Chapters (48)
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Chapter One: Fender Bender
- Chapter Two: Bigfoot Burrito
- Chapter Three: Treasure Hunt
- Chapter Four: Open Sesame
- Chapter Five: Central Intelligence
- Chapter Six: First Flight
- Chapter Seven: Park It
- Chapter Eight: Next Steps
- Chapter Nine: Search Strategies
- Chapter Ten: Overflight
- Chapter Eleven: Barn Doors
- Chapter Twelve: Saturn Fly-By
- Chapter Thirteen: Getting a Clue
- Chapter Fourteen: Hacked
- Chapter Fifteen: The Spy Game
- Chapter Sixteen: Investigations
- Chapter Seventeen: Break-In
- Chapter Eighteen: Battening Down
- Chapter Nineteen: Shoring Up Defenses
- Chapter Twenty: Third Time’s the Charm
- Chapter Twenty-One: Proxy
- Chapter Twenty-Two: Rescue
- Chapter Twenty-Three: Chase
- Chapter Twenty-Four: Spies R Us
- Chapter Twenty-Five: Surveillance
- Chapter Twenty-Six: Making Plans
- Chapter Twenty-Seven: Going In
- Chapter Twenty-Eight: Infiltration
- Chapter Twenty-Nine: Accidental Captive
- Chapter Thirty: Interrogation
- Chapter Thirty-One: Reaction
- Chapter Thirty-Two: Kidnappings
- Chapter Thirty-Three: Reviewing Options
- Chapter Thirty-Four: Public Debut
- Chapter Thirty-Five: Distractions
- Chapter Thirty-Six: The Big Reveal
- Chapter Thirty-Seven: Regrouping
- Chapter Thirty-Eight: Waiting for Results
- Chapter Thirty-Nine: It Hits the Fan
- Chapter Forty: Disassembly
- Chapter Forty-One: Wrapping It Up
- Chapter Forty-Two: Negotiations
- Chapter Forty-Three: Coda
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
There was a honk outside and I looked out my window to see Patrick’s car idling there. I headed out quickly, and Nat scooted over for me.
“Today’s the big day,” I said, smiling at her.
Nat rolled her eyes. “I’m not 007, Jack. I’m just going to walk around. No snooping, no ambushing people, no questions. I’ll see you guys at lunch.”
Patrick laughed and punched the gas.
Patrick picked me up from the grocery at precisely 11:45. That got us to the industrial park with five minutes to spare. Nat showed up a minute or two later.
“Where shall we eat today?” Patrick asked.
“Food truck.” Nat gestured with her chin. “The Mexican one is really good.”
We made our way to the street in front of the industrial park. There were already lines in front of each truck. Patrick and I got in the queue for Mexican while Nat walked back and forth, ostensibly checking out the menus.
As we sat on a nearby planter wall with our meals, I said to Nat, “Any reaction?”
“Nothing. I’m not really surprised, though. I don’t see the Loranna eating tacos or souvlaki out in the open.”
“Nothing in the office?”
“Nope. But based on what Sheldon told us, the frontline workers wouldn’t be Loranna. Or collaborators. I kept waiting for someone to come downstairs from three, but no such luck.”
“That’s probably true of every business in this park,” Patrick added. “So we’re still at square one, really.”
“Yup.” Nat stood. “Let’s go for a walk.”
The walk produced no results either. I ground my teeth in frustration. I’d have to talk to Sheldon about how the detector worked and whether it could be made more sensitive.
“Look, Nat,” I said, “just keep the detector with you. If it goes off, we can figure out what to do from there. Otherwise, go about your normal day.”
“Yeah, okay. It would be great if we had one for each of us.”
I stopped dead. Patrick face-palmed. “Of course Sheldon would have more. Or can print more.”
“We’re a bunch of fucking geniuses, that’s what we are,” I added.
“And what about the other stuff?” Nat said. “The remote? Disruptor?”
“And anything else Sheldon might have that could be handy,” Patrick said.
“Yeahhhh … ” I shook my head in disgust. “We’re still going about this piecemeal.”
Chapter Seventeen: Break-In
Chapter Seventeen: Break-In
I parked the delivery truck behind the barn and walked to the house to get the gadgets from my room. “Hi Mom,” I called out as I entered through the kitchen door. Barkley looked up from his dog bed and rushed over to circle me several times, tail wagging frantically. A few pats and he returned to his bed to continue his siesta, satisfied that the protocols had been followed.