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  “We didn’t want to put you in a position that could compromise you in any way.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you think it’s too late for that?”

  “Well, now it is,” Gwen offered.

  Arthur muscled between us. “Who cares about all this stuff? Where’s my staff?” He shook his finger at me. “Zizi said you had it.”

  “The staff is safe for the time being, Arthur.” Slash strode across the room to Elvis. “We couldn’t just stroll through security carrying it. But right now we have more pressing matters at hand. What’s happening with the plague, Elvis? Did they connect yet?”

  “Yes. About an hour after the heist. I got a location from the GPS when they initially fired up the computer, but unfortunately, the first thing this IT guy did was close Lexi’s back door, shut down the audio and visual and then turn off the GPS. My guess is they would have been smart enough to move once they noted the GPS was on. Anyway, here is the address where they were when they first connected to the network, but I sincerely doubt they are there anymore.” He held up a scrap of paper with an address on it.

  Slash took it and glanced at it.

  “Zizi said it’s a heavily populated area with a lot of apartment buildings,” Elvis continued. “They could have moved anywhere in that area or heck, in that apartment complex and we wouldn’t know. It’s possible they could have left Cairo altogether. Without the GPS tracking them, they might as well be on the moon. I don’t know how we’d even start to find them.”

  Slash ran his fingers through his hair and started pacing. “So, you’re saying the only way we’re monitoring them at this point is by watching the jihadist site to see if the plague shows up?”

  “Unfortunately, that’s what I’m saying. This hacker guy seems pretty competent. My guess is they have to be very close to cracking Lexi’s protection.”

  Slash swore under his breath.

  I walked over to the desk and patted Elvis on the back. “All is not lost yet. Let me take a look. There may be a way for me to reactivate my back door to sneak in again.”

  “He closed it, Lexi.”

  “My door is ever revolving. Have faith, my friend.”

  Elvis nodded. “Faith given. But even if you do get in, Lexi, this guy will notice. I assure you of that.”

  “Not if I’m fast to get in and even faster to get out. May I?”

  Elvis abandoned his seat and I sat down. Slash tossed me a bottle of water and I drank nearly the entire thing without putting it down. I’d no idea how thirsty I was.

  Setting the mostly empty bottle beside me, I got down to work. As time was against us, I decided on speed versus stealth. I wanted in quickly, so that’s what I did.

  Seven minutes later I was in. I typed the last keystroke with a flourish. “Done.”

  “I’m in awe of you, geek princess.” Elvis looked over my shoulder while Gwen hung on his arm with an awed look on her face, too.

  There was no time for gloating. I needed to check a couple of things. Luckily Gwen wandered over to the couch, Arthur was asleep in a chair and Zizi and Slash were in one corner of the room talking quietly.

  Elvis watched me for a minute. “What are you doing?” he hissed.

  I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Something important. Trust me, okay? Keep the others away for a minute.”

  He stared at me and then left to join Zizi and Slash in conversation.

  Once I’d quickly checked something, it was back to the matter at hand. I needed to discover how close they were to breaking through.

  As soon as I saw it, my heart sank. “Guys, unless they change tactics, they should crack in within the hour.”

  Slash strode to my side, and Elvis, Gwen and Zizi all came to look over my shoulder. “Hurry, cara.”

  My fingers poised over the keyboard. “Okay, here goes. I’m going to turn on the GPS. I don’t want to keep it on longer than twenty seconds because I’m hoping he’s too immersed in the crack to notice. So, here I go.”

  I turned on the GPS and several seconds later I got a hit. “Here.” I took a quick screenshot of the address then switched it off, leaning back in my chair. “Well, I sincerely hope that went undetected.”

  I opened the screenshot and examined the address. Elvis typed it into Google Maps on his laptop and zoomed in on the location.

  Slash peered at Elvis’s screen. “Another apartment complex. Looks like the signal is coming from the southwest corner. First floor.”

  Elvis pulled in closer to the apartment in question. Slash pointed at something on the screen. “This spot. This corner apartment has three windows. The front windows—two of them—face the street. There’s one more window around the corner. That’s probably the bedroom window. There are shrubs and decent-sized bushes around the complex. That’s good.”

  “Why is that good?” I looked at Slash over my shoulder. “What are you thinking?”

  He straightened. “We go get the laptop and the spores. And this time, we don’t fail.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  “Can I admit I’m really nervous about this plan?” I walked next to Slash as we approached the apartment complex. He was carrying a small, lumpy bag I didn’t recognize. This morning the streets were bustling and alive with people, noises, traffic and pollution. In the one block we’d walked, I’d nearly gotten hit by a bicycle, brained by a soccer ball and slipped on a large pile of poop from an indeterminate animal.

  Luckily I’d avoided everything so far, but I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have been so lucky without Slash, his eagle eyes and a guiding hand beneath my elbow.

  “It’s going to be fine, cara. Just stick to the plan.”

