Gang Girl Read online

  “Wait,” said BB. “We’ve got to do this together.”

  “You’re on your own,” were Fringe’s last words. She put on a big black hat that practically covered her face and slammed the door behind her.

  BB and Sasha looked at each other and back at Zorro. “Now what?” asked BB. Zorro stood there stunned. “Zorro!” said BB. “What’s going on?”

  Sasha took over. She got down beside the shattered cabinet and starting picking up the pieces. “The first thing we do is clean up this mess. What did she mean about the owners? Doesn’t the apartment belong to someone you know?”

  “God, no.” Zorro shook her head. “It’s just an empty place. Like all of them. Somehow Master gets the keys. This time she gave the key to Fringe. But then she never showed up. I don’t even know where the key is.”

  “Shit, Zorro,” said Sasha. “Okay, I have a plan. First of all, we don’t tell anyone. There’s no way we can replace the cabinet. We have to make it look like a break-in. Is there a security panel or a code you used when you got here?”

  “No, we let ourselves in the building using the key Fringe had. We waited until the concierge left his desk and then we came up in the freight elevator. We were wearing hoodies and turned our faces away from the security cameras.”

  “And there weren’t any alarm systems in here?”

  “No,” answered Zorro.

  “All right, then we clean off our fingerprints and we get out of here fast! Let the owners find this when they get home. As for us, we just pushed the buzzer code and you let us in.”

  “But,” said BB, “Sasha and I weren’t here when the damage happened. It’s ridiculous that we’re even doing this.”

  “And yet, here you are,” said Zorro. She was right back into her snotty little girl act. “I like Sasha’s idea. Come on, help me clean up.”

  After a frenzy of cleaning and bagging up the glass, the girls grabbed their purses. Zorro peeked out the door to make sure nobody was coming. As they rushed to the elevator, the doors pinged. Was the couple home so early? No, it was just a couple of teens. But the elevator and lobby were too risky. Sasha lowered her head and walked to the stairs. Zorro and BB followed. They ran down to the basement parking lot and, keeping their faces away from cameras, they headed for a nearby door.

  “Slow down,” said Sasha. “Nobody knows us, remember? I’ll dump this plastic bag where it won’t be found. We’ll meet up at school tomorrow.”

  “Sasha,” said Zorro, “thanks.”

  Sasha didn’t look back. She let her breath out. Where did that courage come from — and the sneaky solution? She didn’t want to be the leader. But if she got the CREW to trust her, it could be her way out.

  ***

  After a restless night, Sasha pulled herself out of bed. She wanted to meet Jake at her locker at 8:30. She really needed a friend now. BB seemed to be with her, but then again she’d spent so many years with Master . . .

  When she arrived at school, there he was, standing beside her locker. His big smile made her heart beat faster. Her face smiled back without even trying. When she got there, he pecked her on the cheek.

  Blushing, she said, “I’ve got to get my math book.” She turned to her locker and worked the combination. As soon as she opened her locker, she was overwhelmed by the smell of cheap perfume. Sasha realized her whole locker had been doused with the stuff.

  Everyone turned to stare as the smell wafted through the hallway. There were whispers, and someone went to notify a teacher. Soon, Frank came rushing up.

  “Ms. Asinov,” he said sternly. “I thought school rules were made clear to you. We have a scent-free policy here. Many students and teachers have allergies, and strong scents like this will not be tolerated.”

  As Sasha mumbled that she was sorry, he added, “I won’t report you to the principal, because you are still new at this school. But stay here. Clear out your locker. I’ll send maintenance to help you get rid of the worst of the smell.”

  Sasha threw the book into her locker again and slammed the door shut. “She did it,” said Sasha softly. “She did it. She did it.” Sasha was surprised that she felt calmer than she had all month.

  “Who did it?” asked Jake.

  “Nobody,” she answered. “I’ll take care of this. It’s just a stupid prank. Please don’t mention this to anybody. Please, Jake. I don’t want anyone to know about it.” By now the halls were clear of students, so Sasha opened the locker again. She pulled out her books and put everything into her backpack for cleaning.

