Part Eight

Ayaas almost cried out when he saw Mrs. Wilcox, his computer teacher, stand by and watch as a man hit Peter on the head with a gun. Instead, he bit his lip and pulled further back into the ventilation duct. He had to keep watching and listening. Maybe he would see something that could help Peter and Sophie...

He scowled at the patterned grate holding him prisoner. When he and Sophie had decided to spy on the computer lab to see if they could figure out what was going on, they had decided that the ventilation duct would be perfect. It was big enough to crawl into and sit in comfortably. There was only one problem--the duct was covered with a fancy grate, which looked like it hadn't, been removed for years.

Sophie had come up with the plan the day they had discovered evidence in the history files on one of the computers. Each of them had brought a screwdriver and a can of WD-40 from home. For three days, they had gone to class early and, before the other students came in, they had slowly worked on the screws across the bottom and sides. It hadn't been easy; the screws had been stiff and difficult to remove. Yesterday, they had started loosening the remaining screws across the top and replaced them. Then, this morning...

~~~Earlier that day...~~~~

"Today, after school," Ayaas whispered as they replaced the last stubborn screw. Sophie had nodded as Mari, who they had recruited as a lookout slipped into the room, indicating that the rest of the class was about to arrive. The lesson had seemed to last forever.

It was right after school when they sneaked back into the computer lab. Everything seemed to happen in their favor...no one was in the hall, no one was in the lab, no one saw them. Their first problem came when they realized that they couldn't hide in the duct and put the grate back on.

"If we both go in, we can hold it on," Sophie argued, studying the problem.

Ayaas rolled his eyes. "They'll see our fingers sticking out, Soph."

"No they won't."

"Yes they will." Ayaas demonstrated. He stuck his fingers through the holes and wiggled them.

Sophie stared at the grate and sighed. "Okay, they will," she admitted. "So how do we decide who stays to spy, and who puts the grate back on?"

"We don't have much time. Do you have a coin?" Quickly, Sophie pulled a quarter out of her backpack and threw it in the air. Ayaas won the toss. With a smug smile, he tossed his coat and backpack in, then climbed into the duct. Working together, one on each side, they lifted the heavy grate. Ayaas held it in place as Sophie replaced the two screws at the top corners.

"Okay. You go home, and I'll call you," Ayaas commanded, his voice echoing slightly from the metal surrounding him. "Ooh, I guess I'd better not make a lot of noise," he said, grinning at Sophie.

Sophie scowled at him and balked, returning to his first statement. "I'm not leaving, unless you're thinking about spending the night."

"What? No." Ayaas said, the echo magnifying his surprise.

"So...how were you planning to get out?"

"Oh. Yeah." This time it was Sophie's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm kinda trapped here, aren't I," Ayaas said, his voice uneasy. "Uh, Sophie, this may be a great plan, but what if something happens? Maybe we should call Peter, just so he knows what we're doing..."

Biting her lip, Sophie slowly nodded. "Okay. I'll call him. There's a phone in the office." She started walking away from Ayaas, who was reaching for her through the grate, trying to pull her back with sheer will.

"Sophie, no!" Ayaas hissed. "Call from the pay phone by the front door." Angling his wrist, he looked at his watch. They had been timing the comings and goings from the computer lab all week, and their arguments were cutting into the schedule. They were cutting it very close.

"We have time," the girl said calmly. "If I call from the pay phones, someone might overhear me." Picking up her backpack, she continued into the office, ignoring Ayaas's whispered warnings.

Ayaas couldn't see her from his position. It seemed to take forever for her to dial the phone. He heard the quiet conversation, then the sound of a phone clicking into the receiver. He heaved a sigh of relief, until he heard Sophie talking again. Who was she calling now, and why was she taking so long? His head whipped around as the door to the corridor opened; Ayaas held his breath as five people entered the lab. The first was Mrs. Wilcox, the computer teacher. The new custodian, a man he'd never seen before, and two high school students followed him. Ayaas recognized Mari's brother Sam. The boy stared wide-eyed, and hoped they wouldn't go into the office.

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Part Nine

