Code(98)

I had one foot on the floor when the epiphany hit.

I lunged for my phone.




“The G on the Gamemaster’s truck!” I paced, too wired to stand still. “It must be a parking permit for downtown. They assign a separate letter to each residential zone!”

“And you know this how?” Shelton was still in his Dark Knight PJs.

The boys weren’t excited about a seven a.m. meeting. We huddled on Shelton’s front steps, trying not to shiver in the misty morning air. It was still dark. The sun was struggling to rise through a purple bruise spanning the eastern horizon.

“I dreamed it.”

“Aha! You dreamed it.” Hi yawned and rubbed his eyes. “I think it’s time we get you medicated.”

“I already checked,” ignoring Hi’s barb, “and G permits cover only a four-block area on the western side of the downtown peninsula.” When this failed to elicit the proper reaction, I held up a printout. “The G stickers are purple this year.”

“She could be right.” Ben snatched the page from my hand and studied it closely. “This matches the picture in my head.”

“Fine,” Shelton said. “When we get back in town, we’ll check that district for the Gamemaster’s truck.”

I stared as if he was crazy. “We can’t wait! If we evacuate, we’ll lose two or three days. The Gamemaster will be long gone.” I stepped closer and dropped my voice. “But if we go right now, we can catch him off guard!”

This didn’t play well.

Shelton hooted. “There’s a hurricane coming, Tory!”

“Katelyn is moving way faster than projected,” Hi confirmed. “It’s like she decided to sprint for the coast. The news said landfall is now expected before noon, and maybe much earlier. My dad said we’re all jetting in sixty minutes.”

“Why would the Gamemaster be at home?” Ben asked sharply. “He’ll evacuate too, right?”

“No, he won’t. He’s a thrill seeker. I’m positive he’ll stay for the big show. That’s how he rolls. And that’s how we can nab him!”

“You’re suggesting the impossible,” Shelton argued. “The roads are shutting down. All traffic is going one way—out of town. And our parents expect us in seat belts in an hour.”

“The police are busy clearing tourists,” Hi added. “They won’t bother with our story about a psychopathic gun master with more weapons than Syria. They’ll just lock us into a storm shelter.”

“We don’t even know where he lives!” Shelton finished.

I countered their rant with my own.

“The Gamemaster is a murderer. Maybe a serial killer. But we know how to find him, and we have the skills to catch him.” I glared at Shelton. “If we leave with our parents, we’re gone for days. You know that. The Gamemaster will slip away before we get back! And if he does, how many others might die? Can you live with that?”

I turned on Ben and Hi. “What about you two? Ready to bail? There’s a deranged psycho out there who knows what your mothers eat for breakfast. That cool with you?”

Shelton dropped to the stoop and sighed. “How would you do it?”

“We leave a note. Take Sewee to the city marina, then do a quick sweep of zone G. If we don’t spot the truck, we head to police headquarters and tell them about the Gamemaster. Take our punishment.”

My voice went steely. “But if we do find him, we take him out ourselves.”

Hi swallowed. “Take him out?”

I didn’t flinch. This man committed murder for sport. “Whatever it takes.”

“My boat.” Ben looked stricken. “I was going to moor her in the cove by the bunker. Sewee will get torn to pieces at the marina.”

I smiled hopefully. “All the other boats will be gone, so you can pick your berth.”


“We’re considering this?” Shelton’s forehead dropped to his knuckles. “For real?”

“Our parents will lose it,” Hi said. “I’m serious. They might all stroke out.”

“Whatever happens, we’ll tell them everything,” I said. “Afterward.”

“You want to capture a gun-crazed murderer during a Category Four hurricane.” Shelton’s gaze rose to the heavens. “Any idea how dangerous that sounds?”

“Good thing we’re Virals,” Ben said.

Our eyes met. He actually smiled.

“I’m with Tory,” Ben said firmly. “To the end.”

“Thank you.” I felt a rush of affection.

When it really matters, I can always count on Ben.

My gaze bored into Hi and Shelton.

“Ben and I are going either way.” I crossed my arms. “In or out?”




“Hurry!” I whispered-shouted at Hi as he jumped aboard.

Shelton crouched in the stern while Ben untied Sewee’s lines. Even while docked the runabout was rolling and pitching in the quickly rising chop. The ocean had gone from placid to rough in the forty minutes we’d wasted getting ready.

Hurricane Katelyn was closing in. Everyone could feel it.

“I’m dead,” Hi moaned as he slid onto the stern bench. “So, so dead. My parents will fillet me. You guys, too.”