Shawn’s cheap toy walkie-talkie crackled to life. He could hear Gus’ voice, squeaking through the static on the other end.

“Shawn…Shawn…this is Gus…do you copy? Over.”

He grabbed the radio from his bookshelf and tumbled onto his bed, clicking the red button to respond.

“I read you, Gus,” he spoke into it. “But use our codenames in case my dad’s listening. Over.”

“I’m not calling you ‘Superstud’, Shawn. Over.”

“Don’t be a yogurt-covered raisin, Gus. Over.”

“Do you want me to help you get out of there or not? Over.”

“Fine. Fine. You’re not a yogurt-covered raisin," Shawn recanted with a half-hearted sigh. “Over.”

He crept to the door of his room and peered out; making sure his father wasn’t around.

“I think my dad’s downstairs,” he whispered into the walkie-talkie. “I’m going to see if the coast is clear.”

There was a long burst of static.

“You didn’t say ‘over’.” Gus scolded a moment later. “You’re supposed to say ‘over’.”

“Shhhh!” Shawn hissed, tip-toeing down the corridor. “I’m in the hallway…I don’t see him anywhere…”

He slowly went down the stairs, stepping delicately so they wouldn’t creak.

He ducked behind the railing about halfway down. Henry was in the living room, sitting on the couch reading. He didn’t seem to notice Shawn.

“Okay…I see him…” he whispered into the walkie-talkie. “He’s guarding the door…are you in position? Over.”

“Yeah,” Gus answered. “I’m at your front door. Over.”

Shawn nodded, watching his father’s every move.

“Okay…hit the doorbell and take off. I’ll make a break for the back door when he goes to answer it. We’ll meet at the movie theater in ten minutes. Over.”

“Affirmative. Over.”

“Affirm-a-what?”

“It means yes, Shawn. Over.”

“Then why didn’t you just say yes? You know I hate unnecessary syllables. Over.”

“Just tell me when to go, Shawn.”

Gus was growing impatient, Shawn could tell even through the crackling static.

He always hated trying to pull one over on Henry.

Probably because they always got caught, Shawn thought to himself.

And Gus really hated getting caught.

“Okay,” Shawn whispered. “3…2…1…go!”

Shawn held his breath and waited. A few seconds later, the doorbell rang.

Shawn watched his dad put the book down, check his watch, and slowly walk to the front door.

As soon as he was around the corner, Shawn took off for the back door. He ran out it, making sure to shut the screen quietly so Henry wouldn’t hear. He ran across the yard, rounding the corner of the house…and smacked right into Henry, who was standing with his arms crossed, looking very annoyed.

“Hi, Dad,” Shawn waved with a big, innocent grin.

Henry was clearly not in the mood to be charmed, however.

“I said you were grounded, Shawn.”

“Umm…”

“And just how stupid do you think I am?”

Shawn looked up at him hesitantly.

Was this a trick question?

“Uh-”

Henry saw he was considering actually answering, and put an end to that idea with one sharp scowl.

“Don’t answer that. But having Gus hit the doorbell? Come on. Did you really think I was going to fall for that? That’s just insulting.”

“It was worth a try…”

“Never underestimate your quarry, Shawn. If you’re going to try to pull something, at least be smart about it. Put a little bit of effort into it.”

Shawn rolled his eyes and went back into the house to serve out the rest of his sentence. Henry smiled to himself and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small toy walkie-talkie.

“Never underestimate your quarry, ‘Superstud’.”