Complicated

by M. M. Koenig

  “Dude, I know we just met, but fuck off. If you didn’t have us, this plan would be a no-go. Consider yourself lucky,” Wade retorted, catching the keys before they sailed over his head.

  The irritation in Jayden’s eyes matched the tone in Wade’s voice. I squeezed Trey’s arm to tell him to tone down his attitude. He glanced my way with so much agony in his eyes that I had to look away. Even if we got out alive, this whole mess was going to take a long time for all of us to get over. Trey reinforced that much in that one look. My sweaty hands slid across the door handle on my first attempt. I grabbed it with more force as a deep breath left me.

  I slammed my door shut and settled next to Jackson before doing a double-take at the heavily-tinted windows. I scanned the truck with a perplexed look on my face that made him chuckle. The temperature had dropped throughout the day so each breath was visible. He blew air into his hands to warm them up.

  “It’s bulletproof,” Jackson clarified.

  I rolled my eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

  Leave it to Ethan to go above and beyond in all areas.

  Jackson arched an eyebrow. “It’s probably not a bad thing, since there’s pretty much a price on your head.”

  His sharp tone made my face fall. Shane and Trey were sitting on the bumper of the truck deep in conversation, recapping the blueprints we had been studying yesterday. They appeared as anxious as Jackson while we waited on Jayden and Wade. They were taking their sweet-ass time. It was beginning to agitate me, since what Jackson had said was entirely accurate. Lingering around in the streetlight probably wasn’t in my best interest.

  I shoved my freezing hands into my jacket pockets only to be welcomed with even more horror. A deep wave of fear ran through the center of my chest when my hand grazed over the gun. It nearly took out my lower half as I struggled to remain upright. Jackson gripped my chin and tilted my head towards him. My eyes met his with a huge apology behind them. He released my chin and pulled me into his arms.

  “I’m sorry Mia. I shouldn’t have said that to you. It’s just … you know that feeling you get when something terrible is about to happen? I have it. I know we have to do this, but something just feels off,” Jackson admitted softly.

  I stared into his deep blue eyes, sharing his feelings. Though it was my plan, it didn’t mean that I didn’t have my own doubts. I hugged Jackson even tighter before stepping aside. My eyes drifted down both sides of the street. I squinted after seeing several black Benz’s parked in a row. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was seeing straight. After a closer look, they were different cars and models. My overly-active imagination was playing tricks on me. Jackson’s wary eyes remained fixed on me.

  “I know what you mean. I’m about a step away from losing my marbles – if I haven’t already. I should’ve listened to you guys from the very beginning. I’m sorry Jackson.”

  Before he had a chance to respond, Jayden jumped out and passed out two-way wireless earpieces. We fastened them behind our ears and pulled on our leather gloves. Wade had called in some favors with a few of his military buddies to acquire their computers. To say they were top-of-the-line was an understatement, because the laptops weren’t even on the consumer market yet. Once everything seemed ready to go, Jayden banged his hand against the window for Wade to pave our way into the building.

  To my surprise, Jackson grabbed my hand from my jacket as we crossed the street. His eyes begged me not to fight it, so I didn’t. He was on my left with Trey to my right. Jayden marched ahead of us and pulled on his backpack tightly as we got closer to the building. Shane was behind me and nearly stepped on the back of my shoes on more than one occasion.

  Wade’s annoyingly calm voice chirped, “What’s up boys, and Mia? I’ll be your captain on this adventure. First order of business, you all watch far too many movies. Dressing in all black makes it more than obvious you’re up to something illegal. Second, we still have about five minutes before eight. Then, we have a ten-minute window for this to go off without a hitch.”

  My mouth slipped into a tiny smile as I glanced around. Down to the coats and shoes, everyone was in black. The guys exchanged amused looks before shrugging it off. We hustled our way over to the side of the building towards the loading dock Ethan had instructed us to use for our entry. As we strode up it, Shane and Trey surveyed the area.

  “Alright kids, it’s after eight. The clock is ticking. Remember, you have to get through this area and to the electrical room so I can take over camera and elevator control,” Wade instructed, not nearly as calm as he had been moments ago.

