Page 27 of No Time Off (Lexi Carmichael Mystery #15)

TWENTY-SEVEN

Slash

M anny and I were in position at the compound. We’d moved quickly in the dark under a waxing moon that provided excellent visibility. Once we’d arrived in the bushes near where we had hidden yesterday, I set up my laptop, giving Lexi access to the Wi-Fi network where she was currently hacking away. I sipped coffee from a thermos Manny had provided while mentally walking through the steps of the operation. I didn’t look at the time. I knew I didn’t need to.

Fifty-two minutes after I set up the laptop, my phone vibrated. “Yes?” I answered.

“I’m in,” Lexi said.

I felt a surge of pride and relief. “Good work, cara . You did it.”

“ We did it,” she said. “I got critical help from Wally, Frankie, and Angel. They are unbelievably talented. Well, Xavier and Elvis helped, too, but you knew that.”

“I knew that.” I smiled.

“By the way, there are a couple of things you should be aware of,” Lexi said. “The compound has its door alarms tied into the network. I’ve got control of those, too.”

She never failed to amaze me. “That’s excellent news, cara . Maybe we did get to press that easy button just once.”

“Maybe just this once. Good luck, Slash. I’ve got your back.”

“You always do.” I hung up and pocketed my phone, turning to Manny.

“Did she break into the network controlling the security cameras?” he asked.

“She did and also got control of the door alarms while she was at it.”

“Damn,” Manny said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Is there any information that’s sacred or secure these days? Or does the CIA have access to everything?”

“We’re not the CIA,” I said.

“Of course you’re not. Are you ready to go?”

I looked around. “No better time than the present.”

I took out my phone and called him. Once our connection was secure, he looped in Lexi. I left Manny perched behind a large bush with binoculars and a clear view of the front of the compound and the guard by the gate. My open and running laptop sat next to him.

While it was still dark outside, the sky had begun to lighten as dawn approached, helping me see without having to use a flashlight. The lights from the compound gave me a clear view of where I was going, but also meant I’d be visible to anyone who happened to look out a window once I scaled the fence.

“No sentries or patrols noted,” Manny whispered through the phone. “The one sentry we saw earlier is nowhere in sight. You can climb that fence anytime.”

“Roger that,” I said. “Lexi, bring down the cameras and alarms.”

“On it,” she responded.

I waited a couple of minutes to give Lexi time to do her magic before I headed for the fence. I double-checked to ensure it wasn’t an electric one—even though I hadn’t seen any evidence it was—and scaled it with ease. I passed directly in front of the security camera mounted nearby. I felt my pulse quicken as I jumped to the ground and slipped into the shadows.

No alarm had been raised.

“Phone silence from here on,” I whispered into my cell. “I’ll provide two clicks once I’m inside so you can put the cameras and alarms back on, and three clicks when I’m ready to exit again.”

“Got it,” Manny murmured. “Good luck.”

I didn’t respond, but I already knew what he was thinking: If my plan failed, we didn’t have many other options.

I surveyed the compound from my shadowed position against the building, pressing my body close to the wall. I was exposed here and needed to move, and fast.

I hugged the building until I got to the front right corner. A quick glance around the corner showed the area to the gate was empty and no one was around. The grass felt spongy beneath my feet, damp from the tropical humidity. I ducked around the corner underneath a security camera mounted under the eaves that I sincerely hoped had its image currently frozen. I did another check of the environment over my shoulder before slipping around the corner and testing the door.

It was locked. I dipped my hand into my pocket, where I had put the small lockpicking kit Manny had given me, when the door suddenly popped open.

Startled, I took a step back before realizing Lexi must have opened the door for me. I cautiously opened the door wider and peered in. The dim hallway was empty.

Mentally thanking my wife, I slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind me. I paused, hearing no noise aside from a low hum, which was probably the air conditioner.

I pictured the compound’s layout as Manny had described it to me. The closed door immediately to my right should be the chief of staff’s office, and next to that on the same side was a recreation room. To the left of me would be a gym—which I confirmed, since the door had a glass window through which I could see the darkened outlines of exercise equipment. Beyond the exercise room was a storage closet and, finally, the kitchen manager’s office. Straight ahead would be the large kitchen. The conference room, where I needed to plant the other device, would be on the same floor, but on the other side of the compound. I’d have to pass the kitchen, dining room, stairway, and other offices to get there. I would be the most exposed at that time, so I needed to hurry and get the devices planted and get out before the next staff change occurred.

I’d just put my hand on the chief of staff’s door when I heard a clunking noise coming from the kitchen area. I quickly ducked into the office, grateful the door wasn’t locked. It was another sign of lax security. To my relief, no one was inside.

I closed the door behind me and began to hunt for the best place to plant the recording device. I didn’t dare turn on the light, so I looked around using the dim light from my phone. I noted a metal statue on the desk with several holes in it, which seemed like a good fit. I quickly took the recording device out of my bag, turned it on, and slid it into the statue, where it was perfectly hidden.

