Page 92

Her shoulders sagged. Back to her original plan. Find that Wi-Fi password. Get a message to Ryder.
“I need to use the ladies’ room.” She squirmed in her seat to emphasize her distress. “I haven’t, ah, used the facilities since early this morning.” She gave him her best pleading look and was proud of herself when her lips trembled a little.
Robert snorted. “You Yanks. I don’t know what you have against the word toilet.” He took out his knife and the blade snapped open.
Nathalie held her breath as it slid between her ankle and the plastic tie. One tie fell off, then the other.
“Come on now, be quick about it.” He grabbed her arm and hauled her from the chair.
She stumbled, her legs stiff. Her gaze darted frantically around the tiny confines of the house, looking for anything that might hold the Wi-Fi password as Robert led her from the living room through the kitchen and up the stairs to what appeared to be two bedrooms and a hall bath.
He gave her a light push into the bathroom. “The door stays unlocked. Be a shame to lose my security deposit if I had to kick it in. Be quick about your business.”
The bathroom was barely big enough for the small white sink and cabinet, the toilet, and a stand-up shower. Nathalie shut the door. Other than a lone roll of toilet paper and travel-size soap, shampoo, and conditioner left by the rental company, there was nothing she could use as a weapon.
She used the toilet and loitered as long as she could until Robert pounded on the door.
“Finish up.”
Angering him wouldn’t help her. She washed her hands and opened the door, giving him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
His only response was a grunt.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Nathalie took two giant steps toward the refrigerator. Ignoring Robert’s tight grip on her arm, she pointed to the white shelf lined with plastic wine glasses and cups. “Could I have a glass of water?” She chanced a peek out of her peripheral vision at the rectangular magnet with black lettering stuck to the front of the fridge.
Bingo.
The Wi-Fi username and password:Blue Haven, BlueHaven2386.
A hard tug on her arm almost took her off her feet. “Later. You need to finish coding the bloody program.” Robert pushed her back into the chair she’d been sitting in and produced two new zip ties, binding her ankles to the chair once again.
Nathalie’s hand crept to up to twist the gold hoop in her ear. Inserting the missing source code would take a matter of seconds, but he didn’t know that. She needed to look busy long enough for him to get bored and look away, or better yet, wander into the other room so she could log onto the Wi-Fi and send Ryder a message.
She finished typing in the code, then started adding random strings she could easily delete from the text file before updating her program. Anything to make it look like she was still working while she waited for him to find something else to do besides sit there and watch her.
Robert’s cell phone chirped. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. “Ahhh, that didn’t take long. It looks like we may have another buyer.” He stood. “Keep working, luv. Be right back.”
Yes!She waited until he’d reached the kitchen, then opened the Wi-Fi settings.
Please work.
She selected the Blue Haven network and typed in the password.BlueHaven2386.
Checking network requirements…The dots on the screen chased each other in an endless circle.
Come on.She urged the wireless connection to move faster as she gave a furtive glance toward the kitchen.
Connected. Secured.
Finally.Opening the browser she used for her home email, she logged in and typed in Ryder’s address. She tapped out a hurried message, her sweaty fingers flying over the keyboard.
His name is Robert. I think he served in the military with you. The deal with Liu fell through. Looking for another buyer. I’m in a house, Arlington maybe, close to Reagan National and a golf course, small cottage, blue siding, rental, called Blue Haven.
“Good news.” Robert’s voice jolted her heart like an electroshock, making her jump in her seat.
She clicked send, then closed the program. She’d just turned off the Wi-Fi when Robert moved to stand over her shoulder. He stared at the laptop screen and the open text file where she’d typed in the source code and a bunch of meaningless strings.
“I’m almost done.” Nathalie kept her gaze on the screen rather than turn to look at her captor. “What assurance do I have that once you have my completed software design, you won’t kill me?”