“Ethan will notice,” Corey said.
“It’s why I’m his wife,” Alice said and smiled. “I’ll keep him busy long enough.”
“I’d just like a little assurance,” Corey said. “Randall Jones died.”
“An accident,” Eddie said. “He fought us off, or tried. Doesn’t have to happen again.”
Corey lifted a brow. He smoothed out this Mario Bros. T-shirt and sighed. “Guess I’m not going to be given a choice. But I feel uncomfortable with my brother up here and a gun pointed at him.”
The gunman moved his weapon, pointing it at Corey instead.
I glanced up at Raven, who was mouthing curses.
We needed a way to motivate Alice and Eddie to walk out of here without killing anyone. Just giving them what they wanted didn’t guarantee that.
I looked at Raven for help, but he was focused on the gunman trained on Corey. He had his own gun out, aiming down.
This was going to turn into a blood bath quickly, if Raven lost his patience and temper. Maybe he was good with a gun, but he was still outnumbered and none of the rest of us had weapons.
Axel had said the goal was to give them exactly what they wanted, and to walk away. We could case them later when we got everyone cleared of harm. What we needed was for Alice and her team to actually leave the premises without any hostages.
I studied Alice, who was looking at the screen and then at Corey. She curled her fingers at him. “Come sit next to me,” she said. She sat near the computer. The goon guarding Brandon pulled him down onto the floor. Alice patted the spot near her. “We’ll do this together.”
Corey eyeballed his brother and then settled near the computer, checking out the screens. He pressed at the monitor. “The encryption is pretty integrated.”
“Can it be taken out?” Alice asked.
Corey tilted his head, thinking. “Maybe. It’ll take a few minutes to see.”
Alice held something in her hands, I saw a glint of something glass. She must have had more of that poison. She was going to give it to Corey somehow.
Avery moved then, quietly. He was right next to Alice.
He held something, a similar looking bottle. He was going to try to swap it out?
Avery the magician.
He needed a distraction though.
I was on the farthest side of the room. I considered what I had. The radio…
I pulled it from my pocket and fiddled with the buttons, but keeping the frequency. I pressed the call button, and rubbed my finger quietly over the mouthpiece.
A radio in the room went off. It crackled with noise.
Eddie pulled it from his pocket, adjusting the volume. He pushed the button and spoke into it. “Who’s that? Check in.”
When he released the button, he got more of the same crackling. I held the button down. If I kept the line busy, it meant they couldn’t communicate with people downstairs.
“Fuck this core,” Eddie said. “It’s messing with our signal or something.”
“Or something happened downstairs,” Alice said. She placed her poison on the sofa next to her to pat Corey. “Don’t pay any attention.”
There was a quick movement. Avery reached over the arm, replacing the poison.
I turned off the signal, and then pushed the button, sliding my finger across, trying to make different noises.
“Someone should go check on them,” Eddie said.
“No one moves,” Alice said. “We’re going to get out of here soon.”
It wasn’t much, but at least Alice didn’t have her poison. I was wondering if she even carried the cure.
She looked back at Corey, who was typing at the monitor. “Is it working yet?”
“I’m not taking out the code,” Corey said. “If you want him to be able to continue using it and not notice it’s been altered, you’ll need the security packet to stay in place.”
“Maybe you aren’t as smart as I thought you were,” Alice said. “I thought I made it clear that we want access to the data.”
“I’m not taking out the packet,” Corey said. “I’m changing it. It still secures the line, but it reroutes information to a single phone.” He looked up. “Tell me where you want the information sent to.”
Alice squinted at him. She looked at Eddie and then back at Corey. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll be part of the data collection,” Corey said. “You’ll get part of the information.”
“We don’t want part,” Eddie said. “She wants all of it.”
Corey shook his head. “How were you going to access the data, even if I simply left the encryption open? It only flows through here.”
