Stolen Secrets

by Sherri Shackelford

  Sue threw up her papers with a laugh and they fluttered over her. “I declare team five the winner.”

  The entire conference room erupted in cheers. Lucy half expected them to hoist Jordan on their shoulders and carry him to dinner. Thankfully, they settled for slapping him on the back and offering hearty congratulations.

  Then everyone melted away and they were face-to-face once again. As though they’d come full circle from that first day, they exchanged an awkward hug.

  Lucy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you. I thought our boat was going to erupt in mutiny and we’d all be dead.”

  Jordan grinned. He started to say something, but his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and his expression sobered. “Westover is waiting outside. He has news for us.”

  Her smile faded. She’d known the end of their time was near—she just wasn’t prepared for it to come this soon.

  * * *

  Jordan’s features were leaden, and Lucy appeared equally reluctant to meet with Westover. They should be happy. This was the culmination of everything they’d worked for. Jordan had no doubt Westover had come to deliver the news they were all waiting for.

  The agent was waiting for them at the entrance of the zoo. “Karp says we got a hit on the drone software,” he stated without preamble. “Looks like someone uploaded the code and took one of the Afghanistan drones for a joyride. He snapped a few pictures and sent it back to home base.”

  “Nothing else?” Jordan asked, his heart sinking.

  He’d spent his last evening with Lucy arguing about survivors on a fake lifeboat. Not exactly an auspicious parting.

  “Lucy’s code worked like a charm.” Westover practically vibrated with excitement. “The drone reported the location of the controller back to the mainframe, and then went into safety mode. The whole thing was monitored remotely in case he decided to deploy a missile. He didn’t. This means we’re golden. The NSA team will give him twenty-four hours to feel comfortable, and then we’ll send in an extraction team.”

  “That’s great,” Lucy said, her voice flat.

  Westover flipped back his coat and planted his hands on his hips. “You haven’t even heard the best part. We were right. This guy is local.”

  Jordan frowned. “Seems almost too easy.”

  “I’ll take easy,” Westover declared. “But don’t rest on your laurels. We’re not finished with this thing yet. We still don’t have the identity of the seller, the one who originally impersonated Lucy. Keep your eyes open. I want them both.”

  Lucy touched Jordan’s sleeve. “I have to go. I told Sue I’d help pass out the cake with dinner.”

  “Sure thing,” he replied, watching her walk away.

  A low whistle startled him.

  “Earth to Harris,” Westover prodded.

  “What? Oh.” Jordan brushed his troubled thoughts aside. “Are you sticking around? I’d like backup until this guy is in custody.”

  “Yeah. Karp doesn’t want Lucy spending too much time alone until the buyer is in custody.” Westover patted his stomach. “Think I’ll grab something to eat while I’m here. You coming?”

  “You go ahead. I’ll be along in a minute.”

  Jordan was lost in thought when his phone buzzed again. His stepsister, Emma, had sent him a text along with a photo attachment.

  As he read the message, pressure built behind his eyes.

  You’re an uncle! It’s a girl!

  She posed with the baby and her husband, Liam. She looked radiant. Happier than he’d ever seen her, and remorse sucked the air from his lungs.

  He loved Lucy, but he’d been too afraid of being compared to Brandt and falling short to act on his feelings. Sure, he’d told himself it was about loyalty and all that. In truth, he was scared. Now was the time for courage. He’d rather spend the rest of his life coming up short if he got to spend that time with Lucy.

  Had his realization come too late? Since their lunch meeting, she’d been distant. Not that he was surprised. He’d driven her away, and he had only himself to blame. If what Westover said was true, and the situation in the Middle East was heating up, he didn’t have the time he needed to mend his bridges.

  He’d gone and made a real mess out of things.

  He loved Lucy and he’d done everything in his power to drive her away.

  * * *

  Lucy sipped her iced tea and casually searched the crowd. Westover’s news was brilliant. They’d found the buyer. Her plan had worked. She blinked rapidly. This was good. The sooner Jordan returned home, the sooner she could start rebuilding her life. She’d done it before, so there was no reason she couldn’t do it again.

  A soda clutched in each hand, Sue glided over. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Jordan is doing a sweep of the conference rooms to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind. You should take pity on him and help him out.”

  Sue was still trying to play matchmaker, and Lucy didn’t have the heart to tell her the effort was wasted. “They always make the new guy do that. I should have warned him.”

  “Thank you. I’ve got to run. I’m hiding from Ellie. She’s miffed about the lifeboat challenge and won’t shut up. She wanted to vote you off, by the way.”

  “I was the nurse! She’d have died on that desert island without me.”

  Sue giggled. “Don’t forget about Jordan. If you need me, I’ll be as far away from Ellie as possible.”

  Grateful for something to do besides mope, Lucy returned to the jungle once more. She was about to take the stairs down to the lower-level conference rooms when movement caught the corner of her eye. Vance Eagan was making his way down the corridor toward the entrance of the jungle.

  Why on earth was he doing that? They’d all been told more than once that the exhibits were closed once dinner was served. She started to follow, then paused. Maybe he was meeting Emily. The last thing she wanted to do was interrupt a tryst.