  I hated when people told me that, because invariably it meant I would deviate from the plan. And when I did, it would be my fault, no matter how good a reason I presented. Or maybe it meant they thought I would deviate from the plan, because I often did, though it was more like improvisation than a deviation. It was like I was jinxed or something. While considering the relative fault probabilities if I did or didn’t adhere to the plan, I almost bumped Slash into a careening car.

  “Stay with me, cara. Keep your head in the game. We are going to need you at your best.”

  I really, really hoped the plan worked exactly as we had outlined it, because I was tired of improvising. Just once I wanted the plan to work as it was supposed to. I didn’t think it was too much to ask of the universe.

  The apartment complex came into sight and my stomach filled with butterflies. I couldn’t even remember how long ago I’d eaten anything. I’d had a couple of cups of coffee, but it hadn’t settled well on my empty stomach. It had been more than twenty-four hours since any of us had any sleep. We were operating on fumes, which meant we were ripe to make a mistake.

  Sighing, I willed myself to focus and kept my head down with the scarf tied tightly around my hair.

  We walked directly toward the apartment building before taking a detour to the side. Slash glanced around. When the coast was clear, he yanked me into the bushes and crouched directly underneath a window.

  My hair got tangled in the branches, but since I was wearing long sleeves and jeans, my body was protected from major scratches. That was the upside. The downside was that because I was wearing long sleeves, jeans and a scarf, it was hotter than heck hiding in those bushes. Sweat started to slide down my temples and back. My hands began to shake as I wondered if there were snakes, spiders or scorpions hiding in there with me. I pressed my lips together and started reciting Fermat’s Theorem to calm myself. Better not go down the snake/insect road or I’d go screaming for the hills at any moment.

  Lucky for us, it seemed for the moment we were pretty well sheltered from the street even without the shrubs. This side of the building wasn’t getting any pedestrian traffic, at least none yet.


  Slash leaned close, whispering. “We’ve got a break. The window is partially open. I’m going to take a look.”

  I nodded and he stood, coming at the window from the side and peering in. I watched to see if anyone was walking by, but we were still clear.

  He crouched down beside me again, keeping his voice low. “One guy in what looks like a bedroom, working on a laptop.”

  “Arthur’s?”

  “Si. Confirmed.”

  “That’s another break for us. Thank God. Now if we could just magically wish it and the spores into our hands and go home.”

  “The third break is the charm. Arthur’s pouch with the spores is sitting right next to the laptop.”

  “Wow. Could God still be watching over his stuff?” I asked.

  Slash’s mouth curved into a smile. “He does work in mysterious ways.” He looked back at the window. “I have to open it farther. I won’t fit through the opening as it is now.”

  “Okay. Let’s do it.” At this point, I just wanted to get it over with, go home and eat six cheeseburgers.

  “Agreed. Tell Elvis we’re ready.”

  I slipped the burner phone out of my pocket and texted. In position.

  Elvis responded. Roger. Three minutes.

  He hung up and I slipped the phone back into my pocket.

  I glanced at my watch. Two minutes and fifty-one seconds later I heard a loud screeching noise from in front of the apartment complex. Shouts, screams and the screeching of cars rent the air.

  “Right on time,” I breathed.

  I could hear movement in the room above us. Slash stood and peered in the window again. “He’s gone to see what the fuss is all about.”

  He shoved at the window, but it didn’t budge. I stood and tried to help him. No matter how hard we pushed, it wasn’t going anywhere.

  I stopped trying and turned to Slash. “Lock your hands together. You won’t fit through that window, but I will.”

  “What? No.”

  “Don’t argue with me. We don’t have time. Just give me your hands.”

  He wavered for a moment and finally locked his hands together. I stuck my right foot in his hands and he boosted me up. I braced myself against the wall with one hand while wiggling sideways in through the opening. It was tighter than it looked, so I held my breath and sucked in my stomach. After a few hard maneuvers, I suddenly popped through the window like a greased pig. I fell hard onto my right shoulder, making a loud thump.

  Uh-oh.

  As I rolled to my feet, the wail of sirens sounded in the distance. Heavy footsteps were returning to my location. I ran to the bedroom door and locked it. Barely a second later, someone yanked on the knob and started shouting. I grabbed the laptop from the desk, unplugging it as I shoved it out the window to Slash’s waiting arms. I stuck the pouch with the spores down my bra, as I was sure it would break in my pockets. Slash tossed me up the Egyptian statue he’d stolen from the museum. I caught it, gently rolled it under the bed and turned to the window.

  My breath was coming in hitches as a series of shots popped at the door.

  Holy bullets.

  Someone was shooting his way in. Time for a hasty exit.

  Without even trying to be quiet, I jammed myself into the window opening headfirst, holding out my hands. I was halfway out when I had a panicked vision of the clay bottle filled with horrific plague spores shattering in my bra and raining down on Slash as I fell out of the window. Slash dragged me out with one hard yank. My feet had just cleared the sill when I heard the door bang open.

  I’d never moved so fast in my life. My feet scrambled for purchase on the ground as Slash tucked the laptop under one arm and dragged me along with the other. I tensed for a shot in the back, but Slash hauled me around the corner with surprising speed and moved us directly into the large crowd that had gathered in front of the complex. No one even spared us a glance.

