Hot Wheels (8 page)

In the Jaguar trunk Jupiter listened. He heard nothing. He had heard nothing for some time.

The Jaguar had seemed to drive straight through the wall at the rear of the elevator shaft. Then it had rolled to the right in an enclosed area, and stopped. Torres and the other man had walked away. After that there had been another faint rumbling noise, then silence.

Now, suddenly, clanging and hammering sounds sounded outside. Jupiter tapped on the trunk wall.

“Ty?”

Ty’s voice came faintly through the wall. “You okay?”

“Yes. Where are we?”

“Let me look around.”

Inside the trunk Jupiter waited.

“We’re in what looks like another garage floor,” Jupe finally heard Ty say. “It’s not as big as the other floors. We’re parked way off in a corner, but three guys are working on a Maserati across the room. One of them looks like Pete!”

“Get me out of here,” Jupiter said.

He heard the faint sound of Ty moving, and then the key in the trunk lock. The lid lifted. Jupiter quickly rolled out, then crouched behind the sleek car with Ty.

Across the long, narrow room he saw three men working on what had once been a dark red Maserati. They were clearly taking it apart. They had almost everything off and spread around them. The chassis of the car sat like a skeleton with a bare engine block.

One of them was Pete.

“They put him to work pretty fast,” Ty said in a low voice.

“Tiburon said he was okay, and they probably needed an extra man quickly,” Jupiter said. “Look! He’s still wearing his bolo tie. His walkie-talkie is in the clip. We can signal him. I don’t think he’s too close to the others.”

The other two mechanics were working some distance from Pete. They talked low to each other and ignored their new co-worker. Both of them were short and skinny, with mean faces and sullen movements. Jupiter and Ty saw the butt of a pistol sticking out of the pocket of one of them.

“They’re not paying any attention to Pete anyway,” Ty said.

They were wrong. Jupiter activated the signal on his mini walkie-talkie. A small sound on Pete’s device would alert him that they were nearby. Pete showed no reaction. He went on working. But one of the other mechanics looked up. “What was that?”

Pete raised his head. “My digital watch alarm. There’s a late-night show I like. I forgot to turn it off.”

“What time is it anyway, kid?”

“Almost twelve thirty,” Pete told them.

“Hey, let’s speed this up, then. We got that Jag over there now, and Tiburon’s gonna show with a bunch more anytime.”

“Gosh,” Pete said, “isn’t it late to bring in cars?” The other two laughed.

“Hey, the boss got to buy these lemon rejects when he got the chance, right?”

The two mechanics laughed harder. It was obvious to Jupiter and Ty that Pete had been told some big lie about what he was doing.

“Well,” Pete said across the distance, “we’re almost finished here. Maybe I should go and get the Jag.”

“Sure, kid, go ahead.”

Pete laid down his tools and wiped his hands on a rag. Then he walked to the Jaguar in the dark corner. He glanced back once to make sure that the other two were at work.

“Who’s here?” he said, leaning into the Jaguar as if testing something. “Where’s Kelly?”

He’d recognized the Jaguar, heard the signal, and put two and two together.

“Me and Ty,” Jupiter said. “Kelly’s with Bob. They should be outside waiting. They were supposed to follow us. What’s happening here?”

“It’s a chop-shop, all right,” Pete said. “They gave me a phony story about the cars all having something really wrong with them. That makes them cheap buys and worth more as parts. But Tiburon made it pretty clear what’s going on.”

“Are both those guys armed?” Ty asked.

“Only one of them, I think.”

“How come there’s only two working, and you?” Ty asked.

Pete pretended to work on the Jag’s front door. “Tiburon told me they were short because three mechanics were out sick. He laughed, so I think they’re really in jail. I figure the rest of the gang, the real car thieves, are out stealing the cars. We got lucky, guys.”

“Then let’s get them now and call the police before anyone else shows up,” Jupiter said.

Pete nodded and got into the front seat to drive the car. Jupiter and Ty slipped into the back and laid low. Pete started the car, driving it at a snail’s pace toward the two mechanics at the Maserati.

Suddenly there was a rumbling nose. The left wall of the long room opened as if the bricks were all sliding sideways!

“It’s a door!” Jupiter exclaimed softly. “In the rear wall of the elevator shaft! That’s how they get the cars into the shop!”

The guys saw that the large section of wall was made of fake bricks on a sliding door. It pushed in from the elevator side on steel hinges, then slid open sideways.

“We’re in the building on the next street,” Ty said. “And only half of it. It’s a whole secret room hidden from both sides! The cars drive in as hot wheels and go out as parts.”

“Guys!” Pete said, staring.

Jake Hatch and Max the gunman walked through the open wall out of the elevator. Bob and Kelly marched in front of them at gunpoint.

“He’s got Kelly,” Pete moaned. “We’ve got to rescue them, guys!”

Ty said, “We better jump them now, before any of the rest of the gang, or Tiburon and the Piranhas, show up.”

“But they’ve got guns,” Jupiter said in dismay.