  Lucy crossed to the large glass windows and searched the crowd. Emily was returning from the buffet line, her plate laden with food. Lucy didn’t know why Vance was entering the jungle exhibit, but she might as well warn him that he was going to run afoul of the zoo authorities.

  The cavernous indoor jungle had both an upper level and a lower level, and Vance had been going down the stairs, so that was where she started her search. The moment she pressed open the door, the humidity hit her like a wall. Pausing a moment, she acclimated to the thick air.

  The first floor of the exhibit was a dirt-packed jungle path that wound through the trees and over a meandering stream. While the monkeys and the other mammals and reptiles were safely enclosed in their exhibits, the birds and the bats were left to roam freely.

  Though she wasn’t supposed to be here either, Lucy couldn’t help but enjoy the solitude. Normally the popular attraction was crushed with visitors. Catching herself, she pressed forward. This wasn’t a sightseeing tour.

  The path took a sharp curve, and she heard a muffled shriek followed by a hushed admonishing.

  “Be quiet, Connie.” Vance’s words were muffled, as though he was speaking through clenched teeth. “What’s going on? We’re not supposed to be in this exhibit once dinner starts.”

  “Who’s gonna tell?” a female voice demanded. “The monkeys?”

  “Why are you here in the first place? You can’t be seen at work events. We talked about this.”

  The two hadn’t seen or heard Lucy, which gave her an advantage. Birds called and water rushed over a two-story waterfall, masking her footsteps as she crept along the path. Dense foliage on each side provided good cover.

  Keeping her body positioned behind a large tree, Lucy peered around the trunk. Vance was speaking with a woman who bore a remarkable resemblance to Lucy. She was at least ten years older, but the height and the build were almost identical. Wit
h a wig and the proper clothing, she’d be an excellent match on the security cameras.

  Her heart hammering against her ribs, Lucy pulled out her phone and texted Jordan to meet her in the jungle exhibit.

  Something scuttled along the ground next to Lucy, and Vance spun around. He stared right at her. As recognition dawned, a flush spread up his neck.

  He quickly cycled through several expressions as though deciding how he wanted to spin his explanation.

  “Oh, hey, Lucy,” he called cheerfully. “We were just leaving. The exhibits are closed, so you better leave, too.”

  Acting as though she hadn’t noticed anything amiss, Lucy strolled down the path until she stood directly before them. Neither Vance nor the woman looked like much of a threat, and as long as they didn’t suspect she knew anything, they weren’t likely to harm her anyway. She wanted to stall them until Jordan arrived. He’d know what to do.

  A dark shape swooped over them, and Connie shrieked.

  Lucy shuddered. A bat. She caught sight of a basket of hanging fruit near the second level. With all the visitors gone, it was feeding time, and the bats were active. They soared overhead, plunging and challenging each other for their dinner.

  Lucy assumed a cheerful expression to match Vance’s. “Aren’t you going to introduce me? Who’s this?”

  “Oh, uh.” Vance’s face flamed with color. “This is my sister, Connie. Connie, this is Lucy. From work.”

  “Nice to meet you, Connie.” Anger built in Lucy’s chest. Jordan was on his way and Vance looked as though he might collapse at any moment. These two had played with her life. They’d nearly destroyed her reputation. They might have gotten her killed. She really wasn’t in the mood to play nice. “When did you decide to set me up?”

  Vance flashed his palms as though he was defending himself from an attack. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure you do,” Lucy said easily. “You can play dumb if you want, but now that we know it was you, it’s not going to take us long to find enough evidence to charge you with treason.”

  “Evidence of what?” Vance demanded. Since the friendly act wasn’t working, he reverted to bluster. A classic move from a liar. “You’re just a low-level programmer. You don’t know anything about what happens in that company.”

  “I know more than you think.” Lucy held up her phone. Vance was a blusterer and bully, but he wasn’t dangerous. She’d dealt with his kind before. He’d waste his breath defending himself. “For example, I know the NSA has been working undercover in the office for weeks. It’s over.”

  The blood drained from Connie’s face and she backed away. “It was all Vance’s idea. I didn’t want nothing to do with it.”

  Vance spun toward her. “Connie!”

  “Nuh-uh. No way. I’m not going to jail over this. You said the plan was foolproof.”

  “Keep your mouth shut,” Vance ordered.

  “No. I’m not going to keep my mouth shut. I haven’t gotten any of the money you promised, and that guy said he already paid us the diamonds and he isn’t paying us any more.”

  “Wait.” Lucy stepped between them. “What guy?”

  “The guy we made the deal with. He didn’t pay us.”

  Vance made a guttural sound deep in his throat. “He didn’t pay us because you can’t follow instructions. I gave you the password. I gave you the instructions. I gave you everything and you still got locked out of the system. If you had just done what I asked, we’d be rich and they’d all be blaming Lucy.”

  Despite his bravado, Vance recognized that there was no escaping. Connie had been caught, and she was like a drowning woman—she was going to take everyone down with her.

  Connie sneered at her brother. “Well, you must have made a mistake, because I followed your instructions exactly, and they didn’t work.”

