by KJ Kalis
“No. They won’t let anybody in there, especially on the weekends. I think that’s when they run their top secret experiments. Anytime I send something over there, they send one of the lab techs from Building B to come and get it.”
“Can’t you call someone? Do you have a friend or someone who works in that building who could go in and get the samples out for you?” Jess’s heart pounded in her chest. She knew she was reaching, but there had to be a way to get in the building before it was too late.
Chase started to pace, sticking his hands in his pockets, “I only know one person over there very well. Her name is Juliet, but she works on the first floor in the files department. She doesn’t work upstairs in testing. I think the credentialing is different. When the lab techs come over, they have a different kind of badge than Juliet has. It’s like everything is segregated. You know, the whole right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.”
Jess took a deep breath, trying to chase the headache that was forming at the back of her skull back where it came from. Everything seemed to be a blur around her. She closed her eyes for a second. When she did, all she could see was Abby’s face smiling at her from that morning as she shoved a bite of pancakes in her mouth. A lump of sadness and fear formed in her chest. That poor girl, she thought. What is she going through right now? Was she alone? Afraid? Jess’s mind refocused on the problem at hand. The ABG.
Before Jess could say anything else, she heard a phone beep, as if a text was coming in, but it wasn’t her phone. Chase pulled his phone out of his back pocket and Jess held her breath. “Is it Abby?” she said while Chase was still tapping the screen.
Chase stared down at his phone, the color draining from his face. Jess looked at him, wondering what happened, her gut telling her that something had gone very wrong. “Chase? What happened?”
He didn’t say anything, only slumping down on his work stool, holding the phone in his lap. Jess walked closer and took the phone from him, staring at the screen.
It was a picture of Piper.
It took a second for Jess’s mind to adjust to what she was seeing. It was Piper’s same face and same long blonde braid, but she was positioned in front of a black drape, a knife held to her throat, a man behind her, dressed in a ski mask, black jacket and black gloves. There was nothing that could identify him. Jess’s heart started to pound. The kidnapper was wearing the same garb as the kidnappers from that morning. Jess’s breath caught in her throat. She whispered, “Piper.”
“They have her, Jess. They have my wife, too.”
16
Seeing the picture of Piper sucked all the air out of the room. For what seemed like hours, neither Jess nor Chase spoke, even though it was just a few minutes. Chase sat staring at the phone, at the image of Piper, the nick from the sharp blade pressed against her neck causing a trickle of blood to run down. Jess didn’t say anything. She stared at the floor, her stomach in knots, wondering what to do. At that moment, Chase’s entire family was being held by people that were willing to do whatever they had to in order to get the ABG. None of it made any sense. ABG was meant to save lives. Why do the kidnappers want it so badly? What about it made it valuable to Landon Walker, enough so that he’d have an affair with Piper and then kidnap her daughter to make a point?
“Chase, there’s something we’re missing here. Why do they want the ABG so badly? Something about this just doesn’t make sense.”
“Honestly, Jess. I don’t have time to think about what they could possibly want the ABG for at this point,” he said, staring at the computer screen in front of him. The problem was, they still hadn’t solved the problem of how to get the ABG from Building B.
The only option they had for help in getting the samples out of Building B was Charlie and that hadn’t worked. Charlie had no pull, no way to try to get the building open enough for Jess or Chase to go over and retrieve the samples. Jess chewed her lip and then got up, starting to pace. One thing she knew from being an intelligence analyst was that the most effective organizations were the ones that worked with the stuff they had in front of them. They didn’t always have the best funding or the best resources, but they were resourceful. That was different. All of a sudden, she got an idea. “I’ll be right back.”
Chase didn’t have a chance to respond. Jess ran out of the lab and went back down to the first floor, taking the steps. As she rounded the corner, her shoes squeaking on the highly polished tile as she ran, she spotted Sully. He was still sitting behind the security console, playing with his phone. “You’re still here?” he said. “Thought maybe you and Chase had gone out the back entrance.”
“No. I have a problem, Sully. Actually, Chase has a problem. The project he’s working on, the samples were sent over to Building B for testing. They were supposed to be back last night, but they never showed up. Some problem with broken equipment, or something. Chase really needs them. It’s an emergency. Is there any way you have access to Building B?”