  It looked like Master’s jealousy was fast-tracking. Her obsession with Jake, her failing interest in the CREW, her fixation on Sasha. It was all getting worse. But if Sasha tried to expose Master now, would she just come back at her even stronger? No, Sasha had to make sure Master went down for good. And she had to do it herself.

  Chapter 14

  The Big Plan

  “I know who did it, Jake. And I can play her game,” Sasha said. “She has the power right now. But I’m going to take it from her. And when I do, she will crumble.”

  “You mean Martha?” said Jake. “Oh come on, she’s not that powerful. I know she’s got a thing for me. And I know she gets into some pretty heavy shit. But a power play like that? I don’t think so. She knows she’d get into trouble.”

  “You don’t know her. She has things on me. It’s bad, Jake, really bad.” Then she said, “I have to go.” She left Jake standing in the middle of the stinky hall.

  Her math class had already started. Master sat near the back with a smug look on her face. She caught Sasha’s eye and pretended to gag. The hacking ended in a sly smile.

  “Miss, I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to the nurse’s office,” Sasha told the teacher. The nurse wasn’t in, so Sasha lay down on the cot. What she needed was time to think. But after a sleepless night, she dropped off immediately.

  When Sasha finally woke up, it was after noon. She slipped out and went home. Her bed looked too good to pass up. Another nap was in order. She slept soundly until a bell in her dream kept ringing and ringing. It was the school bell and she was going to be late. She was running as fast as she could but the sun was too hot. She’d never make it in time.

  Sasha woke to the late afternoon sun streaming through the window. She sat up, but the bell kept ringing. She realized it was the doorbell. Jake! She ran downstairs and threw open the door.

  “Oh, thank god you are here . . .” she started. The CREW stood in the doorway.

  “Thank god we’re here? How nice.” Master pushed past her into the living room. “Come on girls, it’s time for a meeting.”

  Sasha ran in front of her. “You can’t come in here. My mother will be home any minute.” She pulled at Master’s arm.

  Master slapped Sasha’s hand down. “Oh, I figured your mother wouldn’t be home. And don’t think Jake will help you. He received a text from you. It said you’re not feeling well but you’d contact him when you’re feeling better. Guess what? You asked him to not contact you, either.”

  “So you’re back,” Sasha said. “Where were you the other day when we needed you?” Master shrugged. “Never mind,” said Sasha. “I came up with a plan to get us out of there. Didn’t I, girls?”

  Zorro glared at Fringe. Fringe looked at her hands. BB moved a little closer to Sasha.

  “You’re not much of a ‘Master’ these days,” Sasha continued. “Your obsession with Jake is kind of getting in the way, don’t you think? Well, guess what? You can try to send me back to Russia, but my father is a very important diplomat there and will do whatever I say. And he has a lot of influence with the Canadian government. You could be in bigger trouble than me. So go ahead and try.”

  Master’s eyebrows went up. “Aren’t you cute. You think you’d make a better leader? You’ve been here what, two months? I have put my heart and soul into this gang, over y
ears and years. You think you can take it away just like that? Think again. Besides, I’m not ready to give you back yet. We still have work to do. I need you, Sage. And you need me if you want to avoid a scandal. I — I mean we — can make a whole lot more money and gain more power through cybercrime than we ever could with our petty thefts and scams. We’ve never really been able to go there. Sage, you do that for me, and after that, we’ll talk.”

  Master walked toward the door. “I want a BIG plan. Something that can get us a lot of money. Something to rock the world and put me on the map. I want to show the world that the CREW rules. If it works, I may let you off the hook, Sage. Free as a bird to stay or to leave us behind. But . . .” she leaned in and whispered, “there’s still the Jake thing. You didn’t just tell him you were sick. You ‘confessed’ that you staged the perfume prank so you could put more blame on me.”