“That’s why I married Ethan,” she said. “To stay here and collect data in pieces while I could, learning passcodes and secrets as I wished.”
“Look,” Corey said. He pointed at the screen. “You won’t have to do that. If I make a cell phone able to pick up chunks of data, you’ll be able collect some on the go. You don’t have to stay. To users, it’ll look like the service stalled a minute, but it’ll pick back up. They’ll just have to hit refresh.”
“And Ethan won’t notice?” she asked.
“Nope,” Corey said. He gave off a smile, a little crooked. He was forcing it. “You could walk away. Pick up the cell phone data from anywhere. You’ll just have to remember to clear your memory every once in a while. It won’t be everything, but it’s sacrificing all data for mobility.”
Eddie coughed and then shook his head. He nudged Alice’s arm. “That’s not what you wanted,” he said. “You can stay here and collect the data from the source. What’s to say he won’t just make it not work once we’re gone?”
Alice considered this, staring at Corey, as if weighing out his proposition. “We don’t need all of the data here,” she said. “A little at a time to make use of…And all directed to a singular cell phone.”
“Just tell me the number where to send the data,” Corey said. “The security dog packet will remove the encryption just before the last tower, and the final destination of the receiving call. That means you pick it up after the encryption.
“Let’s see if it can do what we want first,” Alice said. “Show me.”
Eddie frowned, grumbled, and walked over to the window, looking out.
Corey was giving them a chance to walk away. My heart was in my throat. The dizziness was trying to take over. I glanced at Brandon, still on the ground. He had his eyes closed, unmoving.
Corey looked down at his brother. He nudged him with a foot. Brandon wasn’t moving. “What did you do to him?” Corey asked.
“He’s tired,” Alice said. “Been up for days. Don’t mind him.”
Possibly poisoned. I had a suspicion…did the poison work faster the more stress you were under?
My heart was thudding. Was I being poisoned slowly now, too? Being exhausted, my body wouldn’t be able to fight it much.
Corey frowned and then focused on the screen. “I need the number. Who will be getting the data?”
“I should,” Eddie said.
“Nonsense,” Alice said, and she smiled sweetly, looking at Eddie. “I should. I’m the only one who could possibly use it.”
“I don’t trust you,” Eddie said. “I’ll give you the data a little at a time. When you get something good from it, I’ll give you more.”
Alice’s lips twitched. I gathered she didn’t like being told what to do. “Okay,” she said.
Eddie gave Corey the number. He typed it in.
Moments later, Eddie’s cell phone started buzzing to life. He pulled it from his back pocket.
I got an eyeful of the gun he had in a holster behind him. So he did have a weapon.
Eddie checked his phone, scowling. “What’s this?”
Corey stood. This caused a reaction from the guard to aim his gun closer in warning. Corey held up his hands. “I’ll just take a look,” he said. “To make sure it’s working.”
The guard looked at Alice
, who nodded. The guard lowered his gun.
Corey leaned over, looking at Eddie’s screen. “Yeah,” he said, and pointed to the phone. “See? You’re getting in text messages like they’re being delivered to you. Open up your browser.”
Eddie did. “It’s moving on its own.”
“Every window you open, it’ll show you someone else’s use of it. What you’re seeing is a live stream of someone else’s cell phone’s signals being sent out. Flashes of websites from across the network. Except now…” He pointed lower on the screen. “The encrypted data isn’t there.”
“I can see a password,” Eddie said. He showed it to Alice. “Someone’s bank account.”
Alice smiled. “Surprisingly useful.”
“The information will be random,” Corey said, “but you’ll be able to get it from anywhere in the city. You’ll just have to be within range of one of Ethan’s active towers.”
“So we can’t go overseas?” Eddie asked. “Back home?”
Corey shook his head. “You’ll lose contact with the right towers. It won’t work.”
“We can’t go far,” Alice said. “But we don’t have to stay here.”
