by A and E Kirk
Time for a Hail Mary.
I touched Ms. Lambert’s shoulder. “Can we check out the Purchasing and Transport Department. That’s where I was thinking about interning.”
“Of course.” She took us to another cubicle-laden space, only half-full of employees.
The Boys and I lagged back. “Matthias, can you black out the security cameras somehow?” The Aussie nodded. “Good. When I make my move, do it. In the meantime, everybody fan out and look for Brian Burke’s cubicle. It’s probably one of the empty ones. Everyone has personalized their space, so look for a photo.” From my purse, I pulled out the ID badge and showed them his picture as a reminder.
“Or we could look for his name.” Matthias pointed at the engraved brass nameplates on each person’s desk.
Missed that one, but I was still feeling good. I had a plan and was actually running this operation. Nice work, Lahey. “Whoever finds it, give a signal and follow my lead.”
We fanned out, looking interested and saying hi to people. A moment later Blake waved from across the room and shouted, “Signal!”
Are you kidding me?
Blake, utterly pleased with himself, kept waving. “Babe, signal over here!”
As I hustled toward him, Ms. Lambert followed, “What’s he talking about?”
Blowing our cover. But I smiled. “It’s our…cute little signal that he needs a hug. I waved at Blake. “Coming honey!”
Gag me.
I flashed Matthias a look. Again he nodded. His eyes swirled black. As I reached Blake, I opened my arms wide and put my plan in motion.
CHAPTER 29
“Come here you big—ahhh!” I flung myself forward, stumbling like I’d tripped. Not hard to fake since I was already wobbly on the heels. Arms flailing, I went down.
Blake, bless his heart, reached out to catch me. And he would have, if I hadn’t smacked his hands and dodged sideways, landing on the floor with a thud.
I let him help me up, and he set me down in the chair at Burke’s workstation. The nameplate matched, but there were some pictures of him too. I grabbed my ankle.
“Ow, ow.” I moaned and made a dramatic to-do about it being painful and possibly broken. “Ms. Lambert, could you get me ice please?”
“Yes, I’ll be right back with—” Her computer tablet made a sharp, high-pitched sound. She glanced at it and frowned deeply. “Oh, no. There’s a problem with the security cameras.”
“Go on. My ankle can wait.”
After she hustled off with a worried expression, I spun in the chair and used Burke’s keycard to turn on his computer. There wasn’t even a password to get through. His screen desktop had only a few business files, the rest of the space was taken up by game icons.
“What now?” I said.
“I’m extremely proficient,” Jayden sighed. “But in this time constraint, Tristan would be faster at ascertaining what we need. However, a lack of cellular service makes that impossible.”
“I got it covered.” Because this was my Op, and I could handle a crisis on the fly. I picked up the handset on the desk phone and dialed.
Tristan answered with a tentative, “Hello?”
I handed Jayden the receiver, and in short order, he began typing on the keyboard.
Problem solved. Boo-yah.
Then, because I was on such an in-charge roll, I told Ayden, “Let’s go see if we can find Burke’s locker.”
In the breakroom, he and I went up and down the rows of metal cubbies until we found one marked B. Burke. It was padlocked, but Ayden shot a blue-white flame from his index finger. It looked like the fire on a welding torch and easily sliced through the metal loop.
While rummaging through the contents, we heard the door open. We froze. Voices. Two males.
“They’re on to us,” one of the men said.
“I told you even a front would have better security than most real businesses.”
“Yeah, yeah, you were right. Let’s get out of here. We’ll—”
The man stopped speaking as he came around the corner and saw us. Right behind him, his buddy bumped into his back. The two Gas Company guys. Bill and Ted. Apparently their adventure wasn’t going so well.
They were in the middle of unzipping and removing their overalls. Underneath, each wore a white dress shirt and black trousers. And dress shoes. That’s when I figured out what had bothered me. The shoes hadn’t matched the rest of the attire. According to my training, it was something to notice, along with hands, haircuts, jewelry, and even perfume that didn’t correspond with the rest of outfit.
