green background. I said goodbye to Miguel and went straight up stairs to find out what was going on.

It was a meeting of the Guerrilla Grannies. Their weekly Kung Fu lesson had been cancelled for the holidays and they were planning a New Year's Eve party. There were six of them including my Grandma and Machine Gun Beryl. The other four were smaller than Grandma and looked like they represented the four corners of the world. Two appeared Asian, one had very dark skin and the fourth looked to have Arabic ancestry. They all looked very fit.

 I apologized for interrupting their meeting and Beryl introduced them to me. I found Emma in the kitchen cutting up several large cakes. She noticed my silent appeal and slid a plateful across the table.

I was so tired, as soon as I returned to our apartment downstairs, I fell asleep on the couch and it was one o'clock in the morning before I woke up, changed into my pyjamas and went back to sleep. Pacman woke me up late in the morning, tugging at my sleeve. He was anxiously waiting for me to open the fridge for his breakfast. But he reminded me that I had a meeting with Dr Zhang. 

 I crawled out of bed, filled Pacman's dish with left-over turkey and ate the piece of crisp bread I had left, forgotten, in the toaster. It was snowing again but it had warmed up to a balmy minus five Celsius by the time got to Silverwood School. 

 Neither Denny's Jeep nor Dr Zhang's mobile wreck were in the school parking lot but there was a strange van. 

 Licia met me at the main school entrance.  'The the loading dock door is unlocked and there are two strange men inside Dr Zhang's office and he normally keeps it locked.' 

 We went to see if they were still there and looked through the glass window in the door. The two men were talking while working at his computer. We retreated while Licia called Dr Zhang on her cell phone. He didn't know about the men and would be on his way and in five minutes. Miguel joined us as we crept back to Dr Zhang's office so we could eavesdrop. 

 'Jeeeez,' one of them said. 'There it is again. Is this guy a genius, or what? No wonder they're going crazy back at the Farm. I'm beginning to believe the station chief was right about that Ziff Dion kid.'

'If he can shut down every computer in Washington even for a few seconds,' the other one said, 'he must be capable of destroying our entire system.   Eric Bragg claimed to know nothing about this. Can we believe him?'

'Well the guys have been grilling him ever since we picked him up for the strontium job. He may change his story when he realizes he faces life in a federal penitentiary.'

Then Licia buried her face in her elbow and sneezed.