Sophie tried to reach Peter, but the person who answered the phone at the 101st precinct said he was out. She thought about leaving a message, but was afraid the police officer would either yell at her or think it was a joke. Instead, she hung up and called his home phone. She was just starting to leave the message when she saw the group walking into the lab. Momentarily panicking, she dropped the phone and ran to open the window. Cold air swirled in; the space was not enough for her to get through. Praying, she looked around the room. There was no place to hide. Heart beating rapidly, the girl threw her knapsack behind the open door and tucked herself into the leg space under the desk. It never occurred to her to just walk out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ayaas watched as the boys moved without a word to the computers at the far end of the room and sat down. They inserted diskettes into two computers and started pulling up programs as Mrs. Wilcox pulled paper out of her briefcase and inserted it into the first boy's printer. When paper finished printing, the first boy handed it to the second boy, who turned it over and printed something different on the opposite side. When the two-sided copy came out, the unknown man took it to the counter and started carefully trimming whatever it was. Ayaas couldn't see very well, but he could tell it wasn't money.

Mrs. Wilcox and the custodian just stood there, with their arms crossed, talking quietly. Ayaas strained to hear what they were saying, but couldn't. What happened next, though, was as clear as day. "I have to call the bank," the custodian announced, and went into the office, closing the door behind him.

Ayaas crossed all his fingers, including his thumbs. "Don't let her be caught, don't let her be caught," he whispered soundlessly, over and over. It didn't work. There was a wordless sound of rage from the office, when the short man appeared, Sophie's arm was firmly gripped in his large hand.

"Sophie?" Mrs. Wilcox asked, sounding irritated.

"She was hiding in the office," the other man growled. "I found her under the desk."

"Hi, M-Mrs. Wilcox," Sophie stammered. If Ayaas didn't know her so well, he wouldn't have heard the slight tremble that gave away her fear. "I know I'm not supposed to be here, but I wanted to use one of the computers, and when I heard you coming, I guess I just got scared you'd be mad, since I'm not supposed to be here, so I hid in your office." Ayaas was barely breathing as he willed the men to believe her.

There was a momentary silence as everyone digested the story. "You're not buying this are you?" the unnamed man asked finally, in an irritated voice.

Ayaas though Mrs. Wilcox sounded angry. "No," she said. "I've been hearing some stories about little Sophie and her friend. Where's Ayaas, Sophie?"

"I don't know," the boy heard his friend say, obviously trying to protect him. "Why?" As Ayaas looked on from his prison in horror, the custodian pulled out a gun.

"Because I thought you two were always together," Mrs. Wilcox said calmly, seeming not to see the weapon. Sophie saw it though, and her eyes went wide with shock. "You'll just need to come with us."

"What? Why?" Sophie squeaked.

"Well..." Ayaas held his hand over his mouth, trying to keep silent. Their teacher sounded as calm and rational as if she was conducting a lesson. She continued. "If Ayaas does know about this little mission, we may need some leverage. If he doesn't, then you're on your own. Either way, it's best for us that you come with us. Satisfy my curiosity--which is it?"

If Sophie responded, Ayaas couldn't hear it. "Okay," the custodian growled. "I don't like kids, and I really don't like you. So if you know what's good for you, you'll be very, very quiet and walk with me to the car."

"Hey!" One of the high school students said suddenly. They had been so quiet, Ayaas had almost forgotten they were there. "You can't do that."

"Really?" the man said his voice deceptively soft. Ayaas couldn't see his face, but he could see the high school boys. From their tense expressions, Ayaas could see that they were afraid of the man, whoever he was. The kid who had spoken looked down at the floor, studying the toe of his shoe intently. "I think it's time for all of us to go," the man holding Sophie said, when there was no response. "Pick up your gear, and come with me."

Wordlessly, the teens followed him, leaving Mrs. Wilcox and the taller man alone in the room. Ayaas watched as the man picked up all the papers and shut down the computers, and left after a short, muffled discussion with the teacher. The woman walked into the tiny office and pulled the door behind her, leaving it slightly ajar. Ayaas tried to push the grate off. The screws held. Grabbing it, he shook it quietly. It didn't move. Ayaas whispered something his mother would have made him instantly regret.

He eyed the office door. There was no indication of movement within, leading the boy to believe that Mrs. Wilcox had sat down at her desk. Maybe she was correcting the quizzes she had given earlier in the day. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since then. Ayaas felt sick; he was trapped. Perhaps if he kicked the grate...but it would make a huge crash and the teacher would hear it and run out. He needed to help Sophie, and that meant getting Peter. Ayaas turned and looked down the ventilation duct. Maybe somewhere else in the school a duct cover was off.

