Phantom Wheel

by Tracy Deebs

  When we finally make it to the sidewalk that winds around to the front of the main building, Silver Spoon glances at Buffy and Snow White. “You guys ready?”

  “What’s there to be ready for?” Buffy rolls her eyes. “We’re just the bait. The real question is are you ready?”

  “I was born ready,” he deadpans back.

  “We take what we want and leave the rest,” Mad Max suddenly pipes up. “Just like your salad bar.”

  Buffy and Snow White look at him like WTF, dude, but the rest of us crack up.

  Mad Max grins proudly. “I’ve been brushing up.”

  Buffy shakes her head. “I don’t even want to know what that means.”

  “Big Trouble in Little China. It’s where the ‘I was born ready’ line comes from.” He looks at them inquiringly, but when they stare back blankly, he sighs. “It’s a great movie—you two should totally watch it sometime.”

  “Yeah, we’ll get on that as soon as we get out of prison for hacking a major corporation,” Buffy tells him.

  “Don’t say the P word,” he answers, wide-eyed. “Don’t even think the P word. It’s really bad karma.”

  “Really?” Snow White speaks up for the first time. “Hacking the corporation isn’t bad karma but saying pr—”

  “Don’t!” he warns.

  “But saying ‘the P word’ is?”

  “Well, it’s not like we’re doing this for no reason, right? They started it.”

  “Like that isn’t justification for every kindergarten fight ever?” Buffy chimes in. “I’m beginning to worry about you, Seth.”

  “Awww, that means you like me.” He beams at her.

  She tries to stare him down, but ends up cracking up instead.

  “So, are we ready to do this or what?” Silver Spoon asks.

  “We were—” Mad Max starts.

  “Born ready,” the rest of us chime in. With eye rolls, but still. His level of ridiculousness is somehow really hard to resist.

  Snow White and Buffy start heading up the sidewalk to the building’s front doors, while the rest of us pick out a spot to lounge on the grass, overlooking the ocean. As we do, we click our earpieces back on so we can communicate during the break-in.

  Mad Max pulls out his laptop and gets to work.

  “You in?” Silver Spoon asks after about thirty seconds.

  “Almost,” he answers.

  “What’s taking so long? You already brute-forced the password.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not working.” Mad Max’s fingers fly over his keyboard as he stares grimly at the screen.

  “What do you mean it’s not working?” the Lone Ranger hisses. “We just sent Alika and Issa—”

  “They must have gotten spooked with the party. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it—”

  “Fast enough not to leave them hanging?” Silver Spoon demands.

  “Should we wait?” Snow White asks.

  “Yes!” the Lone Ranger says.

  “No!” Mad Max overrides him. “I’m in.”

  “That was fast,” Buffy says.

  “What can I say? I’m just that good.” He mock buffs his nails against his shirt, then dives right back in.

  Seconds later, the sound of knocking on glass comes clearly through our earbuds.

  “Please, please, please,” Snow White whimpers, and it’s clear she’s talking to the guards and not to us.

  “Seriously?” Buffy hisses. “Why are you squirming around like that?”

  “It’s the universal pee-pee dance. Don’t you know anything?”

  “Maybe if you’re three. But I’d like to think you’d have a little more self-control.”

  “Not if you’re trying to convince guards to let you in when they’re staring at you through a glass door. You should try it.”

  “I’d rather go to jail.”

  “Issa!” Mad Max starts, but she cuts him off.

  “I didn’t say the P word.”

  “Okay, get ready,” Snow White warns. “They’re coming!”

  “Both of them?” I clarify.

  “Yes. Looks like Owen was right, though I don’t know how he knew they’d both come check on us.”

  “Because there are two hot girls standing in front of their doors,” Silver Spoon says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

  “Meaning?” I ask.

  “Bro code,” all three guys say at the same time.

  “So there’s no one at the desk right now, watching the cameras?” I clarify.

  “All clear,” Buffy replies.

