Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(33)
Everyone was on an adrenaline rush, but Ashley seemed euphoric. “This is so cool. Math, coding, encryption. All my favorite things.”
“How come I’m not on the list?” Justin asked.
“I’m talking technological things, sweetie. Not people.”
Mylo groaned. “Give me some guys with guns this time. Those I can handle.”
Justin turned up the volume and looked over at Ashley. “Ready to play?
“Let’s go, Eradicators.” Ashley patted the controller and gave him a quick grin. “Concentrate hard. We’re breaking into the nemesis’s bank this time. I can’t wait.”
Luke’s wall screen went black. The video clip was over.
Deb, Gabe, and Luke just sat there, staring at the blank expanse.
Finally, Gabe turned to Luke. “This was taken last Friday night. They hit Level 88 at Ashley’s dorm, too. Justin disappeared the next day. Ashley, the following night. What do you think it all means?”
“Damned if I know, little brother, but we’ll find out.”
Cayman Islands—Tuesday Morning
Outside, the humidity hit ninety percent, the temperature nearing ninety-five, but that wasn’t what made the account manager sweat. This couldn’t be happening. He had to meet his client soon and the drinks he had last night must still be screwing up his head.
The bank was more crowded than usual due to the Monday holiday yesterday. Phones rang and conversations went on around him, but the manager’s entire attention remained on the computer screen in front of him.
He must have keyed the numbers in wrong.
Throat tight, he pushed forward in his chair and carefully retyped the twelve-digit account number and the nine-digit code, made up of a zero, a three-digit bank code, and a five-digit branch/transit code.
Finally he reached the last digit. Hands sweating, he typed the number seven, sent up a small Hail Mary, and hit “Enter.”
The screen went dark, flashed white, then black again. The account balance flashed on the screen, the white numbers showing him the same impossible figure.
His hand trembled. Panicked, he closed his eyes, then opened them again, and blinked twice.
“It can’t be right.” He reentered the numbers a third time, but nothing changed.
Oh, dear God in heaven. His chest ached, and he couldn’t stop his panting breaths. He clutched the desk, fighting the urge to run.
“It’s gotta be a glitch. It has to be.” He paused and stared from the computer to the phone, and back at the monitor. Desperation choked off his breath. The moment he dialed the computer group, everyone would know.
His boss definitely wouldn’t overlook this screwup.
The phone rang and he jumped. Quaking, he picked up the receiver. “Sir?”
“Well, what the hell is taking so long? Our client is waiting.” The president of the bank’s voice boomed through the receiver.
He swallowed, and his boss had to have heard the gulp. “Um. We might have a problem, sir. I’m missing one hundred twenty-five million US dollars.”
The guards led Ashley to a new part of the complex down a long hallway. Huge mechanical doors slid open. She braced, ready to run, but a forklift deposited a large box, then a guard keyed in a code on the entry pad and the garagelike door slid closed, blocking out the sun.
“Wait here,” Niko said. He walked down and met the guard several feet away. Too near to try to bolt, but too far to overhear their conversation.
She looked around quickly, trying to memorize the area for a possible future escape. She could break keypad entries. She hadn’t noticed a palm print reader or anything more complex.
A boy was mopping the floor and sidled closer, but he didn’t raise his head or pause in his task. “Don’t bother,” he said, his voice barely audible. “You won’t find a way out. If there was one where they couldn’t trace us, I’d be gone already.”
“Have you been here long?”
He grimaced. “Do I look like I’ve been soaking up the rays lately?” His face was vanilla pale, his sandy hair shaved close to his head.
“Sorry,” said Ashley. “I just got here.”
“I know. Everyone’s talking about it. How mad you made the Warden. Listen to me. Do what they tell you. Don’t fight them. Don’t question anything,” he whispered as he passed by closer with the mop. “Anyone who causes trouble . . .”
A door creaked open and the kid stiffened.
“What?” Ashley insisted. “What happens?”
“They either tag you with a microchip or you disappear,” he whispered and shuffled down the hall, adding, “I’m on my last warning.”
Only then did Ashley see the shackles around his ankles.
* * *
CHAPTER SEVEN
* * *
DEB CLUTCHED THE armrests of Gabe’s SUV. The vehicle slid through a street lined with snowdrifts toward her apartment building. The place couldn’t have looked more unwelcoming. It wasn’t a home, and her sister wouldn’t be there. Might never . . .
No, Deb couldn’t think that way. She had to focus on the leads. Ashley was a fighter. She was smart. She’d stay alive no matter what the situation.