Page 26 of No Time Off (Lexi Carmichael Mystery #15)

TWENTY-SIX

Slash

I woke when my phone vibrated nearby. I rose quietly from the couch, retrieving my phone, laptop, the compound diagram, and the two small recording devices, placing them into my backpack. I glanced out the window, confirming it was still dark. I slipped out of the room and saw Manny near the bottom of the stairs, putting on his shoes.

“Morning,” I said softly.

“Morning,” Manny responded. “You two get any sleep?”

“Some. Lexi is still asleep. I need to wake her and have her set up before we go. I just wanted to check that you’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” he said, tying the last shoe. “Coffee or water?”

“Coffee, black.” I needed to be fully alert this morning.

I returned to the office to wake Lexi. She stirred and finally opened her eyes, sitting up on the couch, her hair tousled, her eyes fogged with a hacker blur I knew so well. She looked beautiful.

“Good morning,” I said, kissing her on the cheek. “How’d you sleep?”

“Not enough,” she said, rolling her neck. “Is it time?”

“It’s time,” I confirmed.

“So, what’s the plan?” She stretched and then walked over to her laptop. “What do you need me to do?”

“Just like yesterday, I’ll set up my laptop so you can connect through it to the Wi-Fi. I’ll give you that hour I promised to get in. Once you’re in, let me know.”

“One hour?”

“One hour,” I confirmed. “Our communications will be phones only, since that’s what we have at hand except for texting via the laptop. Though once I head into the compound, the laptop stays with Manny. I’ll call Manny on my phone, and Manny will loop you in, muting his end unless one of you needs to talk to me. That way any noise from your end won’t inadvertently reveal my presence. You’ll take down the cameras on my signal, and I’ll let you know to put them back up once I’m in. I’ll plant the devices and let you know when I’m ready to exit. You take everything down again until I’m in the clear. Straightforward and simple. No fancy moves.”

“Do you know where you’re going to plant the devices?” she asked. “How many do you have?”

“Two devices, and, yes, I know where I’m going to plant them. One will be in the chief of staff’s office and the other in a conference room where Manny took photos of Maivia speaking to various Chinese officials. Unfortunately, the devices are not the bugs like you might expect. Manny doesn’t have any actual bugs in his arsenal. They’re just mini recorders. Which means I’ll have to go back in again and retrieve them.”

“You have to break in twice?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes, but Manny has a plan for that,” I assured her. “We may not even have to be involved in the recovery. That is yet to be determined.”

She didn’t look convinced, but there was no further time for discussion.

“Why can’t it ever be the easy button for us?” she asked with a sigh.

“It’s not a difficult assignment, cara ,” I assured her. “With you handling the cameras, it will be easy.”

“Sure, and this is supposed to be a remote island where nothing exciting ever happens.”

Ouch. “Point taken. Let’s just consider this a small blip on the honeymoon radar. We’ll get through it. We always do.”

She nodded. “We always do.”

I gently cupped the sides of her face with my hands. “One hour for that hack, ten minutes to plant the devices, and another hour before I’m back. We’ve got this.”

“We better.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Be careful with my husband, okay?”

“Only if you keep my wife safe.”

“Deal,” she murmured against my lips as she gave me a kiss.