“We need some X-12 King rockets.”
“You and everybody else. Those are very pop u lar rockets. Very versatile. How many?”
“Twenty-?three,” Diesel said.
Cuddles worked his straw around, trying to get the last dregs of milk shake into his gut. “How soon?”
“Now.”
“Hah, that’s funny. It’ll take a week, minimum.”
“I haven’t got a week,” Diesel said. “Where do I go to get them now?”
“How about Canada?”
“Do you remember the conversation we had earlier today?”
“The one about breaking every bone in my body and then sucking my fat out with a Shop-?Vac and shoving it up my ass?”
“Yeah, that one.”
“Eeuw,” I said.
“Brytlin Technologies might have some Kings. They design some of the payload for the BlueBec sounding rocket, and the King is essentially a miniature BlueBec. It can be used to do more eco nom ical preliminary testing.”
Diesel stood. “You’re going to call me when you hear from Wulf.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t say anything until we got back to the Subaru. I buckled myself in and looked at Diesel.
“Suck his fat out with a Shop-?Vac and shove it up his ass?”
“It was one of those inspired thoughts.”
“How are we going to get the rockets from Brytlin?” I asked Diesel. “It’s Monday morning. It’s not like we can waltz in and buy them.”
“We’re not going to buy them.”
I felt my eyebrows go up to my hairline. “Oh no. No, no, no. I’m not going to steal rockets. And the whole place is on camera. Remember when Munch left with the magnetometer, and they got him on tape?”
“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
“Oh boy. A plan.”
Diesel cruised the mall lot. “The first thing we have to do is steal a car.”
“What?”
“The Subaru can be traced to Flash, so we don’t want to park it in the Brytlin lot.” He pulled in next to an old Econoline van. “This’ll work. It’ll be easy to load the rockets into this.”
“We’re going to jail,” I said. “I’m going to have to use one of those steel toilets without a seat.”
Diesel was out of the Subaru. “I wouldn’t let that happen,” he said. “I’d make sure you got a good toilet.” He opened the driver’s side door, got behind the wheel, and turned the engine over.
“How did you do that?” I asked him.
“They left the key in the ignition. Get in.”