“Thanks,” Storm said with a smile. “Speaking of being a good employee, I’m going to go ahead and get back to work now.”
John smiled and nodded, giving her a small wave goodbye as she turned around and made a beeline for her own desk.
As she sat down in her own chair again, her heartbeat finally started to return to a normal pace. Had she really just gotten away with stealing top-secret information? A wave of regret washed over her. She’d never been the stealing type, and she hated how the last few weeks had forced her to act in ways that went against her morals. But she didn’t have much of a choice. The shifters needed her.
Moments later, her phone buzzed with an incoming text. Storm swiped to look at it and saw that it was from Grant.
Interesting. At first glance it looks like the same code as the other information we found. In a meeting right now but I’m going to cross check this as soon as I get back to my office. If I’m right and it is the same, I’ll have this decoded for you by our meeting tonight.
Storm set her phone down and stared blankly at her computer screen. Her heartbeat was speeding up again at the reminder that she would be seeing Grant tonight.
There’s no way she was going to get any actual work done today.
Chapter Six
Grant glanced around at the solemn faces in the room, waiting for someone to speak. He had just detailed for the Fur Coats everything he had learned about Hook Labs over the last few days. And after he had spoken, Storm had broken the news that the President was coming to town next week to meet with the Mayor about the shifter-detecting scanners. For several long moments, his shifter friends just stared back at him, trying to process everything they’d just heard.
“Wow,” Silver finally said. “Sounds like we have two weeks left before all hell breaks loose. Maybe three tops.”
Grant nodded, but said nothing himself. Next to Silver sat Jack. Jack was Silver’s boyfriend and Grant’s best friend, and Grant was immensely curious what Jack’s thoughts on the whole situation might be. But Jack didn’t speak either. He just sat there running his fingers through his hair, and Grant almost laughed at how similar Jack was to him. They had the same nervous ticks.
Juno was the next one to break the silence. “They brought in a bunch of new scientists to tour the lab today. I had a bad feeling about it, but I didn’t realize things were this bad. The scanners are getting closer to working each day. If these new scientists are sent by the President, then they’re the best the country has to offer. My guess is that scanner will be working in a matter of days.”
“You have to get out of there, Juno!” Bash said, sitting up straight and looking at Juno with an expression of alarm. “If they get those things working and find out you’re a shifter, who knows how they’ll react.”
Bash, short for Sebastian, was Silver’s younger brother. He had a fiery temper, but he was loyal to a fault and extremely protective of his friends and family. Juno looked over at Bash, panic starting to show in her eyes.
“But what am I supposed to do? If I just quit that will look awfully suspicious. These research positions are highly prestigious, and I’m only a few months away from getting my PhD. People are going to raise eyebrows if I randomly give it all up.”
“Maybe you should just call in sick for a bit,” Storm said. “You know, get some sort of extended flu bug that takes a week or two to get over. By the time they start to get suspicious, the scanners are probably going to be finished anyway.
Grant shifted his eyes toward Storm, who was sitting on the floor of his living room and leaning against the wall. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a billowy maroon t-shirt. Her hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders, and she was twisting a thick strand of it around her finger. She looked lovely, and he wanted nothing more in that moment than to scoop her up and carry her back to his bedroom. His bear within him was pacing and frantic, wanting to claim Storm as its own. But Grant had to wait. This wasn’t the time or place for a frolic like that. He needed to focus on this meeting with the Fur Coats. Besides, Storm had made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship with him. Not that Grant was planning to take no for an answer. He just had to find a way to convince her that they were meant to be.
Storm looked over at Grant at that moment, and raised an eyebrow in his direction when she caught him staring at her. Grant refused to look away, holding her gaze instead. She was the first one to look away.
“Anyway,” Storm said. “Our jobs don’t matter much anymore, do they? In a few weeks time we’re all screwed. I think the more pressing question is whether we can figure out a way to even stay in Chicago, or whether we should make a break for it now.”
Jack finally spoke up. “So, wait. Let me get this straight. Juno, you’re saying the President’s scientists are already here in Chicago working on the scanner? And you think it’s only a matter of days before the shifter-detectors are working?”
Juno nodded.
“And Grant, you’re telling us that Hook Labs is ready to start mass production on the scanners?” Jack asked.
Grant nodded. “Yeah. I’ve learned more about Hook Labs in the last few days than I ever wanted to know. But this project is their baby. They have assembly lines ready to go to mass produce these things. They have plans to get the shifter detectors in everything—security cameras, phones, tablets—basically they want to come in quick and own the market. Their motive is profit, for sure. The guys at Hook talk a big game about caring for humanity by eliminating shifters, but that’s all just talk because they think it sounds good. You can practically see the dollar signs in their eyes. They want the fortune that will come from being the original shifter-detector producer. If building that fortune means stirring up public panic, they’re prepared to go crazy doing that.”
Jack frowned. “And Storm, you’re saying the President is coming to town next week?”
Storm nodded. “Yeah. We think we have more information about that but Grant’s still decoding it. We were hoping to have it decoded by this meeting but it turned out to be a little more difficult than Grant thought.”
