“I’ll text him. Thanks again!”
We hurried through the doors, down the steps, and into the courtyard.
LIRI is arranged in two lines of six buildings each, facing one another across a large central green. Flower-lined paths crisscross the courtyard, with stone benches set at intervals for those seeking fresh air.
I beelined to a grouping in the center of the quad.
“Ready to explain?” Hi dropped onto one of the benches. “Because I just exceeded a walking pace, and that’s not my thing.”
I did a quick 360 to see if anyone was within earshot, then motioned for the others to huddle close. With varying degrees of enthusiasm, they obeyed.
“I’ve got it.”
“Got what?” Ben asked. “Dementia?”
“The answer.” Hitching my thumbs into my armpits. “I’ve solved the case.”
“Inconceivable,” Shelton said. “Because I’m more lost than ever.”
I bounced on my tiptoes. Popped an eyebrow a few times for effect.
“You’re annoying me,” Hi stated. “Stop it, please.”
“Why was Lab Three the only room smashed?” I asked. “How come the rest of Building One didn’t suffer the same treatment?”
“Access,” Hi said. “The thief, or thieves, had a way into the building, but not the laboratory.”
“Very good. And how is that possible?”
No response. I was enjoying this.
“Because—” I drew out the word, “—the raid was an inside job.”
“Pssh.” Hi slumped back on the bench. “I’ve thought that from the beginning. The police will, too. How else would the crooks know exactly when the security system was down?”
“Okay, hotshot,” I challenged. “Then who did it?”
“I don’t know.” Hi crossed his arms. “You don’t either.”
“Who has access to the buildings, but not the labs?” I asked. “Yet would also know when the security system was down for maintenance?”
“A LIRI regular.” Shelton’s face lit up. “But someone not on the scientific staff! Otherwise, the robbers would’ve known the proper codes, or had keys, and wouldn’t have needed to tear up the room!”
Ben nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Okay.” Hi began gnawing his thumbnail. “So we’ve narrowed the profile to a LIRI employee without lab access. But that’s still, what, fifty people?”
“Roughly.” Then I smiled ear to ear. “But we can trim the field even more.”
Dramatic pause.
They glared. I ate it up.
“The gates, silly boys.” I tapped my temple. “They never opened, even after the equipment was swiped. Which means—” smacking my palm, “—whoever took the gear couldn’t get it out of the compound.”
Both arms, raised in triumph.
Met by puzzled looks.
“The equipment must still on the grounds!” I spun, finger outstretched. “In one of these buildings. Find the loot, we find the crook.”
“Crap balls!” Hi breathed. “That’s freaking genius.”
“You did it!” Shelton took a hop-step toward Building One. “Let’s tell Kit!”
“Or . . .” I flashed a wicked smile.
What would Tempe do?
“We find it ourselves.”
Shelton’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “But how? There are a dozen buildings.”
I pulled the glove from my pocket and held it aloft. “We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves, don’t we?”
“Oh.” All three at once.
They understood.
I reached for my sunglasses.
Squeezed my eyes shut.
SNAP.
I hate it, every time.
The shift is terrible, like being shoved into a washing machine filled with molten lava. Then electrocuted. Then beaten by a sock filled with doorknobs.
Quit whining, Shelton. Light the torch.
Slipping off my glasses, I closed my eyes and mumbled a prayer.
I focused on darkness. Tight spaces. Drowning. Hairy, crawling spiders.
Anything that gives me the creeps.
I still have to scare myself. Fear is my only trigger. I don’t know why, but if I’m not spooked, the power just won’t come. But I’m getting pretty good at it, and that day had no problem. Guess I was nervous already.
Contact.
SNAP.
The power jolted through me.
As the flare unfolded, fire exploded in my chest. Icy needles danced on my skin. Bolts of electricity shot through my veins.
Gasping, I gripped my knees. Sweat coated my body.
I tried to catch my breath as every sense blasted into hyperdrive.
The world sharpened to laser clarity.
My eyes cut like diamonds, could make out the tiniest crack in the sidewalk.
A hidden symphony flooded my ears, abruptly divisible into hundreds of individual components. Burrowing insects. Flapping wings. Leaves, sighing far overhead. I heard them all.
Subtle aromas crammed my nose—honeysuckle, from a garden fifty yards away. A dozen varieties of grass. Tory’s mango shampoo. Even Hi’s armpit sweat. Blech. I tried to keep my stomach from emptying.
I could detect the slightest vibration against my arm hairs.
Could taste different sands and salts on the breeze.
I flared. Tapped my canine DNA.
I never enjoy how the wolf came out to play. But the pain is worth it.
The results are ridonkulous.
“Everybody ready?” Tory slipped on sunglasses to hide her glowing, golden eyes.
We all had them, now that we’d switched on—wolf irises shining with inner fire. The only outward sign that our powers were active. The reason Virals carried shades 24/7.
Tory’s whisper was plenty loud for me. Flaring, I could hear her heartbeat.
Here’s the thing—somehow, the supervirus affected each of us differently. We can’t explain it. Maybe the little bugger enhanced strengths we already had. Maybe it exploited individual weaknesses.