  Jackson, Jayden, and I neared the door and my heart stopped beating. It didn’t have the access we were expecting. There should’ve been a keypad for our card but it was a standard steel door. We weren’t off to a good start. Jackson and Jayden groaned. Shane and Trey ignored us and remained on patrol. Fortunately, I came prepared to pick a lock.

  “Hey smart-ass, the keycard is no good. This isn’t my forte. Got any suggestions?” Jayden asked cockily.

  Wade chuckled nervously and said, “Your group really does like to keep secrets. I find it sad that I just met Mia but already know she’s got this one.”

  “I don’t like broadcasting it Wade. Give Jayden a break,” I hissed.

  “Whatever. Mia, you’re up. Jayden, the electrical room we studied from the blueprints will be off to the right and at the end of the hallway. You’ve got seven minutes,” Wade directed.

  I dug into my pocket to retrieve my tools. Jackson raised an eyebrow after catching the thirty or so choices in the small mesh bag. I glanced at the lock one more time before picking up the steel blade that was the best fit. After a few seconds of twisting, the lock clicked and I opened the door.

  Due to a shift change, we made it through unnoticed. Since it was a weekend, the building had a sparse amount of traffic, especially on the first floor. Once the hallway was empty, we sprinted to the electrical room with a couple of minutes to spare. That door had the keycard access we were expecting. Jayden swiped our card and we shuffled out of sight.

  “We’re inside. Give me a few minutes to flip access over to you,” Jayden said quickly.

  He sat down on an overturned bucket, pulled his backpack off, and fished out two small laptops before making quick work of a variety of different wires. Shane and Trey stayed next to the door with their ears glued to it. Jackson and I watched as Jayden snipped different wires before pulling some cords together and into one of the laptops. The screens flickered for a second before the security desk output and elevator bank was in front of us. Jayden entered in a string of codes before swiping his hand across the screen for it to sync into the other laptop.

  “Nice work man. I’ve got control. Give me a couple of minutes to whiteout your path,” Wade said eagerly.

  I continuously toyed with my ring. Jackson grabbed my hand again so I’d stop fidgeting. Everyone remained shockingly quiet. You could hear a pin drop with how calculated our breaths were. It made the ruckus moments later insanely loud. I almost blew our cover by screaming but Jackson covered my mouth. We gazed at each other with wide eyes as we continued to listen to a couple of people chatting outside the door.

  “Wade, what’s going on?” I whispered.

  “Don’t speak until I tell you to, and don’t move. I’ll take care of it,” Wade snapped.

  A few minutes later, the hallway became quiet again. It was more than enough time for my nerves to go haywire. The rest of the group carried the same apprehension. Far too many hiccups were popping up for any of us to remain calm.

  “You’re in the clear. Go to the elevator bank and take the one on the far left. It’s under my control. Don’t just stand there, hurry up,” Wade barked.

  Asshat. It’s not like we’re shooting the breeze in here.

  We were waiting for Jayden to wrap things up. Our eyes narrowed in irritation as we hustled out of the room and off to the left to get to the elevators. The one to the far left opened on our approach. We f
iled into it without having to press any buttons. Wade truly was controlling the show. I was fine with that. The fewer things we had to touch, the better. As we rode up the eighty floors, Jayden’s eyes danced. He was more than thrilled to have a chance to look through Harrison’s network. The rest of us didn’t share his enthusiasm. Each floor we passed gave my stomach a new knot.

  When the elevator opened, Shane and Trey stepped out first to do a lap around the floor. Jayden, Jackson and I remained behind to scan the front of Harrison’s suite. The glass wall allowed us to see the majority of his office from outside. We were able to confirm it was indeed empty, as Ethan had predicted it would be. After Shane and Trey returned, I pulled out a different keycard and waited for the go-ahead from Wade.

  “I’ve got Harrison’s security panel. As you guys made your way up, I created a continuous feed for us to loop while you do your part. This feed can buy us a good fifteen minutes before the security company makes us. I can’t bypass the trigger set for any unusual activity. We’ll press our luck if we’re in there for too long. Jayden, are you ready man? The rest of the show is yours from here on out,” Wade said rapidly.

