SMOSH EXPEDITION: The Rainbow Lollipop (Book Five)

Chapter Five - Squad Goals

Courtney Miller

We drove along a busy road, listening to whatever music played on the radio as Noah tracked the call made by the kidnapper last night. It was a slightly boring morning. Shayne was behind the wheel, I was on the passenger side while the others were in the back.

"Any signs?" Olivia sighed, boredom evidently felt in her tone.

"None at the moment." Noah replied, eyes glued to his monitor that displayed the map of Los Angeles where nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

   All of us stayed silent for a few good minutes, listening to some beats while being interrupted by the constant beeping of the laptop. The heat of the summer slowly got into the van as the sun gradually rose up in the sky.

"What software are you using?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.

"Apple Maps."

The four of us cocked our heads in surprise, "Why on earth would you use the shittiest map application?"

"It's not shitty, it gets me to places easily." He defended.

"No wonder you're always late." Keith said flatly.

Noah huffed, "I'll prove to you that it's not shitty."

"I doubt it, plus, Siri's a murderous psychopath."

There was a ring from Noah's laptop, "I'm getting something." He looked at his laptop and so did the other two.

"It's a message." Olivia said, gasping in shock.

"What is it?" I asked, eagerly waiting for her reply like a curious child.

"Noah's book club meeting." She burst into laughter, "It's scheduled at 8:54 AM."

As if all hope in me was shattered, "Really? Book clubs?" I rolled my eyes.

Noah's eyebrows wrinkled, "What? We love discussing stories!"

Shayne scoffed, "Yeah, what kind of stories?"

The man shrunk in his seat and turned pale, "T-twilight, t-the N-notebook, F-fifty Shades of Grey... all that stuff, heh."

And the whole van was filled with roars of laughter.

The laptop made sounds again, but this time a beep louder than the previous, "I'M GETTING A SIGNAL NOW!" Noah blurted out and the noise was silenced, "The kidnapper's making a call to Ian's phone now."

"Where?" Shayne asked eagerly.

"We have to wait for it to load."

I slumped back on my seat, "Apple Maps, eh?"

"Stop mocking it!" He yelled.

   "Fine."

"Here it is! It's coming from Downtown L.A., a small facility located along an alleyway."

"Wait, how long will the signal stay hot?" I asked.

Noah pushed back his glasses that slid down the bridge of his nose, "An hour at the most."

"Great, we have no time to lose." Shayne said, speeding up and taking the next left turn.

   "It's gonna be a twenty minute drive given this heavy traffic, guys. But everyone suit up." I said, reaching for the churro blaster near the foot of my seat, "You'll never know what's gonna go down."

   "I'm still not comfortable with my weapon." Noah awkwardly raised his hand, "Who the hell would let a thin guy like me wield a large hammer that's eight pounds heavier than me?"