Page 9 of On the Double

“You can’t really think this is a good idea!”

“Nope,” Slider grinned, but think about how much fun it will be when Cash finds out that IRIS lit his new facility on fire. He burnt down the old one. Maybe he’ll do the same to this one.”

“And that’s a good thing?” Thumper snapped.

“He’s not going to burn it down,” I said, my tone brooking no arguments. “He’s going to start a small fire and flush out the boss. While he’s out, we’ll slip inside and find the files.”

“Why do you want a job so badly?” Slider asked.

“Because we’re sitting on our hands. If we don’t have jobs, we don’t have income. I thought that part was pretty damn clear.”

“Think of it as a vacation,” Slider shrugged. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Everyone groaned at his choice of words. “Well, now that you said that, a whole hell of a lot. Now we have to go through with the fire.”

“Agreed,” Thumper sighed. “Fuck, I really hate it when I’m forced to do shit I don’t want to.”

Slider held his arms wide, staring at us all incredulously. “All because I saidwhat’s the worst that could happen?”

“Fuck, would you stop that!” I shouted.

“Seriously, one more fucking time and you’re off the team,” Thumper snapped. He turned to me, obviously pissed that he had to go along with this. “If we do this, it has to be in a controlled environment.”

“Sure.”

“I’m serious, Edu. No funny business.”

I scoffed at the ridiculousness of his statement. “Do I look like the type of guy who plays with fire?”

1 hour later…

I stoodoutside the main office, arms crossed as I stared at the flames licking the sky. Smoke could be seen from town, which was evident by the growing number of spectators that showed up by the minute.

“Well, the good news is that Cash is no longer in his office.”

Thumper slowly turned to face me. “Neither is the paperwork you wanted.”

“Right…” I scratched the back of my head. “That is a problem, but I’ll remind you that technically, IRIS is the one who set the explosives.”

We all turned and looked at IRIS. He shrugged as he stared at the fire. “You said you wanted something that would grab his attention. I think you got it.” Then he faced us. “Pizza?”

4

HARPER

“Harper!”Luna rushed over, dancing from foot to foot in her red, oversized clerk vest. Her brown hair swung from side to side down her back, and the pinched expression on her face nearly had me bursting out laughing. “Can you switch lunch shifts with me?”

“I’ve been here since six,” I groaned.

“I know, I know, but I really need to pee.”

I ran another item across the scanner and smiled at Mrs. Mallard so she didn’t get angry and swing her walking stick at me. She wasn’t known to be the nicest woman in the world.

“You can take a bathroom break without taking your lunch break,” I hissed.

“Okay, fine. Jake said he would stop by on his lunch break, and his lunch break is during your lunch break. You know how much I like him!”

“Alright, fine,” I groaned. Anything to get her to stop talking. I didn’t really care about her latest obsession. Jake rode a motorcycle, which was her thrill of the month. Last month, it was men who wore spandex.

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