by Robin Perini
“Please do,” Gabe said, handing over a card with his contact information on it. “The information is critical to our investigation. It’s important we get his name.”
The major studied them both. Deb recognized the suspicion—and the skepticism. “This doesn’t make sense. What’s the real story? What could Ashley going AWOL possibly have to do with a video game?”
Deb opened her mouth to respond, but Gabe’s face went cold and his jaw tightened. He stood. “She’s not AWOL. She’s missing, Major, and she could be in big trouble. We’re certain of it. I suggest you pull the game off the shelves until we know what’s going on.”
Gabe pulled up to a large brownstone resembling the one the Unsinkable Molly Brown had inhabited in Denver. Big, brown, and expensive as hell. “This is it. One of Ashley’s friends has big bucks.”
Deb stared at the home and gripped her pants in her fists. “I should have been to this house before now, met his parents. Why haven’t I? She spent a lot of time here.”
“She’s in college,” Gabe said. “She has her own life, despite her age. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“She’s sixteen,” Deb said, looking over at him, her gaze haunted. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember that.”
“You know who they are, though. They’re high school kids? You met them?”
She bit her lip, distracted, then nodded. He could tell she was beating herself up.
“They used to be classmates before Ashley’s early graduation,” she said.
“She went to school in Colorado Springs?” Gabe looked over in surprise.
“My father was stationed nearby. When he was reassigned overseas, I left the service to act as her guardian. Denver was the closest place that I found a job. She lived . . . lives . . .” Deb faltered. “She’s at the dorm during school, and has to stay on campus Monday through Friday, so it worked out. Or I thought it did.”
Gabe had to stop this spiral. “Well, we might as well head in. Milo and Otis—”
Deb’s lips quirked at the corners. “Just Mylo, actually. Milo and Otis is a dog and cat movie. Knowing that information does not go with your tough-guy image, Montgomery.”
“What can I say? I’m Luke’s daughter’s favorite uncle. I’ll watch anything with Joy, if it makes her happy.”
Despite his smile, Gabe studied her closely. She’d backed off thinking of the horrors that could be happening to Ashley. She might have to deal with any one of those. But not yet.
“You’re a surprising man.”
He gave her a quick wink. “Hey, don’t let my he-man sex appeal fool you. I can play Barbies and tea party with the best of them.”
Deb’s smile made him feel warm inside. It softened her features. He wished he hadn’t waited so long to let her know he cared.
To Gabe’s surprise, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, letting her lips linger for just a moment. “I know you meant to distract me,” she said quietly. “Thank you.”
She exited the vehicle and Gabe followed. Well, okay then. He could mix a little beta with his alpha personality, if it garnered this kind of reaction. Good to know.
He hit the SUV’s automatic locks. “You talked to Mylo, right? He knows we’re coming?”
“Justin was supposed to be here, too.”
The tension in her voice rose again. Would Ashley’s boyfriend show? That could be good or bad news if he did. But he figured Deb would take Ashley going on a joyride over the alternative any day.
With a quick, experienced eye, Gabe scanned the surroundings. His gaze paused on the roof. “The house has satellite. These kids are set.”
“According to Ashley, all of them have impressive computer setups. That’s part of what initially drew them together.”
They strode up the front steps and knocked on the door.
A woman about ten years older than them opened it. She gave them the once-over. “I don’t do surveys, I’ve already been saved, and if you’re trying to sell anything, I do my buying on Amazon.”
She started to shove the door closed.
Gabe stuck his foot into the crack. “We are here to see Mylo, ma’am. This is Deb Lansing, Ashley’s sister.”
She didn’t skip a beat. “Tell me he didn’t get her pregnant.” At their startled looks, she sighed. “He has a major crush on her. All those boys do.”
“Uh, no. Pregnancy is not the problem and Mylo is not in trouble. I’m sorry he didn’t tell you we were coming. Is he home?”
“He’s on the computer. Where else would he be? He lives on that damned thing.”
