Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 121887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
“Aw, Uncle Tex, you’re cute when you’re trying to be a boss,” Roxie cooed.
“I am their boss,” Tex retorted.
“Pfft. Like you’d ever fire them,” Ally returned.
Before Tex could reply, we heard, “Uh…Jessie?”
We all turned to see Lucia standing there holding a laptop.
“Your homeless friend came to the back door, knocked, and when I answered, he dropped this off,” Lucia told us.
We all went wired and Jessie asked, “Homer?”
Lucia nodded.
“Holy fuck,” Raye breathed.
That was when we all raced through the kitchen to and through the back door.
“You go that way!” Jessie yelled when we saw no one outside.
She was pointing right as she went left.
Raye and Luna followed her. As did Ally.
Roxie, Indy and Annette followed me.
“Who’s Homer?” Roxie panted as she sprinted beside me.
“He’s Jessie’s special friend she met during our last mission. He’s the one who got kidnapped,” I panted back.
“Gotcha,” Indy wheezed out.
We raced around the side, and everyone met at the front.
No Homer.
So we all turned around and raced back.
Jessie and Ally zoomed to the back alley, while the rest of us checked the parking lots of the businesses to the sides of The Surf Club.
Still no Homer.
We all returned to gather under the minimal shade of a paloverde tree.
All of us were breathing heavily (except Ally).
But Annette was leaning over, one hand pressed hard to her side, and huffing, along with grumbling, “You bitches nearly killed me.”
Jessie ignored her to snap, “How can he disappear into thin air?”
No one had an answer to that. Though we all felt her pain.
Homer had disappeared not long after he was rescued from the bad guys. Since then, Jessie had been worried sick, but she forbade the Hottie Squad to look for him. She didn’t want him to feel hunted.
But Luna had a question.
“What was he doing with a laptop? And why’s he giving it to you?”
We all stared at each other incredulously as light dawned, and then we all tore back to The Surf Club.
“Oh my God!” Annette yelled, even though our latest dash was maybe fifty feet. “You’re killing me!”
“One word. Gummies!” Roxie shouted. “Four words. Give up the bong.”
“I’m never giving up my baby!” Annette screeched (so she wasn’t that deprived of oxygen), still at the paloverde tree.
We hustled in the back door only to see Shanti, Willow, Lucia and Tex all standing by the bench in front of the lockers, staring down at the laptop sitting there.
Willow looked to us. “That’s Trev’s.”
We all gathered around as Jessie asked, “You know Trev’s laptop?”
Willow pointed.
We looked at the laptop.
It had a sticker on it over the Apple logo that was the outline of a woman’s behind, from waist down to butt, down to upper thighs. She was wearing a thong. The top of the thong said Fuck Me.
Yup.
It was Trev’s laptop.
“How did Homer get Trev’s laptop?” Raye asked Jessie.
It was Lucia who answered.
“He said to give it to you. He said he heard word on the street you were looking for it.”
“Oh my God, that’s so crazy and also so cool!” I cried.
“Totally righteous,” Ally agreed.
“This doesn’t answer the question of how he had it,” Raye remarked.
“Gift horse looks you in the mouth, you don’t spit in his eye,” Tex boomed.
Good advice.
“Should we call the police?” Willow asked.
“Heck no,” Luna said. “Lucia, do we have any latex gloves?”
Luna looked at her like she was crazy because, yeah, she worked in a kitchen. She often wore latex gloves.
“I’ll get them,” Shanti offered, and dashed to the kitchen.
Lucia wandered after her, and there it was. That was all the excitement Lucia felt like putting up with in a day.
Shanti came back and handed the gloves to Luna.
She snapped them on then squatted by the laptop, and we all held our breath as she opened it and hit the on button.
“Nothing happened,” Annette, who, in the meantime, had returned.
“It’s probably out of juice,” Luna said while straightening.
“Anyone have a charge cord?” Ally asked.
“Not me,” Raye said.
“Not here,” Shanti said.
A bunch more nopes, and then Raye mentioned, “Even if we could turn it on, it’s not like the offending videos are gonna start playing. It’s probably password protected.”
This was true.
All the Angels’ shoulders drooped.
“If I can get it juiced up and plug that baby up to a modem, I bet Brody could work some magic,” Ally noted.
“A modem?” Willow asked.
“Aw, isn’t the next gen so cute?” Roxie joked.
“I’d have no idea where to even buy a non-wireless modem, but I bet Clarice has something we could use at her office,” Raye pointed out.
“You can buy a modem practically anywhere that sells shit with plugs,” Ally said. “But get on the line with Clarice. Let’s get this to her. I’ll get in touch with Brody. See if he can pull off a long-distance miracle.”
“Me, Willow and Raye aren’t off for a few hours,” Luna told her.