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gang s headquarters.
What about the car Tiburon got Ty to drive down to Rocky Beach?
Bob asked. How does that fit in? It wasn t even graffitied.
No. Jupiter thought. My guess is that it was an extra car Tiburon
stole for himself, maybe after his gig that night.
Ty said, He sure took a gamble by getting some guy like me to ferry it
down. I ll bet the bossman was hopping mad.
Since the band wasn t going to drive it, Jupiter added, he wouldn t
graffiti it.
Jupe! Bob stared ahead.
A large trailer truck pulled out of a side road and made a wide turn onto
the canyon road. It blocked both lanes. Ty had to stop until the big eighteen-
wheeler straightened out and moved ahead. Drivers from the other direction
now passed in a stream, but Ty was stuck behind the big, slow-moving rig.
Finally they reached a straight stretch of road long enough for Ty to pull
around the truck. He raced ahead in pursuit of the fake lowriders. But there
was no sign of them. On the Coast Highway, Ty opened up to full speed. He
57
No Bumps in the Night
drove fast in the light traffic of the late hour, but they reached Rocky Beach
without finding a trace of Tiburon and the Piranhas.
Swing by that car wash, and the garage, said Jupe.
Ty did. But the lowriders had disappeared.
What do we do now? Ty asked.
Nothing, Jupiter replied. Not tonight. But tomorrow we figure out
how to catch the thieves red-handed with the stolen cars.
58
12
Inside Jobs
PETE, IN A RAGGED BLOOM COUNTY T-SHIRT, AND Bob, in a striped
rugby shirt, were outside the gates when Jupiter and Ty arrived at the yard
the next morning. Inside HQ they sat around to talk.
Jupiter was at the desk. I m sure now that Jake Hatch is boss of the
stolen car ring. Proving it is going to be something else.
They were silent as they thought about how to stop the gang of car
thieves.
I appreciate what you re trying to do for me, guys, Ty said slowly, but
this is an organized gang. They can be real dangerous. Maybe we better take
what we have to the police. There s a lot of money in this, and money means
violence.
You think we have enough for the police to act on? Jupiter said.
Or even believe us? Pete added.
Ty shook his head. No, I don t think we do.
Then we go on until we have it, Jupiter said. Am I right, guys?
Right, Bob said.
We go on, Pete said.
So, Jupiter said, we re sure Tiburon and the Piranhas are transporting
the stolen cars in the disguise of lowriders. And we re pretty sure the Freeway
Garage is where they take them. But we can t jump Tiburon and his gang
on the road, and we ve already been to the garage and found nothing.
Ty said, If there s a chop-shop hidden in that garage, they re sure to
have it set up so they can escape if the police break in.
Which means we can t do much from outside, Bob said.
So we ll have to get inside, Pete said.
That s what I was thinking all night, Jupiter said, nodding. One of
us must get inside the gang.
There was another silence in the trailer. Bob frowned and looked worried.
I don t know, Jupe, he said. They ve seen us a lot by now.
Inside Jobs
Ty said, They don t know me that well. I can grow a mustache, use
some disguise, and
Both Torres and Tiburon got a good look at you, Ty, Jupiter broke in.
No, I think I m the one.
Come on, Jupe. Pete snorted. You flattened Torres, and gave Tiburon
a hard time at The Shack. They ll remember you. No, the only one they
haven t gotten close to is me. It s my job to get inside.
The other three looked at one another.
He s right, Jupe, Bob said.
Ty nodded.
All right, Jupiter agreed. How do we go about getting you infiltrated?
Infiltrated? Bob laughed. Is that a word, Jupe?
It is now. Jupiter grinned. Then he became serious again. How do
we get Pete into the gang?
I could apply for a mechanic s job at that garage, Pete suggested.
Too risky and wouldn t work, Ty said. If they are a chop-shop, they ll
only take on someone sent by someone they know.
A parking attendant s job? Jupiter suggested.
Sounds like they only use that gunman, Ty said, and he d probably
get suspicious too.
What about the car wash? said Bob. That s where Tiburon and his
gang hang out. And car washes always need people to do the hand finishing
with the rags. Pete could get close to Tiburon there and maybe work his
way into the garage.
Yeah, Ty agreed. He could talk a lot about wanting to be a mechanic
and needing big money. Then maybe show Tiburon how good he is with
cars.
It could take forever, Jupiter objected. Unless . . . what if we sabotage
Tiburon s car in such a way that it s really easy to fix but hard to see what s
wrong unless you know? Then Pete could fix it like magic and impress
Tiburon.
I can pull a couple of wires underneath they d never spot, Ty said. It
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