  As soon as the girls left, Sasha called Jake. All she got was Jake’s friendly voice saying, “Go with the beep.” She left a hurried message.

  All the drama was turning her brain to mush. She couldn’t think. It would be easy to just tell Papa she wanted to come home. That she was being bullied for being Russian. She could ditch the CREW, leave Jake behind, and just go back to her life in Moscow.

  But that would leave Master in charge to ruin whatever reputation Sasha had built up here. That would not please her father. Master needed to be dethroned before Sasha could live anywhere in peace. Sasha sat down and made a list of her thoughts. Slowly the fog cleared as she got everything down on paper. First of all, the Big Plan. Master wanted something big to put the CREW on the cybermap.

  Second, could she trust Master to keep her promise to let her off the hook after that? Something always came up that drew Sasha in deeper. She had to figure out a way to turn the tables on Master and make it stick. Maybe the “something big” would get Sasha out of Master’s grip. Maybe this was her chance turn the power around.

  But it all had to be done in a way that didn’t draw attention. Getting into trouble was a sure way to be sent back to Moscow.

  And then there was Jake. She’d never felt this way about a guy before. She didn’t want to give him up. He was mature and sensible, not like the babies she’d hung out with in Russia. But now he thought she was as unstable as Master. She couldn’t drag Jake into her mess. That was a sure way to lose him.

  ***

  The next two weeks were exhausting for Sasha. She decided to cool it with the daily CREW demands. The excuse that she needed to concentrate on the new Big Plan got her out of meetings. And as glad as she was to see Jake at school, she understood when he didn’t seem to be as glad to see her. After Master’s text to him, he was probably confused about Sasha’s feelings for him. Or suspected that Sasha wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

  On top of all this, she had to play proper Russian diplomat daughter. She couldn’t let her mother get her father more involved. But being good meant dinners out with guests and pizzas in with Mother.

  Sasha needed time. Would her father help if he thought Sasha was being bullied? Bullied? How about forced into a criminal life? No, not her father. Then it came to her. She could trust Kristina, her only true friend in Moscow.

  Dearest Kristina, she emailed in Russian. I miss you so much. Friendships here are not the same as home. And now I need your help.

  Remember you said I was so strong and could handle anything in Canada? Well, there is a situation I got myself into. I am being strong but it’s getting out of hand. Mother and Papa do not know this. Can we keep it to ourselves? You know how controlling they get. So here’s the situation . . .

  Chapter 15

  First Step to Freedom

  It made Sasha feel good to confess to someone she trusted. Kristina knew why Sasha had been sent away, but she’d never told anyone. Now Sasha told Kristina that her so-called friends had tricked her into something that could ruin her life. She explained about the computer help and she told her about Jake and how jealous Master was.

  And now, they want to drag me into a really big scam. It will break the law in so many ways.

  I don’t want you to go to the police or anyone else. I just want to scare them badly. Could you send a text or two to them saying you know what they did and that you’re watching them? It would probably make them give up. Can you do that?

  Your best friend, Sasha

  Within minutes, she received an email back.

  Oh poor you, Sasha. Of course I’ll do it. How’s this?

  “From someone you don’t know and you don’t want to know. We know about the computer scam and other crimes. It will cost you if you continue to pursue her. Leave Sasha alone.”

  Back went Sasha. Perfect. Your English is even better than before. Here are the numbers. Let’s Skype Sunday, 3 p.m. Okay?

  Yes, came the answer. You call me.

  Sasha sent the numbers of the CREW’s secret phones. But she told Kristina to use their real names instead of their CREW identities. She figured that would scare them even more.

  Satisfied that she had gained a little more time, Sasha allowed herself to come up with the Big Plan. Eating and sleeping would have to come second to that. Her mother went out most nights, so that would help. She got to work.

  ***

  The next night, her phone started ringing. She thought it would be Jake, so she grabbed it and answered quickly. “Hello?”

  But it was just BB. “Sorry I didn’t stick up for you at your house. But Master is scaring me more and more. And now I just got a text from someone who said they know everything we’ve done. Do you know who that is?”