  “Don’t make any weird moves for the next two minutes,” Mad Max says. “I’m recording.”

  “And here I planned on doing the chicken dance,” Silver Spoon deadpans.

  “Well, with you one never knows.”

  Exactly two minutes later, he says, “Okay, got it. I need one more minute and… all clear.”

  The Lone Ranger, Silver Spoon, and I spring into action, jumping up and running toward the side corridor we all decided would make the best access point due to its seclusion and proximity. As we do, we can hear Snow White working really hard to convince the guards to let her use the lobby restroom.

  They don’t sound like they’re budging, but worrying isn’t going to help anything, so I concentrate on what we can control.

  “Make sure you keep your phone clipped to your belt,” Mad Max reminds me as we race toward the door, hoods up and sunglasses on. “So I can see when to move the security cameras.”

  “Already done,” I tell him. “You just need to connect.”

  We’re at the bank of windows now, ducking behind the huge row of bushes that hide them from view, and the Lone Ranger drops to his knees, pulling what looks like a long silver flashlight out of his bag.

  “You sure you’ve got this?” Silver Spoon asks.

  “No, but I’m the only one who’s practiced with it, so…”

  The Lone Ranger bends down, fastens two suction cups on the glass, complete with a long thin wire between them, the end of which he hands to me.

  Then we wait.

  One of the guards finally relents. He lets Snow White go to the bathroom, but insists that Buffy stay with him. Which is what we were hoping for, actually—if I’ve learned anything at all in the last three days, it’s that Buffy can be a hell of a distraction when she wants to be.

  Two minutes later, the mini blinds go up, and Snow White’s face appears inside the window next to where the Lone Ranger is waiting. She’s got her purse open and is pulling out her own suction cups. She fastens them to the glass, then pulls back, applying pressure from her side.

  I pull back on our side as the Lone Ranger takes a moment to adjust his sunglasses a little. Then he turns the silver flashlight thing on, aims it at the door, and slowly, slowly, slowly gets to work, cutting a hole in the bottom half of the glass door just large enough for us to crawl through.

  As soon as he finishes cutting the circle and turns the laser off, Snow White slowly pulls the cut glass into the building.

  “Ladies first,” Silver Spoon tells me, and I climb through, careful not to touch the edges with any part of my body.

  The Lone Ranger is next, with Silver Spoon bringing up the rear. But he’s barely got his upper body in the hole when Buffy says, “Where’s your friend going?”

  “Uh-oh,” Mad Max chimes in. “He’s looking for Alika. He just knocked on the bathroom door.”

  “That’s my cue!” she says, shooting up and taking off down the hall at a full-out sprint.

  “Hurry up!” I tell Silver Spoon, barely resisting the urge to grab hold and pull him through the hole. He’s quick when he wants to be, though, and seconds later he’s standing next to me.

  “Quick, put the blinds down,” the Lone Ranger orders as he looks for someplace to hide the glass in the long, empty hallway we’re currently standing in.

  I get the blinds back into place just as Snow White says, “Oh, thank God you found me! I think I went out
the wrong bathroom door, because I got so lost!”

  The guard murmurs something that I can’t quite hear.

  But then Snow White says loud and clear, “Do you really have to do rounds now? I was having so much fun talking to you!”

  “Let’s go!” the Lone Ranger exclaims, shoving the glass under the closest set of double doors.

  “Already gone,” Silver Spoon answers, grabbing my arm and propelling me down the hallway with him.

  “Can I go with you?” Snow White asks in our ears. “I’ve always wanted to do rounds!”

  “Which way?” Silver Spoon hisses.

  I think he’s talking to us at first, but then Mad Max answers, “To the left. And move! It doesn’t look like Alika’s going to be able to stop him.”

  “So not what I want to hear right now!” The Lone Ranger sprints until he’s several feet ahead of us, and I can tell he’s planning on taking the heat if we get caught.

