The Super Spies and the Pied Piper

by Lisa Orchard

  He gestured toward the stairs. “We need to get that flash drive.”

  Sarah nodded and turned toward Jackie. “Follow us.”

  In response, Jackie nudged her friend forward.

  Sarah followed Scoop up the stairs. She grabbed the railing with sweaty palms and her breathing became shallow and ragged, almost like she was gasping for air.

  They reached the landing to the first floor. Scoop stopped and motioned for the girls to stop also.

  “What’s the matter?” Sarah whispered.

  Scoop put his finger to his lips and pointed at the north corner, where a security camera hung.

  Sarah’s heart went into overdrive. “What are we going to do?”

  Scoop pointed to the far wall. “We’ll sneak along the wall. The camera can’t move and we’ll be out of range.”

  Sarah squeezed Jackie’s arm. “Got it?”

  Jackie gave Sarah a thin smile and squeezed her arm back.

  The retired reporter inched his way along the far wall until he reached the corner. Standing under the camera, he motioned for the girls to follow him.

  Sarah inched forward, mimicking Scoop’s movements. Jackie trailed behind her. Scoop kept his eye on the girls as he continued the journey and reached the stairs to the second floor. He stayed against the far railing and began his climb.

  Sweat broke out under Sarah’s arms and the blood thrummed in the veins in her ears. It was the only sound she heard in the stairwell and it was driving her crazy. The slow pace seemed more grueling than running a marathon. Her muscles tensed as she moved and the ache in her calves burned with each step. Two more floors to go.

  Reaching the landing to the second floor, the group repeated the same routine they had on the floor below. Sarah paused and wiped the sweat from her brow. One more floor. Unwanted questions invaded her mind. What if we get up there and the flash drive is gone? What are we going to do then? And where is Dottie? She shook her head in an attempt to free her mind. Anxiety coursed through her veins and her finger tips tingled as she gripped the railing.

  They reached the third floor landing and Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. No alarms had gone off during their perilous climb and a glimmer of hope shone through the cloud of fear in her mind.

  Scoop kept the pace painstakingly slow and Sarah groaned inside. She wanted to rush toward the door and hurry to her father’s office.

  The retired reporter stopped under the security camera and waited for Sarah and Jackie to catch up. When they reached him he whispered, “Okay. There’s no way to avoid the camera and go through the door. So, whatever you do… do not look at the camera. Don’t let it get a picture of your face.”

  Sarah’s lip twitched into what she hoped was a smile and said, “Ready?”

  Jackie nodded, her eyes widened and her face appeared pale.

  “Let’s move together,” Scoop said. “On three.”

  Jackie grabbed Sarah’s hand and squeezed, but didn’t let go.

  Scoop grabbed Sarah’s other hand and said, “Remember. Don’t look at the camera. One. Two. Three.”

  Together, they leapt away from the wall and dashed for the door. Scoop grabbed the handle and pulled it wide and they dashed inside. Collapsing against the wall just inside the entryway, Sarah fought for breath.

  Sarah waited to hear the screaming of alarms and the pounding of feet. No noise came. She made eye contact with her companions and gave them a tremulous, triumphant smile.

  “Now what?” Jackie whispered.

  Sarah held her finger to her lips and surveyed the area. They were in a carpeted hall. Sarah’s ears hissed with the sudden silence and she yearned for the sounds of a busy office. She imagined the sounds of ringing phones, the buzz of conversations, and the banging of file drawers opening and closing. She gazed at Scoop. “What do we do now?”

  He pointed to an office. “Can you see the number?”

  Sarah shook her head. “Just a second.” She tiptoed forward and read the number and then returned to her friends. “It’s number three-ten.”

  Scoop did a fist pump and patted Sarah on the back.

  “Cool beans!” Jackie whispered.

  “Now go and see if it’s locked,” Scoop said.

  Sarah crept forward again and tried the door. Finding it unlocked, she motioned to her friends before going inside.

