Free Home Alone 3 by Todd Strasser, John Hughes Page B

did, he was overcome with a feeling of dread.
    He looked up again.
    Just as Peter Beaupre stepped out from behind Mrs. Hess's car.
    Alex froze. Beaupre smiled.
    "Well, son—it's Alex isn't it?" he said. "Today you learned a valuable lesson. There's a price to be paid for being a good citizen. In your zeal to rescue your neighbor, you finally stepped into one of my traps."
    Alex swallowed and didn't reply. Beaupre went over to the workbench and picked up the toy car. He nearly ripped it apart with his hands, then tossed it aside when he saw that the chip wasn't there.
    Next, he dumped the contents of the backpack on the workbench and started to go through them.
    Alex cleared his throat. "Can Mrs. Hess go inside? She's very old and she's very cold."
    Beaupre ignored him.
    "Please?" Alex asked.
    Beaupre didn't answer. The chip wasn't in the backpack either. Beaupre walked over to Alex and grabbed him by the collar, nearly lifting him off his feet.
    "Give me the chip," Beaupre growled.
    Alex shook his head. "It doesn't belong to you."
    Beaupre reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. He aimed it at Alex's face.
    Trembling with fear, Alex stared down the barrel. He realized with a start that there was a dart in there. It wasn't a real gun. It was his Nerf dart gun.
    "The chip, son," Beaupre said ominously. "Give me the chip or else."
    Alex nodded at the gun. "That doesn't belong to you either."
    Beaupre frowned. "What?"
    "That isn't your gun," Alex said.
    Beaupre looked at the gun. He pointed it at the ceiling and pulled the trigger.
    A dart shot out and hit a support beam.
    Alex reached into his coat pocket and took out another gun.
    " This is your gun," he said.
    Beaupre stared at it in disbelief.
    Alex forced a confident smile on his face.
    Peter Beaupre turned around and ran out of the garage as fast as he Could.
    Alex squeezed the trigger of the gun in his hand.
    A stream of water bubbles came out.

51
    Alex managed to get Mrs. Hess out of the garage and into her kitchen, where he helped her into a kitchen chair. The old lady wasn't shivering so much anymore, but she still looked pretty cold.
    Alex pulled open the kitchen pantry doors. Inside was a row of canned soups.
    "These are the times that call for soup," he said. "Got any favorites?"
    "I'm fine, honey," Mrs. Hess replied. "Thanks anyway."
    She was starting to get some color back in her face. Alex was impressed.
    "Know what, Mrs. Hess?" he said. "It's really cold outside. You must be a pretty tough old bird."
    "And you're a very sweet young man," Mrs. Hess replied. "I just never took the time to notice.''
    "You're not alone in that," Alex said, thinking of his brother and sister.
    Outside came the loud grumble and scraping of a snowplow. Alex looked out Mrs. Hess's window and was shocked to see a bunch of police cars with their lights flashing. Next came some black cars and then came his mom's car.
    "Gotta go, Mrs. Hess," Alex said, heading for her front door.
    "Come back and visit," Mrs. Hess said with a wave.
    Alex left the old lady's house. Down on the street, his mom was looking around with a really worried expression on her face.
    Alex cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "Hey, Mom!"
    Mrs. Pruitt spun around. Alex jogged toward her, but made the mistake of getting too close. The next thing he knew, she scooped him into her arms and started hugging and kissing him. Meanwhile, the police were all over the place.
    "Mom?" Alex started to squirm out of her grasp. "You're hugging and kissing me in front of the cops."
    "I'm so sorry," Mrs. Pruitt said as she put him down. "I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you about those burglars."
    Stan came up and offered his hand. Alex shook it.
    "This is very cool," Stan said.
    "You're a hero," Molly said, patting him on the shoulder.
    A man wearing a long, dark coat came up to them. "Alex Pruitt?"
    "That's me," Alex said.
    The man took out an identification card. "I'm Agent Stuckey with the FBI, son. I think you have