Pete stopped the Jaguar, confused. What should they do? Jake Hatch and Max prodded Kelly and Bob toward the mechanics. Jake Hatch wore a grim expression.

“Caught them downstairs in the other building looking for a chop-shop,” he growled. “I guess they found one. Too bad they won’t get to tell anyone about it.”

“The other guys know where we are,” Bob said, bluffing. “Ty’ll bring the cops.”

“That’s the guy Tiburon got to drive that red Mercedes down from Oxnard,” Max the gunman said.

“The one who brought the cops around to Torres.”

“I told the bands not to steal cars on their own, the idiots,” Hatch snarled.

“Tiburon only done it three times, Boss,” Max said.

“That’s three times too many.” Jake Hatch shook his head. “Now we got to get rid of these two.” He looked around. “Where’s the new guy?”

“Over there getting the Jag,” a mechanic said. Pete said in a low voice, “They’re going to spot us, guys. Hang on.”

He drove the Jaguar slowly forward. Hatch glanced toward the car. “Jag?”

“Yeah,” the mechanic said. “Torres brought it half an hour ago. It’s a ‘present’ from Tiburon.”

“That jerk,” Hatch said, shaking his head again. “Well, it looks like a good one, anyway.” He turned back to Bob and Kelly. “Sorry about this, Andrews. You should’ve kept your nose out of my business.” Pete was getting closer. Hatch, Max the gunman, and the two mechanics stood in a group near the Maserati, facing Bob and Kelly. For a moment they had their backs to the Jaguar. Pete leaned out the window.

“Where do you want the Jag, Max?” he called out.

Jupiter and Ty saw the light glow in Bob’s and Kelly’s eyes as they recognized Pete’s voice. In the backseat they tensed as Pete’s foot eased down on the accelerator.

“What’s that kid doing here?” Joe Torres stood in the wide doorway of the elevator, pointing at Bob. “He’s the kid who just drove that Jag in for — ”

“Now, Pete!” Jupiter yelled.

Pete stomped hard on the gas pedal. The Jaguar leaped forward with a roar and a shriek of rubber straight toward the four men around the Maserati.

The Jaguar bore down on the four men. They stood frozen. They held their guns in a trance of terror, paralyzed by fear. Their horrified eyes stared at the car that rushed straight at them.

Then the instant broke, and they all dove wildly out of the car’s deadly path. They sprawled on the littered floor, clawing for safety.

Max the gunman landed hard on his gun arm, cursed in pain, and lost the pistol.

The two mechanics scrambled over each other in their frantic dive out of the path of the hurtling Jaguar. The pistol popped out of the armed mechanic’s pocket and skidded into the scattered parts of the dismantled Maserati.

Jake Hatch was the only one to keep his head. He rolled as he hit the floor, then came back up halfway with his pistol aimed straight at the Jaguar and Pete behind the wheel.

Bob pushed Kelly out of the path of the car and kicked the pistol out of Jake Hatch’s hand with a yoko-geri-keage snap side kick. The pistol skidded part-way across the room. Hatch lunged at Bob, who countered instantly with an elbow strike to the head that sent Jake sprawling.

The Jaguar screamed to a stop inches from the dismantled Maserati.

Pete flung himself out of the car and leaped on Jake Hatch as the chop-shop boss tried to get up once more.

Ty was out and running at Joe Torres, who still stood near the open wall, apart from the others, trying to pull his pistol from his pocket. The two went down in a flurry of arms and legs as Ty made a flying tackle on the bodega owner.

Jupiter ran toward Bob, who was battling Max. The powerful thug was back on his feet, lunging toward his pistol. Bob tried to reach the compact gunman with a tobi-yoko-geri jumping side kick, but Max held him off with a sweeping back arm block of his own. He bent to grab at his gun.

Jupiter slammed into the bent-over gunman, sending him down again. Swearing, Max bounced up and charged. This time Jupiter felled him with a hip throw, then dove on top of him. Bob piled on top of Jupe. The angry gunman cursed and swore but stayed down under the weight of both of them.

Untangled, the two mechanics started to get up, then stopped. They stared into the angry eyes and steady hands of Kelly Madigan. The cheerleader had picked up Jake Hatch’s big pistol. She held it now in both her small hands, aiming it at the two suddenly frozen mechanics.

“Easy, little lady.”

“We ain’t gonna move, girl. You just hold that thing easy.”

The two held out their hands toward Kelly as if to ward off the bullets her nervous trigger finger might let loose. It was obvious they weren’t even going to try to get up.

“That’s good thinking, guys,” Kelly said, waving the gun a little. “You just sit right there.”

Pete chopped Jake Hatch with a sharp nukite sword hand strike to the solar plexus, which knocked all the wind out of the boss of the gang. Hatch lay on the littered floor and groaned, holding his chest.

Ty knocked the out-of-shape Torres out cold, took his gun, and put it into his belt. He crossed the room to Kelly and took the gun from her hands.

Bob and Jupiter found a length of wire and tied Max’s hands and ankles. He lay swearing and struggling, but helpless.