“But again,” Eddie said, putting the cell phone in his pocket, “you should stay. Don’t arouse suspicion.”
“You know, Eddie,” Alice said, rising slowly. “I’m getting tired of you believing you’re smarter than I am.”
Eddie backed up a step, scowling. “Don’t get stupid,” he said. “We’re almost out of here.”
“I’ve got what I came for,” she said. “Mr. Murdock and I can leave now.”
“I’ve got what you want,” Eddie said. “This is my protection. You weaseled your way in far enough. If you want a piece of this, you’ll have to leave my men alone and we’ll split this evenly. I don’t trust you to simply walk away—”
Alice snapped her fingers. Mack Truck and the other goon moved instantly, pointing guns at Corey, and at Eddie.
Eddie started to reach for his gun, but Mack Truck stepped up, loaded a bullet into the chamber by cocking his gun, and aimed square at Eddie’s chest. He said something in German I couldn’t understand, but the threat was obvious.
Eddie slowly put his hands in the air, and then barked something back at Mack Truck, also in German. Mack took out Eddie’s gun from his back holster, and tossed it onto another couch nearby.
Well, that was one guy down. I checked with Raven. He showed me a fist, and hand down. Wait.
I groaned internally. I was so tired of waiting. Waves of dizziness was washing over me now. I wasn’t going to survive much more of this. I pinched myself to keep awake and to focus.
“What do you expect me to do?” Eddie said to Alice. “You expect me to sit here and let you walk out?”
“Yes,” Alice said. “Although not without motivation. Your friend is going to sit here with you for a while.” She winked at Mack Truck.
Eddie glared at Mack Truck. I wasn’t sure if Mack Truck was a traitor, or if he’d always been on Alice’s team and worked with Eddie to see through their plans.
“Where are you going to go?” Eddie asked.
“I’m going to go for a drive with my friend, Brandon,” she said and gestured to Brandon lying on the floor at her feet.
Corey stood then, but a goon pointed a gun at his face. He ignored it and glared at her. “You said you wouldn’t hurt him.”
“I don’t plan on it,” she said. She nodded to a second goon, who lifted Brandon up by the arm, and draped him over his shoulder.
Corey flexed his hands and then made fists. “Stop,” Corey said. “Don’t take him.”
“Be a good boy,” Alice said, stepping back toward Eddie. She went into his pocket, pulling out the phone. She put it in her own pocket and then moved toward the door. “But I didn’t trust you to let the information continue while I was away. So I’m taking a little…insurance.”
“I’ll find you,” Corey said.
“Don’t,” Alice said. She smirked. “I’ll have your brother. If the data stream stops, or if someone comes looking for your brother, he’ll die. When I am satisfied, I’ll let him go. And you’ll have no other choice but to believe me. After today, you won’t see me again.’
Corey moved toward her, but the guard put his gun at his chest, threatening. Corey stopped, baring his teeth.
My heart was going wild. Another wave of dizziness. The room spun.
Raven was above Mack Truck, and was signaling to me. My eyes crossed. I wasn’t able to see exactly what he wanted. I was fighting the dizziness and nausea. A hot flush broke out over my body and I felt a bead of sweat slide down my back.
The poison must have been working faster. And with me being so tired, I wasn’t going to last long at all.
Alice headed for the door. “Everyone stays here for a whole day,” she told Mack Truck. “Let them enjoy the view, then at sunset, walk out and lock them in. I’ll keep Ethan busy for a while so he won’t come up.”
Mack nodded.
Alice opened the door, holding it for the gunman that had Brandon as he walked through. Alice kept her eyes on everyone, taking the second goon’s gun to aim. Mack backed away from Eddie, and guided Corey and Eddie into the same corner to keep them together.
Last chance. I checked on Raven, who was following Mack.
Avery appeared then, close to where the door was on my side, covered by the wall.
Avery pointed to me, pointed to Alice. He pointed to himself, and the gunman. He started to count down from five on his hand. Four. Three.
