He’s coming at me now, moving fast, and I backpedal, but slowly. It’s only when Stranko is within thirty yards that I race off. He breaks into a sprint, and I run for my life to the water tower, leading him away from the statue. I sprint around the back of the security fence and crash through the gate. Thanks to Ellie’s key, the ladder guard is open. There’s no time to think or second-guess myself. There’s only time to climb.
I monkey my way up the ladder. I’m a third of the way up when I feel it shake. I don’t have to look behind me to know Stranko’s following me. I speed up, and my left foot slips off the rung. This is exactly why I hate ladders. The only good news is if I fall, I’ll probably crash into Stranko and take him with me.
I hear a loud bang from below and look down. Ellie and Malone stand at the base of the ladder, and Malone’s putting a lock onto the ladder guard that’s just been slammed shut.
Now I’m officially screwed.
I climb onto the metal grating at the top of the tower. The spotlight shining on the tower half blinds me, but I can see I only have about fifteen seconds before Stranko’s here. I inch along the rail and find what I’m looking for.
There it is, the clip Malone prepared earlier.
I’m fumbling with my waist when Stranko’s head appears.
“Get over here,” he says.
I throw one leg over the railing, then the other, until I’m leaning back over the edge. I grip the metal so hard my fingers might break. Even with all the time spent working with Malone this week when she wasn’t at Boyd’s, I still am nowhere ready for this.
“What are you doing?” Stranko says, panicked. “Stop.”
“Do it, Mongoose!” Ellie shouts from below.
And I do, letting go of the rail and free-falling to my death.
? ? ?
Stranko shouts in horror from the top of the tower.
I want to join him, but Heist Rule #2: Be cool sort of prohibits screaming.
Instead, I squeeze the handbrake on the rope that has me tethered to the water tower. My falling slows just enough that I don’t feel out of control. I use the rappelling tricks Malone has taught me and descend quickly. I even open my eyes once or twice.
Ellie and Malone are waiting for me when I reach the ground. Both of them hug me simultaneously, and I have a terribly dirty thought I’ll no doubt revisit tonight when I have some privacy.
“That was amazing!” Ellie says.
“Yeah, you were great,” Malone says. “Terrible form, but you didn’t die. That’s all that matters.”
At the top of the water tower, Stranko grips the railing, glaring at us. I don’t know if he can see us, but at the moment, I don’t care.
“You stay there,” Stranko yells back.
The three of us hurry through the security gate and around the corner, out of Stranko’s line of sight, just in case he really can see this far down. Malone’s moving the fastest of all of us.
“Wait, I thought you hurt your ankle,” I say.
She and Ellie start laughing.
“I lied,” Malone says. “We just wanted to see you go up and down the tower if it came to that.”
“I could’ve been killed!”
“But you weren’t, so shut up.”
This has to be why most heist crews don’t have many girls on them.
Stranko continues yelling from the top of the tower, his voice echoing across the parking lot. Minus Ellie’s quick kiss back in the trees minutes ago, it’s the highlight of my entire school year.
“What should we do now?” Malone asks.
I look toward the statue, wondering if the Chaos Club made their move and if we missed it.
“I guess we need to find out from Wheeler if—”
The next two things happen simultaneously.
1. My phone vibrates with a message from Adleta: They split.
2. And in the distance, an approaching police siren wails.
The three of us exchange panicked looks, and this time, I don’t text. I call Wheeler directly.
He answers on the first ring.
“The Chaos Club hasn’t showed up yet.”
“Get out of there,” I say. “The cops are coming.”
“But—”
“I said get out. It’s over. We failed.”
Chapter 22
Life sucks.
At noon the next day, I’m still in bed with the shades drawn. Since sneaking back in last night, I’ve barely moved or spoken, and if I have it my way, I won’t until I’m thirty. Unfortunately, Mom won’t shut up about me going with them to the Asheville Celebration.
“Are you sure?” she says. “From what I saw driving by this morning, it looks like a great time.”
And return to the scene of my greatest failure? Why would I do that? Did the guy who captained the Titanic ever sail another ship? Of course not. Okay, so yeah, he was among the fifteen hundred plus who drowned that night, but if he’d lived he wouldn’t have stepped foot on another boat. Shit, I doubt he’d even want ice in his drink ever again. Failing sucks that much.
“I’ll be okay,” I say to Mom. “You guys go. I just want to sleep.”
That’s me—Max Cobb, sore loser.
Of course, Ellie, who pulls up out front ten minutes later, proves to be more of a motivator than Mom.
“Oh, you’re going,” she says on the phone. “Get out here.”
“I don’t want to. Why should I?”
“Two reasons. Number one, I look supercute today. And number two, if you don’t go, Wheeler said he’ll help me ruin your life on H8box.”