Fast and Loose

by Fern Michaels

  “When you say ‘them,’ do you mean the Vigilantes and their various partners? Along with Charles Martin, Fergus Duffy, and their pack of old MI-Six operatives, mainly Avery Snowden?”

  Abner sighed. Why wasn’t he surprised at Phil’s knowledge? “You knew, and you never let on? Why?”

  “Because that’s what cyber friends do, Abner. In the end, cyber friends or flesh-and-blood friends, it’s all the same. It always comes down to one single thing.”

  “Trust,” Abner said.

  “Exactly. We can’t do anything about the past, kids. All we can do is secure the future. And trying to place blame for what is currently going on is counterproductive. I thought that yesterday, with our come-to-Jesus meeting, we put that behind us and that now are just going forward, with the first step being returning all the funds I helped myself to from the casinos. I’m good with everything. What about you two?”

  “I’m good,” Abner said, and suddenly he realized he really was okay with it all.

  “Me too,” Mary Alice said.

  Phil rubbed his hands together. “I know you two are going to find this hard to believe, but I am actually looking forward to returning the money, plus interest. I really am.”

  “That’s weird, Phil,” said Abner.

  “There’s weird, and then there’s weird. Who else do you know who could make that happen and leave no trail behind? They don’t even know it’s gone, and then to be put back, and they still won’t know. That’s genius, if you want my opinion.”

  “You’re forgetting Bert, aren’t you, Phil?”

  “No. When we’re done, he will just think he made a colossal mistake, and he’ll knock himself out apologizing to everyone for what he put them through. I’ll leave some bread crumbs for him to pick up so he can see where he made his mistake. That’s what a flesh-and-blood friend would do, right, Abner?”

  “Yeah, Phil, that’s what a flesh-and-blood friend would do. Your best bet, Phil. How long do you think it will take us to make restitution?”

  “If we start now, we should be done by nightfall, give or take an hour or so.”

  “And then?” Abner asked.

  “Then we part company. But not before we set up new identities so that we can communicate. And, by the way, that special, super-duper phone you have that Mr. Snowden got from the CIA . . . Who do you think designed the prototype that you have in your pocket?”

  A chill ripped down Abner’s back. His hand involuntarily went to his pocket. He pulled out the strange-looking phone and looked at it. He listened as Phil uttered some gibberish that caused Abner to press buttons on the special phone. In spite of himself, he laughed out loud. “I gotta say, Phil, you outdid yourself here. I didn’t have a clue. So you’ve known all along what’s been going on.”

  “Yep. And now that there are no more secrets between us three flesh-and-blood friends, what do you say we get to work?”

  Mary Alice smiled at Phil’s tone, grateful that her mentor was no longer angry about her forced betrayal. Abner thought she was pretty in a wholesome way. He rather thought Phil was thinking the exact same thing when he winked at him. Whoa.

  * * *

  Maggie waited in line at one of the three bathrooms at Kitty Passion’s ranch so she could brush her teeth and wash her face. She’d shower when she got back to the hotel. She had been promised a ride back to town by Hana Frey, and Hana was waiting for her in the driveway. She’d been up all night, even though most of the girls had napped an hour here, an hour there, then were up drinking either more wine or coffee. Good hostess that she was, Kitty had offered to make breakfast, but they had all declined.

  Thank God, Maggie thought, as it was finally her turn to get the bathroom.

  As she brushed and flossed, she decided that nothing had been decided. As far as she was concerned, the night had been a flop. She had had a bad moment when she had to make the decision on what to tell all the women. She had finally chosen to say that she would take a room at MGM, but she’d said she could stay only one more night, because her money was running out. One of the girls—she couldn’t remember which one—had offered to get a room comped for her for three days, saying that in three days, they’d have a fully developed plan to take down Dixson Kelly. Whatever that meant. Now she was stuck with having to relocate.

  Since her arrival at the ranch at dusk yesterday, she’d had no contact with anyone, and now she still couldn’t do anything, so she was in the dark as far as what was going on. If there was one place Maggie did not like, it was in the dark.

