Inside the small, brick structure, the guard picked up the phone. Right on time.
Beside me Jonathan spoke into his satellite phone, pretending to be Vitro, Romanov’s commander, alerting the guard of a disturbance along the east wing. With half the security gone, procedure dictated that the gate goon respond to emergencies.
The guard hung up the phone and, after slipping on his coat, pushed a few buttons on the security panel. He opened the door, rounded the corner, and David jabbed him with a numbing dart. It happened lightning quick. All I caught was David dragging him behind the surrounding bushes.
The guard would be out for about an hour. Jonathan would impersonate him, reporting in every fifteen minutes. All in all, plenty of time to extract the information and get out before anyone even discovered we’d broken in.
David entered the building. Although I couldn’t really see him, I knew what he was doing. We’d gone over it right before leaving the hotel suite.
He popped open the security panel, cut a wire, and patched it over. Fusing the video feed. All monitors throughout the castle would display a normal scene. No one, hopefully, would know we were here.
He spliced three wires together, disengaging the electric wrought-iron fence circling Romanov’s property.
“Clear,” David whispered into the mike he wore as a capped tooth. The same device we all wore. It was connected to a transceiver bracketed inside our ears, much like a hearing aid, and activated by a button we wore on our collars. All wireless.
TL two-finger-waved Jonathan and me, and we soundlessly preceded him across to David. The four of us scaled the ten-foot wrought-iron fence. David first, followed by Jonathan; TL boosted me up and over, then brought up the rear.
With quiet feet, we jogged around the property, following the fence until we stood even with the greenhouse and statue garden. Remnants of yesterday’s snowfall iced the ground. Thanks to the shoe-sole warmers Chapling had created, our boots melted the ice instead of crunching it.
TL pointed at Jonathan and then the ground. Stay. TL sprinted across the open lawn to the bushes bordering the greenhouse.
Seconds ticked by. “Clear,” we heard him whisper.
David and I followed suit, bolting over open ground to TL and the bushes. Jonathan stayed behind to keep watch. David pulled a two-inch-long laser burner from his pocket. Starting at the bottom, he cut a circle in the glass, big enough for a person to crawl through. I watched him, feeling a surge of pride. Thanks to me, the laser glowed green to match the greenhouse lights. It used to be red, definitely a color someone would spot at night.
Using suction cups, he quietly lowered the clean-cut glass and then crawled through the hole. I followed, with TL staying put in the bushes as lookout. The four of us worked like bug-free software, everything in perfect rehearsed sync. A beautiful thing.
Inside the enormous, warm greenhouse, David and I scurried through perfumey flowers and more bushes until we stood on the cobblestone path. We checked our watches: 21:08:20. Ten seconds until one of the goons did his hourly stroll.
David touched one finger to his cheek, then pointed to a row of trees. Hide. Quickly I did as he directed while he took cover across the path.
Amazingly enough, my heartbeat steadied, my breath flowed evenly, and my stomach just existed. No erratic pulse. No choppy breath. No churning intestines. No wandering thoughts. I felt more sure, confident, and focused than I had ever felt in my whole life. Go figure. Maybe TL did know what he was doing when he put so much faith in me.
“Ah, my little bird. You make me vish my shift vas over.” A guard rounded the path, a cell phone to his ear. Smirking like a stupid fool, he crossed in front of my tree. “Oh, you better stop—”
David slipped from his hiding spot, poked the guard with a numbing dart, and while soundlessly lowering him to the ground, caught the phone before it clattered across the path.
“Ah, my lovely little bird,” David mimicked the goon, “zomething has come up. I vill call you back later.”
It was amazing how his voice perfectly matched the bad guy’s.
He dragged him the few feet to me, and together, we hid him behind the trees. Like the first guard, this one would be out for an hour.
David and I took off in a sprint down the path, past flowers, bushes, and statues, until we came to the granite Doberman statue.
