Chapter 6:

            The next day was fairly laid back. With the exception of getting food, the three mostly stayed in their motel room while Griswold, with Jamie’s help, continued to work on a second, much more complicated, conversation flowchart. By the late afternoon, it was finished and Griswold set about memorizing it. Besides this, they also took it upon themselves to visit the crime scene as a means of thinking through how their plan should be executed. There, Griswold and Jamie surveyed the area while Bill, again, hid in the back of the car. As they walked along, Griswold examined the branches in the treetops, observed the scene from many different angles, and asked Jamie several times if she could see her behind certain bushes. After finishing the investigation, they went back to the car where Griswold explained her plan.

            “Here’s what I’m thinking,” she began. “While I negotiate the deal with Valden, both of you will be in hiding. Jamie, I’ll need you to be up in the trees as a lookout for when the police arrive. When they show up, you will give me a signal, in the form of a rock thrown into the lake. The splash will let me know that I should drop the necklace on the magnet so that the police can see it in action and make the connection between it and Valden. You’ll then climb down the tree. If, on the off chance, someone else comes along to break up the deal, I’ll need you to put your military training to good use. Then, just go to the car with Bill after that’s all done. Any questions so far?”

            “Yeah,” Jamie replied. “Since I’ve got a prosthetic leg, how’ll I get up and down the tree?”

            Griswold thought for a moment before saying, “I’ll lend you Tickler for the climbing stuff.”

            “Okay, but how’ll that work?” Jamie asked.

            “You’ll see,” said Griswold with a smirk. “As for you, Bill, you’ll need to be the getaway driver. You’ll hide with Cheryl in a cluster of bushes further up the hill. After Jamie gives the signal and climbs in, you will drive down to where I’m meeting with Valden and disrupt the deal. I’ll jump in after dropping the necklace and, once I close the door, you will turn on the car’s underwater mode – ”

            “This thing can travel underwater?” Bill asked.

            “Yes,” replied Griswold. “My engineering friend from UC installed it along with the spikes and bulletproof glass. Anyway, you’ll turn on Cheryl’s water-travel mode and we’ll escape into the lake while the police apprehend Valden. We’ll then drive along the connecting creeks until we reach the road and the plan will have been a success! What do you think?”

            “I think it sounds great!” said Bill.

            “I think so too,” Jamie said, “but what happens if the cops see your license plate?”

            “I’ll remove it before the operation and put it back on afterwards, just like I always do,” Griswold said.

            “Sounds good,” replied Jamie.

            “Excellent,” said Griswold. “Now, let’s get out of here before we attract any attention.”

            With that, they left. As they drove along, Griswold went back to memorizing her flowchart.

*****

            The next day, Jamie and Bill slept late. Meanwhile, Griswold got up early and paced around the room quietly reciting her lines to herself. Taking a break only for a light lunch and to use the bathroom, she worked at it until Jamie and Bill thought they would lose their minds.

            Half an hour before the deal was set to go down, the three drove back to the scene of the crime once more. Bill hid with the car in the bushes and waited patiently behind the wheel while Griswold filled a Kroger bag with mud and hung it from a branch. They had all donned gloves, bulletproof vests that fit neatly under their clothes, once again, courtesy of Griswold’s engineering friend, and ski masks. Griswold, however, insisted on wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses, saying that her wearing a ski mask would raise Valden’s suspicions. Lastly, Griswold taught Jamie how to operate Tickler. By turning the handle and pressing a button on the cane, three curved prongs came out of the handle to form a larger grappling hook which was then launched at a thick branch thirty feet off the ground. After the grappling hook had caught the branch, Jamie held onto the cane by two small handles that had popped out from the shaft in conjunction with the activation of the grappling hook function. She flipped a switch, causing the device to lift her up by reeling in the cane. She was hidden in the foliage with Tickler and a few smalls rocks in her pocket while Griswold was hidden behind some bushes at the water’s edge with the necklace. Everything was ready.

            They waited about ten minutes before three black cars drove up. They turned off the road, drove down to the water’s edge, and parked near Griswold’s hiding spot. Twelve men proceeded to exit the cars. Most were dressed alike, wearing black suits, ties, and sunglasses and looking like cousins of the Blues Brothers who didn’t make the band. One, however, stood out from the rest: he wore a navy pinstripe suit, silver tie, and clubmaster sunglasses, had slicked back hair and a toothy grin, and was a few inches taller than Griswold. Jamie watched anxiously from the treetops.

            “You Sylvan Thunderstone?” the man grumbled as he examined his nails.

            “At your service, Mr. Valden,” Griswold answered, bowing with a flourish.

            “Wait,” said Valden. “Are you alone?”

            “No,” said Griswold. “My men are hidden around the area to ensure our transaction goes smoothly in every possible way. I just had them spread out so we didn’t attract attention to the deal.”

            “Well, she’s not wrong,” Jamie thought to herself.

            Valden went silent as he took in Griswold’s words. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Just…hand over the necklace so we can get this over with.”

            “Not so fast,” said Griswold. “Hand over the drugs. Then we’ll discuss the necklace.”

            “All right, all right. Cool it,” said Valden. “I’ll get the goods.” With that, he snapped his fingers and his cronies began to unload several small packages wrapped in kraft paper.