  She exited the bathroom, said a few more good-byes, and followed Hana Frey, who had come inside to find out what was taking so long, to the front door, where Kitty Passion was waiting to see her guests off.

  “I hope you enjoyed your visit,” Kitty told her. “We usually have a little more fun, and last night was a little intense. I’m glad you’re going to stay on a few more days. Not to worry. If it takes longer, we’ll get everything comped for you. We have a good network. I’ll be in touch.” The two women hugged each other.

  Maggie left the house and headed down the flagstone walkway to the car. She turned around before she opened the door to Hana’s Mustang and waved to Kitty.

  The ride back to town was quicker than her trip out to the ranch the night before. Hana was a quiet driver as she concentrated on the road she was driving on.

  “I’m kind of sluggish this morning. I didn’t sleep a wink last night, and my routine is off, so I apologize for not chattering away. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “No problem, Hana. I didn’t sleep, either.”

  “So am I dropping you off at Babylon or MGM?”

  “Babylon. I left my luggage with the bell captain. I want to check out my room one last time. I don’t care what Dixson Kelly told the desk about kicking me out. I can pitch a fit with the best of them, and do not ever forget I have the power of the pen. I can write a scathing article about the casino and Kelly that will burn the hair right off his head. Don’t worry about me. I can find my way to MGM. You just go home and get some sleep. You know how to reach me. Either by text or e-mail.”

  The rest of the ride into town was made in silence. Maggie waved wanly as she climbed out of the car. She’d never been so glad to rid herself of someone in her whole life. She stood rooted to the concrete under her feet until she saw Hana’s car fade from sight. Then she moved faster than she’d ever moved in her life. She literally galloped across the casino floor to the bank of elevators that would take her to the concierge level.

  She took the elevator up to the concierge level, where she stopped just long enough to fortify herself with a cup of the hotel’s excellent coffee. She eyed an omelet that the cook was preparing and asked if she could have it.

  “But of course. I’m making it just the way you’ve had it in the past. Toast or croissants?”

  What the heck. The others could wait a few more minutes, until she fortified herself with some nourishment. Maggie took a moment to wonder what Kitty had done with all the Kobe steaks that had ended up half-grilled and not eaten, along with the rest of the hot food. Not that she cared. Right now, she didn’t want to think about anything concerning Kitty Passion, Dixson Kelly, or anyone else. All she wanted was to zone out and have her breakfast, take a shower, grab some sleep, and wake up raring to go.

  Maggie finished the last of the excellent gourmet coffee and was ready to leave when the elevator opened to spit out Dixson Kelly, who, Maggie thought sourly, looked good enough to eat. She was suddenly aware of her rumpled clothes, her “I slept in my clothes” look. Damn, the man looked good. She nodded curtly and got up. She knew she didn’t have to, but she carried her plate and her cup to the wait station and set them down.

  “Are you having a good or bad day, Miss Spritzer?” Kelly asked cheerfully.

  And he smelled good, too. Something exotic and yet earthy. One of the girls had said she went nuts over the smell, and she’d do anything he wanted her to do. That was way too much informat
ion for Maggie, who had walked away.

  “Somewhere in between, Mr. Kelly. Why do you ask?” That was good. Always put them on the defensive.

  “You were gone all night, so I just assumed you were . . .”

  “Let’s not go there. And just for the record, do you spy on all your guests? How do you even know I wasn’t here last night?” Her eyes flashed sparks, which had no effect on Kelly.

  “Bert entrusted your care to me. I would gladly have arranged travel for you to wherever you went last night, so you didn’t have to bear the cost of a taxi. The hotel will be more than happy to reimburse you if you just give me the taxi chit or the amount.”

  So you can figure out where I went or call the driver to find out? I don’t think so, you son of a bitch. Of course, she said no such thing. “No problem. I have a healthy expense account. Nice talking to you again. See ya,” Maggie said.

