Criminal Destiny: Chapters 21–28

by Gordon Korman
In this second book of the Masterminds trilogy, Amber Laska, Eli Frieden, Tori Pritel, and Malik Bruder decide they must commit small crimes in order to reveal the truth about the illegal cloning project that had created them.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–20, Chapters 21–28
40 words 16 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bearing
    (usually plural) a person's awareness of self
    Heart hammering, I leap out of bed, biting my fist to keep from screaming as I struggle to get my bearings.
  2. waver
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    Her attention never wavers from the small screen.
  3. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    Eli picks up the nearest weapon, a porcelain table lamp, yanking the plug from the wall. Brandishing it like a club, he springs after Malik to fight for our freedom.
  4. fray
    a noisy fight
    “Stop!” He grabs the lamp in midstroke.
    Amber and I scramble into the fray.
  5. resentful
    full of or marked by indignant ill will
    Hector lies on one of the beds, holding the towel-wrapped cubes to his bruise, and rakes us with a resentful glare. “Thanks a lot, you guys, for saving yourselves and leaving me alone to die in the woods.”
  6. squeamish
    easily disturbed or disgusted by unpleasant things
    When we get to the part in Jackson Hole, and how we cut out our neck implants, he looks squeamish and feels for his own.
  7. telltale
    disclosing unintentionally
    There’s no bump like Amber’s, but upon closer inspection of his skin, we find the telltale scar, long healed, in exactly the right spot.
  8. sinister
    wicked, evil, or dishonorable
    Less than a quarter mile away, behind high walls, barbed wire, and iron bars is a connection to the sinister experiment that’s responsible for our existence.
  9. vertigo
    a reeling sensation; a feeling that you are about to fall
    In a wild moment of vertigo, I pieced together what must have happened. I got off the truck at the last second, tumbled over the side, and whacked my head on this tree.
  10. sleazy
    morally degraded
    They have their own C. J. Rackoffs out there somewhere—criminals just as sleazy, and scary, and horrible.
  11. bland
    lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting
    His expression remains bland until the supersize eyes land on me. All at once, he breaks into a big grin and laughs out loud.
  12. quaver
    give off unsteady sounds
    “What do you mean?” I quaver, even though I know exactly what he means.
  13. renege
    fail to fulfill a promise or obligation
    “So, as I was saying, those shipments came like clockwork, until about a week ago. Felix reneged on our deal.”
  14. splice
    join together so as to form new genetic combinations
    “You’re masterminds. I know what I’m capable of. The rest of you must be spliced off some heavy hitters too. You need my help? First I need yours.”
  15. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    Hector’s brow furrows, making him look more like Rackoff than ever.
  16. onslaught
    a rapid and continuous outpouring
    At the first onslaught of sound, Malik stomps on the gas, and we wheel out from behind the trees, our engine’s roar completely covered by the blaring siren.
  17. stickler
    someone who insists on something
    “And if you’re sixty seconds late?” the waitress asks with a smile.
    He rolls his eyes. “The warden’s a stickler. I don’t like to cross that guy. I just make my pickup and get on my way, all nice and boring.”
  18. accomplice
    a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan
    I look meaningfully around the table at my four accomplices. I’m still not sure exactly how things are going to go tomorrow, but this much is certain: it won’t be boring.
  19. enormity
    the quality of extreme wickedness
    Just the enormity of what we’re about to do has us totally cowed. We may have the right stuff to be criminal masterminds, but we’re not there yet. (I hope we never are.)
  20. inevitable
    incapable of being avoided or prevented
    It is a nice day—cloudless sky, sunny, with that inevitable Texas heat.
  21. sentry
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    Kefauver policy may allow picnics, but that doesn’t stop the gate sentry from searching our food bag with everything short of an electron microscope.
  22. knoll
    a small natural mound
    There’s a little grass—half a knoll between thirty-foot fences topped with razor wire.
  23. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    He looks intrigued. “Tell me more.”
  24. foliage
    the collective amount of leaves of one or more plants
    I haul Malik back down into the cover of the foliage.
    Malik wrestles himself free and peers through the leafy branches.
  25. artery
    a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body
    There’s this artery, and when you cut off the blood flow—
  26. gurney
    a metal stretcher with wheels
    “Peanuts! Throat closing up!”
    Nobody waits for a gurney. Two of the officers grab him by the legs and under the arms, and run into the building.
  27. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    For a minute, I’m afraid the guards are going to overrule us. But before they can, the nurse relents.
  28. notation
    a comment or instruction (usually added)
    At exactly two-oh-five, Eli hacks into the hospital computer and plants a notation that you’ve recovered, and been taken back to your cell.
  29. fatigues
    military uniform worn by personnel when doing menial labor
    The next part we can only imagine: Rackoff scrambling out of the laundry, and slipping into the workshop next door. There are guards down there, and getting caught is always a possibility. But he’s a familiar face, wearing the same prison fatigues as everybody else.
  30. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    Concentrate! I admonish myself. There will be plenty of black clouds to go around if you screw this up!
  31. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    I’m not a magician. I can’t conjure Rackoff out of no Rackoff.
  32. inscrutable
    difficult or impossible to understand
    In the rearview mirror, I see Rackoff regard her with an inscrutable expression.
  33. incline
    an elevated geological formation
    All at once, the wood falls flat to the ground, and we see the slope in front of us, a steep embankment down to a river below. The base is already sliding on the incline.
  34. eddy
    flow in a circular current, of liquids
    I struggle to stay afloat, but I can’t catch my breath. The eddying current drives me under.
  35. torrent
    a violently fast stream of water or other liquid
    It feels like hours, although it’s only a few minutes before the torrent calms down a little, and we’re able to haul ourselves onto the skid, riding it like a raft.
  36. bluff
    deceive someone about your strength or intentions
    I can’t be bluffing. If he doesn’t obey, I have to be willing to see it through.
  37. bulkhead
    a partition that divides a ship or plane into compartments
    In response, Tori pulls a metal first aid kit off a bulkhead bracket and smashes the transceiver until wires and pieces pop out in a puff of smoke.
  38. resolute
    firm in purpose or belief
    Tears are streaming down Tori’s cheeks, but her expression remains calm and resolute.
  39. gauge
    an instrument for measuring and indicating a quantity
    “The fuel tank decides.” He indicates a gauge on the control panel. The indicator is already at E.
  40. intact
    lacking nothing essential, not damaged
    We drop the last few feet, landing with a crunch in a stubbly field. A crack appears in the Plexiglas, but otherwise the chopper is intact.
Created on Mon Mar 11 15:39:58 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Mar 12 16:51:19 EDT 2024)

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