Notable (Smith High) by Bates Marni

Author:Bates, Marni [Bates, Marni]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: K-Teen
Published: 2013-10-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

As far as top-secret lairs go . . . ours wasn’t exactly state-of-the art.

We couldn’t access military information off the television or watch the hotel grounds via a live camera feed. But it did come equipped with something else almost as good: room service.

After more than a week of eating nonstop Asian dishes, the first bite of hamburger was downright heavenly. I mainlined french fries with a low hum of satisfaction.

It tasted like home.

I’m not even usually a hamburger person, but that didn’t stop me from keeping pace—bite for bite—with Ben and Liz. Everything on the room service tray tasted irresistible, and I wanted to do nothing more than gorge before sleeping off my food coma.

But that wasn’t really an option.

So instead I cleared off a portion of the table and positioned my laptop so that everyone could see the screen before I began my impromptu presentation.

“This is Rithisak Sovann.” I gestured with a ketchup-dipped french fry at the image of the dark-haired man. “He invested heavily in Cambodia right after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. Rithisak enjoys taking cruises and the finer things in life. He also has more money than even I could spend in a lifetime.”

“Okay,” Liz said around a large bite of lasagna. “So do you want to rob him or nominate him for the Cambodian version of Dancing with the Stars?”

“Neither. Rithisak Sovann happens to be Cambodia’s most notorious drug dealer.”

Ben grinned and cocked his head while he pretended to study the photo. “That doesn’t mean he can’t tango. I bet he could pull off some sequins too. A feathered boa would set off his shoulders nicely.”

“You’re hilarious, Ben. Now let’s try to focus. Even if it wasn’t his deal I accidentally derailed, he will definitely have heard the rumors about a missing drug shipment.”

“And if you stole it directly from him?” Houston rubbed his forehead wearily. “What’s your brilliant plan then?”

“Then we’ll do some backpedaling. The last thing we want to do is anger Rithisak Sovann. His Wikipedia page practically comes with a warning. Especially since he’s been known to start shooting when he doesn’t get his way.”

Amy’s jaw dropped. “Explain to me again why this guy isn’t already in jail.”

“Because it pays to be disgustingly rich and have friends in the government. Oh, and it helps when you own the biggest newspaper in Cambodia. He’s got that too.”

Ben ruffled my hair. “Look at our girl—going into spy mode. I’m so proud.”

I batted away his hand, but I couldn’t conceal my smile. Back at Smith High School everyone had dreaded working on a group project with me because they expected I would be dead weight that they would have to carry. Most of the time they had been right too. Why bother trying when you can successfully do nothing?

Now it made a whole lot more sense to me why Jane and Mackenzie spent so many hours poring over all their assignments ; knowing that you were fully capable of handling any problem felt really freaking good.

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