~~~~~~~~~

After too many minutes of aimless crawling down dirty metal passageways with no luck, he returned to the grate in the computer lab just in time to see Peter's confrontation with the computer teacher and the two men. Watching through haunted eyes, Ayaas vowed not to let them get away this time.

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Part Ten

Kermit pulled into the circular driveway to see Virginia Li, wrapped in a down jacket, waiting for him on the front steps. She looked as calm and collected as he had ever seen her, watching five-year-old Ben and two identical blond boys pelting her new Volvo with icy snowballs. "Oh, she's not worried," the detective muttered as he got out of the car. By the time he swung the door shut, she was standing beside him.

"Did you hear from Peter, Detective Griffin?" she asked, her dark eyes begging him to have some information. "Do you know where my daughter is?"

Kermit shook his head, wishing he had better news. He had tried his friend's cell phone, only to once again get the frustrating message that the caller was out of range. "Nothing from Peter or Sophie? Did you try Ayaas's house?"

Virginia fiddled nervously with the zipper on her coat. "No, and of course I called. Noura's worried too...Ayaas was supposed to go directly home after school. What's going on?"

With a sigh, Kermit prepared to tell her what little he knew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ayaas waited until the door closed behind Mrs. Wilcox and the two men, dragging Peter between them. Biting his lip, he studied the problem. Two screws at the top corners held the grate. That meant... Ayaas turned around in the vent until his feet were pointed at the grate, then he kicked with all his strength. His heart leapt as he felt the bottom swing out a tiny bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kermit glanced in the rearview mirror at the van behind him. "Is that Ayaas's mother?"

Virginia twisted around to look. "Yes. How did you know?"

"The general frantic expression," he answered dryly. "And the fact that she's trying to pass us on this...road." That was a polite term for the icy one-way path that wound its way through thick trees towards the school. He watched at the van sped up and retreated again, the lights flashing. Since the road was deserted, he stepped on the gas just a bit.

"The school entrance is just ahead on the right," Virginia said, her voice tight. "The office closes in ten minutes. She's probably trying to get there before the office staff leave." She glanced down at the speedometer. "On this road, you're going fast enough." Kermit nodded, his tires squealing as he pulled into the drop-off circle in front of the Middle School entrance. "Isn't that..."

"Peter's car," Kermit finished grimly, eyeing the Stealth parked in the teacher's lot across the street. "Let's go." Virginia was already out.

"Noura!" the worried mother shouted to the dark-haired woman who had pulled up behind them. Ayaas's mother jumped out of her van and hurried towards them.

"Virginia. After we spoke, I found a note from my son. He wrote that he was staying after school to work on a project with Sophie." Her soft voice had a slight lilting accent. "He also wrote that if he wasn't home on time, I should call Peter."

"Were there any details?" Kermit asked. "Did you bring the note?" Both women turned troubled gazes in his direction. Despite the fact that they were from different cultures and had little in common except for their children's friendship, their expressions were remarkably alike.

"Oh Noura. This is Detective Kermit Griffin. He works with Peter. Have you met?" Despite the situation, Virginia's flawless manners took over.

"Only once," the second woman answered, as they reached the building. "Thank you for coming Detective."

"You're welcome," Kermit answered, still slightly bemused at all the courtesy covering silken determination. Once he had told Virginia what he knew, she had spun into action; contacting her husband and Ayaas's mother. Another round of calls had resulted a neighbor arriving to take charge of Ben and the Tyler twins, whose mother still had not arrived. She had also set up a telephone tree to contact all Sophie's friends, to see if any of them had any information about what the girl had been doing after school that day.

Not even a missing child could shake Virginia Chan Li's composure. He could definitely see the family resemblance between her and her brother. The sardonic Chan was never at a loss, no matter what happened. He hoped that Sophie, wherever she was, had the same self-possession. He held open the door as the two women darted into the building, making their determined way toward the office.

The school secretary closing the office didn't know what hit her.

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