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.“You guys ready for phase four?”“Of course,” said Simon.The three of us headed up to the giant SUV, where the driver was waiting for us.“All we have to do is go past my house and pick up my drums.”“Nice interview of T.J.,” I said to Emma after we climbed in and were headed down the road, with Simon giving directions to the driver.“How did you get to be such a good reporter?”“Please.What did we watch all those news shows with the general for? We know how to do this,” said Emma.It was almost nine when we finally arrived at the FreezeStar factory: me, Emma, Simon and his drums, Christopher, and my mom.Fireflies were lighting up the dark spaces between streetlights.The plant was massive.It was the length of a dozen football fields and about as wide.It looked sort of like a gray fortress, and we looked like little ants standing outside the chain-link fence surrounding the building.I got out my clarinet, and Simon adjusted the snare drum around his neck.“Christopher, keep texting so we can get a crowd here,” I said.He nodded, slouched in the backseat.“And Mom, stay put in the car and stay safe until we come get you.”“Okay, if you say so, but if I see any trouble, I will be out of here in a second to save you,” she said.“Mom, it’s going to be fine,” I assured her, closing the door.“What do we do now?” Simon asked.“March or something?”We both looked for Emma, to find out the game plan.She walked around from the other side of the SUV, holding a flute.“Where did you … ?” I asked.“You never saw it, but I do travel with my flute.”“Okay, but I don’t know any trios,” I said.“Yeah, me neither,” she said.“But I figured there’s strength in numbers.”We started with what we all knew from memory: the theme from The Simpsons.So there we were: me wearing my baseball cap, playing the clarinet outside the company gates.Simon, still in his FreezeStar baseball uniform, playing drums, marching beside me.And Emma, the candidate’s daughter, who’d insisted on dressing nicely because it would make her less suspicious, in front of the FreezeStar plant.“If there was ever a photo op, this is it,” the reporter said.He had the cameraman take several shots of us, playing as we marched on the sidewalk and standing on a bus bench to make our sound travel farther.“My dad’s inside.I wonder if he can hear me,” I said.I thought of my dad telling my mom, “You don’t stand here and criticize the company, not here.” What if what I was doing jeopardized my dad’s job, got him in trouble? My mom was already out of work.I couldn’t add my dad to the list.But I had to stand up for my mom, too.There was no way she was going to take the fall for FreezeStar.If there was a spy, which I doubted, she wasn’t it.“No one’s going to hear us,” said Simon.“Yeah, but that’s what the TV station is for.” Emma coughed, clearing her throat.She turned to the camera as a security guard approached us.“What exactly is going on here?” asked the guard.“May I help you?”“Yes, please.” Emma smiled.“We have a list of demands.And we will stand out here and play until management comes down.”The guard frowned.“There’s nobody here right now who can help you with your … problem.Whatever it is.”“Come on, that can’t be true,” said Emma.“Can’t someone come out and talk to us?”He looked at me.“Don’t I know you? Steve Schroeckenbauer’s kid?”“Yes, yes,” I said enthusiastically.“It’s me, Aidan!”I expected him to be nicer after that, but no.“What do you want?” The guard narrowed his eyes at Emma.“The truth—that’s all,” I said.“We’re following up on the untrue rumor about Aidan’s mother giving trade secrets to Cold rainbow,” said Emma.“We know it’s not true.We need someone from FreezeStar to come out here and refute it on camera.”“Well, why don’t you write a letter?” The guard looked at the cameras.“No cameras allowed on company property.Industry secrets to protect.”“We’re on the public sidewalk,” said the reporter.“Same as these kids.”“But you can’t do this!” the guard cried as Simon began to play the drum again.“There’s a noise ordinance.”“Please, you think that’s loud? You should hear your trucks,” I said.“But there’s a senior residence in the area—”“Exactly.This will keep them awake all night
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