Free Dial by Elizabeth Cage Page B

waiting, waiting, waiting for something to happen.
    Out of nowhere, a huge furniture truck pulled into the driveway. “Hark!” Caylin screamed to the Spy Girls.
    â€œWho goes there?” Theresa yelled back. She and Jo were now sprinting from the kitchen to the front of the house.
    â€œOur furniture has arrived,” Caylin announced excitedly. “And it looks like there’s a lot of it.”
    â€œYee haw!” Jo yelled. “It’s about time.” She paused. “I guess debutantes don’t say ‘yee haw,’ huh?”
    â€œWho cares?” Caylin shouted. “The furniture is here. Finally!”
    The girls rushed to the door and threw it open. “Welcome!” Theresa called. “The ergonomically correct desk chair goes in my room—right next to my laptop.”
    A very tall, very familiar dark-haired woman stepped out of the cab of the truck. “Very funny, Theresa. I knowthat you actually ordered the king-sized water bed.”
    â€œDanielle!” The cry was delivered in chorus. Their guardian angel was dressed in navy blue coveralls and a baseball cap. She was definitely the prettiest furniture deliveryman that Caylin had ever seen.
    Danielle Hall was a senior Tower agent who had been assigned to help the Spy Girls through the toughest parts of some of their missions. She was always just a phone call away, and Danielle’s advice and support had been oh-so-valuable during the past few months. She also had the habit of showing up at precisely the moment when she was needed most—like now.
    Danielle turned back toward the huge furniture truck. “Back her up to the door, Bernie!” she yelled.
    The driver waved, then maneuvered the truck so that its back was as close to the front door of the mansion as possible. Caylin watched the proceedings, fascinated. This was The Tower at its most spy-licious.
    Danielle handed Caylin the key to the back of the truck. “Will you do the honors, Miss Corinne?” she asked with a wink.
    â€œBut of course.” Caylin jogged to the back of the truck, inserted the key in its lock, and heaved the heavy metal door upward.
    Instantly dozens of agents poured from the back of the truck into the front hall of the mansion. Many were obviously Tower agents, but others were Brazilian, shouting instructions at one another in rapid-fire Portuguese.
    â€œWow!” Jo exclaimed. “The commandos have arrived!”
    As suddenly as it had come, the truck pulled away and disappeared down the street. Instead of furniture the Spy Girls had received a shipment of highly trained agents, a battery of high-tech surveillance equipment, and a metal briefcase stuffed with unmarked hundred-­dollar bills. Yeow . . . this really was the major leagues.
    â€œDanielle, we had no idea you were coming to save the day,” Theresa exclaimed. “We would have prepared a special fairy godmother snack.”
    Danielle laughed. “You girls are the ones who have to save the day. I’m just here for moral support.”
    â€œDo we really need this many agents?” Caylin asked. She felt as if she were in a war bunker.
    Danielle nodded. “We need extra men—and women—because of the international status of your mission. It’s imperative that we have all safety, not to mention legal, potholes covered.”
    â€œI think we could supply electricity to a small nation with the amount of stuff these guys are hauling around,” Jo commented. “I mean, really, who needs a laptop computer the size of a credit card?”
    â€œI do!” Theresa yelled enthusiastically. “That way I could do my hacking even if I were locked into a small dark box.”
    â€œIf you’re locked in a small dark box, there’s going to be a lot more to worry about than checking your e-mail,” Caylin said.
    Jo walked over to a gadget-filled trunk and peered inside. “Is any of this supercool