Life Designed (Life Plan Series Book 1), Eliza Taye [great novels .TXT] 📗

kid everyone was certain would wind up a criminal. He’d gotten in trouble more times than Garrett could count. He’d almost forgotten about him since they never saw him in class anymore. He’d been sent home to have private tutoring for his Life Plan. Both his teachers and parents agreed he needed serious intervention to keep him from becoming one of the Undecided. The only problem was, Simon had been as sure of what he’d wanted to become as Opal had and that was a criminal mastermind, which of course was on the list of things you couldn’t plan for as a future occupation.

Finding his interwave number, Garrett wrote it down and then picked up his own interwave to call him. The interwave rang for several seconds. Garrett glanced at the call time. Thirty seconds had passed. On the thirty-fifth second, the call would end.

The second before the call would automatically drop, Garrett heard a raspy voice on the other end. “Hello?”

Frozen, Garrett just stood there for several seconds, his mouth open but no sound coming out.

“Hello,” repeated the impatient voice.

“Uh, hi, Simon. It’s Garrett Gibbons. I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m one of your classmates. We’ve been classmates since we were six.”

“Yeah, Garrett, I remember you. No need for a whole lifelong history. What do you want?”

“What, I didn’t say I wanted anything.”

“Oh, come on, you haven’t called me once since I’ve been sequestered at home for lessons, nor did you hardly ever speak to me in class. There was that one time you needed my genius to help you get out of a project you didn’t want to do in the sixth grade, but other than that, we’ve rarely interacted. So, if you’re calling me now and especially two days before Submission Day, you clearly want something, so spit it out.”

Gulping, Garrett responded, “I need something that can be used to enter a locked door.”

“Enter a locked door?” repeated Simon slowly as if he was digesting the words. “What type of locked door are we talking about? A door inside a house? A chest? A government building? What?”

Panicking, Garrett wasn’t sure which one to tell him since he still wasn’t certain which way he wanted to enter the building. Not wanting to waste Simon’s time and risk him hanging up, Garrett sputtered, “Front door of a government building, most likely a regular lock.”

“Ah…so Garrett Gibbons is in for some illegal breaking and entering, huh? I never thought you had it in you.” Simon’s voice perked up and creaking sounded from the other end of the interwave as if he were leaning forward in his chair.”

“Yeah, well it’s for a good cause.”

Simon huffed. “Yeah, I’m sure it is. Personally, I don’t find government buildings very intriguing, but hey, to each his own.”

“Do you know how I can get inside?”

“Well, have you cased the place out yet? Are we talking an electronic lock or an old-fashioned key type of lock?”

Once again, Garrett wasn’t sure. He kicked himself for not paying more attention to the types of locks at the library. If he went there now before he planned to break in tonight and checked the place out, it’d be suspicious. No, he needed to be discreet.

Simon sighed. “You haven’t even cased the place yet, have you? Wow, such an amateur. You should reconsider this, Garrett. You’re clearly unprepared and just gonna get yourself caught.”

Resolute, Garrett replied, “No, I won’t. I need to do this. Just tell me how to get in.”

“All right. If you want to break into a government building, then you’re talking an electronic lock. All government buildings have a standardized type of electronic lock system. Lucky for you, I’ve been bored in my confinement and I devised a keycode that’ll unlock any government building.”

“Really?” Garrett couldn’t believe that could work.

“Yep, and I’ll give you that code, but it’ll cost ya.”

Garrett set his jaw. “Name your price.”

“Your mom is the head of marketing for a sciorb company, right?”

“Yeah, she is.”

“So, she has access to early prototypes not yet on the market, correct?”

Once again Garrett answered, “Yes.”

“I need an upgraded sciorb for…let’s say personal use. Rumor has it your mom’s company has a high-powered sciorb soon to be released that won’t be available to the private sector. Find a way to get me a copy of your mom’s badge before Submission Day and I’ll give you the code now.”

“Deal.”

Chapter 15

Garrett had no idea how he’d get a picture or scan of his mother’s ID to Simon. Somehow, he’d figure it out. Simon had given him the code he needed which made his plan for breaking into the library complete. Once he executed his plan, then he’d consider how he’d fulfill his promise to Simon.

Glancing left and right, Garrett dashed across the street to Anaxia Library. At one in the morning, the streets were deserted, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Still glancing nervously around him, he reached the front door of the library and quickly examined it. Searching everywhere, he couldn’t spot the lock. With regret, he realized it was on the inside of the building, not the outside.

Afraid of being sighted, he snuck around the building until he reached the rear of it. Scanning the wall for a door, he found one with an electronic keypad.

Drawing the left corner of his mouth into a smile, he entered the keycode Simon had given him: 726195. With a green flash and a soft click, the door unlocked, and he rushed inside.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, he couldn’t believe it’d worked. He’d been worried that maybe Simon had duped with a bad code. Still, he had no idea whether it might have triggered a silent alarm or alerted any security personnel. He’d have to move fast.

Luckily, the long walk