Conspiracy at TAC

By Richard Pinkerton

Bulldozer is on the warpath and looking for revenge on Rex. He has decided to recruit himself a gang to take Rex down. This gang intendS to terrorise and control the entire school

Chelsea Brown is back at TAC, but she has changed and is no longer the sweet considerate girl she used to be.

Rex Cassidy’s gorgeous half-sister Skylar is now at TAC and is turning heads almost as much as Vanessa Dante did when she first arrived at TAC. However it seems that Skylar wants to avoid her brother and no one but Vanessa and Rex know the reason why, but they’re not saying anything.

Meanwhile, both Vanessa and Mandy Evans are having problems with adults. The senior mistress wants to have Vanessa expelled, while Mandy is in danger of being kicked out of home due to her rebellious attitude at school and at home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Pinkerton
• Release date: Nov 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463855171

Richard Pinkerton

I am in my early 50s and have been writing now since I was 12. I prefer to write light-hearted drama but have written a little fantasy horror and science fiction too.I have an entire series of high school novels (19 of them so far) set in New Zealand (The Mob from TAC series), which I will gradually publish if there is a demand.I prefer to use a mix of quirky and outrageous characters you would never come across in reality and also your every day Joes.My writings are aimed at teenagers mainly, but also young adults.I have also written a series of detective novelettes, most of which can be found on my website. The majority require work, to be able to be published here, mainly due to copyright issues.Please do leave feedback or contact me if you want to know more about my books.

Book preview

Conspiracy at TAC

(Book 17 in the Mob from TAC series)

Published by Richard Pinkerton at Smashwords

Copyright 2020 Richard Pinkerton

Other books by Richard Pinkerton

Dead End High

Dead End Town

Time Warped

The Mob from TAC series

1 - The Mob from TAC

2 – Mismatched at TAC

3 - Trouble at TAC

4 - Heroes at TAC

5 - Scheming at TAC

6 - Murder at TAC

7 - New Year at TAC

8 - Challenges at TAC

9 - Boot Camp at TAC

10 - Dark Days at TAC

11 - Jealously at TAC

12 - Choices at TAC

13 - Redemption at TAC

14 - Vendettas at TAC

15 - Aberrations at TAC

16 - Final Year at TAC

17 – Conspiracy at TAC

18 – Godly People at TAC

19 – Sabotage at TAC

20 – Distrust at TAC

21- Competition at TAC

So Long, TAC

Acknowledgements

Dabney Farmer

Stacey Sweeney

Wuraola Ifeniyi

To Vaughan

I finally created the right character for you.

CHAPTER 1:

Old and New at TAC

‘Sheep. How was the long weekend?’

Rog Shepherd, or Sheep as his friends knew him, greeted his best friend with a fist pump after he climbed out of the bus onto the grounds of Te Arawa College. ‘Maaaan, I tell you Ginge, it was something truly special.’

‘Come on, spill the beans,’ his athletic friend ordered.

‘Yeah, Sheep, tell us all about it,’ said the burly, long-haired Will Ullman who stepped up to join him. ‘Did you enjoy hanging out with Granny at Paraparaumu?’

Sheep snickered. ‘Hey, man, I was on the beach most of the time. I met this way hot chick there.’

‘I can imagine it,’ Will said. ‘Rog Shepherd sitting on the beach watching… drooling while this hot chick frolics in the ocean with her friends but he’s so busy drooling he forgets to go over and hit on her.’

Sheep delivered him a wry smile. It was typical of Will or Wal as he was better known, to mock him but he was used to it and didn’t take it personally. ‘As a matter of fact, I did hit on her. Her name was Vicki. We hit it off right away and we spent most of the weekend together. Oh, man, was she so fine.’

‘So, what happened?’ Ginge said. ‘Did you get her phone number? Is she on your Facelink?’

‘Nah, no way.’ He slung his school bag over his shoulder. ‘I don’t have time for long-distance relationships.’

‘So, you let her down gently?’ asked Ginge.

‘Hell no. I gave her my phone number and all that… just didn’t give her my real phone number. I even gave her a fake name. Told her I was Shep Rogers from New Plymouth. Ha ha ha ha.’

‘What?’ Wal sneered. ‘Why would you be such a scumbag?’

Sheep grunted and walked in the direction of the Year-13 common room. His two schoolmates tagged along beside him ‘I just wanted a fun weekend. I didn’t want strings attached.’

‘So, you led her on?’ said Wal in a surly tone of voice.

Sheep glanced at him but kept walking. ‘So, what? Since when were you a saint? How many times have you lied to chicks?’

‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

Sheep cast him a sideways smirk. ‘No, of course, you wouldn’t because you’d never get that far anyway. Most chicks would want to give you the flick after a few hours.’

Wal slapped him across the back of the shoulder.

The force sent Sheep staggering.

‘Watch it, Sheep!’ Wal snarled.

Sheep recovered his footing and kept walking, not daring to goad him further. Wal was one big guy and not someone to be messed with.

‘Man alive,’ Ginge said as they made their way down the path between the hall and gymnasium. ‘You have to admit, Sheep, that was pretty low. Leading a girl on simply for a bit of fun, making out you’re gonna keep in contact with her then leaving without even telling her the truth.’

‘Yeah, what a scumbag,’ Wal said.

Sheep chuckled. ‘At least I had a great weekend. What were you doing, Wal? Looking at porn online?’ He leapt out of the way just in time to avoid another whack from his burly classmate. He glanced at the venomous look in Wal’s eyes and quickened his pace. ‘She’ll get over it.’

Nevertheless, Sheep felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of the poor girl discovering he was a fraud. He reached the year-13 common room, a prefabricated building in between the gym and some of the other stand-alone classrooms. He turned to face Wal and Ginge. ‘She had a good time too, you know.’

Ginge smirked. ‘Go ahead, justify it. Karma will be a bitch.’

‘I don’t believe in karma…’ Just then, a girl he’d never seen before, walk out from the office block area. ‘Oh my God! Who is that?’

She had to be new and she was mind-bogglingly gorgeous. Perhaps even up to the standard of the goddess, Vanessa… No, she wasn’t that amazing but she certainly came closer than any other girl Sheep had ever seen.

‘Whoa!’ Wal uttered.

Ginge stared too. ‘Man alive… I’ve no idea, but I hope she’s in year-thirteen like us. She’s in mufti, so maybe she is.’

Sheep enjoyed the fact that being a year 13, he no longer had to wear school uniform. It was especially a treat to see the girls in less drab outfits, some of which were even quite sexy, like the figure-hugging dress this new girl wore. ‘I hope she’s competing in the swimming sports today. I so want to see her in a swimsuit.’

Ginge nodded. ‘Same.’

The girl drew closer. She had long blonde hair and a shapely figure. Definitely Sheep’s type.

‘Wait! I know her…’ Wal frowned. ‘Could it be…?’

‘What?’ Sheep asked. ‘You know who she is?’

‘God, I hope it is,’ Wal said.

‘Who is she?’ Ginge asked.

Wal didn’t reply. He waited as she approached. She was about to walk by but Wal called out. ‘Hey… You. Are you Skylar?’

The girl halted and peered at Wal. She had flawless skin and beautiful innocent blue eyes. She replied, ‘Yeeaaah. Who wants to know?’

‘My name’s Will. Well, you might know me better as Wal.’

‘I might?’ she asked and continued to eye him dubiously. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘Well… Rex would have mentioned me, wouldn’t he have?’ Wal looked hopefully at her.

Sheep flinched on the inside. So, she was a friend of Rex’s, someone from outside of Te Arawa. That meant she was probably as gaga over Rex as every other girl and would most likely never give a guy like him a second glance. At least as long as Rex was about.

The stunning blonde shrugged. ‘He might have.’

‘Where is he? I would have thought he would have walked in with you. Or at least driven you in.’

‘I wanted to walk.’

Maybe now was the chance for Sheep to make himself known. He didn’t want loudmouth Will Ullman to scare off the hot chick before he could get a chance to talk to her.

‘Hi, Skylar,’ Sheep said. ‘I’m Rog but people call me Sheep. I’m a friend of Rex’s too.’ He extended his hand.

For a moment, Skylar hesitated but finally extended her hand. ‘Hi.’ She didn’t smile, which disappointed Sheep because he wanted to make a good first impression.

‘I’m Ginge.’

She turned to their ginger-haired colleague. ‘Are you a friend of Rex’s too?’

‘Absolutely. And any friend of Rex’s is a friend of mine.’

Her eyes lingered on Ginge and that bothered Sheep even more.

He had to draw her attention away. ‘Have you known Rex for long?’

Wal snickered.

‘Ummmm…’ Skylar said. ‘Yeah. You could say that.’

‘Where are you from?’

‘Wellington.’

‘So, you’re living here now?’

‘Yes.’

‘Rex doesn’t go down to Wellington very much. How did you meet?’

Before she could answer, a group wandered over from the common room entranceway. They seemed intrigued by Skylar and it seemed to Sheep that he was going to have a job keeping her attention on him.

‘Hi!’ said one guy. ‘Wow, who are you?’

