light. “But you haven’t—”
“This is no time for loyalty to me,” he said. “These people have a lot at stake and they’re playing for keeps. If you want to live, tell them I forced you into this.”
“What about you?”
“I do this for a living, remember?” When she only continued to stare at him, he added, “I’ve got MIDNIGHT to back me. I’ll be fine.”
Still, Zack doubted either of them would survive if they were caught. And not for the first time he mentally kicked himself for involving her. “Come on,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”
A single yellow light illuminated the hall just enough for him to make out the signs on the doors. In the distance he could hear the occasional door slamming, telling him there were people in the building, moving around, probably wondering what had happened to the power. Twice he and Emily had to duck into an alcove to miss being seen. Once by a woman with a flashlight. And then by two security officers toting guns. If it hadn’t been so dark, they would have been caught red-handed….
“What were those two men doing with guns in a veterinary pharmaceutical firm?” Emily whispered as they stepped back into the hall.
“I’ll bet the farm this place doesn’t have a damn thing to do with veterinary medicine.” And everything to do with chemical weapons and Lockdown, Inc., he thought darkly.
They passed an elevator. The bell dinged, warning them of the arrival of someone else on the floor.“Damn, this place is busy at this hour,” Zack muttered. Grabbing Emily’s arm, he darted toward an Exit sign at the end of the hall. He pushed open the door, and they slipped into the darkened stairwell just as two men stepped off the elevator.
“That was close,” he said.
“Too close. How are we going to find what we’re looking for?” She was breathing hard. Even in the darkness, Zack could see that she was an inch away from panic. “We don’t even know where to begin.”
“Take it easy, Emily.”
“Take it easy? This place is crawling with men toting guns and you’re telling me to take it easy?”
Zack didn’t like seeing her so shaken. He sure didn’t like seeing her afraid. Not tough-talking Emily Monroe who’d been ready, willing and damn near able to take him down when he’d accosted her in the Bitterroot infirmary.
“Nobody knows we’re here yet,” he said. “We’ve got a few minutes. Let’s use those minutes wisely, see what we can find, then we’ll get the hell out of Dodge, okay?”
A breath shuddered out of her, then she nodded. “Okay.”
He motioned toward the stairs he assumed would take them to the basement. “I’m betting the file room is in the basement.”
“How do you know that?”
“People like window offices.”
They took the steps two at a time, their boots nearly silent on the concrete. The basement wasquiet and cold and dark. A single red Exit light shone at the end of a long hall. “I’ll take the doors on the right,” Zack whispered. “You take the ones on the left. If you find one unlocked, let me know and we’ll go in together.”
Emily nodded and they went to work. Zack was almost all the way down the hall and thinking the entire operation was going to be a bust when the knob he tried twisted and the door swung open. “I’m in,” he said, then walked inside.
The room was large, with low ceilings and crowded with file cabinets of all shapes and sizes. Tiny ground-level windows offered stingy light from outside. It would have to do. The first file cabinet Zack tried was locked. Frustration burned through him. He tried another, found it locked, as well. Cursing beneath his breath, he looked around for something to break the locking mechanism with.
“I think I found something.”
He glanced over to see Emily leaning over a battered desk piled high with brown expandable folders. A plastic sign on the in-box read: To Be Filed. Zack felt a grin emerge. Even companies with something to
“This is no time for loyalty to me,” he said. “These people have a lot at stake and they’re playing for keeps. If you want to live, tell them I forced you into this.”
“What about you?”
“I do this for a living, remember?” When she only continued to stare at him, he added, “I’ve got MIDNIGHT to back me. I’ll be fine.”
Still, Zack doubted either of them would survive if they were caught. And not for the first time he mentally kicked himself for involving her. “Come on,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”
A single yellow light illuminated the hall just enough for him to make out the signs on the doors. In the distance he could hear the occasional door slamming, telling him there were people in the building, moving around, probably wondering what had happened to the power. Twice he and Emily had to duck into an alcove to miss being seen. Once by a woman with a flashlight. And then by two security officers toting guns. If it hadn’t been so dark, they would have been caught red-handed….
“What were those two men doing with guns in a veterinary pharmaceutical firm?” Emily whispered as they stepped back into the hall.
“I’ll bet the farm this place doesn’t have a damn thing to do with veterinary medicine.” And everything to do with chemical weapons and Lockdown, Inc., he thought darkly.
They passed an elevator. The bell dinged, warning them of the arrival of someone else on the floor.“Damn, this place is busy at this hour,” Zack muttered. Grabbing Emily’s arm, he darted toward an Exit sign at the end of the hall. He pushed open the door, and they slipped into the darkened stairwell just as two men stepped off the elevator.
“That was close,” he said.
“Too close. How are we going to find what we’re looking for?” She was breathing hard. Even in the darkness, Zack could see that she was an inch away from panic. “We don’t even know where to begin.”
“Take it easy, Emily.”
“Take it easy? This place is crawling with men toting guns and you’re telling me to take it easy?”
Zack didn’t like seeing her so shaken. He sure didn’t like seeing her afraid. Not tough-talking Emily Monroe who’d been ready, willing and damn near able to take him down when he’d accosted her in the Bitterroot infirmary.
“Nobody knows we’re here yet,” he said. “We’ve got a few minutes. Let’s use those minutes wisely, see what we can find, then we’ll get the hell out of Dodge, okay?”
A breath shuddered out of her, then she nodded. “Okay.”
He motioned toward the stairs he assumed would take them to the basement. “I’m betting the file room is in the basement.”
“How do you know that?”
“People like window offices.”
They took the steps two at a time, their boots nearly silent on the concrete. The basement wasquiet and cold and dark. A single red Exit light shone at the end of a long hall. “I’ll take the doors on the right,” Zack whispered. “You take the ones on the left. If you find one unlocked, let me know and we’ll go in together.”
Emily nodded and they went to work. Zack was almost all the way down the hall and thinking the entire operation was going to be a bust when the knob he tried twisted and the door swung open. “I’m in,” he said, then walked inside.
The room was large, with low ceilings and crowded with file cabinets of all shapes and sizes. Tiny ground-level windows offered stingy light from outside. It would have to do. The first file cabinet Zack tried was locked. Frustration burned through him. He tried another, found it locked, as well. Cursing beneath his breath, he looked around for something to break the locking mechanism with.
“I think I found something.”
He glanced over to see Emily leaning over a battered desk piled high with brown expandable folders. A plastic sign on the in-box read: To Be Filed. Zack felt a grin emerge. Even companies with something to
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