Chapter 2: Warehouse Whackadoo Alex, like, freakin' trippin' balls, man. Was it the sugar rush? Maybe too much Mountain Dewski? Who even KNOWS! He's just grabbin' CRAP and shovin' it in his backpack like it's free stuff day. Flashlight? DUH! Multi-tool? Ya, whatever. Half-eaten chips? DOUBLE DUH! Can't go breakin' into no warehouse on a empty stomach, d'oh! And he's gotta bring his "Bad" CD. For, like, good luck charms or somethin'. Maybe Michael Jackson's ghost will wanna listen while they're, like, stealin' stuff? IDK LOL. He yanks out his phone. Time for the group chat DOODAD. But not like, a BORING text thing! Video call! WAY more awesome! He stabs Maya's number with his thumb, then adds Devin and Zoe. His phone's ringin' like a crazy person. Maya answers, but her face is all blurry like she's usin' a potato for a camera. "Alex! WHAT THE EFF! It's still dark out, you ding-dong!" "No time for sleepies, Maya! We gotta GO-GO-GO! Godzilla's waitin', yo!" Alex shouts into the phone. He can't help it, he's always screamin'. "Godzilla ain't waitin' for NOBODY, dummy," Maya says, like, totally annoyed. "I'm kinda busy here, ya know." "Busy doin' WHAT, even?" Alex asks, all confused. Maya flips the camera around a lil' bit. There's a computer screen in front of her. It's got a bunch of lines and squiggles and stuff. "I found some, like, TOP SECRET blueprints of the warehouse on the interwebs. I'm lookin' at all the security doodads and stuff." Alex squints his eyes. "Blueprints? You mean, like... maps and junk?" "DUH! What else would they be, pictures of Justin Bieber's BUTT??" Maya rolls her eyes so hard, Alex thinks they're gonna fall right outta her head. "I'm findin' all the weak spots. Maybe we can just waltz right in!" Devin POPS up on the screen. He's still wearin' his pajamas. They got little duckies all over 'em. "Weak spots? You mean like... holes? Can't we just, like, CLIMB through a hole or somethin'?" Maya sighs super loud. "It's not that easy, Devin, you goofball. We gotta be sneaky like ninjas. We gotta be SMART. Which, ya know, ain't exactly your thing." Devin frowns all sad. "Hey! I CAN be sneaky! Remember that time I snuck into the movies without payin' and stuff?" "You got CAUGHT, Devin," Zoe says. She FINALLY shows up on the screen. She looks super tired, like she just woke up from a LONG nap. "They made you wash dishes for, like, a WHOLE week." Devin grumbles and mumbles. "That's not the POINT! The point is, I TRIED to be sneaky!" Alex cuts them off. "Okay, okay! Less yappin', more snappin'! Maya, you got a plan, or what? Devin, go put on some REAL pants, dude! Zoe, WAKE UP! We gotta meet up, like, RIGHT NOW!" Maya just nods her head. "I'm practically done here. Gimme, like, a half hour-ish. I'll text you the addy for our meet-up spot." "A meet-up spot? Why we need a meet-up spot, even??" Alex asks, all confused. "The warehouse is RIGHT FREAKIN' THERE!" "Because we can't just stroll up to the warehouse like a bunch of total NOOBS! We gotta be, like, tactical and stuff! Gotta have a PLAN!" Maya says, all serious. "Just TRUST me on this one, okay? I totally know what I'm doin'." Alex is still not totally convinced, but he agrees anyway. Maya's usually right about stuff. Even if she's a little bossy-pants. "Half an hour it is, then," Alex says. He hangs up the phone. He stares at his backpack. Gotta pack more stuff, obvs! He sprints to the kitchen. Grabs a soda. Gotta have caffeine for the brain! And a candy bar. For energy boosts! And... uh... a rubber chicken? Why NOT? Maybe Godzilla's scared of rubber chickens, LOL! He chucks everything into his bag. Then he zooms outside. Jumps into his car. It's old and rusty and kinda beat-up, but it still works... mostly. He starts the engine. It makes a REALLY LOUD noise. He hopes he doesn't wake up the neighbors. He drives to the meet-up place Maya texted him. It's just some random gas station on the edge of LA. The area's kinda sketch, not gonna lie. Lots of factories and warehouses and stuff. Perf for secret MJ treasure, ya know! He sees Maya's car already parked there. And Devin and Zoe are standin' next to it, lookin' all nervous and fidgety. He parks his car all crooked. Jumps out. "Yo! What UP, dudes and dudettes!" Maya glares at him with her death stare. "You're LATE, Alex! I said a HALF HOUR!" "Traffic, man!" Alex says. Even though there wasn't any traffic, really. Devin's wearin' normal clothes now, thank goodness. But he still looks super sleepy-eyed. Zoe still looks like she's about to pass out any second now. "Okay, listen UP, people," Maya says. She pulls out a crumpled piece of paper. It's got a map drawn on it. "I figured out the BESTEST way to sneak into the warehouse. There's a security camera in the front. But there's a blind spot on the side, see? If we go through the alleyway, we can get to the back door. It's probably locked, but I got somethin' for THAT." She winks all mysterious-like. Alex is actually impressed, for once. "You thought of EVERYTHING, dude!" "DUH! I told you I knew what I was doin'!" Maya says, all smug. "Now, follow me. And try not to be TOO obvious, okay? We don't want to get busted by the fuzz." They start walkin' down the street. Towards the warehouse of DOOM! Alex's heart is thumpin' like a bass drum at a rock concert. He can't even BELIEVE this is actually happenin'! They're gonna break into a warehouse full of MJ STUFF! Maybe they'll find the secret to Godzilla's weakness! Maybe they'll become, like, SUPER famous and get their own reality TV show! Maybe they'll get arrested and end up in the slammer! He looks at the warehouse. It's big and gray and kinda boring-lookin'. But he knows it's hiding somethin' AMAZING inside. Somethin' totally CRAZY. Somethin'... EPIC! They get to the alleyway. It's dark and stinky and gross. There are trash cans everywhere. And RATS! EWWWW! Alex HATES rats! They're, like, super creepy. Maya pulls somethin' out of her pocket. It's small and shiny and kinda weird-lookin'. "This is a lock-pickin' kit, ya'll," she says, like she's a professional burglar or somethin'. "I learned how to use it on YouTube. It's easier than it looks, seriously!" Devin looks super nervous and scared. "You sure you know what you're doin', Maya? Breakin' into places is, like, totally illegal and stuff!" "Relax your pants, Devin," Maya says, rollin' her eyes again. "We're just borrowin' stuff, okay? We'll give it back later. Maybe... probably... okay, MAYBE NOT." They sneak down the alleyway, tryin' not to make any noise. Alex steps on a soda can. It makes a LOUD BANG! He freezes like a statue. He looks around all paranoid. But nobody comes, so it's all good. They reach the back door. It's made of metal and looks super solid. It's got a big, scary lock on it. Maya kneels down and starts messin' with the lock-pickin' kit. She pokes and prods and twists and turns. It takes a few minutes, but finally... CLICK! The lock POPS open! Maya smirks. "See? Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy!" She pushes the door open just a tiny bit. It creaks like an old pirate ship. They peek inside. It's dark as heck in there. They can't see squat. "Okay, here we go, peeps," Maya whispers, all dramatic-like. "Wish us luck, cuz we're gonna need it!" She pushes the door open all the way. They step inside... Into the darkness... dun dun DUN!