Resources?Like someone within the police department?Maybe even the police chief himself?The image of Richard standing beside the Madison chief of police was seared into her mind.
Anything was possible.Yet she strove to look and sound unconcerned.“Maybe.But since you seem to know so much about him, you must know about how he served in the army.I’m pretty sure he can take care of himself.”There was still nothing from Phillip, who’d gone to search the building.She prayed that meant Micah was gone.
“It would have been easier to kill you both together,” the short man said, his expression thoughtful.“I’ve had several scenarios in mind to explain how you both died, which of course would never implicate me.However, we can improvise.”His gaze narrowed.“You were always the main target.”
“Why, because I dated Damien for a few weeks?”Bryn wasn’t sure she’d survive this, but if she did make it out of there alive, she hoped to get as much information about their scheme as possible.“Richard found me an easy scapegoat because of our brief relationship, right?He figured that would explain everything.”
“Shut up,” the short guy said, his tone dismissive.“The more you babble on, the more stupid you sound.You couldn’t be further from the truth.”
That comment caught her off guard.She’d thought she was correct.She frowned, then shrugged.“Okay, then why not fill me in on what really transpired?”She unclenched her fingers and lifted her hands, palms upward.“You’re going to kill me anyway, so what’s the harm?”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you.Stop fishing for more information.”The short guy sneered again, but then he abruptly shifted his gaze to something over her shoulder.“Phil!Have you found him?”
“Not yet.”The words were distant, as if Phil was all the way on the other side of the building.“The place is empty.”
“Keep looking!”The short guy scowled, then turned back to her.“If he’s hiding in there, we’ll find him.”
“I told you he’s not.I came alone.You’re just wasting time.”She was secretly thrilled that Phillip hadn’t found Micah.She tried to think of a way to distract him.“Where is Jin Yong Wu in all of this?This is his data center project, isn’t it?”
Annoyed surprise flared in short man’s narrow beady eyes.
“Yes, that’s right.I did my homework.”She managed a self-satisfied smile.“I know Jin Yong Wu owns this place.But it’s not just a data center, is it?What’s his ultimate plan for the company anyway?Does Jin Yong Wu intend to use this place to infiltrate networks?Or is this going to be a hub for hackers?”
“Shut up!”The short guy’s shout had her taking a step back.She may have pushed him too far.Hopefully, he wouldn’t simply shoot her right now to be done with it.
“Okay, sorry.”She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.“You don’t have to tell me anything.Although you should know that I documented my suspicions in an email.”She tensed, anticipating another flash of anger.“Although if hackers are a part of the plan, I guess it will be easy enough for you to hijack the message before it gets read.”She risked a glance over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone behind her.“Is Phillip the data guy?Or did you convince Deon or one of the other employees from Digital Creative Express to help carry out your mission?”
He took a threatening step toward her.“And here you tried to convince us that you didn’t know anything.Not that it matters.”The creepy smile was back.“I won’t lose any sleep over killing you.”
Of course he wouldn’t.Men like him had already sold their soul to the devil.As she spoke, she thought she heard something from behind her, but now there was nothing but silence.
Phillp’s prolonged absence seemed to grate on the short guy.“Okay, Phil, give it up.If you haven’t found him yet, he must have already left.And that means we need to get out of here too.”
Bryn tensed, wondering how this would go down.Somehow, she didn’t think they’d risk spilling blood on the new concrete floor.Would they take her away somewhere to kill her?
Would Micah have time to intervene if they did?
There was no response from Phil.She kept her gaze on the short guy, anticipating he would grab her and force her out of there at any moment.
“Phil!Answer me!”The short guy let out a string of curses as the silence stretched for a full minute.And then two.
Her heart pounded in her chest as realization dawned.
She firmly believed that Phil couldn’t answer because Micah had grabbed and disarmed him.
Maybe, just maybe, they’d both make it out of this alive after all.
After textingRex to call 911, Micah found a stack of drywall along with two stacked pails of drywall mud not far from the two sawhorses that held the blueprint.It wasn’t an optimal hiding spot, he was too big to hide there for long, but it was better than nothing.
He admired how Bryn spoke confidently to the two gunmen.He was still annoyed with her decision to serve herself up on a platter, but there was nothing he could do now except go along with her impromptu plan.
Yet he wasn’t even sure if Rex had gotten the message to call 911 or how long it would take for the police to arrive.In the meantime, he needed a plan B.
He’d thought at first that the gunmen had bought into Bryn’s story about how she’d come to the data center alone.He’d been even more impressed when she’d used their very real argument as the reason they’d decided to go their separate ways.It had been a brilliant ruse, but her act hadn’t worked for long.When a tall man holding a weapon stepped out of the office space and began scanning the area, holding his gun in the ready position to shoot at anything that moved, Micah knew they hadn’t believed her.
There was no time to lose.He absolutely needed to figure out a way to draw the guy toward him without revealing his location.And he also needed to disarm him without alerting the gunman with Bryn.
A daunting task, but he didn’t have another option.As much as he wanted to check his phone for a reply from Rex, he stayed where he was, watching through a narrow crack between the stacked drywall and the pails as the gunman crossed the spacious room, looking from right to left and back again.