  Meanwhile, Mad Max is calling out directions superfast. “Left, right, left, another left, right,” as he uses the cameras to keep us out of the guard’s sight while also guiding us toward the staircase that will take us right next to the server room.

  We’re almost there, running full tilt down a hallway toward the EXIT/STAIRS sign directly in front of us, when suddenly a side door opens and a man steps out.

  I’m not sure who is more shocked—him or us—as the Lone Ranger swerves to avoid slamming into him.

  “Hey, what are you kids doing in here!” he demands, stepping between the Lone Ranger and Silver Spoon and me. “Russ!” he starts yelling for the security guard. “Russ…”

  We all exchange panicked glances, and then I do the only thing I can think of to shut him up. I slam my fist into his face as hard as I can.

  His eyes roll back in his head, and he hits the ground.

  16

  Owen

  (1nf1n173 5h4d3)

  For a long second, nobody moves as Ezra and I stare, openmouthed, at the random guy now passed out on the floor at our feet.

  We don’t snap out of it until Seth starts squawking, “What happened? What happened? Are you okay?”

  “Where the hell did that come from, Harper?” Ezra looks like he’s about to tear his hair out.

  “He was gearing up to scream the building down. I had to do something.”

  “What happened?” Seth repeats.

  Because I’m afraid he’ll forget what his job is and actually turn the cameras our way to see what’s going on, I answer. “She hit him. Knocked the guy clear out.”

  “Oh my God!” Alika says from wherever she is. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s breathing,” Ezra says, from where he’s crouched down, checking the guy’s pulse. “Which is something, I guess. Assault is better than murder.”

  “Nobody’s murdering anyone. It was one punch.” Harper crouches next to him. “Come on. We can’t just leave him here for the guard to find. Help me get him back into his office.”

  “I’ve got him,” I say, grabbing the guy beneath his arms and dragging him back through the open door. As I do, I try not to stare at Harper. She’s the quietest, calmest one of all of us—who the hell would have guessed she had it in her to be such a badass?

  “Hey, guys,” Seth suddenly starts screeching at us through our earbuds. “Not to rush you or anything, but that guard is only one hallway away from you.”

  “Get in here!” I growl.

  But Harper and Ezra must have had the same idea, because they’re already in motion, diving into this guy’s office and closing the door behind them as quietly as they can.

  “Turn the lights off,” I hiss, but again Ezra’s already there.

  I start to lift the guy up—I don’t want to chance making any noise by dragging him—but I’ve barely gotten his torso off the ground when he moans.

  “Shut him up!” Ezra snaps from where he’s locking the door.

  I don’t want to hit the guy again—the last thing I want is to give anyone a concussion—but our options are limited. Harper’s on the ground, rummaging through her backpack, when suddenly she comes up, triumphantly brandishing duct tape.

  “Good idea!” I whisper as she tears off a piece and slaps it over the guy’s mouth.

  “He’s in the hallway,” Seth hisses through our earbuds. “Don’t move.”

  Easier said than done, considering the guy chooses that moment to open his freaking eyes. He takes one look at me looming above him and starts to thrash around.

  I really don’t want to hit him, but I don’t think I’ve got much choice at this point—

  “Here!” Harper whispers urgently, and she’s across the room, holding open the door to what looks like a small closet.

  I glance at Ezra and he’s already moving. He swoops in next to me, grabs the struggling guy’s feet, and helps me carry him into the closet.

  Harper crowds in after us, duct tape in hand, just as the guard knocks on the office door. “Mr. Willis, are you okay in there? I thought I heard you yell.”

  The guy—Mr. Willis, apparently—starts struggling in earnest now, and I’ve had enough. I’m about to hit him, concussion be damned, and put us all out of our misery, when Ezra reaches past me and grabs his neck. Willis’s eyes go wide for one second, two, and then his whole body goes limp. Thank God.

  “Mr. Willis?” The guard knocks again, rattles the door handle a couple of times.

  “Don’t move,” Seth whispers almost silently in our ears.