  Upon stepping into the dark office, Sarah waited for her companions. Once everyone was in the room she closed the door. The darkness seemed like a living, breathing thing and Sarah shivered. Light poked through the blinds from the hallway and she made her way toward them. With a trembling hand, she closed them and plunging the room into total darkness. Then she turned on the light.

  Squinting against the glare from the harsh fluorescent tube, Sarah glanced around the room. Her eyes lit upon a large oak desk placed in the center. Her heart raced from the adrenaline raging through her system. She clenched her hands, but stopped herself from immediately going toward the desk. Instead, she spun around and locked the door.

  Another door sat in the middle of the wall on her right, perpendicular to the desk. Where does that door go? Tiptoeing forward, Sarah made her way to it. When she reached it, she paused and listened. When she didn’t hear any sounds she opened the door and found a small closet. It was filled with office supplies and various microscopes. Breathing a sigh of relief, she faced her companions. “It’s a closet.”

  “Let’s look for that flash drive,” Scoop said. His voice was high and tense. Sarah could tell he was scared.

  She nodded and went right to the desk. Kneeling down, she scooted into the middle section where the legs of the occupant would be. Feeling along the edge of the bottom of the middle drawer, Sarah’s fingers tingled. I have to find Dad’s drive. Please let it be here. Her fingers stumbled upon the sticky edge of what felt like tape. Her spirits soared. Could this be it?

  She continued to finger the area and came upon a hard bump. “I think I found something,” she said in a low voice.

  Jackie crouched down beside the desk and peered into the space. “Is it the drive?”

  “I think so.” Sarah grunted as she tried to peel the tape away. “The tape’s stuck pretty good though.”

  Scoop knelt down. “Here, try my knife see if you can get it up with that.”

  Sarah grabbed the knife, opened it, and then tried to scrape the tape away from the desk drawer.

  “I’m going to be the look out by the door,” Scoop said. He returned to the door and stood in front of it. “We don’t want to get caught in here.”

  “You got that right,” Sarah muttered. She continued to work at the tape and the small area grew warm. Sweat rolled down her forehead and into her eye. Sarah blinked rapidly trying to clear her vision. Her eye stung from the sweat and she wiped it on her sleeve when the blinking didn’t work. Frustrated, she inched her way out from under the desk and wiped her brow. “Man that tape is a real pain.”

  “Do you want me to give it a try?” Jackie asked.

  “Shhh…” Scoop warned.

  Sarah stood and glanced at him, wondering why he was warning them. He froze and stared at her not speaking. She opened her mouth but closed it with a snap when her gaze dropped to the doorknob. Her mouth went dry as dirt and her breath died in her throat as the knob slowly turned.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sarah stared at the knob, and then returned her frantic gaze to Scoop. He held his finger to his lips telling her to be still.

  The knob jiggled as if the person trying to open it couldn’t believe it was locked. Scoop leaned toward the door, and appeared to be listening. His eyes widened and the color left his face. “They’re going to get the key,” he whispered. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “We have to work fast. Sarah, get back under there and get that drive.”

  “Who was it?” Sarah asked.

  “Martin Savage.” Scoop motioned with his hands. “You need to hurry.”

  “Get back under there and get that tape off,
” Jackie said before giving Sarah a gentle push.

  Sarah scrambled back under the desk. Using Scoop’s knife, she worked harder at the tape. Her fingers shook as she worried the tape away from the drawer.

  Scoop paced in the office. Sarah wished he would stop, it was driving her crazy. Crap! Dad sure made sure this was secure. A whimper escaped her mouth and she dropped her hands in frustration.

  “Hurry,” Scoop urged.

  “I am. I am.” Sarah cursed. Then let out a sob when she pulled the flash drive from its hiding place. “Got it.” She stood and held it up for her companions to see.

  The sound of the key in the lock sent panic through Sarah’s system and she momentarily froze.

  “The closet,” Scoop said in an urgent whisper.

  The group scrambled for the storage room. Once inside, Sarah closed the door, plunging them into darkness. She felt along the doorknob for the lock only to find there wasn’t one. Her heart thundered in her chest and fear clenched her throat in its icy grip. A panic attack was coming, she was sure of it. Turning toward her companions, she whispered, “There’s no lock.”

