technically you did gave me the keypad code – I just let myself in is all.’
‘If you want to get technical Redfort, you took something that wasn’t yours and technically that’s stealing.’
LB wasn’t too happy about the trip to the Fountain Hotel either. ‘Why in the name of good sense didn’t you tell Agent Blacker about your hunch and let him handle it?’ Of course Ruby had her reasons, reasons that involved not ratting on Lopez, reasons that involved wanting a piece of the action, but she couldn’t see a whole lot of point going into them.
All in all Ruby got quite an earful but for all the ticking-off, Ruby thought she could see something different in LB’s eyes, something approaching respect perhaps. But all she said was, ‘Nice going, Redfort.’
Then she turned, picked up her phone and started issuing a million orders.
Ruby guessed she had been dismissed.
It was strange for Ruby returning to Twinford Junior High the very next day. She felt a sense of elation as she cycled the short distance to school but once she walked into her homeroom and sat down at her desk, she felt a slow dragging lowering of her spirits. She had a lurking sense that whatever thrill had come her way was most probably over. Yesterday she still had something, something she had to solve to convince Spectrum she was worth the trouble, but now that she had, what was there?
‘Nice going? That’s all she said?’
Clancy had been pretty indignant when Ruby met up with him sometime later that evening. He couldn’t believe that his pal, the smartest person he had met in his whole entire life, Ruby Redfort, was being treated like a nobody.
‘You have to remember, Clance, it isn’t like normal life. LB does this kinda thing every day – for her it’s probably no biggy.’
‘No biggy!’ said Clance. ‘You save the Jade Buddha of Khotan and it’s “no biggy”?’
‘Well, my folks will be pleased, anyway,’ said Ruby, ‘not that they will ever know of course.’
‘Yeah,’ said Clancy, ‘that’s the problem with being a super hero, no one ever knows how super you are.’
When Ruby got home she went to find Hitch. He was packing up his room.
‘Leaving already?’
‘Not right away but soon – just waiting to get my orders.’
Ruby looked around – there wasn’t a lot to pack up, yet somehow, as he moved his things into boxes and trunks, the soul seemed to disappear from the room.
‘So what’s happening at Spectrum? You must be lining up some heavy duty security for this whole museum launch.’
‘Apart from the laser lockdown system we are about to install, we also have the whole security team which was assigned to the bank, and of course Spectrum agents will be infiltrated among the guests – oh yes, and Ambassador Crew has generously lent the museum his personal security staff.’
‘Clancy’s dad is lending his security staff? Wow, this Buddha must be important.’
‘Well kid,’ said Hitch, lightly punching her on the arm, ‘I don’t know if you’ve heard, but it is the Jade Buddha of Khotan.’
‘Oh yeah, now that you come to mention it, I think my folks might have said something about that.’
He winked and continued to slip shirts from hangers.
‘Anything you need me to do?’ asked Ruby hopefully.
‘I think you can consider yourself off the payroll kid. You did what needed doing, somewhat unconventionally it must be acknowledged, but we folks at Spectrum are grateful to you. Now you can go back to what you do best.’
‘Yeah, and what’s that?’
‘Bugging the heck out of poor Mrs Drisco.’
‘Oh, sure that’s what I live for.’
Ruby went upstairs to the kitchen and whistled – from nowhere Bug was by her side wagging his tail.
‘At least I still have my old pal Bug, I don’t suppose you’ll ever dump me right? At least, not while there’s food in the refrigerator.’ Bug licked her on the cheek.
‘Your breath could be fresher but thanks anyway.’ She scratched him behind the ears.
Ruby and the dog made their way down the back stairs and left the yard by the back gate. It was a beautiful evening. The sun was getting ready to set and the breeze that touched her face was warm – but for Ruby it might as well have been thunder and hail, for she felt nothing but cold stinging disappointment, a feeling Ruby Redfort was simply not used to.
And just like that, Ruby’s life in the fast lane had hit a dead end.
A Regular Girl
RUBY WAS GLOOMIER STILL when she arrived at school the next day only to find Clancy off sick.
‘Toothache,’ said Red.
‘But they extracted it, how can he have toothache?’
‘Infected,’ said Mouse. ‘That’s what I heard Mrs Bexenheath saying to Mrs Drisco.’
‘Tooth decay: one of the top ten reasons for all absent days,’ said Del.
‘So what, now you’re some kind of tooth statistics expert, Del?’
Del put her hands on her hips and looked hard at Ruby. ‘Redfort, what’s your problem? You’ve been acting sorta weird for a while and now you seem to have a bug in your behind.’
Del liked to use last names when she was making a point.
Ruby was annoyed. She was annoyed with Del and she was annoyed with Clancy. No one was saying that was fair, ’cause it wasn’t, but that didn’t stop her from being annoyed. As far as Ruby Redfort was concerned it wasn’t fair that she had managed to work out what eight top undercover agents hadn’t been able to work out – yet where had it gotten her? Hanging around at school, every day the same.
After class Ruby walked out of the gates and saw her mom parked across the street. Why is she here? Darn it! Ruby had planned to head over to Clancy’s.
‘Hey Mom, what’s going on?’
‘I thought we could go shopping – I want you looking pretty at the museum do,’ said her mother. ‘And it wouldn’t hurt to get something for our party tonight – heaven knows what you are planning on wearing.’
‘What are you saying? What’s wrong with my clothes?’ said Ruby indignantly.
Sabina looked at Ruby’s attire. ‘Where to start?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