  I swiped the keycard and we entered the suite and headed down the hallway to Harrison’s office. As we neared his office, the guys paused to ensure nothing would trip us up. Knowing we were fine I barged my way past them and through his door.

  “Just go right on in Mia. Don’t bother waiting for the rest of us,” Jackson snapped.

  I rolled my eyes before shoving Harrison’s chair out of the way. Jayden stood next to me with his face gleaming in delight. Shane and Trey stayed behind to keep an eye on the suite. I nudged Jackson with my shoulder for him to lose his annoyed attitude. He offered a tight smile as we watched Jayden’s fingers fly across the keyboard. Even with gloves on, the kid was annoyingly quick.

  “You guys have about ten minutes.”

  “Wade, we don’t need a countdown.”

  “Don’t get snappy with me, Mia. I’m just saying you don’t have a lot of time.”

  “Message received – loud and clear. Now pipe down so Jayden can work,” I shot back.

  “Would you two shut up? I can’t concentrate with your bickering,” Jayden hissed.

  I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Sorry. How are things looking?”

  Jayden grinned. “I’m running a couple of things at the moment. Wade, can you confirm the data is hitting your computer?”

  “Yeah, it’s pulling over quickly. His total network should be within our possession in about three more minutes. Nice touch with the malware to rewrite the log history,” Wade remarked.

  “You like that? I invented it. I call it—” Jayden paused when he caught the sharp look in my eyes. He bit his lip and continued, “Umm … I’ll fill you in another time. Let me know when everything is on your side.”

  “Jayden, we’re almost out of time. Can you do the sweep on my dad?” I asked anxiously.

  He gave me a tight nod. Jackson and I hovered even closer to him. Jayden continued to bypass a variety of screens before research and articles from the New Jersey piece started to surface. A picture of my dad flitted across the screen.

  “Jayden, go back to that last picture. That’s my dad. That photo is recent.”

  I almost crawled over his shoulder to take over the keyboard. My heart soared in the hope I was right. I knew my mom was alive. I wanted to know my dad was too.

  “No problem. If you two don’t mind, I’d rather not feel your breaths on my neck. Back up,” Jayden demanded, disgruntled.

  Jackson and I chuckled, but backed away. Shane and Trey strode through the door. They impatiently paced around the room.

  “Are you almost finished? We’ve got three minutes to get out of here,” Shane spoke up.

  “Yeah, I’d like to get the fuck out of dodge. It’s creepily quiet out there, almost like an ambush is going to be waiting for us downstairs,” Trey chimed in.

  “Ladies, if there was an ambush, I’m pretty sure you’d know since I’m your eyes and ears. Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Wade pointed out.

  I snorted. The boys scowled at me. I ignored it and kept my eyes on the screen.

  Jayden gasped. “Shit … I wasn’t expecting … Why the …”

  My eyes grew wide. “Hello, the rest of us aren’t following you. Use full sentences.”

  He smiled apologetically. “Your dad’s alive. He just isn’t where I thought we’d find him.”

  I rolled my fingers for Jayden to get on with it.

  “He flipped sides. He works for the FBI. He’s kind of like an inside player for them now,” Jayden explained uneasily.

  Before I had a chance to ask anything, the computer screens started wigging out. Jayden whipped around to counteract it, but stopped just as quick. He paled and pointed at the doors. My body was completely tense as we made our way out of Harrison’s office.

  Wade’s voice startled us when he said, “I wrote over as much as I could before the barriers went up. Take the middle elevator down and get out of there as fast as you can. I’d say we have five minutes tops. I’m swinging over to the loading dock to pick you guys up.”

  “Wade, are you sure that’s a good plan?” I asked in a terrified whisper.

  He exhaled roughly. “Mia, we don’t have time to debate it.”

  We ran out of the suite and into the open elevator. The pit in my stomach started to consume me. I focused on breathing while watching the floors zoom by. Jayden cracked his knuckles before gripping the life out of his backpack. Trey fidgeted with his jacket pockets. Shane’s face was blank as he kept his eyes on the door. Jackson had my hand again and was about to cut off my circulation with his grip.