Unzipping my black fanny pack, I pulled out the microsnipet locator and put on my glasses. Slowly, I ran the square device over the Doberman’s legs, across its body, around its head, keeping my eyes peeled to the light indicator. It glowed a steady yellow. The light would black out when I ran it over the microsnipet. I trailed it under its belly. The light went out as I passed over the tip of its tail.
“Status,” TL’s voice whispered into my earpiece.
David turned from watching the path and raised his brows. I pressed the button on my collar and activated my tooth mike. “Microsnipet located. Beginning extraction now.”
Tucking the locator back inside the fanny pack, I pulled out a folding, miniature keyboard and snapped it open. It came complete with a satellite feed and one-by-four-inch monitor. Too cool.
Crouching, I studied the tiny, flat, square microsnipet. Lucky for me, it had been plastered to the surface, which meant I didn’t have to break open the dog’s tail to get to it. Just connect the linking wire, break the code, and download the information.
No problem. We’d know the whereabouts of Mr. Share in mere seconds.
I snapped one end of the copper linking cable to the keyboard, squeezed a dab of bonding agent to the other, then stuck it on the microsnipet. My fingers raced over the keys as I dialed the scrambler code and connected to satellite.
GOTCHA! YOU’RE IN, I read on the screen. Chapling. Made me smile to think he was right here with me.
I began entering a series of standard codes, but came up against a firewall each time. I paused, focused my thoughts. Tried keying subscripts. More blocks. Worked in the opposite direction, typing synthesized indexers. Again, security barriers. Punched a list of idiosyncratic elements. Another block. What the . . .
“Status.”
Jumping at TL’s quiet request, I peeked at my watch. Fifteen minutes! I’d been at this fifteen minutes? I pressed the button on my collar. “Any second,” I lied.
Okay, think, GiGi, think. Romanov owned David’s dad, the most brilliant man in the world. Wouldn’t it make sense that Romanov would have him create the castle’s security codes? Yes, it would. Mr. Share had designed the government’s security using Pascal’s triangle. If he maintained the same mathematical theme, he might use quadrilateral or polynomial factoring.
My heart danced an excited little rhythm in tune to my fingers racing over the keyboard. This had to be it.
I hit the return key and—
Bingo! “I got it!”
“Shhh.” David hushed me through a chuckle.
Sorry, I mouthed, grinning like a goof, watching the microsnipet info scroll onto the gray screen.
YOU GO GIRL! Chapling typed.
I stayed connected a few more minutes while he downloaded the information on the whereabouts of David’s dad to our server. I disconnected from the satellite and stowed everything back in my fanny pack.
Suddenly the entire greenhouse brightened with white light, and a shrill siren went off.
I must have set off an alarm when I disconnected.
David grabbed my hand, and we took off down the path. Metal grids began unrolling from the ceiling, securing the greenhouse’s glass panes and prohibiting anyone from exiting. I pumped my legs, keeping up with him. We cut through hedges and greenery, ignoring the thorny scratches, leaped over flower bushes, and slid through a spiny shrub to our entrance hole.
TL was right there, waiting for us. I glanced up to see a metal grid grinding toward us. David grabbed the back of my shirt and pants and shoved me through, then dove after me. A split second later, the grid slammed over our hole, shutting us out.
We bolted across the open frosty lawn to where Jonathan waited. In the distance we heard the pack of Dobermans as they rounded the castle and headed straight for us. TL let out a stream of curses and reached back for me. He didn’t have to reach far. My fear propelled me to light speed.
Snapping and snarling, the dogs ate up the ground. Jonathan dropped to his hands and knees at the base of the wrought-iron fence. Using him as a step, David bounced onto his back and over the ten-foot-tall barrier. I went next, with TL giving me a helpful push up and over. David caught me, TL landed beside us, and Jonathan quickly scaled the fence.
The Dobermans slid to a stop, half of them barking and biting at Jonathan as he wiggled over the fence, and the other half trying to attack us through the wrought-iron spaces. With Jonathan safely on our side, we took off across the road and into the woods.