The entire action took under a minute. Time to move on.

I had just reached for the door handle when I heard a sound in the hall outside, then silence. After a few seconds, I heard the unmistakable sound of a door closing.

I opened the office door slightly to exit and listened. It had started to rain, and I could hear the water pelting the window. The noise would cover any small sounds I might make, but it would also mask the approaching presence of others. I noticed that the light was now on in the gym across the hall. Someone was working out early.

I left the office, ducked down below the window in the gym door and headed down the hallway, my ears straining for footsteps, noise, or conversation.

I carefully approached the kitchen. I pressed myself flat against the wall when I heard people speaking softly in a language I presumed was Mandarin. Most likely someone was preparing breakfast. I needed to move quickly to plant the next bug. The longer I lingered, the more I increased my odds of discovery.

I timed my movement with the sounds I heard coming from the kitchen as I slipped past the entrance. There appeared to be a staff dining room on the left next to a staircase. Ahead, I saw an open door leading into a formal dining room. Since there seemed to be more activity happening in the house than expected, I made the executive decision to plant the second bug there instead of the conference room.

I dashed across the hall and into the dining room. The room contained a long, polished table with high-backed chairs, a giant map of the Cook Islands in a gilded frame, and a large red roaring lion statue near the window. I took the second mini recorder out of my bag, turned it on, and stuck it in the back of the lion’s mouth. That should do it. It was time to get out.

I glanced out of the door of the dining room and saw the hallway was empty. I reached into my pocket, clicking three times to indicate I was ready to exit so Lexi would take down the cameras and door alarms. The area remained quiet, so I dashed into the hallway, past the kitchen, and turned onto the hallway with the office where I’d planted the first recorder.

I’d just passed the gym door and was nearly to the exit when I heard the gym door start to open. I’d never make it out the exterior door in time without being seen, so I ducked back into the chief of staff’s office where I’d planted the first recorder to wait it out.

I stood motionless, but didn’t hear anyone challenging me or calling for help. The rain had picked up, and I hoped Manny had the foresight to protect my laptop. At least I hadn’t been spotted, though I’d had several close calls. I blew out a breath of relief and was just trying to decide if I should alert Lexi that I wasn’t out yet when a jarring squawk behind me gashed the silence.

I jolted backward, my heart hammering. Framed against the lightening sky near the window sat a bright-green bird. It was on a cageless perch. The bird had a blue head and a red beak—a parrot of some kind—tilting its head and studying me with round, beady eyes.

“Che cavolo,” I murmured in Italian—“What the hell?” That I spoke in Italian and not English indicated the unexpected noise had startled me deeply.

“Where did you come from?” I murmured to the parrot. I hadn’t heard or noticed the bird the first time around, although the room had brightened considerably in the past minutes alone. Who the hell kept a cageless bird in an office as a pet?

The parrot suddenly screeched loudly and launched itself at me, claws out, shaking its wings. I tried to grab it, but it flew too high, clearly intending to frighten rather than attack me. It continued to squawk loudly, flying like a maniac around the room.

“Shh,” I ordered, but it was too late. I heard another door open down the hall and footsteps approaching.

Cursing under my breath, I forced myself to think. I quickly locked the office door from the inside, buying myself a little more time and hoping that anyone who investigated would just shrug it off as a bothersome parrot. Someone tried the door and then went silent, surely listening. I hoped for a moment they might just leave. Then the phone in my pocket vibrated and the parrot went completely berserk, shrieking and flapping its wings. The sound was piercing, echoing off the walls.

That was the tipping point for the man at the door. He started yelling in Chinese, probably asking someone to bring a key. He either suspected someone was inside or was afraid of the mess the parrot might be making. I checked the window, but it wouldn’t budge, somehow sealed in place. There was no way I could avoid being caught. I could hear more voices coming down the hall. I had just seconds before I was discovered. I pulled out my phone and spoke in a low voice.

“I’ve been discovered,” I said, hoping Manny and Lexi could hear me over the parrot shrieking. “The two devices are planted but my position was compromised by an unexpected parrot in the office. I’m going to leave my phone on and hide it in this room so you can hear what’s going on. Don’t hang up. Take my laptop and get the hell out of here. They’ll likely do a sweep of the area as soon as they discover me.”

There was no time to say anything else. I slid my phone into an opening under the floor trim of the desk. It was impossible to see unless someone started looking on the floor with a flashlight.

I stood up, moved away from the desk, and put my hands on my head. Moments later, there was silence outside, and then I heard a key in the lock and the door swung open. The light in the room came on, and one of the guards pointed at me in shock. It didn’t take them long to respond before I was promptly staring down the muzzle of a gun.

A man growled something at me in Chinese. I didn’t need a translator to know he’d told me if I moved, I died.

My mind raced, trying to figure a way out. The mission was complete, but I was captured, stuck in an enemy stronghold with a loaded gun aimed at my skull. I wasn’t sure what would happen next.

Damn that parrot. Lexi was going to kill me if I ever got out of this alive.