Hacking Heroes: Aunt Claire's Pet Care, #2

By Katie Evans

Escaping a kidnapping changes you.

 

Nothing feels safe for Isabel as long as Dr. Rodriguez is still free to move forward with his diabolical plans. Stopping him is the only thing she thinks about.

 

But Maya is busy thinking about where she'll go to college. (Not near Isabel, that's for sure.) And Aunt Claire is being questioned by the government about her research. (She's the good guy, they should be focused on Dr. Rodriguez!)  Then everything goes wrong on a trip to Washington, DC, landing the whole family in hot water. (It's not like they were trying to steal the Declaration of Independence!)

 

Worried that they'll never be safe again, Isabel has to learn that she can't do it all—defeating evil takes teamwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fawkes Press
• Release date: Feb 6, 2024
• ISBN: 9781957529103

Book preview

ONE

Come on, come on…, Isabel whispered, biting her lip and holding her breath as a graphic wheel spun on the screen. She refused to blink, willing it to let her in. The light from the laptop burned her tired eyes.

Bruiser, her overly muscular but blind dog, stood up and slowly growled, sensing her tension. That was Bruiser, though, ready to fight for Isabel since the first time she scratched him behind the ear. Bruiser, like Danger Noodle, the glow-in-the-dark snake in the corner, was among the animals that her family had rescued from the Gennovations Lab.

Isabel’s Aunt Claire was the local veterinarian in tiny Horton, California, but she was no ordinary vet. Aunt Claire was conducting secret research in genetic engineering to create service animals that could save lives—dogs that could tell you to stop before you stepped into traffic, goats that could produce hormones in their milk to make medicines, and maybe, someday, enhanced search and rescue animals. Aunt Claire’s experiments were humane, so much so that the animals that had been tested now enjoyed leisurely lives as their family’s pets. But her research was the envy of Dr. Rodriguez, who had proved he’d go to any lengths to steal it, including kidnapping her family. Dr. Rodriguez didn’t plan to use the data to help people—he wanted to build strong, fast animals that could be used like soldiers, aggressive brutes that could offer protection to the highest bidder, no matter how evil their intentions.

Time seemed to stand still in the messy bedroom as the graphic wheel continued to spin. Isabel knew she had only a few minutes before Aunt Claire called her to drop her off at school on her way to the clinic.

Ever since the kidnapping, Isabel secretly spent time like this, holed up in her bedroom with Bruiser and Danger Noodle, trying to find the man who harmed her family and nearly killed her sister. She knew Steve Rodriguez wasn’t his real name, so she’d never even bothered searching that. Her best hope was facial recognition software. She had plenty of video footage of the man. The problem was, the only organization with a database sophisticated enough to help her was the FBI.

ACCESS DENIED flashed across her screen. She groaned and closed the laptop.

Despite her remarkable talent, the FBI was pretty hard to hack.

I guess that should make me feel good, right? she asked Bruiser as he curled up at her feet, relaxed now that his perceived danger was gone. I wouldn’t want the FBI to have unsecure databases.

A few weeks ago, she had used her hacking skills to save them all. Inside the Gennovations facility, she’d managed to disrupt the facility’s network and security systems enough to buy them time until the police arrived. It had been a close call though. Her sister, Maya, an elite athlete, had been injured in a fire where she suffered a severe burn and broken leg. She’d missed the championship volleyball game.

But along the way, Isabel had finally made a few friends. Andrew and Sara Banks had stuck with her to the end. Greg, a fellow programming genius, had paved the way for her success and later helped her save her aunt’s research. And even Officer Williams, the small-town cop who’d refused to believe their story at first, had come through for them.

Dr. Rodriguez had hurt them all. And Isabel wasn’t going to rest until she found him.

Izzie! Breakfast! Aunt Claire yelled from the kitchen. Isabel huffed, then stood up and fingered-combed her messy hair. She pulled a hoodie over the same shirt she’d worn yesterday.

Isabel!

Coming!

She shoved the laptop into her backpack, waved goodbye to Danger Noodle, who she knew could sense the movement with thermal receptors in his head, and walked out with Bruiser on her heels.

Aunt Claire was carrying pancakes to the table but stopped moving and stared at her. Were you up all night?

Isabel shrugged. She must look pretty bad.

What is it, Izzie? Are you having nightmares? Maybe you should talk to someone. I can make an appointment.

It’s not that. I just lost track of time online.

Aunt Claire drew her eyebrows together and crossed her arms as if debating how to handle it.

FREDDIE! BACON! FREDDIE! BACON! came a screech from the other side of the room. Aunt Claire spun around just in time to see Freddie, the rescue dog, about to sneak some bacon off the table. He looked up at her with a guilty expression that defined puppy dog eyes.