Grinning, Bob stood up. “Well, I guess that takes care of the stolen-car gang.”

“We’ve got them!” Pete cried.

“And the evidence,” Jupiter added, nodding at the stripped Maserati.

“Better tie them all and pick up the guns,” Ty said. “I’ll hold this gun on them.”

Pete and Jupiter found some rope in a corner, then tied up the two mechanics and Torres. Bob retrieved the mechanic’s gun from among the car parts and picked up Max’s pistol from the floor. Pete and Jupiter turned to tie up Jake Hatch. He was still groaning and holding his bruised ribs as if he’d never recover.

But before they could take care of the agent, they heard feet pounding, and a gang of men poured into the room from an alcove beyond the Maserati.

“Hey, we got six nice hot wheels waitin’ for the elevator down on the first floor,” El Tiburon said as he strode in through some door the guys hadn’t seen. He stopped and stared. “Ay chihuahua! Look at this, hey?”

The four Piranhas and some hangers-on stood behind the handsome Latino bandleader, who still wore his white stage suit.

Jupiter stepped out to face them. “It’s over, Tiburon. We’ve got your boss, his gunmen, Joe Torres, and the stolen car. You all better give yourselves up.”

“Yeah?” Tiburon said. He looked around. He looked at the guns in Ty’s and Bob’s hands. He looked at the four Piranhas and the others behind him. Then he said to Jupe, “Hey, man, I don’t know, you know? I mean, there’s a lot more of us, right?”

Jake Hatch sat up on the floor, suddenly recovered. “Take care of these kids, Tiburon! Jump them!”

Tiburon shrugged. “I don’ know, bossman. They got guns, you know? You guys ain’t gonna be a lotta help.”

“They’re just stupid kids! They don’t even know how to use the guns. You can take them.”

“Maybe, hey?” the smiling Latino said. “But I been figuring it’s maybe time me and the band was getting raises, you know?”

“I pay you too much now!” Hatch raged. “Get these kids. You and your dumb extra cars got us into this, you stupid pachuco”

Tiburon stared at Hatch. Behind him the Piranhas muttered angrily. Tiburon seemed to listen to the rumble of anger in their voices.

Jupiter saw the change. He moved quickly and talked straight to Tiburon.

“He’s been using you, Tiburon. Using all of you. He hasn’t any respect for you. You and the Piranhas are just useful jerks to him.”

Tiburon didn’t appear to hear Jupiter. He was too busy staring at Jake Hatch. “Hey, you want help from a gang of dumb pachucos, bossman? Hey, you don’ know one from the other, right? They all look the same, them dumb pachucos, right?”

Hatch turned purple where he sat on the floor. “Get us out of here or you’re finished, you hear! Take care of these kids, you brainless cholo, or you’ll never work for me again, you hear?”

Tiburon shook his head. “Hey, what can a bunch of dumb pachucos do? Cholos estupidos? Hey, they’re all lazy an’ greasy, right? Fat greasers.” He smiled at Hatch, then looked at Jupiter. “Hey, fat Anglo, we tell you all about this smart bossman an’ his big-time operation. You tell the cops they should go nice an’ easy on Tiburon and the Piranhas, okay?”

“You know we can’t tell the cops what to do, Tiburon,” Ty said, still holding Hatch’s gun and watching the Piranhas.

“But we’ll do everything we can,” Jupiter added quickly. “We know you mostly only delivered the cars here. Other guys stole them for Hatch, professional crooks. The gang’s mechanics chopped them up, not you guys.”

Tiburon nodded. “You pretty smart for a young guy. Yeah, they give us the cars all painted up to look like our regular wheels, and we drive ’em to the gigs an’ back here. Or maybe they take us to the gig, and we only drive ’em back.”

“What about that red Mercedes?” Ty asked grimly. “The one you stole in Oxnard.”

Tiburon shrugged. “Okay, so I steal a couple cars myself when they don’t got no cars ready for us. It was dumb. I louse it up anyway.”

Jupiter said, “If you turn state’s evidence and testify in court against Hatch and his gang, the judge will give you a break for sure.”

“Don’t listen to them!” Jake Hatch cried, pulling away from Pete and lunging toward Tiburon. “I’ll give you a raise. All of you. You’ll be the richest wetbacks in town.”

Tiburon looked at Hatch, at Jupiter and Ty, then at the Piranhas behind him. He shrugged.

“Okay, smart Anglo, let’s go talk to the cops.”

Ty lowered his gun. Pete grinned. Bob and Jupiter breathed more easily. Kelly ran to Pete and threw her arms around him. Pete blushed bright red. Kelly laughed, kissed Pete, and stepped back.

Jake Hatch suddenly jumped and grabbed Kelly. He held her in front of him, twisted her arm behind her, and backed toward the elevator. Anybody who tried to shoot him would hit the girl.

“Everyone stay right where they are! Anyone comes near me, this little lady gets hurt. You got that?”

No one moved as Hatch backed into the elevator with his hostage. The wall slowly closed on him and the terrified Kelly.