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Luke’s head slumps forward. I inch toward him, my steps slow and mechanical. When I’m but a foot away from him, he looks up with effort. His face has regained some of its normal color, but the whites of his eyes swim with blood.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He moves his head, and I don’t know if it’s a yes or a no. Knowing I have no time to lose, I search in Lamia’s pockets and find the key for the handcuffs, never looking at her face. I free one of Luke’s hands, then press the key into it. “Get the other one, I have to . . .” I don’t finish and hurry to the computer in the corner of the room.
It feels like forever before it comes on. My hands twist together as I wait. As soon as the cursor becomes responsive, I try to remotely connect to my machine in the barracks.
The request isn’t accepted.
What?
I always leave that computer on. It should allow me to connect, unless . . . unless they took it down. Elliot must have ordered someone to unplug it from the network.
Good try, Elliot, but it won’t be that easy.
A good hacker is always prepared for stuff like this, and I’m not only a good hacker, I’m the best. A painful pang hits me in the middle of the chest as I think of Aydan. He is the best hacker there is. I’m a script kiddie compared to him.
I crack my neck and set to work. It will take a little longer to pull all the code off the network from all the secret places where I stashed it, right in front of Elliot’s nose.
My fingers fly over the keyboard. The handcuffs dangle from my wrists, hitting the edge of the cabinet where the computer sits. I’m dimly aware of Luke, moving, coughing, freeing his other hand.
In a few minutes, I’ve got the bare minimum of what I need. Wasting no time, I send an urgent ping. I hope Sal is still listening. His response is almost immediate.
$Sal> ?
$Warrior> It’s a trap. Stand back. NOW!
$Sal> What?
$Warrior> Stand back!
$Sal> I’d just established a remote connection with James. Switching you over to him.
A new handle appears. Dalí?
$Dalí> What the hell is wrong, Marci?
$Warrior> It’s a TRAP
He asks no more questions, types nothing else. The cursor just sits there, blinking, waiting for his input on the other side. After a long moment, he replies.
$Dalí> Okay. Standing down
I exhale a shuddering breath of relief.
$Dalí> I hope that’s really you, Marci. I don’t like this. What’s going on there?
$Warrior> Nothing, just that Rheema is a damn HUMAN traitor. She’s here. Sold us out to Elliot
$Dalí> WTF?
$Warrior> I have to get out of here
$Dalí> What about Elliot?
$Warrior> He’s here, but we’ll have to get him another time. Elliot sent
Shit!
I’m an idiot.
$Dalí> U still there?
I was going to say that Elliot sent everyone away. Everyone but a few of his personal guards and, of course, those who protect the building.
$Warrior> Yeah, still here. Just realized something
$Dalí> What?
$Warrior> Elliot sent everyone to ambush YOU. He’s practically unprotected here
$Dalí> What are you thinking?
$Warrior> We can still get him. He has even fewer guards than he would have had at SeaTac
$Dalí> I’m having a hard time trusting you right now
$Warrior> We talked about this. You have to
We discussed this at length and decided that not trusting each other under the circumstances was a luxury and a waste of time.
$Dalí> I know, but
$Warrior> I’m me. I can meet you and prove it, but we have to be quick before they realize you’re a no show
Again, the line goes silent. My lungs stop working. My heart picks up the slack. I’m startled when Luke appears at my side, key in hand. He attacks one of my dangling handcuffs with it. The thing falls uselessly to the floor. Just as he moves to my other wrist, James responds.
$Dalí> Let’s do it
$Warrior> James
$Dalí> What?
$Warrior> They broke Aydan. He’s one of them
Tears threaten to fall. My throat aches with the effort of keeping them in. James is slow to respond. I know just the emotions that must be surging within him and the effort it’d take to get them under control.
$Dalí> We’ll get him back
I don’t know if we can get him back and have no way of telling how much conviction is behind James’s message, but I believe the words on the screen. I have to.
James and Kristen will do what it takes to free Aydan. Giving up on him is not an alternative for me, James or anyone in the crew.