  The faint scent of Scoop’s woodsy aftershave filled her senses as he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. It was a comforting smell and Sarah took a deep breath.

  The group huddled together in the dark. Sarah hugged Jackie and breathed in deeply. She caught a whiff of her flowery perfume and silently groaned. I hope those men don’t smell her perfume.

  The sound of voices filtered through the door. Sarah recognized Martin Savage’s deep voice, but couldn’t understand the words. Maybe they’ll just leave and won’t even look in the closet. That small glimmer of hope was dashed when the closet door opened and a crack of light filtered in.

  Sarah gasped and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, then a phone rang. The crack of light didn’t grow and their abductor answered his phone. Sarah’s heart thundered against her ribs. She put her hand to her chest to calm it.

  “What?” Martin Savage asked.

  He listened for a moment and then disconnected the call. Turning to his companion, he said something Sarah couldn’t hear. Then the two men left the office.

  Sarah stayed where she was. Sweat rolled down her back as relief swept through her body. Her legs wobbled and she brushed her hair away from her sweaty forehead with a trembling hand.

  After waiting a few minutes, she couldn’t stand it any longer and she thrust the door open and burst from the closet. All she wanted to do was get out of the building and away from Martin Savage.

  Jackie and Scoop followed her. Scoop pulled out his hanky and wiped his forehead. His hand shook and he took several deep breaths.

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Jackie whispered urgently.

  “You got that right,” Sarah agreed. She placed the flash drive into her pocket and then patted it just to make sure it was there.

  Scoop went to the door, cracked it, and pressed one eye to the opening. After a moment, he turned toward the girls. “The coast is clear. Let’s go.”

  Sarah took a deep breath and motioned for Jackie to follow the retired reporter.

  Scoop waited for the girls at the door leading to the stairwell. “Remember; keep your head down so the security camera doesn’t get a shot of your face.” Hopefully, the guards will be occupied so they won’t be looking at the cameras.”

  Sarah crossed her fingers and held them up for Scoop to see.

  He gave her a grim nod. “Heads down girls. Look at the floor until we’re under the camera.”

  Jackie dropped her gaze to the floor and Sarah followed her lead.

  Scoop burst through the door and made it to the corner. Jackie and Sarah were right behind him.

  He stopped and took a deep breath. Sweat rolled down the side of his face and Sarah had the urge to wipe it away. She listened. All was normal; no blaring alarms disturbed the air. Taking a shaky breath, she urged Jackie and Scoop forward.

  They made their way down the stairs the same way they had come up, avoiding the cameras at each landing. On their way down to the first floor landing, Sarah heard the door below open, then heavy footsteps on the stairs. She gulped and stared at Scoop with pleading eyes. What do we do now?

  The retired reporter gestured wildly for them to go back the way they had just come. Moving quickly, the trio made it to the second floor landing. Scoop pointed to the second floor entryway. Before Sarah dashed to the door, she glanced down and caught a glimpse of a hand on the rail. Adrenaline flooded her system and her heart thundered against her ribs. She gasped for breath and her legs wobbled. The hand wore a large ring with a black stone in it. Onyx. Her brain told her as hysterical laughter bubbled in her throat. She wobbled toward the door. Jackie propelled her forward and Sarah knew if she didn’t get moving her friend would run over her like a freight train.

  They made it through the second floor entryway. Sarah searched for a place to hide. Down the hall she spotted a rest room and motioned for her companions to follow her. Dashing inside, Sarah locked the door and leaned against the wall. “We almost got caught.”

  Scoop scowled. “Almost.” His complexion was bright red and he gasped for breath. Sweat rolled down the side of his face. He pulled out his hanky and wiped it away with a shaky hand. He leaned against a stall and tried to get his breathing under control.

  Guilt pierced Sarah’s heart. I should have never asked him to do this. “I’m sorry Scoop.”

  “For what?” He asked, stuffing his handkerchief back into his pocket

  “For getting you involved in this mess.”

  “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Brings back my investigative reporting days.”

  Sarah gave him a tremulous smile. “What should we do now?”