Grant bit his lip. He’d been really disappointed when he realized this afternoon that the code for the new information from Storm wasn’t the same as the code he’d broken for the information they’d stolen from Mr. Astor’s condo. The codes were similar, but not exactly the same. He’d tried to crack the damn thing before the meeting to impress Storm, but he had come up short. Damn meetings at work getting in the way of more important pursuits. He was tempted to just quit his job, since everything was about to go to hell anyway. But he was sticking it out so that he could keep an eye on Hook Labs for as long as possible.
“Guys, this is more serious than you’re acting like it is,” Jack said, standing up and starting to pace. Grant hadn’t seen Jack this agitated in a long time. Normally, Jack acted completely calm no matter what was going on around him.
“What do you mean?” Grant asked.
“The scanners are gonna be done within days. The President’s coming next week. Hook Labs is standing by to mass produce shifter-detectors. My guess is that these things are going to be rolled out before the President even gets here. The mayor probably wants to stir up hysteria, and have the city already primed with panic by the time the President gets here.”
“So…we might only have days left before they start actually releasing shifter-detectors? Is that what you’re getting at?” Juno asked.
“That’s exactly what I’m getting at,” Jack said. “My guess is that the moment the shifter-detectors are working, Hook Labs is going to want them flying off the shelves. What if that’s tomorrow, guys? It could happen. Enough talk. And enough worry about your jobs. You’re not going to care about your job once the panic starts. You’re going to care about a plan for survival. So let’s make one. Now.”
“He’s right,” Grant said, standing and starting to pace, too. His body was filled with nervous energy. His protec
tive alpha instinct was kicking in, and all he wanted to do right now was grab Storm in his arms and keep her safe from whatever chaos the world was about to throw at them. Of course, Storm didn’t want to be taken care of. But that detail didn’t stop Grant’s bear from going crazy within him.
“I think we need to leave Chicago,” Silver said. Her voice was calm, but firm. A chorus of protests rose immediately.
“What, and just run away, sis?” Bash challenged. “Since when have you been the type to run away from danger.”
“It’s not about running away,” Silver said. “It’s about not being an idiot. When the news about shifters initially breaks, things are going to get crazy. There will probably be rioting and all kinds of shit going on. I mean, the President is coming. This is a big-scale thing. We don’t have the resources to deal with that level of attack. If we want to help shifters, we need to survive. And our best chance of survival right now is getting out of here before the mayhem starts.”
“I think she’s right,” Juno said slowly. “But where are we supposed to go? Back to Alaska? Even up there technology has been developing rapidly. There aren’t a lot of places in the world these days where someone can truly hide out.”
Grant snapped his fingers. “Drew!” he said.
“Drew? The guy living off the grid up in Michigan?” Storm asked.
Grant nodded. “He told us if we ever needed refuge to come to him. If we want to escape the city before the madness starts, he’s our best option.”
“Okay,” Bash said. “I guess that’s a good start. But Michigan’s not that far from here. Do you really think that’s a safe place to go, long-term.”
Grant nodded. “Look, the point is not how close or far from Chicago we are. The point is how well-hidden we are. In this day and age, computers reach everywhere. What we need isn’t physical distance. What we need is someone who is skilled at staying out of the ever-seeing eyes of computers. Drew’s our man, guys. He’s been doing that for years. If anyone can help us, it’s him.”
“What about our families back in Alaska?” Silver asked, her voice growing slightly panicked. “This war on shifters might start out in Chicago, but you know it’s not going to take very long to reach the far corners of the country, and even the world. I don’t want to just leave my family alone in Alaska while I hide out. I want to protect them.”
“I know,” Grant said. “Believe me, I want to take care of my family too. I would die for them. But we’re not going to help them simply by going back to Alaska. We need to go to Drew and learn from him the best ways to stay off the grid and out of the detection range of computers. Only when we learn how to do that will we truly be able to help our families.”
Storm sat up straight, looking truly excited for the first time since the meeting had started. “Guys, this is a brilliant plan. Drew can help us. We should have gone to him ages ago.”
Jack was nodding. “Yeah, agreed. The sooner we can get out there, the better. What about tomorrow night? We can leave under the cover of darkness. Then we’ll have the day to pack whatever we want to bring, and maybe to wrap up anything at work we need to do. Like stealing copies of Hook Labs’ files.”
Jack winked at Grant, and Grant laughed. “Yeah, I definitely have plans to steal some of their stuff. But here’s the deal, guys. You can’t bring any electronics with you. So any documents you want to take with you need to be copied on to actual paper or printed on to actual photographs.”
Juno’s eyes widened. “Actual paper? Actual photographs? That would cost a fortune!”
Grant nodded. “I know. So think carefully about what you actually want to bring with you. But Drew isn’t going to be happy if we bring a bunch of electronics to his hideout. I’m guessing a big part of how he learned to live off the grid has to do with learning to live without electronics.”
Everyone nodded solemnly. Everyone except Storm, that is. There was nothing solemn about her right now. She jumped to her feet and started talking excitedly at such a rapid pace that it was hard to understand her.