  Sasha responded. “Me? I don’t know anybody here except you girls. Let me look. Hey, I got one too. Did the others?”

  “I don’t know,” said BB. “You’re the first one I phoned. Wait, another text just came in. It’s Zorro saying she got it. Oh shit, now Fringe.

  “Wait,” said BB. “Here’s one from Master. She got the message too and she says this ‘ups the game.’ She says public CREW meetings are off for now. Here’s the rest,” she said, reading to Sasha. “Sage still has to give us the plan of the century. Note to Sage: In my generosity I give you two weeks more and then we’ll be known around the globe. Until then, we all lie low.”

  As soon as she hung up, Sasha tried to reach Jake. She texted, phoned, and emailed — but nothing. It seemed her only real friend here didn’t want any part of her.

  Sasha wondered if she should confront Master directly about Jake. Maybe she could convince her that this rivalry was getting in the way of the Big Plan. Master was a bully, and bullies usually collapse when someone bullies back. But Sasha needed proof that Martha was behind everything if she was going to get free of the CREW. She texted Master: This is silly. Why don’t we meet alone and we can figure out how we can both get what we want. If it’s Jake, let’s discuss it.

  After a few minutes, Master came back with: Well, the first sign of sanity. How about Timmy’s at King and Victoria?

  Sasha responded: I’ll be there.

  Sasha set her phone to record at the subtle click of a button. She walked to the subway, thinking that if Master chose a public place to meet, maybe she was ready to really talk. If not, well, she’d at least have a recording of what went on.

  At the Tim Hortons, Master was sitting at a table, waving Sasha in and smiling. She actually can be pretty if she tries, thought Sasha. Why does she make herself out to be such a bitch? But as soon as Sasha sat down, the smile vanished. Master stared at Sasha with scorn. Sasha clicked the record button on her phone in her pocket.

  “So are we going to talk?” asked Sasha, trying to get Master to give up something.

  Master reached in her pocket and pulled out her own phone. “This is the real reason Jake hasn’t been paying much attention to you.” She showed the video of Sasha morphing photos of the CREW with the guys they blackmailed. Sasha�
��s voice was clear: “And we get them to pay — five hundred dollars a shot — to keep the pictures from their wives and bosses.”

  “Now, Sasha,” Master said. “I can make it right. I can tell Jake that you thought it was a prank. And that you refused to take money for it. I will tell him that. After the plan is successful. Right now he thinks this is all your doing. All this is just a little incentive for you to come up with the Big Plan. And let me tell you, it better feature me front and centre.”

  By this time, Sasha had caught her breath. “Oh, it will,” she promised. She didn’t want Master to know she already had an idea in mind. First, she needed to make sure that it would work without a hitch.

  “Good. For now, go home. Watch TV, do your homework, everything as usual. And, of course, create the Big Plan.” Master grabbed her coffee and left.

  When she got home, Sasha took a shower and had a cup of strong, sweet Russian tea. It was Mother’s remedy for everything, and she needed all the help she could get. A plan had started to form in her head. Master would love it. At first.

  Was she being too reckless? Her plan had three stages and it would take a lot of hard work to get it all done. Each stage was a little more risky. But if Sasha could pull it off, it would make sure everybody got something — whether they wanted it or not.

  The target was Master, who loved animals. The means, electronic — hacking into a national animal society’s database. The method was a protest for animal rights. The result was money and fame for Master. And for Sasha, as it played out, the result would be revenge and freedom.

  When Sasha was finally ready to present her plan, the CREW met at Master’s place.

  “I know Canadians love peace, children, and animals,” Sasha started. “And I know that Canadians are fast to protest if one of these is in danger. Remember that scandal a week or so ago when a movie was shot in an old mine in northern Ontario?”

  Sasha reminded the girls of the reports about a puppy named J.J. A secret video showed the dog being forced into water when it clearly didn’t want to go. The footage went viral and animal rights had been the lead story on the news for days.