  Eventually the guard stops knocking and rattling, and I start to breathe a sigh of relief—at least until I hear the office door creak open. Of course he has a universal swipe card for nonclassified areas of the building. Why freaking wouldn’t he?

  I hold my breath, and so do Ezra and Harper as we all stare, wide- and wild-eyed, at one another. Come on, man, I silently urge the guard. Decide Willis has left for the day. It’s a reasonable conclusion—the office is dark and locked up, and there’s a party going on on the other side of the compound.

  Come on, I urge again. Just do it.

  But this guy has some kind of work ethic, because instead of just backing out of the room, he gets on his walkie-talkie and says, “Yo, Joseph, did you see Mr. Willis head out?”

  There are a few seconds of silence followed by, “No, Russ. He hasn’t come this way.”

  “His office is dark, and it was locked up.”

  “Maybe he went to the bathroom. Or to raid the vending machines.” Joseph’s answer crackles a little at the end.

  “Maybe. Hey, did that girl ever return to the lobby?”

  “Yeah, she’s here now. She and her friend are just hanging out, talking to me.”

  “Can you see Mr. Willis on the cameras anywhere?” Russ asks.

  The answer comes back as nothing but static.

  “Joe, you there?”

  More static.

  “Joe?”

  Still more static.

  “It’s ridiculous,” Russ grumbles to himself as he walks around the office. “Major telecom company, and we’ve got these stupid walkie-talkies that don’t even work.”

  “Russ?” Joe’s voice comes through loud and clear this time.

  “Joe. Do you see Mr. Willis anywhere in the building?”

  More static and then “at vending machines.”

  Harper, Ezra, and I all stare at one another mystified, considering Mr. Willis is currently passed out at our feet.

  It seems to satisfy Russ, though, because he says, “Okay, thanks for checking.” Then he finally—finally—walks toward the office door. Seconds later, the light clicks back off and the door closes behind him.

  We wait for several seconds in a kind of suspended animation, just in case it’s a trick—though, honestly, Russ doesn’t seem smart enough for that. Then Seth says, “He just turned down the other hallway. You’re in the clear.”

  I release a big, pent-up breath. “Damn. When he called over to Joe, I thought we were toast for sure.”

 
“Nah, I got your back,” Seth says.

  “Wait, all that static was you?” Ezra asks.

  “Course it was.

  So was the last little bit of the conversation. Had to get him moving along somehow.”

  “You’re the best, Seth,” Harper tells him. She’s grinning hugely as she kneels down next to Willis.

  “Yeah, well, you know how you can thank me, right?” he responds.

  “The hell?” Ezra says before I can even close my mouth from the shock. “You save her ass once, and you think sexual harassment’s the way to go here?”

  “No!” Seth nearly trips over his tongue in his effort to get the words out. “I meant—Harper, tell them—I was just…”

  Harper laughs, even as she puts him out of his misery. “That really isn’t what he meant, guys.” She glances at Ezra. “But, hey, thanks for sticking up for me.”

  “We’re a team,” he answers, like that says everything.

  And maybe it does, for him. I’m still wary, though. My dad was part of a team for a long time, and no one had his back. At least not when it mattered most. No matter how important what we’re doing is, I can’t afford to let the same thing happen to me. If I do, who knows what will happen to my mom.

  Harper doesn’t seem to have the same worries, as she smiles up at us. “Go ahead and grab his feet, then, teammates. And hold them together while I tape him up.”

  “You’re seriously going to leave him taped up in the closet?” Seth asks.

  “You got any better ideas, Porcupine?”

  Porcupine? I mouth to Ezra, but he just shakes his head and shrugs.

  “You could stop calling me that, for one. I did just save your ass.”

  “That’s so five minutes ago,” she teases as she duct-tapes Willis’s feet like a pro. “What have you done for me lately?”

  “Remind me not to get on her bad side,” Ezra murmurs to me, before moving up to grab Willis’s hands.

  “No kidding.”