Who knows? We don’t have the answers.
But we do have the skills.
For me, I could hear like an owl. Better, probably. More acutely than the other Virals, though they had crazy sharp ears, too. But mine left theirs in the auditory dust.
Hi backhanded his nose, then wiped his shorts.
“Good to go,” he wheezed, cheeks crimson, dark lenses in place.
He spun a quick circle, scanning to make sure we hadn’t been seen. Hiram had the best eyes, hands down. Flaring, he could count a bird’s feathers at a hundred yards.
Ben flexed his fingers, then rolled his shoulders. When it came to pure physical power, he got more pop than the rest of us. He became superstrong, and lightning quick, like a ninja grizzly bear.
“Take the lead, Tor.” I slapped on my shades—no need for a prescription with the wolf unleashed. My eyes were telescopic.
I’d grasped her plan right away.
When flaring, Tory had the best nose, by far. Her sniffer was so sensitive, she could smell people’s emotions. Crazy. Seriously. Crazy.
Her talent had to do with sweat and identifying hormones and pheromones, or something like that. But damn! It even freaked me out.
Whatever the explanation, the ability was real. I’d seen her operate.
“Stick close to the fence.” Tory pointed to the chain-link barrier enclosing the compound. Then she ripped the plastic glove and removed the splinter. “We’ll start at the front gate and move clockwise, toward Building One. We’ll circle behind each building and I’ll try to catch the scent.”
Hi nodded. “Circle their behinds.”
Ben cuffed the back of Hi’s head.
“Let’s do it.” Tory clapped her hands, which sounded like thunder in my brain.
Hi fired two hand-shooters, unfazed by Ben’s cranial assault. “This loser’s going down, Charlie Brown.”
One by one, we arrowed toward the fence.
As we moved, it happened.
That strange, familiar feeling blossomed inside my mind.
The sense of connection. Oneness. A hidden link between me and my pack.
Don’t ask me how, but I could almost feel where the others were. How fast they moved. What they intended to do next. Sometimes, if I concentrated hard enough, I could even catch a whiff of their thoughts.
The sensation made me nervous as hell.
Leave that stuff to Tory.
At that moment, Tory glanced over her shoulder. At me. She flashed a wry smile.
Shivers ran my spine.
Tory believed we had a spiritual connection. Some kind of shared consciousness, springing from our canine DNA. I get the willies just thinking about it.
Sometimes, when flaring, Tory could send us messages mind to mind.
At times, I’d been able to send back.
Telepathy? A pack mind? Is this what wolves experience every day?
I didn’t know, but the whole business scared me to death. Fact: The idea of someone reading my thoughts gives me heart palpitations. Even Tory. Some things are just too personal to get comfortable with.
Tory is always the nucleus. The rest of us can’t kick-start a mind link. We wouldn’t know where to start. But even she doesn’t understand how the link works. She can’t control it either—the ability comes and goes without warning. Go figure.
One more puzzle to unravel.
Being Viral can be scary business.
Reaching the fence, Tory paused and placed the sliver under her nose. A moment passed, then she nodded.
“The residue has a funky mix of odors,” she said. “It’s mainly earthy, like grass or wheat. But there are traces of . . . sweetness. For some reason, I keep thinking of raisins.”
“Get after it, hound dog!” Hi crouched, slapped his leg twice, then jabbed a finger down the fence line. “Track!”
Ben delivered a second head smack. “Dope.”
Hi rubbed his dome. “That’s assault, bro. Times two. And flare slaps hurt more.”
“Sue me.” Ben turned to Tory. “Ready?”
She nodded. “Circle the compound. Sweep each building. Catch the scent.”
“Works for me.” I fell into line.
“There’ll be repercussions, Blue,” Hi warned, taking up the rear. “Shock and awe. Punitive damages.”
“Looking forward to it,” Ben replied without turning.
We moved slowly along the perimeter. Building One. Shed Three. Vehicle Depot A. Building Four. Tory shook her head each time.
A hundred yards, and we reached the back of the complex. Turning right, we hustled past the rear gate to the opposite side of the courtyard and the second row of buildings.
To anyone watching, it would’ve been a bizarre scene. Four teens in sunglasses, creeping around LIRI’s perimeter, following a redheaded girl who sniffed the air like a Labrador. Thankfully, there was no one in sight.
Tory was methodical. At each structure she’d probe the back door, or any other opening, breathing deeply. Then she’d move on, disappointed. In no time we’d returned the front gate.
Tory stopped, jaw clenched in frustration. “This isn’t working.”
I won’t lie—I was relieved. “Let’s tell Kit what we know.”
“We didn’t go in the buildings,” Ben pointed out.
Unconsciously, my fingers rose to my earlobe. “We can’t sneak inside every one. We don’t have that kind of access. And I’m not taking a third chance with security. Too many lies.”
“So let’s buzz the front doors,” Hi suggested. “Maybe we get lucky.”
Tory nodded. “If that fails, we’ll try something else.”
I suppressed a sigh. “Something else” didn’t sound like my suggestion.
