The guard’s eyes darted to Kyle before he cleared his throat. “Uhh, I’ll just need you to sign in at the desk.”
“Are you serious?” Kyle asked.
“I think we can let it go,” Alex said. “Doc’s my guest.”
“Right, sir, of course. You’re the boss.” The man returned to his station. “Anything I can do for you, Mr. Stone?”
“No, I’m heading up to my office. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“You got it, sir. Though at this time of night, I don’t think you’ll be seeing anyone.”
“Good.” Alex poked at the button multiple times until one of the elevator doors slid open.
He stepped inside with Kyle following behind him.
“Super cool that you’re the boss, Mav. Really handy when it comes to something like this.”
Alex nodded as the elevator pulled them up. He fidgeted, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he waited. “Why did I put my office on the top floor?”
“Because you’re the boss, and it’s super cool?”
“It’s not when this elevator is slow as anything, and I need to find Ava.”
Finally, the doors whisked open on the executive floor. Alex led the way past the quiet offices and cubicles to the door marked with his name. He flicked his keycard against the security pad outside it before he pushed into the office, racing to his computer.
He shimmied the mouse, waking it before his fingers flew across the keyboard. “Water’s in the fridge. Should be fully stocked. Grab me an orange soda.”
“I will not,” Kyle answered authoritatively, returning with a water in hand. “As your doctor, I insist on water. The soda will only dehydrate you more.”
“Sometimes you’re a drag, Doc,” Alex said as his fingers continued to pound the keyboard.
He slapped the enter key and grabbed the fresh water, downing a gulp of it as he received a NOT FOUND message on his screen. His heart sank, a cold dread seeping into his bones. Failure was not an option, not when Ava’s life was a stake. He had to push through his foggy mind and his frustration. He had to find her.
With a curse, he shifted the keyboard and typed again.
“What’s happening?” Kyle asked, leaning closer to the screen.
“He’s blocking my track. He doesn’t want her to be found. Well, Raven, no more Mr. Nice Guy.”
“Taking the gloves off, huh?”
“Yep.” Alex continued to type furiously, his nostrils flaring before he hit the enter key again.
Dots appeared on the screen. He leaned closer, his eyes narrowing. “No, this can’t be right.”
More dots appeared.
“What is going on?”
“I’m stripping away his blocker, but…it’s sending me on a wild goose chase. She’s showing up all over the world.”
“How is he doing that?”
Alex leaned closer to the computer. “Good question. Because this is…pretty close to my own proprietorial software that I use to block trackers. He’s using my own software against me. And how he got it…” A curse escaped under his breath. “Miranda.”
“Well, you know how to unblock it then, right? You wrote it.”
He leaned back in his chair, his finger rubbing his lips as he slid his eyes sideways to Kyle. “Therein lies the problem, my dude.”
