As Ben walks home from school, desperately missing his best friend, he encounters Shank, who introduces himself. Shank tells Ben that Griffin has sent him to bring him up to speed on the plan: “The plan! Never before had those words been such music to Ben’s ears” (166).

The posse gathers at Melissa’s house with Griffin attending via computer. He explains Operation Dirty Rat, which involves finding the pack rat in the school, locating its nest, and recovering the Super Bowl ring. Melissa explains that she will bypass Griffin’s home monitor by providing him a smaller one that will ride on his belt so that he can join the posse in their search. The ideal time to accomplish their mission will be Wednesday evening, when Logan is performing Hail Caesar. Shank is enthused to work with the other members of the posse, saying they are his kind of people, but “[n]one of them wanted to be Shank’s kind of people” (170).

Melissa comes to Griffin’s basement with a digital phone that she links to his anklet. She tells him that once the monitor in the basement is turned off, the police department will still receive an unbroken signal. They test the device by turning on the cell phone and turning off the monitor.