  Then she sprinted from the hospitality area to the hall and then on to Charles’s suite, where she banged on the door, not caring how much noise she made. Fergus, who had been having a cup of coffee with Charles, opened the door and literally yanked her into the room as he stared out into the hall to see if anyone was with her.

  “Kelly is out there in the hospitality area. Call everyone. I have news none of you are going to believe,” Maggie said in a jittery voice.

  “We also have news you are not going to believe,” Charles said somberly, coming up behind Fergus, with a cup of coffee in his hand.

  “Oh, crap. This is going to be one of those ‘Shoot me and put me out of my misery’ moments, isn’t it?”

  “I’m afraid so, my dear. Let’s just wait for everyone to get here. More coffee? Fergus just brought a fresh pot back from the hospitality station,” Charles said.

  “Why not? I’m wired up now as it is. What’s one more cup going to do to me except put me into orbit? Nothing happens in the middle of the night, so what the hell could have gone wrong? I wasn’t even gone twenty-four hours.”

  Neither Charles nor Fergus responded, so Maggie sat down and started to chew on her cuticles, a really nasty habit she had yet to overcome. She was half finished with her coffee when the others started to troop in, in various stages of dress.

  Maggie looked them all over and decided they looked worse than she did. She made no bones about saying so. “What’s your excuse for looking like you’ve all been on a weeklong booze bender? Let’s hear it, and then I’ll share my news.”

  “Abner’s gone. He took PIP with him,” Jack said tightly.

  Maggie blinked. “What do you mean, he’s gone? Where did he go?”

  “We don’t know. His truck is gone from the parking garage. He also took the batteries out of his personal phone and the special phone. Like I said, he’s gone.”

  “Why? That’s not like Abner. Abner is . . . Abner is . . . Oh, my God. You guys set him up and put him to the test, and he chose his hacker mentor over you all. That’s what happened, isn’t it? Well, isn’t it?” she screeched.

  “It wasn’t quite like that, but yeah, that’s pretty much what happened,” Ted said.

  “And you let him go! Just like that, you let him go!” Maggie screeched again. “Oh, God, you people are so stupid! Don’t you get it? If Abner said he couldn’t find out who RC is, he couldn’t. I’ve never, ever known Abner to tell a lie. He told you the truth back in the beginning. He warned you all that if it was RC, we were dead in the water. And he had PIP helping him. You made him think you all believed he betrayed you. That’s what you did! I see it on your faces! All because Bert got a bug up his butt, made us come here on something he thinks happened, and you believed and sided with him. The same Bert who is an emotional basket case, thanks to Kathryn Lucas, his ex-girlfriend. God, how could you be so damn stupid? I don’t blame Abner for leaving. I would have, too, if I were in his place.

  “Bert is . . . hurting. He’s just looking for things to occupy himself because of Kathryn. I tried telling you all of that back at the beginning, but you wouldn’t listen to me. I’ll bet my job at the Post and my yearly bonus that no money is gone from the casinos, and Bert just screwed up. He’s just not man enough to admit it, or else he’s more stupid than the rest of you. I do not believe this. When did Abner leave?”

  “A little before you did yesterday,” Dennis said. “He was hopping mad, too. I heard him cuss, and Abner never uses cusswords. And Miss PIP looked like she was ready to chew nails and spit rust.”

  Sparrow weighed in. “I don’t go way back, the way you all do with Abner, but I think he did what he could, and it just wasn’t good enough. You all discounted his loyalty to RC, and that was wrong. He said it best when he said that without RC, he wouldn’t even be on our radar screen. He wouldn’t be a loyal friend. And from all I can see and from what I hear, he is just as loyal as any of you are. So you all have some serious making up to do. That’s my opinion.”

  Harry surprised everyone by saying, “It’s too late for making up. He’s out there right now, trying to find RC. I think he has suspicions, and between him and PIP, if there’s a way to find the man, they’ll find him. I don’t know what will happen if he and PIP are successful. Sounded to me like Abner burned his bridges when he left here. Serves us all right, too.”