  I soon saw why. Two attractive women were engaged in a catfight. Clothes were torn, hair was disheveled, shoes were off. The crowd was huge and growing exponentially, made up of mostly guys who were laughing, whistling and cheering the girls on. The distraction was epic. No one noticed us at all.

  Slash slipped the laptop under his light jacket and pushed his way to the front of the crowd, making sure Zizi could see him. She gave him a slight nod, before turning back to Gwen, presumably to alert her that we were clear.

  Just then several police cars screeched to a halt and the crowd, including Zizi and Gwen, quickly dispersed even as they began to redress themselves. We were the first to clear the area as Slash led me down a sidewalk, then into an alley.

  “You’ve got the spores, right?” he asked.

  Dear God, in the terror of falling out the window, I had forgotten to see if I still had them. I reached slowly into my bra...and couldn’t find the pouch.

  I looked at him in horror. “Slash, I...” I couldn’t finish the sentence. My voice choked up. After all this, I’d lost the spores. I had screwed up the plan. This time it was all my fault. I could feel the tears coming and I hated that. I was about to scream, apologize, cry, or all of them at the same time when Slash leaned forward and kissed me. I kissed him back because it was better than explaining how sorry I was. When I felt him reaching down my shirt, I pulled back. He smiled as he raised his hand with Arthur’s pouch.

  “It was sticking out the side of your bra. I could see the outline of it against your shirt. Forgive me?”

  I was so happy he had the vial, I threw my arms around his neck. “Oh, I do. Thank God.”

  “Si, we should. Thank God, that is.” He lowered his voice further. “Now ask Elvis if we were in time. Did they upload the document?”

  I pulled out my phone and texted the question to Elvis. He sent back one word. Negative.

  I looked up at Slash, relief flooding me. “We did it.”

  Relief crossed his face. “Excellent.” He steered me down a sidewalk, then into an alley.

  “Are you sure Gwen and Zizi are going to be okay?” I was out of breath, still shaking a bit from my close escape and completely lost in terms of where we were in relation to the hotel. But I trusted he knew where we were going. He was good like that.

  “Zizi and Gwen should be able to slip away safely,” he said. “Luckily, the police are not there to arrest the girls anyway. The jihadists will assume that the police are coming for the catfight, when in fact they are coming on an anonymous tip to arrest those responsible for a major art heist from the Egyptian Museum.”

  “Do you think the police will find the artifact under the bed?”

  “I guarantee you, they will tear that place apart until they find something. The Egyptians are pretty serious about antiquity thefts and these guys won’t have much of an alibi. If nothing else, they will be detained for some time while they sort it out, I suspect.”

  I stopped and then leaned over to kiss him again. “You’re amazing, you know that, right? I never would have thought ahead to planting that statue on those guys.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself.” He lifted an eyebrow. “I seem to recall someone other than me shimmying in through that window and saving the day.”

  “You’re right. We make a good team.”

  He kissed the top of my head as we started walking again. “We certainly do.”

  I slid an arm around his waist. “So, now that we have a bit of breathing room before the next crisis—and I sincerely hope that’s true—there’s something important I have to tell you. No more secrets between us. It’s something I discovered.”

  Slash paused and looked at me with thoughtful brown eyes. “What is it, cara?”

  Without hesitation, I told him.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  We made a couple of important detours before return
ing to the Marriott, which meant we got back about two hours after Zizi and Gwen had already arrived.

  As soon as we entered the suite, Gwen barreled over, giving me a huge hug while Elvis high-fived me and Slash. I didn’t even mind. Much.

  Arthur grabbed his laptop from Slash in happiness, hugging it tightly to his chest.

  “You retrieved the laptop.” Arthur’s smile was huge. “You really did. What about the spores?”

  “We got those, too, thank goodness. It was true team effort.” I tapped on the laptop case he was still squeezing. “However, I’m afraid you’re going to have to turn that over to me again for a short time. I have to offload and then delete that file as a precaution. You okay with that?”

  “Are you sure no one was able to download my or Gwen’s notes?”

  “I’m sure.”

  Arthur handed back the laptop to me without protest. “Then good work, team.”

  I glanced over at Gwen. “So, how was the fight? From my vantage point, it looked like you guys were really going at it.”

  “We were.” Gwen put her thumb out toward Zizi. “She’s an incredible actress and almost made me believe we were fighting.”

  Zizi smiled. “You did just fine.”

  Gwen beamed. “You know, Zizi. I wasn’t sure about you at first. But you’re not only gorgeous, you’re pretty darn smart. All of which means I may have to start a new fan forum for kick-ass women microbiologists.”

  To my surprise, a faint blush crossed Zizi’s cheeks. “Well, I do have to say this has been, by far, the most exciting week of my life. It was my pleasure, not to mention civic duty, to assist you in this important endeavor.” She glanced over at Slash. “But where’s the staff and the spores?”

  “In a safe place for the moment,” he answered. “We couldn’t stroll past security with the staff. But what’s more important is what we discovered in the staff.”

  Arthur’s mouth dropped open. “You managed to open it?”