The woman whirled around. “Mylo! Some people here to see you.”
Footsteps pounded up the stairs. A tall, thin, sandy-haired kid, all elbows and knees, stopped in the doorway. “Oh. Oh, yeah. Mom, they’re coming to talk to me about Ashley. Is it okay if they come in?”
His mother gave him a look. “This time, but I’ve told you a hundred times to check with me before you invite people over.”
Mylo blushed. “I know. I just got caught up in the game and forgot.”
She shook her head in dismay. “Well, don’t do it again.”
The kid shrugged. “Okay, but Britney’s coming, too. Remember? She’s got red hair. You’ve met her before.”
The mother huffed. “Fine.” She gestured to Gabe and Deb. “You two might as well come in.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Gabe said, stepping over the threshold after Deb.
“Watch that ma’am crap,” Mylo’s mom snapped. “I’m not much older than you, kiddo.”
“O-k-a-y,” Gabe drawled. “Consider it retracted.”
Mylo had already started down the stairs to the basement. Deb and Gabe quickly followed.
“Sorry about my mom. She’s a little weird sometimes. You can’t pick your parents.”
An image flashed in Gabe’s mind of his father hugging Whitney at the bus terminal and the edge resurfaced. Amen, brother. He turned to Mylo. “You’re a teenager. It’s your job to feel like that.”
His gaze was focused on an eighty-inch television that took up almost an entire wall, but a moment later, the screen went red with giant letters that read Game over.
Mylo glared at the screen. “I wish the others would get here. I can’t do this alone.” He looked up at Deb. “Is Ashley over her big exam phase? We missed her this weekend.”
Deb stepped forward. “No. She visited me last night, but she didn’t make it back to the dorms. I’ve been trying to find her. I hoped you could help.”
“She’s, like, missing? For real?” Mylo asked. “No way. We can’t get past Level 88 again without Ashley.”
“Level 88?” Gabe asked.
Mylo looked at Gabe like he was stupid. “Level 88? On Point of Entry. Duh. That’s the magic level half the country is trying to get to. Hardly anyone makes it that far. It’s wicked complicated. You have to break into banks and people’s private computers. I hear on the next version, they’re adding foreign governments, spy stuff, terrorist camps. This voice comes on the computer or TV and gives you a timed problem.”
“A voice comes on?” Deb asked.
“Yeah, like a big all-knowing avatar. It’s pretty cool. I can’t believe we did it.”
Gabe picked up a remote from the coffee table, toying with it. “This voice gives you a test on Level 88, but you said you couldn’t get past it again. When did you make that level?”
“Friday, maybe?” Mylo said. “Early in the evening. We’d been really close last weekend on Justin’s machine, but we had to wait for Ashley to get out of school to finish up. We’re only on Level 80 on my setup. Justin, the douche bag, was supposed to be here today and another friend, Britney, said she’d be here a half hour ago. She used to go to high school with us and play the game a lot, but she moved to Toledo. Two hours later there, and her folks have a strict ga
me curfew. It’s a pain. She’s in town for this week with her folks. She hit Level 88 with her new group, too. She’s almost as smart as Ashley.”
“So, you reached this high level on Justin’s machine. What about Ashley’s? I heard you guys snuck into the computer lab. Did you do it there, too?”
Mylo shrugged. “We got caught by Ashley’s advisor and a couple of guards so we used Ashley’s machine in her room instead. Her computer was superfast and she was one level away. We made it. Hit a record score.” Mylo grinned, almost preening with pride. “We got the free upgrade of levels and everything. Ashley rocks at coming up with the passwords to break into the systems. I don’t know how we’ll break into the congressman’s computer on the next level without her. How cool is it that the game has its own set of dirty politicians?”
Gabe sat on one of the four leather gaming chairs against the wall. “Tell me about Point of Entry. You said there are other teams across the country trying to do the same thing. Is it highly competitive?”