‘Are you a year-thirteen?’ another asked.

‘Yes. My name’s Skylar. I suppose you’re friends of Rex too?’

‘Of course!’ said one.

‘Yeah,’ said one of the girls.

Others commented in the affirmative.

‘Seems like Rex is Mr Popularity here.’ This time there appeared to be a little contempt in her voice and she eyed the girls coldly. Sheep could imagine she saw the girls as unwanted competition.

‘Do you know him?’ asked another of the girls.

‘Yes.’

Sheep was about to speak but Wal beat him to the punch.

‘Hey, Skylar. How about I show you around the school?’

Skylar sighed. ‘Thanks for the offer, Wal but I’d prefer to take a look around on my own.’

‘You sure?’

‘I’m sure.’ She turned and smiled at them all. ‘Nice to meet you all. Perhaps I’ll see you later.’ With that, she walked on, her shapely behind swinging side to side deliciously as she walked. It was almost as sexy a walk as Vanessa’s.

Sheep wanted to go after her and offer to show her around himself but didn’t want to appear too pushy. He turned to see the gaze on Wal’s face as he watched her walk too. The other group of students departed and left them standing there.

‘Nice one, Wal.’ Sheep said. ‘You scared her off with that offer, you beggar. You should have let me make the suggestion.’

Wal turned to face him and scowled. ‘She wouldn’t give you the time of day.’

‘And what makes you so sure about that?’

‘Because I know who she is.’

‘You do?’ Ginge asked.

‘Doesn’t matter.’ Sheep scowled. ‘Doesn’t make him an expert on girls.’

Wal snickered. ‘I just know you won’t be her type.’

Sheep flagged him away. ‘Yah, whatever. Anyway, we know her now too. She’s some chick of Rex’s.’

Wal burst out laughing. ‘Shepherd, Shepherd, Shepherd, you really are a clueless bastard.’

Sheep scowled again. ‘What the hell are you talking about, Ullman?’

‘Have you never heard Rex talk about her? Didn’t you know she was coming?’

‘No. He’s always meeting hot chicks. I never heard him talking about one coming here to Te Arawa.’

‘Come on, Wal quit playing games,’ Ginge said. ‘What’s so special about this chick? She’s not another Vanessa, is she? Another Daryl Chambers? Some chick that Rex fell in love with who’s returned to get him back?’

Wal chuckled but then his eyes widened and he stared back the way they had come. ‘Whoa, holy shit!’

Sheep and Ginge spun their heads. When they saw who walked along the path towards them, their jaws dropped.

‘Man alive!’ Ginge said. ‘Are you kidding me? What’s she doing here?’

‘Speaking of girls who might want Rex back…’ Sheep gazed. It was the girl he’d once fallen for himself, who had left Te Arawa a year earlier. ‘Chelsea flaming Brown!’

The three of them stood there in a daze as the slender blonde strolled towards them. She reached them, ran her fingers through her shoulder-length hair and smiled. Oh, how Sheep had missed her beautiful smile and her gorgeous sapphire-blue eyes. He wanted to grab her and hug her but he wasn’t so bold.

‘Chels!’ He beamed. ‘What the hell are you doing back here? I thought you were in Girl’s High?’

‘Well…’ She grinned. ‘Let’s say that kind of didn’t work out and now I’m back.’

‘Whoa, Chels, you are looking amazing,’ Wal said. ‘It’s so good to see you.’

‘It’s great to see you too, Wal. And Sheep… and Ginge. I must admit though, I’m kind of nervous, especially when it comes to Holly and Mav.’

‘Do they know you’re coming?’ Ginge asked.

‘No, I haven’t been in contact with them. Not even Holly. They may not be too pleased to see me.’

Sheep understood as she had upset Holly a lot when she’d had a brief fling with Mav during one of the school holidays. It had been because of that she moved schools. Sheep thought it very brave of her to return and was intrigued about what made her leave Girls High. ‘So, what went wrong? I mean at Girls High. Was it costing too much… all the travelling and that?’

Chelsea smiled again, this time with a twinkle in her eye. ‘You really want to know?’

‘Hell yeah.’

‘Come on Chelsea, out with it,’ Wal urged.

‘You won’t believe me.’

‘Of course, we will,’ Ginge said. ‘You've always been the upfront and honest type.’

‘Yeah, come on, stop beating about the bush,’ Sheep said.

‘Okay… well, the reason I left school and why I am back here is… because I was expelled…’

CHAPTER 2:

Real Power

Tucker Pyles arrived at school with a violently rumbling stomach. He’d had to work early that morning at Fenton’s Livery and, as a result, hadn’t had a chance to eat a decent breakfast. He’d almost felt like eating some of the horse’s special food. It looked good too and he’d been close to taking a nibble of it and would have if it wasn’t for the boss, Mr Fenton turning up to issue him a horrible job to get on with.