The four of us had a stare down.
Ayden spoke first. “Hey.”
Wow. Big talker.
The shorter guy, whose nametag listed him as Ted, responded with, “Hey.”
Yeah, now we were getting somewhere.
I rolled my eyes. “So, Bill and Ted, what are you up to? Are you lost? Should I get a security guard to help you out?” And keep you from whatever nasty deed you’re perpetuating?
Taller guy, Bill, looked a bit rattled, but Ted had recovered from the surprise. “Just routine maintenance, right Bill?”
“Absolutely right, Ted.” He took a moment to stare pointedly at the open locker we were rifling through, then back at us. “What are you two doing? You lost? Need a security guard?”
Hmmm. Seems we all preferred to stay incognito.
“No,” Ayden said. “We’re good.”
Ted nodded. “So are we.” He turned and pulled Bill with him out the door.
“Should we tell Ms. Lambert?” I asked. “What do you think they were doing?”
“Don’t know. Snooping like us? Maybe we’ll mention it. Let’s finish here.” Which is what we did, but came up empty handed.
Returning to the cubicle, I asked the Boys, “Any luck?”
“Just uncovered some hidden files,” Logan said. “The latest purchase orders Burke made. Jayden’s going to open them up and take a look.”
“She’s back,” Blake whispered urgently.
Ms. Lambert strode our way, a bag of ice in hand.
I cringed. “We don’t have time to look at all of the files. Print them out. We’ll take them with us.”
“No time for that, either,” Jayden said. “There are too many. She’s almost upon us.”
“Do something!” I hissed.
Jayden tucked his long hair behind his ears, then furiously punched keys. The document images flashed by too fast for me to make anything out. That was helpful.
“How are you feeling?” Ms. Lambert called.
Petrified.
“Sorry I took so long,” she said. “Had to have a couple of maintenance men escorted off the property. They were wandering in unauthorized areas. I’ve got the ice.”
She passed Logan. Jayden was still flipping through invoices. She made it to the edge of the cubicle and leaned over. We were about to get busted, but Jayden didn’t seem to notice. I held my breath, wracking my brain for a plausible explanation for snooping.
Ms. Lambert’s smile faltered. “What are you doing with the computer? Oh my goodness!” she cried as Blake swept her into his arms.
“Hey, Mrs. Babe, you almost fell!”
“I did not. Put me down!” She shoved herself free of Blake and rounded the corner into the cubicle, then stared at the computer screen and gave us a stern look. “You shouldn’t be doing that.”
CHAPTER 30
We made it out alive. Barely. Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but Ms. Lambert hadn’t been happy to find Jayden playing computer games. She’d escorted us out shortly afterwards.
I’d forgotten Jayden had a photographic memory. He’d flipped through the screen images in seconds and wrangled us a lead. A warehouse in the Port of Los Angeles. A short drive later, we were parked a block away.
Matthias loosened his tie. “Jayden, you said that the demon, as Burke, ordered dozens of items transported to this warehouse. So what did he order?”
“The answer to that is
unattainable as yet,” Jayden said. “I only have the M-Terprises internal reference numbers which do not identify what the items are, but a shipment was delivered to this warehouse yesterday and was scheduled for pickup today, although I have no data as to whether or not the items are still here.”
“Only one way to find out.” Ayden got out of Tristan’s Suburban. “Aurora, stay here as lookout. If something weird happens, call us.” He handed me his phone and a pair of binoculars.
Honestly, I didn’t mind.
The warehouse had a bunch of activity. There were plenty of shipping containers as well as trucks and workers, with cargo being loaded and unloaded at various bays, and vehicles going in and out through the gate. Logan had gone in for a closer look and reported the guards were armed with pistols in holsters and large automatic weapons strapped over their shoulders.
Guns scared me. I could play lookout.
The guys took off, ducking around the outside perimeter and disappearing. The warehouse backed up to a dock where a couple of boats were moored. Using the binoculars, I kept a sharp eye out for anything suspicious.