A mile later, we burst through the trees on the outskirts of an Ushbanian town, a different one from where the modeling school and hotel were located. I’d hated physical training back at the ranch, but now I was thankful for it. There was no way I’d be keeping up right now without it. I knew from our preoperations session that we would split up if something like this happened. David and I in one direction, TL in another, and Jonathan in yet another. We each wore tracking devices connected via satellite with our watches. I’d know where they were at any time, and vice versa.
TL unclipped my fanny pack, leaving me with no evidence of the mission we’d just completed, and he and Jonathan took off. Quickly, David and I removed our black face paint with wet wipes, then sprinted straight through the center of the town.
Music pounded from a nightclub four blocks up, our planned destination. Our dark clothes served two purposes, allowing us to hide in shadows, yet stylish enough for clubbing.
A police siren pierced the air. David grabbed my hand and yanked me down an alley. We ran past a Dumpster and skidded to a halt when a police car pulled in the opposite end. David backed me up against the side of a building and plastered his body to mine. Our chests heaved against each other with winded breaths.
He buried his mouth against my ear. “Wrap. Your. Arms. Around. Me.”
I did as he instructed, my heart hammering, keeping the police car in my peripheral vision. It slowly rolled toward us. “It’s coming,” I hissed, desperately trying to think of what to do next.
“Sorry,” he mumbled right before crushing his mouth to mine.
[12]
David held his lips firmly to mine.
Oh my God, I’m sixteen, and I’ve never been kissed. Please let me be doing this right.
But . . . this was it? This was about as exciting as having my hand kissed.
The police car rolled down the alley, getting closer, keeping their spotlight pinned to us. I just hoped they were convinced we were two lovers stealing a moment alone.
Closing my eyes, I tightened my arms around David as the car slowly drove past. I concentrated on his warmth, his scent. And suddenly David was the only thing that occupied my mind. I tilted my head and opened my mouth a little bit.
“Status,” TL’s voice boomed in our ears.
We jumped apart. David spun away, quickly pressing the talk button on his collar. “Four blocks from club,” he answered TL’s interruption, all calm, as if he’d just been relaxing and reading a book.
Me? To save my life coherent thought I couldn’t form. I mean, I couldn’t form a coherent thought to save my life.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I half listened to them talk, replaying the kiss in my mind.
“Cop’s gone.”
I opened my eyes. David was looking down the dark, slushy alley. Good thing, because I had no clue what to say to him.
“I—” He stopped. “I . . .”
Oh, good God. I what? I do believe that’s the best kiss I’ve ever had, GiGi. Or, I think we made a huge mistake, you little sixteen-year-old stupid genius.
Please don’t let it be the last one.
Stepping away from the wall, I pulled my shoulders back. By God I would be the one to declare it a mistake, not him.
“Listen, that was a mistake. You know it, and I know it. So let’s chalk it up to hormones or getting caught up in the moment or whatever.” I lifted my chin and strode off down the alley like I’d seen people do in the movies.
“GiGi.”
So much for my grand exit. I stopped, but didn’t turn around.
“I wanted to say I was sorry because we’ve never talked about kissing, and I don’t kiss girls unless I know for sure they want to be kissed.”
But I did want to be kissed. Since the first day I saw him, I’d wanted it. I spun around. “B—”
“Like you said.” He shrugged. “It was a mistake. So . . . okay. Let’s get going.” He breezed past me.
I turned and stared as he walked away brusquely. Wait! Please! I want to change my mind. Can I change my mind? It isn’t a mistake.
We spent three headachy, earsplitting hours in the club dancing on the packed floor with a strobe pulsing. The club closed at two, and we exited with the sea of bodies. Perfect cover as everyone wore black clothes like us.
Now, as we trudged into our hotel suite, TL greeted us. “Good, you’re back. Let’s go.”
Go? What about a shower and bed? I peeked at my watch. These guys never stopped.
“Chapling decoded the info you downloaded. We know where Mr. Share is. With the alarm having been triggered, it’s highly likely Romanov knows someone tapped into the microsnipet. We have to move now before Romanov relocates David’s father.”