  Avery Snowden cleared his throat. His pasty English complexion was pink right now. “I don’t know how to say this other than to come right out and say it. Those special phones, the ones I got from the CIA, the prototypes, are useless. I just found out a half hour ago, when our mutual friend RCHood sent me a text on my special prototype, saying how silly I was to believe that he, meaning RCHood, couldn’t tap into it when he was the one who designed it in the first place for the CIA. Yes, I have egg on my face.

  “My contact, the person who got me these phones, assured me they were safe and secure. I was just in touch with him, and while the designer’s name is classified, and he wouldn’t tell me it, when I mentioned the cyber name RCHood, he went all silent on me. The phones are useless now. That guy is one savvy, smart son of a bitch, that’s for sure.”

  “Does all this mean we’re going home?” Espinosa asked.

  Jack felt sicker than he’d ever felt in his life. “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to call Bert since last night, but the calls just go to voice mail.”

  “We have to find Abner,” Maggie said as she swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “What would you have us do, dear?” Charles asked gently. “If you have any ideas, share them with me immediately. We’ll jump at anything right now.”

  “You all should have thought about that when you drove him out. I hope you all think about what is going to happen when Isabelle and the girls find out. I sure don’t want to be within five miles of any of you when that happens. Good luck,” she bellowed, making for the door just as a knock sounded. She opened it with a flourish to see the nattily dressed Dixson Kelly standing there. She wondered how long he’d been at the door. Then she decided she didn’t care as she stomped her way down the hall to her own suite. Let those she’d left behind deal with Dixson Kelly and whatever he had to say or do.

  It wasn’t until she was in the shower that she realized she hadn’t shared her news about the girls and Dixson Kelly.

  Maggie toweled dry and slipped into a nightshirt that said HERO on the front. She slid between the sheets and was asleep within minutes.

  Chapter 16

  Phil closed the door to the computer room and motioned for Abner and Mary Alice to take up positions at two computers opposite the one where he had positioned himself. “Power up, kids!”

  The kids powered up.

  “Okay, pay attention now. Here comes the tutorial. When I’m done, if you paid attention, you are going to be almost as smart as me. You ready?”

  The kids, as Phil called them, nodded.

  Fifteen minutes later, Abner and Mary Alice were glassy-eyed.

  “That’s how you did it!” Abner said in awe. “I’ll be damned.”

  Mary Alic
e was so speechless, all she could do was shake her head for a moment. “So to undo all you did, we just reverse—”

  “No, no, no! It’s not that simple. Pay attention now. One false keystroke, and it’s all over. Watch, listen, and repeat after me. This is your only test.”

  They really were kids then, their attention rapt, their eyes wide in awe as Phil led them down the path they were about to embark on. When he was finished, he looked at his star pupils and asked if they understood what they were to do. Both nodded that they did.

  “We’re not looking for speed here. Remember that. You get stuck or are unsure, shout out, and I’ll be there immediately to help you out. Abner, you are going to do The Venetian. Mary Alice, you have MGM. I’m taking Babylon. It’s eight ten at the moment. I expect to have Babylon back on track by ten ten. I’m telling you this only to relieve any anxiety you might be experiencing because of your friends. If your buddy Bert logs on at ten fifteen, he is going to be in for the shock of his life. Remember, speed does not count. Make sure the interest is spot on. This has to be clean. Hit it, kids!”

  Phil tapped furiously, his fingers magical. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Abner and Mary Alice were cautiously tapping away. He knew that once they got comfortable with his programs, the speed of their typing would equal his own.

  He was excited. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so . . . liberated, unless it was when he made his first unauthorized withdrawal. Somehow, even though he couldn’t remember that moment exactly, he was sure it didn’t equal what he was feeling right now, at this very moment.

  To admit to having the time of his life would be a gross understatement.

  The huge battery-operated clock on the wall said the time was 10:14 a.m. when Phil rolled his chair back from the table and shot both arms high in the air. Abner and Mary Alice stopped what they were doing, hands poised over their keyboards.