It didn’t take long. Two men finished loading a panel truck at one of the loading bays and came around from the back. It was Bill and Ted.
“Oh, crap.” In my panic, it took me a sec to fumble with Ayden’s phone, but all the Boys’ numbers went straight to voicemail. What now?
Bill and Ted waved to the workers in the warehouse and got into the truck’s cab, ready to depart. What did they have in the back? The shipment we were looking for? Were they Burke’s contacts? If that was the case, we didn’t want to lose them. Or what was in the truck.
I turned the key in the Suburban’s ignition. I had a plan. And it was brilliant.
My fingers white-knuckled around the steering wheel. Heart hammering, I pulled up to the gate and smiled at the guard. He didn’t smile back.
“Hi!” I said, super chipper and bright. “I’m here to pick up my stuff.”
My brilliant plan.
By parking myself at the gate, which was only one lane wide, I’d effectively blocked anyone trying to leave.
“Miss, I think you have the wrong place,” the guard said, settling the strap of his automatic weapon on his shoulder.
“No, I checked the address. Let me show you.” I started looking around the car, twisting and turning, half climbing in the backseat, and “accidentally” honking the horn several times.
“Sorry!” I said, but kept hunting through the car.
The guard jumped and tightened his grip on his gun, clearly getting annoyed or suspicious. Another guard came up and approached the Suburban as Bill and Ted drove up to the gate.
“Hey, what’s the problem?” Ted, who was driving, had his head out of the window. “We’re on a schedule.”
Ted saw me. Our eyes locked. After a brief hesitation, he slowly got out of the truck. His partner figured it out a second later and fidgeted around in the cab like he was reaching for something behind his back. Ted put his hand behind his back too as his eyes narrowed.
“Is there a problem?” Ted was talking to me more than the guard.
“Miss, please.” The guard struggled for patience. “This is a highly secure area. I can’t have you here.” When I "accidentally" honked the horn a few more times, he lost it. The next few seconds were a blur.
There was shouting. I saw a gun pointed at my head, but before I could put up my hands, the Suburban’s door was wrenched open. I was yanked out and found myself kissing asphalt, a weight on my back pinning me down.
It might shock you to know, this wasn’t part of my plan.
CHAPTER 31
In the next few moments, there was a ton more shouting, then the weight on my back lifted.
I ventured a look. Two guards backed away, eyes wide and hands up as they stared down the barrels of their own automatic rifles, which were currently in the hands of Bill. He smiled and pointed the weapons at the now unarmed guards.
“What the hell, man!” said the guard who had questioned me.
There was more shouting as additional guards converged on our little pow-wow. Bill took a defensive stance and covered them, while Ted pointed a very large handgun at the original two guards.
“You shouldn’t have touched her,” Ted said. “She may be a pain, but she’s my pain.”
Huh?
“Sorry about that, sweetheart.” Ted smiled. “But you shouldn’t have followed me. You always think the worst. Like I keep saying, you can trust me.” He offered me a hand.
After a moment, I took it and let him help me to my feet. “Uh, sure.”
What the heck was happening? I brushed myself off, giving Ted a wary look and trying to step away.
He stopped me with an arm firmly wrapped around my shoulders. “She’s my girlfriend. Wouldn’t tell her where I was going this morning, and being the suspicious sort, she followed me. Quite the sleuth, eh?” he added with a bit of pride.
You’ve got to be kidding.
We were surrounded by guns and guards. This did not look promising.
“Hey,” said another male voice. Matthias ran up and pushed through the outer ring of guards. He wore their same uniform, sunglasses, and a cap low on his forehead.
Oh, this should be good.
“I’m sure I can explain,” Matthias said. “She’s with me. Honey, you’re going to get me fired.”
Well, wasn’t I Miss Popular.
“Actually, no,” Ted said. “She’s with me.”
There was a beat of silence.
Matthias dragged his sunglasses down his nose and studied Ted. “Excuse me?”
