When he hesitated, she said, “Your cars. Maybe you can still save some.”
This was true. The sooner she copied his files, the sooner the fire department would get the go-ahead to put out the flames.
With a nod, he said, “Put that away. Lock up.”
As soon as Kramer ran, the fire alarm in the eStocks office also went off. What the hell?
Smoke was billowing from the break room, and the smell of burnt meat loaf filled the whole office. No one was paying attention to the alarm but rather running toward the burning leftovers.
Gabby slammed the door shut and pulled the flash drive from her pocket. She jammed it into the port on the side of Kramer’s secret laptop and started copying every file on the laptop.
Copy.
Copy.
Copy.
Copppppyyyyyyy…
Just like every spy movie, a little bar tracked what percentage of the material had downloaded. Halfway through, the fire alarm shut down. Three-quarters of the way through, she heard Fran yell, “Camille, how long did you put your lunch in for?”
Gabby had practically sweated through her shirt because of nerves. All she needed was one more minute, and she’d have everything she needed. The EOD. Smirnov. She could go back to her normal life and get out of this ridiculous job. Making lunches, picking up kids, tucking them in at night. She needed everyone to be safe. And she needed to put the laptop back in the safe.
It was almost done.
Just as the whole office started calming down and wandering back to their desks, the meat loaf debacle over, the download finished.
Gabby collected the flash drive, slid it back in her pocket, fat with secrets. More satisfied than that time when she had lost ten pounds and zipped up her skinny jeans, she slid the computer back in the safe, shut the door, and replaced the painting on the wall.
Markus said, “You did it, Gabs. I knew you could.”
“Gabby, where have you been?” Fran said, exasperated.
After she mumbled some sort of excuse, Fran said, “Well, you’re going to have to buy lunch today.”
Gabby nodded. “Oh-kay.”
“Oh, and have you started on goody bags for the party on Saturday?”
Gabby stared. Goody bags—was Fran being serious? “I’ve got it covered. I think I’ll step out and grab some lunch.”
She slung her purse over her shoulder and strode out of the office like an eighties action hero, the whole place up in smoke behind her, or at least her meat loaf. A smile spread across her face as she stepped out onto the street.
She had done it. Almost.
“Markus,” she lied, “my nerves really upset my stomach. I’m going to run back inside and use the bathroom. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She didn’t need a bathroom. What she needed was time alone to copy the files for Smirnov.
He laughed. “Click me back in as soon as you’re done. I don’t like the idea of losing contact when you’re holding codes that are worth millions of dollars to the Mafia and Kramer.”
“Markus, just let me go to the bathroom.”
She took out the earpiece and the brooch with the camera. After a quick air-kiss to Markus, she turned off the camera and ran.
Thursday, after lunch, eStocks Enterprises
Gabby might have stolen the files, but she had three things left to do: 1) transfer the stolen goods to a second flash drive, 2) deliver one flash drive to EOD, and 3) bring the second flash drive to Smirnov. Only then would she be home free. On and off throughout these activities, she was going to have to pretend to be in the bathroom. Markus wasn’t going to like that…