  The elevator opened and we hastily made our way out. We glanced in different directions, but security was all over the place. We sprinted in the direction of the loading dock. When we ran through it, there was a new group of people in the area as we bolted for the exit. A few of the workers dropped what they were doing to chase us. As we opened the door, they stopped in their tracks as a chorus of gunshots echoed from outside.

  After catching several shots spark off the truck, my hands flew over my head. Wade had opened the window to fire back a few rounds, but it didn’t do much to stop the masked men coming for us. These unknown assailants were well-trained, because their shots were precise. They weren’t aiming to kill. Jackson and Trey kept me between them as we ran to the edge of the dock and jumped over the side. Jayden and Shane were behind us. As we opened the truck doors, we heard Jayden scream out in agony. Trey pulled me into the backseat as Jackson cut back for the other two.

  Trey crawled over to the other side of the truck and opened fire against the dozen or so men making their way for us. I turned around to watch Jackson and Shane drag Jayden to the back of the truck. They opened the back and towed Jayden into it before jumping in themselves. Wade sped off the second they were inside. The gunmen were quick to double back for two unmarked SUVs to chase us down.

  “How bad is he?” Wade asked as he swerved around cars on both sides of the street to lose the people after us.

  Jayden continued to scream. I crawled over another row of seats to get a better look. Jackson had torn off the bottom of his shirt and wrapped it tightly around Jayden’s upper thigh. The back of his knee had been blown out. Shane was slumped against the back of the truck with his hand over a spot on his shoulder. Even in the dark, the pool of blood was noticeable. His eyes flickered in my direction as he tried really hard not to pass out. I swallowed down hard and faced Wade and Trey.

  “We need to go the hospital. Jayden and Shane are losing a lot of blood,” I rasped.

  Wade drove into one of the suburbs outside of the downtown area and into an alley where he cut the lights. The two unmarked vehicles flew past us. Wade waited a few minutes before pulling out again. My eyes closed as I took measured breaths to prevent myself from hyperventilating. Trey reached over to force my eyes open. He attempted to calm me b
y putting on his poker face, but that faded when Jayden screamed louder than ever.

  “There’s a hospital up the road. I’ll drop them off, but then we need to get to the others,” Wade said roughly.

  “Screw the rendezvous point!” Trey shouted.

  Wade gave him a hard look and said, “I’m not leaving my buddies high and dry.”

  Trey punched the window. Wade ignored it as he turned around the corner so fast the wheels screeched. Jayden’s screams had tapered off. I stopped breathing and glanced behind me to see that he had passed out. Jackson appeared to be in shock as he continued to keep pressure on his leg. Shane’s face was dripping with sweat and his eyelids were slowly starting to close. I was so caught up in trying to ease the weight in my chest that I didn’t notice Trey climb over the seats to sit next to me. He rested a hand on my back before leaning over to grip Shane’s chin.

  “Hey man, wake up. It’s not nap time,” Trey ordered.

  Shane’s eyes fluttered before he leaned over and puked blood everywhere. Trey squeezed his jaw even harder until he had Shane’s attention.

  “No one’s dying today. You hear me. Wade, are we almost there?” Trey yelled.

  “I’m pulling up to the emergency exit now,” he confirmed.

  Wade hit the brakes as the doors came into sight. He turned off the truck and ran around to the back. Trey and I piled out just as quickly. Jackson was already out with Jayden. He had removed Jayden’s coat and backpack. Emergency room personnel met us at the doors to take Jayden away. Trey had done the same with Shane’s coat before pulling him out with Wade’s help. They handed him over to a waiting nurse with a wheelchair. I braced myself against the truck as everything whizzed by in a horrifying scene.

  It’s all my worst dreams come true, and it’s my fault.

  “We have two GSWs. Both are unconscious,” a doctor said, wheeling Shane away.

  Wade and Trey watched helplessly as they disappeared through the doors. My blurry eyes caught Jackson running in our direction. He burst through the doors, more than enraged by the look on his face.