Phillip sighs. “Six months ago, the Seattle PD ran a major drug sting across all of the downtown hotels. Apex Hotel—right across the street—yielded the most arrests. They nabbed three young men in business suites carrying suitcases full of heroin andcocaine.”
“In downtown Seattle?” I can’t help the shock in myvoice.
“Hotels are the perfect places to sell drugs,” Phillip explains. “All the guests in and out? No one’s going to notice a well-dressed man or woman carrying a suitcase or duffel bag. The police tried to arrest a suspect here, but he got off.” Frustration etches deep lines in Phillip’s face, and I feel for the man. “The kid managed to dump the drugs in a trash can before the police arrested him, and when they scanned the security camera footage, they discovered that our cameras didn’t capture a single image of him past the main lobby. He headed for the back of the hotel, but as soon as he moved into the hall leading to the pool, the systemlosthim.”
“You don’t have that many blind spots.” Understanding washes over me, and I try not lose my temper in front of the client. “Someone tampered with the old system too,didn’tthey?”
“I don’t know. Or didn’t. Not until just now. The system’s buggy. Always has been. Unexplained outages every few weeks, flickering images, the occasional alarm going off for no reason. My facilities manager installed a relay switch on a timer to cycle the power every day. That helped until last year. Around 6:00 p.m. most days, the cameras blink. Just for a minuteortwo.”
“What did your facilities manager say?” If his clipped tone is any indicator, Royce is as angry as I am. “And what about the guys who installed your currentsystem?”
“Kyle was terminated right after the raid. He disappeared on a bender for two days. Brickyard Security claimed their system was flawless and our camera problem was operator error. That’s when Icalledyou.”
Puzzle pieces are rotating and snapping into place inside my head. Relays, the non-standard wiring, the hassles installing the card reader module and HVAC controls…I’m so caught up in my own thoughts, I must not hear Royce calling my name, because he touches my arm, then asks if I’m allright.
“I’ve got to get back to the office—and I need Lucas to come with me. I can’t explain anymore right now, but give me a couple of hours and I’ll have some answersforyou.”
“Go,” Royce says with a terse nod. “I’ll meet you back there inanhour.”
16
Cam
On the nineteenth floor,I freeze outside the doors to the electrical closet. The seconds tick by, turning a brief pause into an awkward “what the hell are you doing?” interlude. In the end, fate takes over. One of the cabling crew—Zach, I think—bursts out of the room and almost runs me down. “Sorry, ma’am,” he mutters as he hurries downthehall.
Lucas, stooped on the floor with a cable cutter in his hands, glances up, and his half-grinfades.
“Can I talk to you?” I can’t force my voice much above awhisper.
“You’re the boss.” With a shrug and those three words, he cuts me deep, and I try not to let thebleedingshow.
I step into the room and glance around. The old cameras never covered this room, and the new camera is clutched in Lucas’s hand. “Where’severyoneelse?”
“On twenty. This is the last camera on this floor.” He sets the tiny device on a cart and then shoves his hands into his pockets. “What do you want? If I don’t get distracted, I can finish this job today and be done withSeattle.”
I reach for his arm, but he pulls away. “Please. I’m an ass. I…I’m sorry. I never meant to shut you out. I just…don’t know how to needanyone.”
“You don’twantto need anyone, honey. Somehow you got the idea that means you’re strong. That’s not what strength is. Strength is asking for help when you’re in over your head. You keep shutting people out, you’re going to end upalone.”
“I know.” I refuse to let myself look away from his disapproving gaze, even though I feel about an inch tall right now. “Did you know Roycewassick?”
“Yes.” Lucas’s expression softens. “I swear, the two of you are so alike it’s creepy. Both too proud and stubborn to reach out. I went to him when you started staying up all night debugging and refused my help. We got to talking. He didn’t want to die without knowing you’d be okay, but he was too scared to approach you. If you’d blown him off, I think it would havebrokenhim.”
Despite the repairs Royce and I have made to our friendship the past few days, Lucas’s words sting, and I blink back tears. “I got so caught up in trying to fix Oversight, I couldn’t see my way clear. Please, Lucas. Give me another chance. I need you with me at Emerald City. I’m not WonderWoman.”
“No. But you could pull off the costume.” He tries for a grin and I can’t help my half-laugh/half-sob. As he drapes his arm over my shoulder and pulls me in for a quick hug, his chest heaves. “I can’t stay. I’ll never work anywhere else in this town. TechLock all butconfirmedthat.”
“Work with me.” Drawing back, I clutch his forearms. “Please. If I’m going to run Emerald City for a few months, I need the best programmer around handling ZoomWare. I saw some of the subroutines you wrote for the biometrics and card control modules. They were fucking brilliant. The whole HVAC module was puregenius.”
“I’ll cop to the HVAC and biometrics work, but I didn’t write anything for cardcontrol.”
Fuck.The puzzle in my head coalesces as the missing piece lands right in front of me. “That’s how theygotin.”
“What?” He cocks hishead. “Who?”
“All the problems with Oversight the past few weeks? Someone hacked her, and I think I just figured out how they did it.” Praying harder than I’ve prayed in a long time, I hold out my hand. “Help mefixher.”
Indecision holds him still as he searches my gaze. “If I do, we’re a team. No more WonderWomanshit.”