I started to sneak out from behind the couch. Take out Alice. No problem.
Before Avery could count to one, there was a shout from the first guard, followed by a quick thumping and crash on the stairs.
Brandon!
I had no time to think about it. I launched myself at Alice, aiming my feet at her knees and then grabbed for the bun on her head.
She screamed, and bent backward, reaching around, trying to grab for me.
I caught Avery sailing past me, using his arm and ramming the door into the second guard.
Mack tried to turn, but suddenly Raven flew down on top of him, and as soon as he landed, he was tossing Mack’s gun away and punching. Eddie joined in. Corey was after Avery, trying to help him.
It was all I caught before Alice reached back, using a flat palm against the side of my head. A wave of dizziness took over me. I wasn’t going to last.
Then I remembered Brandon and being the dead weight on Mack Truck. Drop dead fainting was something I could do right now.
I grabbed Alice by her shoulders. I hung on tight and then dropped to the floor
Alice fell on top of me, knocking my head hard into the hardwood floor.
Colors flooded over my eyes.
And then went black.
PROMISES
I woke up with a headache from hell, my throat parched.
Wherever I was, it smelled like bleach and medicine.
I turned on my side, and the bed creaked. The thin blanket wasn’t enough for the cool air sweeping over me. The light was too bright. I pulled my pillow, a flat one, over my face.
This was the worst motel ever. I quietly reminded myself to ask for another pillow and a blanket from the maids.
“Kayli,” said a deep voice. “You awake?”
That wasn’t Wil. I opened my eyes, and peeked out from the shadow of the pillow.
Brandon sat in a bed next to me.
My eyes widened and I stat up, feeling a tug at my hand. I looked down and saw the IV needle poked into my vein and taped down to my skin. A fluid bag hung nearby.
I’d been dreaming I was back in the motel. I looked around the hospital room now. The wide windows were filled with sunshine for an early morning.
Brandon was in a green hospital gown. His muscular legs and arms were bare. His left eye was swollen shut and he had more cuts and bruises along his body. “You okay?” he asked.
I swallowed, nodding. “
I passed out?” I asked.
He nodded. “Corey carried you out. Raven got me.”
“Alice…” I said, everything coming back to me in a rush.
Brandon frowned. “Axel was outside just as Kevin and some Academy members arrived, she managed to get out of the chaos and run off. They’re looking for her now.”
My mouth dropped open. “How? And what about Eddie and Mr. Murdock.”
“Mr. Murdock slipped Ethan something to make him sleep. But then he spotted Marc coming in, and he bolted as his guard held back and tried to ward us off. The only ones we managed to keep contained were Eddie and the others. We don’t even have a right to hold them, only give them up to the police to deal with, and Ethan woke up eventually to press charges against them. Mr. Murdock and Alice are long gone by now.”
I groaned. I supposed I should be happy that Brandon was okay. “Everyone’s good?”
“So far it seems like it,” Brandon said.
I fell back in the bed, overwhelmed and suddenly feeling sick. “Did we get cured yet?”
Brandon smirked. “We’re stuck here until we’re cleared.” He lifted his hand, showing me the needle in his hand. “We’re getting the antidote now. And possibly for a couple of weeks.”
I closed my eyes. It felt like hours before I opened them. “How long was I out?” I asked.
“Four days,” Brandon said.
My eyes widened, and I looked at him, thinking he had to be joking. His face was stern.
“So the bad guys got away,” I said.
“Sometimes it happens like that,” Brandon said. “But now the police are looking for them. We’re out.”
“And her phone she got was fake?”
Brandon nodded and smiled, showing me the cut on his lip near the corner that was starting to heal. “My brother’s a genius. Who would have thought of that? He didn’t just give them what they asked for. He changed the game to motivate them to fight over who got the phone, and then how to proceed. If you ever have to go up into a den of thieves, throw in one gold coin and stand back.”