“Oh, yeah,” Mylo enthused. “When our team knocked the Destroyers off the top of the leaderboard, they were so pissed. Sent us a ton of messages threatening us . . . especially Ashley.”
“You keep the messages?” Gabe asked.
“You think they could be for real?” Mylo’s eye twitched.
“Just show them to me.”
Mylo logged in to the system. He accessed the message area and scrolled up. He scrolled down, then up again. He frowned. “They’re gone. The team’s gone.”
“What about their scores?” Gabe asked.
He punched a few more buttons and the leaderboard came up.
“You’re the Eradicators?” Gabe asked, studying the screen. Sure enough, they’d blown away the high score.
“Yeah. Justin came up with that one ’cause we were wiping everyone off the boards. The Destroyers’ scores are gone, too. Like they never existed. Weird.”
“You know any of the real names of the other team members?” Deb asked.
“Yeah. I e-mailed with one guy. He asked me who broke the level.” Mylo grinned sheepishly. “I told him I was the muscle of the team. I do the shooting, but that we had the smartest girl in the country—probably in the world—on our team. He asked about the rest of us and I told him Justin is almost as good as Ashley.”
Gabe’s instincts went haywire. He didn’t need his mom’s Spidey sense to know things had just hit the fan. “When did you start e-mailing with this guy, Mylo?”
The teen faltered. “I don’t know, a couple weeks ago, maybe?” He switched screens and quickly checked his e-mail. “There’s nothing here, but I had at least a dozen e-mails from him. That’s . . . kind of freaky.”
“Did you delete their posts?” Deb asked.
Mylo lifted troubled eyes. “No. Someone wiped all the messages on my computer clean.”
The SUV shuddered as if driving over a cattle guard, then slowed to a stop.
Ashley caught her breath. As stiff as she was, it was now or never.
The back doors flew open, and Niko yanked off the tarp. Ashley blinked at the harsh sunlight beating into the SUV, its intensity blinding her.
“Bring her to the main floor,” a disembodied voice called out.
Niko ducked into the back of the vehicle and untied her from the hook in the floor. Ashley waited for the right moment and kicked out. She scooted from the Escalade and jumped to the ground. Her legs nearly collapsed beneath her, but despite that and her near blindness she prepared to run.
Several metallic clicks sounded and she stopped, whirling around to see a dozen men with automatic weapons facing her.
A tall, bald-headed man stood in the center. He smiled. “I hear you are an unusually feisty one. You’ll soon learn better, or we’ll beat the stupidity out of you. I am known as the Warden. That should give you an accurate idea of your future accommodations.”
He turned and went up the stairs.
Desperately, Ashley looked around, panic making it difficult to breathe.
A huge warehouse loomed in front of her, but when she gazed at the surrounding area, she saw no other signs of civilization. They were in the desert, no discernable landmarks beyond a few low hills. It was cold here, but not as cold as Colorado, and the air was dry. New Mexico? Arizona? Somehow neither of those seemed right. They’d driven too long.
Niko pushed her forward. “Don’t bother memorizing the landscape. No one gets away from here. Ever.”
She balked at the stairs; she didn’t want to go into that building. What if she never came out?
He grabbed her arm and dragged her up the stairs and through the door. Once inside, she hesitated again and he shoved her hard. Unbalanced, she fell to her knees.
“Ashley?” a male voice called out.
Justin? She couldn’t believe it. She pushed to a standing position and stopped, shocked and elated, but even more scared now. Justin stood across the room in shackles, one eye blackened, his jeans torn.
“What happened?” she asked, terrified for them both. “How did they get you?”
“Silence. This isn’t social hour. You’re here to work.” The Warden walked between them. “You and Justin were brought here because you have shown an aptitude for Point of Entry.”
“You kidnapped us because of Point of Entry?” she said, bemused. “A video game? Are you nuts?”
Horrified, Justin shuffled forward, but not in time to stop the vicious backhander the man gave her.
“Never cross me again. You are a convenience, not a necessity. I can replace you in a heartbeat.”
