“Come
on, I know you,” she said, “You get off on breaking the law.”
“Wow, I don’t get off on it,” he said, “That’d be gross.”
“You can keep lying but it won’t change
anything,” she said, “It’s your teenage crisis or whatever.”
“Do you want me to not go?” He asked, “I
could just walk out there right now and leave you all alone to deal with Kyle
by yourself.”
“You know I could totally do that,” she
said, “I don’t know why you’re even coming along. You’ll just make it easier
for me to get seen.”
“I’d do that?” He said, “You’d be the one
giving us away! You and your fucking military boots.”
“I can sneak in them,” she said, in a tone
that made Dave realize he’d somehow wounded her psyche.
“No, listen, what have you ever done that
was even remotely sneaky. Like, even now, we’re talking about explicitly
illegal activities and you’re still fussing with me at a volume that has gotten
Robb’s ex looking over at us over and over again. I’m about ready to give up on
this just because I don’t trust you to pull it off.”
“That sounds like a dare,” she said.
“Yeah, fine, I dare you to not be a noisy
obnoxious criminal and actually get this little mission of ours done without
being the one to walk into a trashcan or knock over someone’s mailbox.”
“You’re on,” she said, “I dare you to not
wimp out.”
“Ok,” he said, “Deal.”
They finished and left. It was dark enough.
They walked back to Elys’ house, where they put the package in a backpack,
“I’ll go into his garage,” Elys said, “Though the window. You keep lookout.”
“Why can’t I come into the garage too?” Dave
asked.
“You have to make sure his parents don’t
come home or something,” she said, “You don’t know how to set up the explosives
either.”
“Oh,” he said, “That makes sense.”
“I know what I’m doing,” she said with a
smile.
“We’ll see,” he said, “Remember that while
we’re heading over there, it’s just as important to not be seen as when we’re
coming back here.”
“Should we come back here?” She asked, “Or
somewhere else?”
“Where else would we go?” Dave asked.
“Mary is having a party at her house
tonight,” she said, “Should I tell her you might be coming?”
“Yeah,” Dave said, “That should work.”
They waited awhile to make sure it was late
enough and set out. Dave’s mental route took them behind fences and narrow
spaces in between cars and houses. They were paths he’d learned as a child
playing hide and go seek. He stayed crouched, moving forward on bent knees,
crawling at times through the dirt beneath hedges and shrubs. Dave was pleased
to see Elys following him in a similar manner. He was worried she’d shy away
from the subterfuge, maybe preferring to make a display of confidence.
Dave felt that Elys only ever followed
orders when she approved of them, and the fact that she was following his
orders seemed to mean he knew what he was doing.
Kyle lived a ten minute walk away from Elys’
house, if one took the roads. Dave’s path took around twenty minutes. Dave felt
Elys’ breath on his ear before she spoke. “About time,” she said, “I was
wondering if we’d ever get here.
“Shhhh,” he said. He looked over at her.
Their faces were practically touching. He thought about moving in for a kiss.
She pulled her scarf up over her mouth and nose.
Dave did the same.
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