“You guys, this is such a great plan. We can save shifters! Drew can help us. I’ve been so frustrated, feeling like the end was coming and not sure what to do about it. But this is perfect. We can actually learn how to hide. Make sure you only bring what you absolutely need. Less is more. Think of it like an adventure.”
Grant couldn’t keep a smile from spreading across his face. He loved Storm’s spunk. For the first time since this meeting had started, he felt a true sense of peace wash over him. Everything was going to be alright. The Fur Coats had a viable plan for survival.
And he certainly wasn’t going to complain about the fact that the plan required Storm to spend a lot of time around him with no computers to distract her.
Chapter Seven
An hour later, Grant was back at his office. The law firm was quiet, with most of the offices completely dark. Here and there, light from an associate’s office spilled out into the hallway. There were always a couple people here pulling an all-nighter to meet some sort of impossible deadline. Grant would blend in nicely, looking like just another overworked attorney.
He slipped into his office, and fired up his computer. He quickly navigated to the files about the Hook Labs case. These files were considered so top secret that the law firm didn’t even want them worked on remotely. Grant had been forced to actually come in to the office to take photos of them. He worked quickly, but it still took the better part of an hour to get all the photos he needed. As soon as he was done taking the pictures, he slipped out of his office building as quietly as he had come. Once he was in his hovercar, he ordered his computer to head to the south side of Chicago. He knew of a lab there that would print photos in an hour, for a hefty fee. These days, finding anyone to print photos was difficult and expensive. Paper wasn’t manufactured much anymore, so the little bit that was available cost a great deal. There were a few places that would print plain black and white paper documents quickly, but that didn’t help Grants since the only way he’d been able to get the top secret files from the law firm was to take actual pictures of them. And getting pictures printed in an hour? Impossible, unless you had connections.
Oddly enough, Grant had connections. He had volunteered to work pro bono on a criminal case last year, defending a man who had been wrongly accused of murder. The man had been a gang member and drug dealer—but not a murderer. It had been an interesting case, to say the least. In the process of helping the man clear his name of murder charges, Grant had learned more than he ever wanted to know about the underground world of Chicago’s gang-filled neighborhoods. One of the things that had surprised him was the existence of photo and paper-printing shops that would do rush jobs. The fees were high, but if you wanted a photo reliably printed in less than a week’s time, it was your only option. Besides, the drug dealers didn’t bat an eye at the exorbitant fees.
Neither, it seemed, did a shifter who was on a mission to get out of town.
Grant glanced around uneasily as his hovercar landed in front of the dark building. He stood out like a sore thumb here. Aside from the rich drug lords, the population of this neighborhood lived in abject poverty. Not too many hovercars were even around, let alone a hovercar as new and fancy as Grant’s. Instead, older models of self-driving cars littered the streets. Many of them looked like they were on their last leg.
Grant stepped out of his hovercar and did his best to exude an air of confidence. He wasn’t really scared for his life. After all, if worst came to worst, he could always shift into bear form and easily take out anyone who tried to attack him. But he didn’t want that kind of attention right now, if he could avoid it. He just wanted to get his photos and get out of there.
The bells above the door jangled as Grant walked into the dark store. Several pairs of cold eyes rose to look at him from the men sitting behind the counter. Smoke hung heavy in the air as the men puffed on giant, cheap cigars. Several glasses of whiskey sat on the countertop in front of t
hem.
Grant squinted as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, hoping that the owner of the shop, Ralph would be here. Ralph had been a star witness in the murder case Grant had worked on, so Grant had spent quite a bit of time with him in court. Ralph wasn’t sitting out front with the men, but moments later he appeared from the back room.
“Did Jimmy finally show up with those beers? I swear Jimmy you’re getting on my last nerves these days.”
Ralph stopped talking abruptly when he saw that the newcomer wasn’t Jimmy at all. His expression went from jovial to wary when he saw Grant.
“Mr. Ray,” he said cautiously. “What are you doing around these parts?”
“You know this guy?” one of the men behind the counter asked, letting out a long puff of cigar soke.
“Call me Grant, please,” Grant said. “And yes, I know Ralph. We worked together.”
“Yeah,” Ralph said. “Grant’s the one who got Curtis off when they tried to stick that murder on him last year. I don’t like lawyers, but Grant’s alright. What are you doing out here, though? Is someone else in trouble?”
“Well, yeah. You could say I’m in trouble,” Grant said. “I need some photos printed. As soon as possible.”
Ralph raised an eyebrow. “Normally I don’t work for anyone outside the neighborhood.”
“I know,” Grant said. “But I really need your help. I’ll pay full price. I’m not asking for any kind of special deal. I just need to get this done.”
There was a long pause as Ralph looked Grant up and down. “Alright. I’ll print them for you. But only because of how you helped Curtis out. And you’re paying full price.”
Grant nodded and reached in his pocket to pull out the portable data drive that held all the document photos. “Here you go. Thanks buddy.”
Ralph took the drive and stuck it into an old computer sitting on the counter. Blue light from the computer screen filled the smoky room as the computer roared to life, and Ralph’s eyes moved right to left rapidly as he scanned the files on the disk.
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