Ashley held her palm to her throbbing cheek, but she refused to cry.
“As I said, you are here because of the game,” the Warden repeated. “You were playing very well. You achieved Level 88, but, according to the searches of your computer, you were becoming too curious, delving into areas best left alone. You and your boyfriend’s little digital sojourn into the NSA’s database has resulted in an additional firewall and other problems for us that we expect you to solve. You’re here now, Miss Lansing, to work. If you’re smart, you will become an asset to our team rather than a liability.”
“No way in hell,” Ashley spat back.
“Niko?” The man gestured toward Justin. “If you would . . .”
The blow came so fast and hard. Justin hit the floor without crying out.
“Justin!”
Someone held her back, while Justin’s unconscious body was carted away.
The Warden smiled. “Remember this little lesson, my dear. Everyone is expendable and your actions don’t affect you alone. I only keep the ones alive who are useful to me.”
* * *
CHAPTER SIX
* * *
GABE OPENED THE door for Deb. She climbed into the SUV as he shut it and stared back at the house. And at Mylo. The kid raised his hand, and Gabe waved back.
“We spooked him,” Gabe said when he slid behind the steering wheel.
“And we’re no closer to finding Ashley,” Deb whispered. He could see her struggle to control the panic. No matter what her experience, the stress of the last few days had taken its toll. Lack of sleep, worry. She’d break soon.
“A game. How can Ashley’s disappearance be connected to a video game? It doesn’t make sense.”
“We’re going to find out.” Gabe dialed his brother Luke. This case was getting uglier and more confusing by the minute. He needed someone who could follow trails down rabbit holes.
“Montgomery here.”
“Hey, bro. Can you get away to my house, or could Deb Lansing and I come to yours?”
“The helicopter pilot? She’s the reason Zach’s watching the bar, right? I had to crack up at that, little brother. Movie star, big, bad, super spy, reduced to being a bartender.”
“He owes me after almost getting me blown up,” Ga
be said. “Besides, he’s retired now, the bum.” He twisted in the seat and took Deb’s hand. “Deb Lansing’s sister is missing. I’m helping her out. We’re in Colorado Springs doing some investigating, but we have a cell phone video I want you to see.”
“God, I’m sorry. What about the cops?”
“It’s . . . complicated,” Gabe said, stroking Deb’s palm, knowing nothing he could do would comfort her, not until they found Ashley. “I have another request. Could you research the game Point of Entry? I have a copy with me and I need to know how to play.”
“Don’t have to research P.O.E., Gabe. I have the game set up on my system. I’m pretty good at it. You might as well come here.”
“Thanks.”
Luke hesitated. “You have any leads?”
Gabe met Deb’s eyes and recognized the despair on the fringes of hope. He couldn’t make it worse. “We’re making progress.” If you called getting more questions than answers progress. “If you talk to Zach, tell him I may need his help for another day or two.”
“From what I hear, Hawk’s taking care of Sammy’s pretty well. Both Zach and Jenna went over to help. I guess having the Dark Avenger as a bouncer is keeping your rowdier clientele in line.”
Gabe laughed, despite his crushing concerns. “I didn’t even think of that when I asked Zach to fill in for me today. I may have to hire him permanently. What’s Jenna doing there?”
“Keeping the flood of new female customers away from her handsome ex-movie star husband and cooking in the back. She sends the kitchen guys out to bus tables and stuff whenever possible.”
“The cooks didn’t give her a hard time about it?”
“No sane man messes with a hormonal pregnant woman. Especially one that far along.”
Gabe didn’t speak for a moment. “Have Zach keep her in the kitchen as much as he can.”
Luke laughed. “Sexist much? Want her barefoot, too, since Jenna’s already pregnant and in the kitchen?”
“No, you jerk. I want her safe. It would be better if she wasn’t even there. I keep having that itchy target feeling on my back. Not sure what’s causing it, but I know better than to ignore the warning. Ask everyone in the family to be extra careful. Okay?”