Ted made a pained face, then offered a sheepish smile. “I know I should’ve told you I was dating your sister.”
Matthias stared over the rim of the sunglasses. “My sister?”
The two guards looked at each other, their mouths open like they were watching a big scene in a dramatic soap opera.
“I didn't see that coming,” one of the guards said to another guard who responded by shaking his head.
“Yep,” Ted said. “But you know how awkward it is for your buddy to tell you something like that.”
“That’s true,” Bill added with a knowing nod. “But to her credit, the little woman wanted to tell the truth sooner, am I right Ted?”
“Right you are, Bill. Thanks for mentioning that. My adorable sweetheart hates secrets, isn’t that right?” He gave me a squeeze. “Sweetheart?” When I remained silent, he squeezed again.
Ow.
I stifled the cringe and smiled tightly. “Yes. Sweetheart.”
“See,” Ted said. “I should’ve listened to the little woman.”
“But your intentions were good, Ted,” Bill said with sympathy.
“That is true, Bill,” Ted replied. “The last thing I wanted was to create a dangerous situation that might jeopardize us all, in a manner of speaking.” He looked Matthias in the eye. “You get that, don’t you, buddy?”
Matthias’s narrow gaze flicked to Ted’s hand gripping my shoulder, then flicked back to Ted. “I think I do. Because if anything happened to her, I’d have to kill you. In a manner of speaking.” The Aussie offered a smile which could only be described as ruthless.
“Understood,” said Ted. “Nobody needs to get hurt.”
“That's important in all matters of the heart,” one of the guards said to another, who responded by nodding in agreement.
“Excellent,” Bill smiled. “I do believe we are now all on the same page.”
One of the guards said to Matthias, “You call your sister honey?”
Matthias scowled. “It’s, uh, her actual name.”
“Oh,” the guard nodded. “Your parents hippies or something?”
“Wait!” snapped the guard who had knocked me down, like he'd just awakened from a trance. “What is happening? Who are you?” he asked Matthias. “You work here?”
“Of course he works here,” said Ted. “I got him the job. It’s h
is first day. No hard feelings, though. Even with you rudely attacking my girlfriend.”
Bill shifted both guns toward the guard. “Very rudely.”
The guard made an annoyed gesture at me. “Well, she was acting suspiciously. Said she had to pick up her ‘stuff.’ ”
“That would be me.” Ted rested his head on mine. “I’m her ‘hot stuff.’ Good in some ways, if you know what I mean, but right now, embarrassing as hell.”
“I think it’s cute,” Bill said. “So we good here?” He’d released one automatic weapon and used his free hand to rub over the hood of the Suburban. “Nice truck. Very…sturdy.”
Okay. Guys and cars. Not something I’d ever figure out.
Ted looked at Matthias. “Are we? Good? I know you really don’t want any trouble here.”
Matthias swallowed hard, like he was choking down shards of glass. “As long as she’s safe.”
Awwww.
“Always.” Ted’s arm crooked around my neck as he kissed the side of my head.
Yuck.
I was so over this ridiculous sideshow.
The main guard grumbled. “I don’t know. This is highly irregular.”
Behind the warehouse there was a loud crash. Water splashed up over the dock, slamming the boats into concrete and wood. Men shouted and ran.
The guard’s head swiveled back and forth from the commotion to us. Finally, he nodded. “Just get her the hell out of here.”
Matthias gave me a nod. Ted let me go. I jumped in the car, jammed it in reverse, and retreated. Although that was all way beyond terrifying, my mind was still on overdrive, and I had another brilliant plan.
I raced down the road, then pulled off on a side street, did a U-turn, and waited. I was well hidden by the time Bill and Ted drove by on the only road leading away from the warehouse.
I let a few cars go by, then followed, planning—brilliantly—to get close enough to get the license plate number. I stayed a few cars back, so not to be obvious, the size of their truck made it easy to watch from a distance. The Suburban was heavier and harder to maneuver than I anticipated, but I managed. Up ahead, the truck suddenly veered right.