He eyed a couple of junior boys sitting on a bench outside the front of the school hall, sharing a packet of chocolate biscuits. A year ago, he would have intimidated the boys to get some off them but he didn’t dare now because they knew to report him to Rex Cassidy if he did. He didn’t want Rex coming down on him and causing him humiliation and pain. He’d had enough of that in the past.

He groaned and sat down alone. He always sat alone now because his best friends Ash and Hew had pulled out of high school the previous year. Tucker was still trying to complete level one units and his mother wasn’t allowing him to leave school. On top of that, he had to work his spare time away at the stables, so never had time for a social life.

If only something could change.

‘Hey, Tucks. Fancy seeing you here.’

Tucker spun around at the sound of a male voice. It was pleasantly familiar to him, which was a new experience at TAC as most male voices spoke to him in condescending or contemptuous tones. When he saw who it was, a surge ran through him and he gasped with delight. It was as if he’d seen an angel. There he was, one of the guys he had only just been thinking about grinning at him with his rugged jaw.

‘Hew! What the ubbing hell are you doing here?’ Tucker leapt to his feet and shook his best friend’s hand vigorously. ‘Are you back? I thought you were working at a wreckers in New Plymouth.’

‘I was but they laid me off so I decided to come back and finish off high school.’ To Tucker, he still looked much the same as he had last year with his scruffy brown hair and slightly overweight but stocky build. The only thing different about him was that like Tucker and his fellow year 13s, he no longer wore a school uniform. Instead, he wore a tatty pair of jeans and a Metalica T-shirt. Even his sneakers looked like they’d seen better days.

Tucker beamed. ‘Oh man, it is so ubbery to see you back here. It’s been hell without you.’

The burly Hew sat with him on the bench. ‘Well, I can’t say it’s great to be back but there you have it. I’m back. I’ll cruise along I reckon and see how things go. If another job comes up, I’ll probably leave.’

That didn’t matter to Tucker. He was so pleased to see one of his friends back because it would mean he’d be able to regain some of his lost power and people would be less likely to ridicule him. ‘Man, I can’t believe you’re here. You’ll have a lot of catching up to do with classwork.’

‘It’s only been a few weeks since the year started. I won’t have missed that much.’

‘Well, I haven’t seen you since last year. Before the Christmas holidays. Now if only Ash would return then it would be like old times.’

‘Nah, Ash won’t be coming back. He’s doing fine with his carpentry apprenticeship. He’s enjoying it. Haven’t you kept in contact?’

‘No. He never rings or emails.’

‘Typical.’ Hew smirked.

‘But then neither have you.’

‘And you haven’t rung or emailed me.’

‘Been busy working.’

‘So have I.’

Tucker shrugged. He guessed they were both just as slack. ‘Well, you picked the right day to return to school. It’s swimming sports day today, so we won’t have to do any work.’

‘Sounds good… ‘ Hew reached into his bag and pulled out an apple. ‘So, anything new this year?’

Tucker eyed his apple hungrily. ‘Same old, same old. Got another one of those?’

Hew rubbed the apple on the front of his shirt. ‘Sorry, pal, it’s my only one. Any new chicks?’

Tucker sighed. ‘Yeah, a few. One of them likes Pete Cook, can you believe? Her name’s Sharona. She’s an exchange student from Australia. Don’t know what she sees in that little sod but there’s no accounting for some girls’ tastes.’

‘How’s that hot horsy chick of yours at the livery?’

Tucker sighed. ‘Nothing happening there. She’s pretty much said she’s not interested in me.’

‘Same old story, huh?’

‘Yeah.’ Tucker gazed at the two boys with the chocolate biscuits. His stomach rumbled again.

‘Is the Goddess still here?’ Hew took a huge bite out of his apple.

‘She sure is and looking even more stunning than ever. Because she’s in year 13 she gets to wear mufti too. You should see some of her outfits. Wow! Tight jeans, bare midriff, Daisy Dukes, short skirts. In the winter we’ll no doubt get her in her sexy fishnet stockings.’

Hew talked as he munched, ‘I can’t wait to see her.’

‘We’ll be lucky because we’ll get to see her in a swimsuit later.’ His stomach gurgled again and he eyed the group of juniors. ‘Mmmmm. What say you and I go over there and put a little pressure on those two ubbheads? Get some biscuits out of them.’

Hew paused from eating his apple and let out a