“Thank you, Herman,” Drake said, and Jamie detected a note of pride in his voice. “Now, are you getting any readings on our lost scientist?”
“Negative,” the helpful robot replied. “I am unable to locate Dr. Lakewood within the radius of my scanning capabilities.”
“So what do we do?” Jamie asked.
“You said Lakewood had an office here?”
The robot let out a few beeps. “Correct. He has an office adjacent to the Illinois Tech Robotics Lab.”
Drake tapped at the console in front of him. “Maybe we should check it out.”
Jamie frowned. “But how? We have to find somewhere to hide the ship, then make it to the lab, then figure out how to get inside and we don’t even know if—“
“Parking’s a breeze in this thing, at least for short periods,” Drake said. “As for the rest, we’ll take it as it comes.”
He swiveled around to pierce her with his gaze. “We’ve made a pretty good team so far. What do you say? Ready for another adventure?”
When he put it like that, she couldn’t resist. She gave him a quick nod, and her insides melted when he rewarded her with an easy smile.
Jamie turned her eyes to the view screen. They were fast approaching the city, the blur around them starting to materialize into buildings and roads. The craft slowed as they made their way around the lake and into the city proper. Soon they hovered over a large building that was several stories tall. Its roof was flat, and as she watched, Drake skillfully maneuvered the ship until it was parked high about the city below them.
“How far to the lab?” he asked the robot.
“Approximately three city blocks,” Herman replied, giving specific directions on how to find the building.
Drake unfastened his restraints in a swift, fluid motion and then came over to her seat to help her unbuckle her own. When Jamie stood, she was only inches from him.
She fought the overwhelming desire to lean into his body, to feel his warmth around her. Instead, she placed their robotic companion back into her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
They exited the craft and she watched as Drake broke open the lock to the door that would lead them down into the building proper. Apparently, they were no longer worried about violating security protocols. Jamie wondered if that meant that they’d reached the stage in their mission where they had no more time to be concerned with caution.
It was a frightening thought. Still, with the strong and capable male at her side, she felt strangely calm.
They took the several flights of stairs at a jog and were soon on the bottom floor. Because they were no longer in a secured building in that nation’s capital, no one was around to question their access. Before long they were out on the street and headed to Lakewood’s lab.
The building housing his office was squat and nondescript. The door was locked, and Drake turned to face her. “I’m going to force it.”
“There might be an alarm,” she said, anxiety at last beginning to bubble up inside her.
There was a series of beeps from within her purse, so Jamie cracked it open and peered inside. “I have the code for the access panel,” Herman said, his voice low in what passed for a robot’s whisper.
Drake entered the code Herman gave him and the door unlocked. Then Jamie pointed out the directions that the robot gave them as they hurried down unremarkable hallways.
“It should be here,” she said, motioning to a gray door that looked like the dozen others they passed.
“The same code will unlock this door as well,” the helpful robot said, and in a moment they were inside.
Drake flipped the light switch to reveal a lab in utter chaos. “I knew this guy was messy, judging by the condition of his lab at NASA, but this is another level.”
Equipment was strewn about, mechanical parts and pieces scattered about on the floor and surfaces. Papers were tossed everywhere, and Jamie had to pick her way around a busted coffee cup, its contents having soaked into the surrounding documents.
“I don’t think this is just messiness,” she said. It looked like there had been a struggle.
Drake nodded, then bent to set the office chair in front of the computer console upright. He plugged in his device and started to work on the console.
A series of beeps sounded within her bag so she pulled out the robot to let him take in the scene.
“Please set me down,” Herman requested.
