She stuck out her hand, saying, “Ashley Norcraft. How can I help you guys?”
Knuckles shook it, showed his badge, and said, “We’re searching for a national security threat and we have reason to believe he came here. First, we need access to your ticketing database. Do you keep that after they enter?”
“Whoa, wait. Is there a threat to the zoo right now?”
“No. We don’t believe he’s on site right now, but he was here earlier. We’re just trying to track his movements.”
She pursed her lips, like she was considering whether Knuckles was legitimate or not. He said, “Please. This is important. We’re not trying to get email addresses for a scam.”
She said, “Okay, if they click the box saying they want future updates, then yes, they’ll be in the system. Otherwise, we only keep the data for forty-eight hours.”
“So if he entered today, you’d have a record?”
She said, “Yes.”
“Okay, we also need access to every video feed recording you have. We’re going to try to spot him on that.”
She chuckled and said, “You have no idea how much video we have. I hope he’s not planning something soon, because that’ll take a week.”
Knuckles said, “We have a way around that. Can we get started? Where do we go?”
She said, “Actually, since the pandas are the crown jewels, they get protected like the president. We have a security station in here that can access all of that.”
She opened the door, letting them enter, then led them past enclosures full of tires, and platforms, the back open to an outdoor space. Knuckles managed to catch a glimpse of a single panda before going through another double door leading to the exit. On the right was an office behind plate glass, the area full of video monitors with a single person watching them.
She opened the office door and said, “Kirby, we need the room for a moment. Why don’t you take an early dinner?”
He left with a quizzical look on his face, but didn’t ask any questions. Ashley sat down at a computer terminal and began typing. She finally looked up and said, “Do you have the information he used for his ticket?”
Creed sat down next to her and filled in the blanks. She typed, hit return, and Creed said, “No joy.”
Knuckles said, “That would have been too easy. Get started on the videos.”
Ashley stood up from the computer and went to the banks of video monitors, saying, “Do you have an area you know he went to?”
Knuckles said, “No. Let’s start at the entrance.”
Creed opened his laptop and said, “I need to slave to your system through this.”
Ashley said, “I don’t know how to do that. Should I call our tech guys? They’re probably already gone.”
“No, that’s okay. Just show me the CPU that’s running all this.”
She did and he pulled out an assortment of cables, hooking his laptop to the mainframe. When he was complete, he said, “Can you pull up the entrance feed?”
She did, the entrance showing at the lower left monitor. He began typing, and the screen started to move in fast-forward, the screen a blur that the human eye couldn’t register.
Ashley turned from the monitor and asked, “What did this guy do?”
Knuckles said, “I’m not at liberty to say, but we don’t think he’s after the pandas.”
She grinned and said, “Will I see it on the news later? Get a story to tell my friends?”
Knuckles said, “I pray to God he doesn’t make the news, because if he does, we’ve failed.”
The smile faded from her face. Creed turned around, saying, “I got a hit.”
They crowded around the screen, seeing the man from the driver’s license having his phone scanned at the entrance gate.
