Stealth Moves Read Online Free PDF Page A

questioning look, Liv added, “Natalie Porcini is the girl from St. Winifred’s who disappeared before Kyle.”
    “Our plan is different,” Maddy insisted. “We’re not asking the kidnapper to give up anything. Miss Tinsley said in psych class today that zeroes do crimes for attention and power. If you ask them to give up power, they resist. So we do just the opposite—offer the creep more power, more fame by doing what we want instead of hurting Ari, Kyle and this Natalie.”
    “Natalie’s friends could make a video about her,” Tay said.
    “Another good idea. You’re on that one. And you,” Maddy told Liv, “need to supply the hero.”
    Liv frowned. “What hero?”
    “Oh, I didn’t explain about him. Here’s the deal: We’re going to tell the kidnapper how to return our friends and become a hero. We’re going to show him how to be somebody instead of nobody. First, we start with videos on how great Ari and Kyle are. We get people at school to help, get their contacts to watch. After thousands of hits, the media talks about our videos, and we snag more hits.
    “When everyone’s seen these, we post again. This time, we show a droolworthy guy watching the Ari video and deciding he’s going to find her. We only see him from the back, so he has to have great hair and a buff body.”
    Maddy paused for reactions. Liv felt confused, but Tay seemed to pick right up on Maddy’s concept. “The next day, we put in new material.”
    “Right. Right,” Maddy went on, “so in episode two, our hero searches for Ari all over the place. He’s riding a bike and wearing a helmet with the word YOU on the faceplate. People identify with him. Everybody thinks ‘ I could be a hero.’ There’s smokin’ music by Tripl Thret along with the action.”
    Liv sighed. “You’re talking about a make-believe hero. What about the real kidnapper?”
    “The real kidnapper wants attention!” Maddy wagged her forefinger at Liv. “If he stays in hiding, he’s less important than our make-believe hero—but, if he lets the captives go, he gets the fame he craves. He’s The Man.”
    “Maybe he doesn’t want to be a hero,” Liv said. “What if he likes being a badass, a villain?”
    Maddy shook her head. “The surest way to make a villain come out is to hold an event for a hero, so we need a real concert. The kidnapper will have to check it out—”
    “And get caught,” said Liv. “Who would be so stupid?”
    Tay looked up from her phone. “The kidnapper may not play our game, but he’ll be curious. While he waits to see the next episode, the police have longer to find him. We need to drag out the story just to hold his interest, to give our friends more time.”
    Liv turned to Tay with new respect. Hands-down the prettiest of the Ari-Maddy-Tay trio, Tay’s flawless olive skin, full lips and deep, hooded eyes gave the impression of a vague personality, but Tay could focus. She made people around her feel calm because she had everything under control.
    Maddy tapped her fingers on the table. “The perfect guy for our hero would be the fox on the bike who came to school for you. Who is he?”
    “Are there any others like him?” Tay asked.
    “Sure.” Liv waved her hand toward the hall. “We always keep a spare hottie in the coat closet.” She rolled her eyes at Tay, taking the risk Tay might get mad, but Tay laughed when Maddy laughed, so that was all right.
    “Divulge,” Maddy said. Tay nodded. They both leaned forward in their chairs.
    With no time to think up a good lie, Liv told the truth. “He’s the brother of…” She felt her stomach sink. Taking a deep breath, Liv let out the rest. “Of my new bodyguard.”
    Four eyes stared at her.
    Liv cringed. “It was my grandmother’s idea,” she said frantically. “I hate it! I don’t want to be treated like a baby, to be… supervised .”
    “Epic buzzkill,” Maddy murmured in sympathy.
    “Not,” said Tay, “if the bodyguard is as fine as the