Don’t you dare, Freddie, laughed Maya as she strolled into the room. That bacon is all mine!

She paused by the cockatoos in the corner to scratch their puffed-up crowns. You guys are tattletales, but you literally saved my bacon.

Mine too, thought Isabel.

Aunt Claire sighed. Did you at least brush your teeth, Izzie?

I will, Isabel assured her between bites.

Apparently satisfied, Aunt Claire sat down, too. She told Freddie to go, and he slunk away slowly, looking back every few steps. Bruiser stayed put, either unnoticed by Aunt Claire or allowed because he hadn’t tried any of Freddie’s sneaky tricks.

Aunt Claire’s once easy smile seemed strained when she looked at Isabel. When the girls’ parents had died in a car accident, Aunt Claire hadn’t hesitated to buy a bigger house, move them in, and become their full-time guardian. She’d tried to keep them out of harm’s way when it came to her research, but things had happened. Isabel knew she felt guilty for putting the girls in danger and worried it could happen again.

Aunt Claire turned to Maya. You are walking so well! Everything feel good? Though Maya had a burn scar on her upper thigh, the other damage had been healing quickly.

Maya nodded enthusiastically while she chewed. The physical therapy is really helping. I’m going to be able to start the softball season with the rest of the team in the spring, for sure. I’m enjoying it so much that I’m actually thinking about becoming a physical therapist myself one day.

Despite her general dislike of sports, Isabel felt her heart swell. She had been worried that Maya’s injury would mean she couldn’t play the way she had before. Sports meant everything to Maya, and her biggest fear in the hospital had been that her injury would be the end. Not only was she recovering, but she may also have found a career path along the way.

Great news! Aunt Claire responded, but even that seemed strained.

Maya and Isabel locked eyes across the table.

Is something wrong, Aunt Claire? Isabel asked.

Oh no! Nothing to worry about girls.

Isabel stared at her with raised eyebrows. Maya crossed her arms. The normally chaotic room grew quiet. Animals could always sense when a mood changed.

Like we believe that, Maya said. You make the exact same face Mom did when she lied. What’s going on?

Aunt Claire stared at the table and took a deep breath.

I don’t want you girls to feel responsible for this in any way. You know this isn’t your fault. But now that my research is out there—people know about it—complications have arisen.

Isabel knew that. Aunt Claire had kept her research a secret for a lot of reasons—to keep it out of the wrong hands, but also to minimize the controversy around it. Not everyone agreed that scientists should be performing genetic modification, because doing so literally changed the DNA makeup of living things.

What kind of complications? Maya asked.

It’s complex, but some government organizations want to be briefed on what I’ve done, my methods, and my progress. Research like this involves regulations about science, and they want to make sure we’re following the rules. At least that’s what they’re saying. But I’m concerned. The more people who know about this work, the more likely it is to get into the wrong hands…

They were all silent for a moment, thinking about just how dangerous that was.

My funders have great lawyers, and they’re telling me they’ll handle it, but it’s a messy situation. I don’t want to break any laws or violate any codes, but I also don’t want my research to be public knowledge yet.

Don’t you have some kind of copyright or trademark? Maya asked.

Research doesn’t work the same way that other intellectual property does. An invention, I could patent that. But this is the kind of thing that the government could look into if they can find just cause. One of the great things about science is that we share our findings. I’m just not ready to do that yet. Again, this is a legal thing. I’m sure it will work out.

Isabel wasn’t so sure it would. And the look on Aunt Claire’s face didn’t do anything to convince her. Before she could say something else, Maya’s phone rang.

It’s Coach. She looked at Aunt Claire. Do you mind if I answer?

Go ahead.

Isabel sat eating her breakfast, with Freddie staring at her sadly from across the room as Maya talked on the phone. After a lot of Really? and Yes! and I’ll be there! remarks, she hung up.

Aunt Claire and Isabel looked at her in anticipation. Maya squirmed excitedly before popping out of her chair and pacing the room.

Coach is going to set up a meet and greet for me with another scout!

Another one? Aunt Claire squealed. How many is that now?

Three. Three universities are interested in me playing for them. I can’t believe it.

I can! Isabel said. But she was faking her excitement. Of course, she was glad Maya was getting these opportunities, but Maya going off to college filled her with dread. She hated the idea and couldn’t seem to get past the fact that Maya was leaving in a few years, whether she played sports at a school or not. She tried to push it out of her mind. You’re an amazing athlete! I bet all these schools are going to be fighting over you!

I always hoped I’d be able to play in college, but I know how rare it is, so I’ve tried not to get my hopes up. It’s hard, especially now.

Get your hopes up! Aunt Claire smiled warmly and squeezed Maya’s arm. This is very much a reality for you, and it’s well deserved. You should enjoy this experience. So few people get it, and you have worked so hard your whole life to have this kind of success.

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