  He took a deep breath. “We need to get outside and away from here.”

  Sarah grimaced and gave him a quick nod.

  “And it would be best if we could do that without them discovering we’re gone,” He continued.

  “What about Dottie?” Sarah asked. She straightened and brushed the hair away from her face.

  “We can’t forget about Dottie.” Jackie moved closer to Sarah and pulled on one of her curls. Straightening it and then letting it go.

  Boing. Sarah bit her lip, suppressing the giggle that was about to escape her lips. Why do I always laugh at the wrong moments? She shifted her weight and shook her head, ridding herself of her ridiculous thoughts.

  “I haven’t forgotten about Dottie,” Scoop said with a heavy sigh. “But I have no idea where she is.”

  “They brought us back here.” Sarah furrowed her brow and bit her lip. “Maybe they did the same thing with Dottie?” She gazed at Scoop trying to read his mind.

  He sighed. “Maybe. But the longer we stay here the more likely we’ll be caught again.” He gave Sarah a stern look. The kind of look a grandfather gives a rambunctious youngster.

  “We can’t just leave her here,” Sarah argued. She gestured with her hands and looked to Jackie for support.

  “But we don’t even know if Martin Savage has her.”

  “I’m with Sarah on this one. We have to see if she’s here.” Jackie took a step toward her friend and gave her a quick squeeze.

  Scoop threw his hands up in exasperation. “All right. But don’t say I didn’t tell you.” He pursed his lips and shook his head.

  Sarah gave Jackie a quick wink and then peeked out the door. “The coast is clear.” She stepped into the corridor and made her way to the door leading to the stairwell. Her companions followed close on her heels. Sarah glanced back once and then picked up her pace.

  Once in the stairwell, she made a beeline for the corner under the camera. She remembered to keep her head down. Once all three of them were in the corner and lined up against the back wall, Sarah inched her way down to the basement floor. She paused briefly and waited for her friends to catch up. When all three of them were positioned safely under the camera she poi
nted to the door and said, “On the count of three.”

  Both of her companions nodded.

  “One. Two. Three,” Sarah said, and they made a dash for the door.

  Once back in the basement, they moved quickly. Sarah pointed down the long corridor she had caught a glimpse of earlier. “I bet she’s in one of these rooms.”

  “Let’s split up and check,” Scoop said.

  They went to work opening doors and checking the rooms. To Sarah, they all appeared just like the one they had been locked in earlier that morning. Each room contained a table and some chairs but they didn’t find Dottie.

  Frustrated, Sarah stopped and wiped her brow with her sleeve. “I wonder if she was in the same area we were?”

  “Okay. We’ll check that one area, but if we don’t find her, we’ve got to leave,” Scoop insisted.

  Sarah hesitated, but then gave him a reluctant nod. Scoop’s right. If we’re caught all is lost. There’s no way we’ll be able to escape a second time and Martin Savage will get the flash drive. Besides, getting captured doesn’t help Dottie either.

  As they made their way back down the hall, Sarah heard voices. Her shoulders tensed and her mouth went dry.

  Jackie grabbed her arm. “Quick in here.” She led her friend to one of the rooms they had just searched.

  It was the corner room where the two corridors converged. After Scoop entered the room, Sarah closed the door. She pressed her ear to it hoping to hear the voices as they went by.

  “They’ve escaped,” Martin Savage said in a tight, angry tone.

  Sweat broke out under Sarah’s arms and her body went rigid. She waited with bated breath until their captors heavy footsteps no longer echoed in the hallway. Turning to her friends, she said, “They know we’re gone.”

  Scoop cursed under his breath and paced. He seemed to be waging a war with himself, muttering and cursing as he paced.

  “Scoop, come on. We’ve got to find Dottie,” Sarah said. Her voice was low but the urgency was still there.

  “Yes. Let’s go,” Scoop said.

  Sarah led the way and tiptoed back out into the hallway. Her companions were right behind her. She peeked around the corner and found the connecting hallway deserted. Acting fast, Sarah dashed to the closest door in front of her and opened it. Finding it empty, she moved to the next one.