The Demolition Mission Read Online Free PDF Page B

asked.
    â€œI’m just going to do a little investigating,” Joe told him in a low voice. “I want to get a look at the guys in the next booth.”
    Joe hurried over to the counter. “I’d like another soda,” he told the waitress.
    â€œSure, it’ll be right out,” she answered through a wad of chewing gum.
    As he walked back, Joe stared boldly at the two men. Their conversation stopped abruptly, and the short, stocky man looked up at Joe. The other man, who was finishing a piece of cherry pie, remained silent.
    â€œHey, kid, what are you staring at?” the stocky man snapped.
    Joe noticed that the man needed a shave and his mouth was twisted into a scowl. “Sorry,” Joe said pleasantly. “I thought I recognized you.”
    â€œWell, you were wrong,” the man growled.
    But Joe wasn’t ready to give up. “Don’t you work out at the speedway? I’ve seen you at the demolition derby.”
    â€œKeep it up,” the man warned, “and you’ll be seeing stars.” He laughed at his own threat. “Now get lost.”
    â€œOkay, okay,” Joe said, holding up his hands. “My mistake.” He walked away as the two men got up, sauntered over to the counter, and paid their check.
    As they left the restaurant, Joe went to the front window. He watched the stocky man get into a brand-new white panel truck and drive away. Joe jotted down the license number. The thin, brown-haired man left on a motorcycle.
    â€œWhile you were ordering that soda,” Frank said when Joe sat down again, “the thin one told the short guy that if he was serious about getting work at Miyagi Motors with this scheme, he’d end up in the state pen.”
    Before Joe could comment, the waitress brought his soda. He slid it over to Chet.
    Joe walked back over to the counter. Soundinglike the world’s biggest racing fan, Joe asked the waitress, “Weren’t those guys the famous Indy car drivers Henry Conlon and Bob Lynd?”
    â€œNah,” the waitress said. “Those guys are from the demo derby. I don’t know their names. All I know is that one guy is the mechanic. The other drives. And they never tip.”
    Joe returned to the booth and sat down. He told Frank and Chet what the waitress had said.
    â€œDo you think those guys are behind the sabotage?” Chet asked.
    â€œCould be,” Frank said thoughtfully. “Katie was saying that someone out at Miyagi Motors was behind it,” he added. “As long as we’re this close, let’s head over to Miyagi Motors and have a look around.”
    â€œYou just want to see your girlfriend,” Chet said to Frank in a teasing tone. “Isn’t she interning at Miyagi Motors?”
    â€œThat’s right,” Joe said. “Callie is completing a business internship there.”
    â€œI’ll give her a call and see if she can set up a meeting with Takeo Ota,” Frank said.
    While Chet and Joe paid the check, Frank used the pay phone to call Callie.
    â€œThe Miyagi plant has been open about a year,” Joe said as Chet turned the jeep onto the road that led to the sprawling Miyagi Motors Assembly Center.
    Located north of Bayport and the speedway, thefour-acre building complex was as sleek and uncluttered as the cars Miyagi was famous for designing. The only break Joe could see in the straight horizontal lines of the one-story factory was a block of windows in the center of the first floor.
    â€œMiyagi’s very successful,” Frank commented as Chet braked to a halt at the guardhouse just outside the main gate. “The paper says they sell every sedan they make.”
    â€œMr. Ota is expecting you,” the guard told them after Frank explained they had an appointment.
    When the jeep entered the visitor parking lot next to the managerial offices, Frank could see Callie Shaw standing next to a Miyagi sedan. Her blond hair shone in the sun,