“Right.” Gonzales nodded. Then he made a face. “Would y’all mind sticking around for another couple minutes?”
Good god, no!Hannah wanted to scream. Now that the deed was done, all she could think about was getting the hell out of Dodge.
Texas might be safe, butshewasn’t. The FBI still considered her persona non grata. And even though she knew Ozzie was looking for proof that someone had planted the evidence against her on her work computer, she’d still feel a million times better if she couldassisthim in that process.
If you want something done right, do it yourself. Right?
That wasespeciallytrue for her when it came to all things techy and hacky.
“The thing is,” Gonzales continued, “my shift replacement is due to arrive any minute and she’ll need to know what’s happened. I figure y’all can explain it better than I can.”
“Of course,” Sam nodded. “We’d be happy to hang out until she gets here.”
Speak for yourself,Hannah thought as she begrudgingly allowed him to escort her toward the others.
Fisher and Eliza were posted up by the coffee station. They casually sipped bitter-smelling java like they had every right to be there and weren’t trespassing on government property while impersonating federal agents.
Hannah shook her head when Gonzales offered her a cup. She was jittery enough. The last thing she needed was a belly full of caffeine.
“Probably should cut back myself,” he said with a wry smile as he poured himself a full cup. “Doc says it’s bad for my blood pressure. But it’s one of the few joys in life, you know?”
She smiled because that’s what was expected of her. But it felt brittle and thin.
Then her expression turned genuine when the door opened behind her and she thought they were one step closer to heading back to the Windy City.
Except, it wasn’t Gonzales’s counterpart who walked into the control room. It was a brown-haired man in blue coveralls. He pushed a mop and bucket in front of him.
“Hey Vick,” Gonzales said and the custodian stopped to blink in bewilderment at the gathered group.
“It’s okay,” Gonzales reassured the man. “The FBI is here with this lovely young woman from ERCOT to help us fix a problem in our operating system.”
The custodian blinked again.
Something was…offabout the man. Hannah couldn’t put her finger on it. But she sensed it all the same. Like a glitch in the Matrix.
“But I thought…” He started and then changed tactics. “I mean I haven’t…” He abruptly stopped himself and shook his head. “Sorry. I’ll come back later to mop and empty the trash cans.”
Even though he’d only spoken a few sentences, there was no mistaking his thick New York accent. She would guess Long Island? Maybe the Bronx?
What was a guy from New York City doing way down in Texas? And, more importantly, what did he stop himself from saying?
Sam must’ve picked up on whatever had wiggled her antennae, because before the man could open the door and escape from the control room, he said, “Wait a minute there, Vick. What do you mean you haven’t? Haven’twhat?”
“Nothing.” Vick swallowed audibly and shook his head. “I mean…I don’t know. I was just confused to walk in and see you guys here. I’ll get out of your way.”
“Hold up.” Sam lifted a hand. “I have a coupla questions I’d like—”
That’s all he got out before Vick shoved his mop bucket and bolted for the door.
The bucket was heavy and cumbersome. One of those industrial-sized jobs. It hit Sam in the shins, making him lose his balance and go stumbling back into Eliza. Who stumbled into Fisher. Who stumbled into the coffee station, knocking the carafe out of the coffee maker.
It shattered when it hit the concrete floor, sending molten hot java and sharp glass in all directions.
Maybe it was because she was the closest to the custodian. Maybe it was because she was the only one not going down in the long line of human dominoes. Or, more likely, it was because she was sick of feeling like a pawn in the game.
Whatever the reason, Hannah took off after Vick before she could think what a colossallybadidea it was.
Bursting through the door, she saw the man darting between parked cars. Her kitten heels clattered against the pavement, but she didn’t hear them. Her injured pinky toe cried out in agony, but she didn’t feel it. Every ounce of her focus was on the custodian in the coveralls who turned and looked momentarily flabbergasted that it washerdogging his heels and not one of the others.