David didn’t blink an eye. “Let’s do it.”
Pivoting, I followed the guys out. David seemed amazingly calm. If I were about to rescue my dad, whom I hadn’t seen in years and thought dead, I’d be a nervous wreck. “So where is he?”
“Modeling school,” Jonathan answered from beside me.
Huh, I would’ve guessed an abandoned warehouse or the dungeons in Romanov’s castle. That’s where the bad guys hid good guys in the movies.
Bypassing the elevator, TL opened the stairwell door, and we each passed through. “According to the blueprints, there’s a steel-walled room off Romanov’s office on the third floor. I assumed it was a weapons room. Makes sense that’s where Mr. Share is.”
“So it’s still a weapons room.” I took a couple of steps down. “Because David’s dad is the ultimate weapon.”
Jonathan stopped, and I ran straight into his hard back. In the cramped stairwell, all three guys turned to stare at me. What?
“You’re right.” TL spoke first. “Never thought about it that way. He is the ultimate weapon.”
Okay. Nothing like saying something profound to get everyone’s attention. Although it only made sense. Mr. Share could hack his way into anything. He could squirm through the military’s system and set off nuclear bombs.
Wait a minute. So could I.
A chill raced through my body at the evil I was capable of doing. No wonder the good guys recruited me. But was I at risk of being kidnapped like David’s dad? For my brain? TL said the IPNC had kept tabs on me since I was a child. Had all the bad guys out there in the world done so, too?
Gulp.
We continued descending the hotel’s stairs, rounding the second floor to the first. “Why am I with you? You don’t need me to rescue Mr. Share.”
Jonathan opened the exit door, sending in the icy night. “We’re not leaving you alone in the suite. Plus we need a lookout.”
“Oh.” I tucked my gloved hands into my jacket pockets.
On foot we trekked four cobblestoned blocks and then cut through the woods to the modeling school. At this early-morning hour, Prost, Ushbania, sat dark and empty. Yellow streetlights provided the only illumination. It was a cute little town. Like if a shepherd and his flock wandered across the street, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit.
The modeling school stood three stories high between two other brick buildings. A bank on one side, café on the other. A s
treet ran in front and a small stream along the back.
The four of us lay belly down on the other side of the stream, staring across at the buildings. Behind us stretched miles of wooded hills that eventually led to Romanov’s castle.
TL spread leaves over my back and legs. He pointed at me, then the ground. Stay. He waved Jonathan to the right, David to the left, and TL slipped back into the woods. My job in all this? To lie on the cold, damp ground, camouflaged by leaves, watching the back side of the modeling school. Of course if I saw someone, I would press my collar talk button, activating my tooth mike, and notify my team.
Jonathan and David appeared moments later on the other side of the stream, creeping down opposite ends of the back alley. TL popped up on the roof. I did a double take. Jeez, the man moved quick.
He disappeared into the shadows, but I knew what he was doing. “Clear,” he whispered seconds later. He’d disabled the security system.
David and Jonathan sprinted to the back door. Kneeling, David picked the lock and the two of them slid inside. TL signaled me from the roof. Five minutes.
They’d be five minutes. Shielding my watch, I pressed the indiglo button, confirming the time: 3:20:03. I knew TL well enough to know that at precisely 3:25:03 they would reappear at my side.
With a quiet sigh, I ran my gaze over the dark modeling school, studying the windows, hoping to see a flicker of light, a movement of shadows. They were too good, though. They’d be in and out before anyone was the wiser.
3:21:15.
Little under four minutes to go. A frosty breeze blew past, sending leaves rolling across the ground. I fought the urge to shiver and pull my coat tighter around me, concentrating instead on keeping very still. I thought about a nice cup of hot chocolate when we got back. Followed by a cinnamon lollipop. Oooh, gonna be good.
3:22:31.
TL would want to leave for the States as soon as possible, though. Hot chocolate or not. It made sense. Who’d want to hang out in Ushbania after stealing back a man worth millions of dollars? Not I.
Model Spy Page 13