Sully shook his head slowly, his head cocked to the side, “I wish I did. That place has been locked down for the last month or so. Some super-secret government stuff going on over there is what I heard.”
Jess didn’t need Sully to confirm what she already knew from Charlie. An idea crossed her mind, “Okay, well if you can’t get us in that building, do you know anybody over there in that building who might be able to?”
Sully frowned for a second and then looked back at Jess, “The only thing I can do is tell you that my friend Bobby is working security this weekend over there. At least, he’s on the schedule. I can’t get into that building, that’s a fact, but Bobby works there all the time. Now, that’s not to say he’s got access to the area Chase needs to get to. But at least Bobby could let you in the door. How’s that?”
Jess gave him a curt nod. It was the first good news they’d had in hours. “You’re the best, Sully. Will you let him know we will be over in a few minutes?”
“Yeah, let me text him.”
As Sully stared down at his phone, Jess glanced around the lobby. Everything about it was white and shiny, from the two-story glass windows to the white marble floors and the white walls. Everything about it spoke of cleanliness and precision, exactly what an organization like Trident Labs would want to portray to their shareholders and clients. But behind the doors and all the fancy ID badges, Jess was starting to wonder what was really going on. The fact that Charlie hadn’t been able to access Building B with his level of credentials, many of which extended to personal friendships with some of the highest-ranking officials in the military, surprised her. Not that he’d use them to help her, but for some reason knowing Abby had been taken, Jess thought he would. There had to be more to what was going on at Trident Labs and more to the kidnapper’s demand for the ABG. Before any more thoughts could form in her mind, Sully’s voice cut through the silence, “All right, Bobby said he can get you into the lobby, but that’s it. He’s doing me a big favor. But he said to use the side entrance, the one that’s attached to this building. He said he can’t let you in if you come through the front entrance.”
Jess was just about to walk away when Sully called behind her, “Listen, I don’t know what they’ve got going over there, but be careful. Nobody’s playing in that building right now, if you know what I mean.” The look on Sully’s face told Jess he was something more than just a run-of-the-mill security guard. His warning made her hands feel clammy.
“Thanks, Sully. We owe you. Both of us.”
Jess ran back to the stairwell entrance, ignoring the beeping elevator in the background. Hopefully the fact that it was a Saturday would help them with less of the regular staff hanging around.
Taking the steps two at a time, she ran to the second floor and pressed hard on the metal bar that kept the fire door closed, the snap of the bar on the door sending an echo of metal on metal back down into the stairwell as she made her way out into the hallway. She ran into Chase’s lab, her eyes wide. Chase was still sitting,
staring at his computer. His glasses were off. Jess didn’t know if he was thinking or crying or having a major revelation about the ABG. “Chase!”
As he looked up, she noticed his face was pale, “Listen, I ran downstairs and talked to Sully. He can at least get us in the side door of Building B. I have no idea if that will help or not, but he has a buddy over there, named Bobby, who’s ready to meet us. We gotta go now.”
Chase put his glasses back on, “Getting us in the side door isn’t going to help with anything, Jess. I’ve got to get into the fourth-floor lab where the samples are.” He held up his ID badge, “My ID badge isn’t going to get me access to any of those rooms.”
“Well, then we're just going to have to break in.”
Jess watched Chase. He stood up and stared at her as if she had suggested murdering someone. “Do you have any idea what you’re suggesting? That building is completely secure. I don’t have any idea how we can get up to the fourth floor, or even if I could access the lab if we could make it there. That’s not to mention the armed patrols that run through that building. And if we get caught…”
Jess didn’t let him finish, heat rising in her cheeks. “Okay, so what’s your idea? Should we just run to the store and buy some juice that happens to be the same color as the ABG and try to pass that off?” She felt a surge of anger burn behind her eyes as she glared at him. “How else do you propose getting your daughter, and now your wife, back? Unless you prefer to just sit on your hands and wait till the kidnappers, this Landon Walker or whoever it is, calls again and then apologize because you can’t get what they want?” Where the words had come from, Jess wasn’t sure. She knew they were harsh, but part of her didn’t understand why Chase would give up so quickly, leaving his daughter and wife to die at the hands of the kidnappers.
