“Any signal here?” Shelby took out a package of peanut butter crackers.
“No.” Ava scowled, looking unhappy.
The image of a crashed copter tried to force itself on Shelby’s mind again, but she closed off the thought. She took her worry out on the package, and the plastic finally ripped open. One of the cracker sandwiches went flying. Wade picked it up and tossed it in a nearby trashcan.
“I’m sure he’s okay.” He put his arm around her. “He’s a smart man.”
“He better be, or I’ll kill him myself.” In spite of her churning stomach, she took a bite of a cracker. She didn’t dare risk passing out again.
“Well,” Wade said, “this storm has turned into a dress rehearsal. It’s one way to find weaknesses in the system. I thought this place had backups.”
“It does.” Shang Junior came jogging down the stairs. “They’re all down.”
“How is that possible?” Shelby bit into another cracker.
“What do you think?” Shang said. “Sabotage.”
Shelby gasped and choked.
“I thought it was supposed to be safer here.” Wade handed her a juice bottle.
“I’m going to check the equipment myself,” Ava said.
“I’ve already—” Shang began, but she’d already darted from the room.
“We have to get word to Alan,” Shelby said when she could speak again.
“How?” Shang asked.
“Can we do like they did inJurassic Parkand reboot the system?” Shelby felt stupid at the expression on his face. “Okay, so I don’t get how this all works. But where are all our tech—”
Lights from an approaching vehicle flashed into view, and Shelby’s heart leapt. Then Shang pulled out his revolver, and he positioned himself facing the door.
“This way.” Wade began towing her down the hall and out of sight of the entrance.
“But we don’t know who it is; it might be Alan,” Shelby said, unable to put into words what unsettled her. It could just be left over from her blood sugar crash. “Wade,no.” She dug in her feet, forcing him to stop. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Of course it doesn’t feel right,” he hissed. “We might be under attack.”
“Shh. Just wait a sec. We can run if we have to.”
She crept back toward the corner, not daring to peek around in case someone might see her. Wade eased up behind her, his comforting hand on her shoulder. The storm made it hard to hear what was going on outside, but she thought she recognized the sound of a car door slamming. A few seconds later the door burst open.
“We have to find out what’s gone wrong,” Alan said. “Our system’s backup should have been able to handle anything.”
A little thrill rushed through Shelby, and she moved to go out to him.
“Wait. I don’t feel right about this.” Wade pulled her back.
“Put your hands up, Mr. Grantham, and step against the wall,” Shang Junior said.
Her father was here? Shelby felt a little dizzy.
“What’s going on, Philip?” Alan’s voice had a cold edge to it.
“It’s time for me to retire,” Philip Senior said. “You’re going to help me make a withdrawal. A rather substantial withdrawal.”
Shelby rubbed her temple. They weren’t in aJurassic Parkmovie. They were inDie Hard. She never wanted to see that film again.