  Lucy snapped her fingers. “Enough.”

  The two went silent and stared at her. Connie had mentioned the diamonds, and that had Lucy concerned.

  “What do you know about this guy who offered to buy the code for the drones?” Lucy asked.

  Vance glanced at Connie and back again. Lucy figured he was trying to decide how much the information was worth. He probably wanted to bargain for a better deal when they sent him to prison.

  “I don’t know anything about the buyer. I never met him in person. He was sniffing around some of the coding message boards. There were rumors he’d pay top dollar for the right information.” His voice took on a nasal whine. “I haven’t gotten a raise in two years. This company owes me. If they don’t want to pay me, then I decided to get my money elsewhere. I made up a false profile, and I had Connie pretend she was you. He didn’t suspect a thing. You were an employee, after all. It was foolproof.”

  The two of them glanced at Connie. She was the one weak link in the chain. If she’d gotten into the secure files, they might have succeeded in fooling everyone.

  “What happened after he gave you the down payment?” Lucy asked, stalling for time until Jordan arrived.

  She glanced at her phone, but he hadn’t replied. The jungle was clammy, and a fine bead of sweat traced a path down her cheek. Instead of letting her anger get the better of her, she should have waited for Jordan. She’d expected him to storm in by now.

  “This is your fault.” Vance glared at Connie. “You got locked out of the system and suddenly the company security was going nuts and looking at everybody.”

  “Me,” Lucy interjected. “They were looking at me!”

  “Yeah. But you didn’t do it. And nothing happened. No harm. No foul. The guy didn’t know who I was anyway. So I just ghosted him. Stopped answering his texts. I’d already gotten a down payment—I didn’t want to go to jail.”

  “Yeah,” Lucy said. “Except your buyer thought he was dealing with me, and he found me. Remember that coffee shop shooting last month? That was meant for me. Or, rather, meant for the person the buyer thought had reneged on the deal.”

  Vance shook his head. “That’s not my fault. I figured... I figured...”

  “Never mind.” She gritted her teeth. “Why use your own computer? That’s the one thing that confuses me.”

  Where was Jordan? If he didn’t appear soon, she was going to have to find a way to extract herself. Sooner or later these two were going to realize that no one was coming.

  Vance appeared almost cocky. “I used my computer because the best place to hide is in plain sight.”

  This was getting Lucy nowhere, so she turned to Connie. “When did the buyer talk to you about the diamonds?”

  “Tonight.”

  Both Lucy and Vance turned their shocked attention on her. “What do you mean, tonight?”

  “I contacted him. I told him we could still make a deal. He’s meeting us here. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

  Vance snatched her arm. “Then he knows we’re here? He knows where to find us?”

  Lucy’s stomach dropped. They were sitting ducks.

  The next instant, the cavernous space plunged into darkness.

  * * *

  Jordan stared at his phone in horror. Six minutes. Lucy had sent the text six minutes before.

  He sprinted the distance to the jungle and ripped open the door to a midnight-black wall of humidity.

  This wasn’t right. There were emergency lights. Someone must have cut the power to both the main circuits and the backup generator.

  His adrenaline spiked.

  Since he didn’t know what he was going to find inside, Jordan kept the screen on his phone covered. There was no use making himself a target. He’d been through the exhibit earlier in the day, but he hadn’t exactly memorized the path. The foliage was dense, and if he kept to the clear spaces, he should be able to navigate fairly easily.

  Something moved to Jordan’s left. Stal
king through the pitch darkness, he strained his ears. Animal sounds and rushing water camouflaged anything else he might have heard.

  Hushed voices sounded to his left. He inched his way over the uneven terrain and caught the faint outline of two figures.

  A twig snapped beneath his feet.

  The man whipped around and Jordan recognized Vance, an employee from Consolidated Unlimited.

  Jordan snatched his arm. Vance shrieked and clawed at the restraint.

  “Stop it,” Jordan whispered harshly. “It’s me. Jordan Harris. Where’s Lucy?”

  “I don’t know.” The struggles ceased. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on here. I came in here and the lights went out. That’s all I know.”

  Vance was lying through his teeth.

  Jordan shone the light from his phone toward the second figure. She was older, but the size and build were an exact match for Lucy. His heart thudded against his ribs. They had their impostor. They had the buyer. They had everything.

  He had everything but Lucy.

  No wonder she’d told him to meet her here. She must have seen Vance with the woman and put two and two together.

  “Where’s Lucy?” Jordan demanded again.

  “I don’t know.” Vance shook his head. “I don’t know anything. I came here and the lights went out. That’s all I know.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Vance. You’re only digging the hole deeper for yourself.”

  “Don’t be an idiot, Vance,” the woman declared. “They know everything. You’re not fooling anybody, and you’re going to get us all killed. He’s here. The buyer is in the building. I think he grabbed Lucy when the lights went out.”

  “You two get out of here,” Jordan ordered. “We’ll discuss this later.”

  They were deadweight and they couldn’t run far. Right now, he didn’t need the distraction.

  The fear that had started low in his belly was threatening to choke him. The buyer had Lucy. If he’d come out of hiding, then he was desperate.