“You understand that if we get caught in that building, we will likely go to jail. Abby won’t have any chance at all. Neither will Piper.”
“And if we do nothing? How’s that going to work out for them?”
Jess’s heart was pounding in her chest, the adrenaline from arguing with Chase surging through her system. She wanted to help. He had to give her the room to do that. Could they successfully navigate Building B after Bobby got them in the door? There was no way of knowing. A lump formed in Jess’s throat as she realized if half of what Chase was saying was true, it would be more than difficult to try to get up to the fourth floor. Probably impossible. It wasn’t like they could just walk in the door, press the elevator button and sail up, cruising through to the lab, quickly stuffing the ABG in their back pockets. If the DOJ had the building locked down and Charlie couldn’t even get access, they were facing difficult odds. And neither of them were trained for this kind of a mission. Jess swallowed, pushing the lump back down into her chest. She lowered her voice, “Seriously, Chase, do you have a better plan?”
He shook his head slowly, the muscles rippling across his jaw, “No.”
“Then let’s go.”
* * *
Jess was the first one out the lab door. She turned and waited for a minute as Chase closed it behind them. She led the way to the stairwell she’d found and pushed the metal bar, the latch snapping open. Neither of them said anything, the only noise their footfalls on the concrete steps. Down the steps and into the lobby, Jess saw Sully pacing back and forth in front of the security desk. “Perfect timing,” he said, walking down a side hallway Jess hadn’t noticed before. “Bobby just texted me. He said he’s waiting at the side door for you.”
Following Sully down the hallway, Jess noticed it was white with the same polished floors as the second floor had, but this time there were offices on either side of the hallways with small placards attached outside each doorway. “Emma Jones, Accounting,” “Robert Blakemore, Finance,” “Malcolm Randall, Human Resources.”
At the end of the hallway, there was a single door, a fire exit with glowing red letters. Sully punched in a code in the keypad that was next to the door and swiped his ID. “Okay, I’ve disarmed the door and unlocked it. It’ll stay this way for the next thirty minutes. I’m thinking you guys don’t want to be clocked in and out of the building, so this is the best way.” Jess saw Sully look at each of them for a second, “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here, but good luck.” For a second, Jess was surprised Sully hadn’t asked more questions. Then again, if Chase had worked at Trident Labs as long as Sully had, then perhaps he knew what kind of a man Chase was — that it would have to be a dire circumstance for Chase to ask for a favor like this.
As they pushed the door open, Jess brushed past Sully and whispered, “Thank you.”
Sully gave a single nod, “Keep an eye on your brother.”
Out in the sunlight, the midafternoon light caused Jess to squint. As her eyes adjusted to the heat and the brightness, she saw a carefully manicured river rock and stone pathway between the two buildings. Part of it went straight towards Building B just ahead of them, and part of it curved off, both left and right, into the adjacent parking lots. Stepping on the larger stones, Jess’s heel caught on a few of the river rocks, their hard surfaces making a quiet grinding noise as they rubbed against each other. Chase had stepped out in front of her and was walking quickly towards Building B, stepping on each one of the stones. There wasn’t much space between the buildings, maybe only twenty-five or thirty feet, Jess estimated. Why they were so close together, she wasn’t sure, but she was grateful for it. Moving between the buildings would just take a few seconds, nothing more. That was, if they could get back to Chase’s lab with the ABG.
As Chase reached for the door handle on Building B, it pushed open without him having to tug. Bobby. Jess paused for a second as Chase stepped inside, his back disappearing ahead of her. Bobby closed the door behind them with a click and then stopped. Jess took a second to look at him. He was considerably younger than Sully, with dark, gelled hair and a neatly pressed uniform that matched the one that Sully wore. “Welcome to Building B,” he whispered. “This is as far as I can take you. The door will stay unarmed for the next half hour. I’m hoping that gives you enough time to get in and out of the building.” Without saying anything more, Bobby walked away. Jess frowned for a second, wondering why Bobby hadn’t asked any questions about why they needed to get in the building. Maybe he was just taking Sully’s word for it? Maybe Sully owed him? Jess felt the muscles tighten at the back of her neck. They were on their own now. Bobby hadn’t offered any information or any floor plans. He’d simply walked away.
