The Ninja Squad: The Adventure Begins

Crime Doesn't Pay

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A good fifteen to twenty minutes of driving had passed by and Derek wasn't doing too bad anymore. It wasn't great, but it was better than earlier.

As they drove on, Eddie was still working on his laptop in the back, directing Derek to turn whenever he needed to as he watched the tracker beep on the screen.

Suddenly, something happened with the tracker.

"Hey guys, it stopped." Eddie stated.

Up front, Mike and Derek looked to one another confused.

"What stopped?" 

"The tracer. Wherever it is, it's stopped."

"Which means they've stopped." Katie added.

"Where at?" Keiley asked.

Eddie directed the as they went along, letting Derek know when to turn or keep straight.

It took a while for them to get where they were headed, but their minds were on fire with this situation. Wondering what action would be awaiting them around the next corner. It was enough to cause anxiety, but they kept calm and collected as they kept going.

Finally, almost fifteen minutes of driving later, they finally made it to the location. As to where that location was, well, that was surprising to them. 

"A junkyard?" Keiley said out loud as they looked to the junkyard ahead. They were parked a half a block away but the yard was within view of he van. Obviously, they weren't expecting a place like this and it was plainly obvious Keiley couldn't believe this is where the tracer had led them. "Doesn't exactly scream 'evil lair', does it?"

"Nope, you're right. It screams meet up." Codie stepped up. "Calling it now, it's a money exchange."

"How can you be so sure?"

"If you were a criminal, wouldn't you pick a place like this where there aren't many people, and its the last place anyone would think to look?"

"I'm not a criminal for starters. And even if I was, I'd pick a cleaner place than this."

Codie uttered a "tsk, tsk, tsk" at that and shook his head at his older sister. "Spoken like a true amateur."

"Guys, c'mon. Focus here." Mike said, cutting off the two and their bickering.

Now that it was quiet, thoughts and questions began to flow through the minds of the group.

What would they find in there? Who would they find in there? Would they get into another fight? All of these and more were contemplated as they looked to the junkyard ahead of them.

"So are we going in?" Katie spoke up, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

All eyes went to Mike since this was his idea, though he didn't need to see them to know they were looking at him. He could feel their stares and urge to go both on him.

Inhaling and exhaling once more, he shrugged and nodded. "I guess so... uh, Derek, you stay here and keep the van running. Just in case we have to make a quick getaway."

"Ooh, good idea, Mike!" Codie nodded in agreement, "Now that's thinking!"

"Eddie, you stay here with him."

The bespectacled teen nodded. "Will do."

Though he was reluctant to stay put, Derek nodded in agreement and looked back to the junkyard to keep an eye on out.