We moved along the inner courtyard path, until we drew level with Building One.
“Let’s skip it,” Tory said. “Security will be a pain. We can always come back.”
That’s when my ears perked.
Without flaring, I’d never have heard it. I was sure the others didn’t.
Swish. Hum. Swish.
The doors!
“Building One!” I hissed. “Somebody’s coming out!”
Running is not my thing.
Tory might exercise for fun, but not me. That’s what video games are for.
“Move it, Hi!” Ben hissed, then bolted after Shelton and Tory.
“Why?” I whisper-shouted. “We didn’t do anything! I’m comfortable giving up!” But the others were barreling for the hedge on the opposite side of Building One.
You’re flaring, you idiot! Haul ass!
“Not cool!” Fortunately, I can be quick when necessary.
Flaring, I could practically fly.
Head down, I booked past the front doors just as two figures emerged from inside. Kit. Hudson. Their heads turned as I zoomed by and out of sight.
My faster buddies were already hunkered behind the greenery.
“Keep going!” I didn’t slow, kept hauling full speed. “I think Hudson saw me!”
Shelton winced. “The last thing we need.”
Now in the lead, I sped past Shed Three, then zagged behind a row of dogwoods. The others piled in beside me.
“There’s no cover here,” Ben warned. “But the vehicle depot has a retaining wall. We can duck behind that.”
He and Tory sped forward in a blink. Wolf powers unleashed, they moved like smoke. Shelton followed on their heels. I watched the trail behind us. Somebody had to.
I heard sneakers on concrete. Knew they’d reached the hiding place.
“Moves like Jagger,” I whispered, then pounded after the others.
Behind me, my enhanced ears detected footfalls.
Frick!
Twenty yards. My objective lay dead ahead.
My shades flew as I vaulted the chest-high wall.
And landed on Ben.
“Ack.” He toppled backward with a thud. “Get off me, Double Stack!”
“Serves you right,” I panted. “Vengeance is mine.”
Ben’s knee connected with my gut.
“Ooof!” I rolled to my back, crawled for cover, and collapsed.
Ben crouched beside me, rubbing his face. “You almost broke my nose.”
“You punctured my lungs. And my spleen. And my ovaries.” Not true. But flaring, I could feel bruises forming in my midsection. “You’ll pay for these crimes, Blue.”
“Any time, chunk.” Ben slapped my back. Which hurt, too.
“Shh!” Shelton sat, back pressed to the wall, ear cocked toward Building One. Seconds ticked by. Finally, “No one’s coming.”
Then he rounded on Ben and Tory. “Why are we all runnin’ and hidin’ in the first place? Why not just snuff our flares? News flash: They already know we’re out here! And we haven’t done anything bad. Not yet, anyway.”
“I’m not ready to quit.” Tory pulled a twig from her hair. Her eyes were still hidden behind black Ray-Bans, but I recognized the stubborn set to her chin. “I want to finish our inspection, without interruption.”
Classic Tory.
“God, I respect you,” I deadpanned, flat on my back.
“Shut it, Hi. We’ll check this garage first, then the other buildings on this side of the courtyard, one by one, like before. Any objections?”
Hearing none, Tory popped to h
er feet.
I rolled to my side, fully intending to stand.
Didn’t happen. My lungs weren’t ready for duty just yet.
So I lay on the concrete, panting, plotting my revenge on Ben.
Vehicle Depot A resembles a small fire station. Three garage-like doors provide access to a single mechanic’s bay. To the right of the doors, a separate entrance leads to a few small offices, workrooms, and an employee break room.
The wall sheltering us was barely five feet high, and separated the depot’s rectangular driveway from LIRI’s main courtyard. Inside the wall, to the building’s left, a grassy area stretched to the hedge line bordering Shed Three.
I lay in the wall’s shadow, directly facing the last garage door.
From my unique vantage point—face to the concrete—I noticed something.
Wet specks. On the pavement.
Curious, I lifted my head slightly. Zeroed my flare vision.
Details snapped into HD. The specks became fragmented streaks.
Parallel lines, a foot apart. Nearly invisible.
Tracks. Wheels?
LIRI had a fleet of ATVs, but they used wide tires, suitable for off-road terrain.
But these treads were thin, more like those of a bicycle. Extremely light, too. Without my flare vision, I’d never have noticed them. The tracks couldn’t have been there more than a few hours. In another, they would fade completely.
“Something that rolls,” I murmured. “But not a motor vehicle.”
Shelton looked up. “You say something?”
I didn’t answer. My eyes traced the lines across the driveway.
Another surprise. Instead of joining the path, they swerved into the grass.
“Huh.”
I rose to my hands and knees and crawled to where the concrete ended and the grass began. Then, pressing my cheek flat on the pavement again, I examined the yard.
There. Twin ranks of broken blades, running directly toward the hedge.
“Hey, now.”
I sat back on my heels and squinted hard at the bushes. Spotted a gap right where the tracks ended. The damage was plain to see. Snapped branches. Crushed leaves. As if something heavy had been forced through them recently.
But what?
Then I had it. “A hand truck.”