Neither of them moved for a second. Chase looked at her and then blinked, pointing, “I’ve only been in here one other time. I think the door for their stairwell is right over there.”
“Chase, I just had an awful thought. What if there are surveillance cameras all over the building?”
“I don’t think there are, Jess. Sully and I had lunch one time a couple years ago. He didn’t tell me what goes on in this building, but he told me it’s stuff that no one wants any record of. What that is, I don’t know. Let’s just hope it works in our favor.”
As the information settled on Jess, she felt her heart start to pound in her chest, her breathing ragged, trying to fight the urge to run outside, anywhere to get away from what they were in the middle of. Abby. She had to focus on Abby. Watching Chase, he walked forward about five feet to a doorway and then pushed it open, just barely twisting the metal door handle. Jess followed, carefully closing the stairwell door behind her. Any noise could cause the security teams to come running. That was one thing they didn’t need.
The stairwell in Building B was identical to the one that was in Chase’s lab. Same white paint, same gray, concrete steps with grooves cut into them to prevent slipping. Clearly, the buildings had been constructed around the same time. But the words Chase said hung with Jess. What was going on in Building B? If it was so secret that Chase didn’t think they had surveillance cameras, that was a whole new level of covert operations, one Jess had never encountered even in he
r work as an analyst. She shook off the thought and followed Chase.
As they got to the first landing, Jess glanced up at the ceiling. There were no glass bubbles attached to the wall anywhere, the kind that were commonly used for building surveillance. So far, so good, she breathed.
Moving as silently as possible, Jess trailed Chase to the second floor. Her heart was still pounding in her chest. She was sure Chase could hear every beat. As she was about to put her foot on the landing for the second floor, she saw Chase hold his hand out and then duck down. He was moving smoothly, only glancing back at her occasionally. It was like he was in his own world. The stairwell door to the second floor had a glass window in it and a shadow passed by. Jess dodged behind Chase and then pressed her body against the wall as tightly as she could. As she glanced back up, she saw two men, dressed in the same black tactical gear she’d seen the kidnappers wear, pass by the window, one of them glancing inside. She held her breath, her lungs burning. If the security teams found them now, they’d have no chance of retrieving the ABG, no chance of saving Abby and Piper.
Still kneeling, pinned against the wall, Jess gritted her teeth. She counted to ten and then glanced up. It looked like the guards had passed by the window, but she and Chase would need to move quickly to get up the steps. The glass pane had a perfect view of the next flight, between the second and third floor. If they didn’t move, they’d be caught for sure. Jess leaned forward, tugging at Chase. “Let’s go,” she whispered. Instead of waiting for him, she stepped in front, taking the steps two at a time, trying to make sure that her shoes didn’t make any noise against the concrete.
As they rounded the corner on the next landing, Jess realized it was the same set up as the second floor, only this time it was the third. As she approached from below, she glanced forward, peering around and into the window. There was nothing to be seen, just a blank white wall on the other side. She nodded at Chase and started up the second half of the steps, getting them up to the third floor. “One more to go,” she whispered to herself, checking behind to make sure Chase was still coming. As she glanced behind her, she saw him reach for the handrail, his hands shaking, drops of sweat beading on his forehead. She knew it wasn’t the temperature. In fact, if anything, the stairwell was icy cold, the air conditioning running overtime to combat the Arizona heat. It was stress. As Chase gripped the handrail, the metal from his wedding ring connected with the gray paint and metal on the rail, letting out a low, clanking sound. Startled by it, Chase tried to take the next step up, but missed, falling forward, catching himself with his hands on the steps above. Jess gasped. Though probably no one in the building noticed the noise, there was no need to alert anyone to their presence. Jess glanced around, her eyes wide. She motioned to Chase, waving him forward. If they stopped where they were, they were in full view of the guards as they passed.
