Code(6)

Pulling a pen from my pocket, I scribbled my name on the horizontal line and placed the paper inside the container next to the magazine. “Not exactly a fair trade, Hi.”

“I know. Anyone have something to add?”

“Here.” Shelton walked over and dropped in his battered green Timex. “This watch is low-rent. Plus I’m getting a new one for my birthday anyway. But you owe me, Stolowitski.”

“Owe you what?” Hi said. “Who wears a wristwatch anymore? Cavemen?”

Satisfied with our swap, I closed the container and dropped it back into the hole. Ben and Shelton grabbed the shovels and quickly reburied it.

Hi was sticking the metal box in his bag when another growl caught his attention.

Cooper. Inches away. Teeth exposed.

“Yikes.” Hi dropped the pack. “I thought we were bros!”

“No. Look.” I pointed. Coop’s attention was focused on the backpack.

Muscles tense, the wolfdog snuffled the bag, whined, sniffed again, and then began to growl.

“Must not be a geocache fan,” Shelton cracked as he scooped up Hi’s metal detector and switched off the power.

“The mutt’s not alone,” Ben mumbled.

“You guys are a riot,” Hi said. “Laugh a minute. Now someone call off the attack dog.”

I whistled for Coop’s attention. “Here.”

Reluctant, Coop gave Hi’s bag one last pass, then trotted to my side.

“Coop really doesn’t like that box.” I knelt and rubbed the edgy wolfdog’s snout. “It better not be stuffed with dead squirrels or something.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me at all,” Ben grumbled, but he shot me a wink. He was just winding up Hi.

“It’s not a rodent coffin!” Hi huffed. “This cache is legit. You’ll see, haters.”

“Okay, kids.” I hoisted my fishing gear. “Let’s call it a day. Kit wanted me back at LIRI a half hour ago.”

“Can’t upset the Big Boss Man,” Shelton said. “Let’s hustle.”

One by one, we trooped from the clearing.





CHAPTER 3





LIRI’s back gate rolled open with a soft whir.

“Come on if you’re coming,” Carl grumbled. A shade over five feet and weighing three hundred pounds, the ruddy-cheeked guard seemed winded by his short walk across the compound. “The magnets only release for thirty seconds.”

“Thanks, Carl,” I said cheerfully, familiar with his prickly demeanor. “Sorry to drag you out here. I wish Kit hadn’t ordered these new auto-locks.”

“Director Howard must’ve had his reasons.” Carl’s tone implied that we Virals might be primary among them.

As we passed through the reinforced perimeter fence, Carl punched numbers into a newly installed digital keypad. The gate closed behind us. Above, a pair of security cameras swiveled to track our movement.

“Can I assume you four won’t be back out this way today?” Carl asked. “I’m getting tired of tramping across the courtyard.”

“We’re taking off,” Hi said. “You can hit the gym early.”

Carl gave Hi a level look, sky blue security uniform stretching precariously over his massive bulk.

“We’ll be heading home shortly.” I shoulder-barged Hi down the path. “I just need to see my father for a minute. Thanks again!”


Carl waddled in the direction of Building Four, muttering about the foolishness of youth.

“Making rounds of the vending machines,” Shelton whispered. “They require constant security coverage.”

“Moron.” Ben had already started walking.

LIRI consists of a dozen glass-and-steel structures surrounded by an eight-foot-high chain-link fence. Aligned in two rows, the state-of-the-art buildings flank a well-tended central courtyard. Only two access points exist: a large front gate leading to the island’s single dock, and the smaller portal at the rear. The complex contains nearly every permanent construction on Loggerhead.

Crossing the courtyard, I was struck again by the bustle of the place. A dozen white-coated scientists dotted the grounds, some hustling between labs, others clustered around benches discussing research, snacking, or just enjoying the afternoon sun.

Since Kit had assumed the directorship, LIRI buzzed with a new energy and sense of purpose. The staff had doubled; rare were the days you could cross the grounds without encountering a preoccupied veterinarian hurrying to update a project. With its funding permanently secured, LIRI was, once again, one of the premier wildlife research facilities on the planet.

“Do we have to go in?” Hi hand-shaded his eyes to peer at Building One. Four floors high, it was LIRI’s biggest, housing the most sophisticated lab and the institute’s administrative headquarters. “My dad’s retooling the centrifuges, and won’t be happy to see me inside.”

Hi’s father, Linus Stolowitski, was LIRI’s chief laboratory technician, having been promoted by Kit the previous month. Since assuming the post, Mr. S had become more officious about Morris Island teens fiddling with facility equipment.

“Quit moaning,” Shelton said. “Both my parents are in there.”

Nelson Devers, Shelton’s father, was LIRI’s IT director. His office was on the ground floor. Shelton’s mother, Lorelei, was a vet tech working in Lab One.