No Test for the Wicked: A Lexi Carmichael Mystery, Book Five (11 page)

Elvis squeezed my hand. His face was deathly pale. “They must have tried the badge and it didn’t work. They can’t get in.”

“Yet.”

“Yes, yet.”

I crawled out from beneath the keyboard and began typing in the system’s admin account.

“You got a plan?” Elvis asked, following me.

“Sort of. I’m creating a back door to the main system. If we get out of here alive, we may need it. If they take control of the system, they’re likely to change up the passwords and lock everyone out.”

“True.”

“This will give us an in.”

My fingers were shaking as I typed. Elvis put a hand on my shoulder when I finished. “Good work. My turn.”

He maneuvered through the system so quickly I wasn’t sure what he had done.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Notified the police. Planted a little bug. No time for more. The bug won’t stop them, but I’m not certain how to best sabotage a system I don’t even know. I’m not even sure it would be wise at this point. But it will prove to be a bit of a nuisance if someone takes over the system. We might be able to slow down their plan a bit via that back door of yours, providing we survive this.”

I swallowed my panic. “Elvis, what are we going to do? We’ve got to get out of this room.”

He looked around. “How? We’re on the third floor and there are no windows. Even worse, there are adversaries on the other side of that door trying to figure out how to get in here. I’ll be brutally honest and say things are not looking good for us.”

I glanced around the room and then tore off my sweater. “Elvis, get naked.”

His eyes widened. “
What
?”

“Take off your clothes now. Down to your underwear. That’ll be enough to do it.”

He backed up against the desk. “Lexi, I know you think we might die, but...”

I reached for him, putting my hands on his hips. “You are perfect.”

I pulled up his sweater, yanking the shirt beneath it apart and sending buttons flying all across the room. “Strip. Now. No time for discussion.”

I unzipped my plaid skirt and stepped out of it. Elvis still stood there, staring at me in complete shock.

“Elvis, hurry. Please, just take off your clothes.”

He blinked and then kicked off his shoes. After a moment, he fumbled with his pants, pushing them down.

I stopped, staring at him. “Is that a reindeer on your underwear?”

His cheeks colored. “It’s Christmas.”

I squinted. “That’s a really red nose.”

He crossed his hands in front of the reindeer. “Look, Lexi, while I have thought about this, quite a lot actually, this isn’t the way I imagined it would happen. Especially not within moments of death by terrorists, and especially not while in this underwear. Still, there’s something you should know before we...”

I pulled off my sweater and the polo underneath, leaving me in nothing more than my bra, panties and green knee socks. “Elvis, please hurry.”

His face turned bright red. “Wait. You’re entitled to know before... Oh, hell, I’ll just say it. I’m a virgin, okay? I’m pretty nervous right now for a multitude of reasons—not to mention the guys with guns out there. So while
theoretically
I know what to do, I’m just not sure how I’ll perform under this kind of pressure.”

I froze. “What?”

“I know it’s rather surprising. The virgin part, I mean. Well, maybe it’s not
that
surprising, but—”

“Elvis, I’m
not
propositioning you. I’ve got a plan.”

His mouth fell open. “A plan?”

I strode over to the tall, thin vertical closet that held all the computer wires. I yanked open the door.

“We’re going in here.”

“Whoa.” He pulled his pants back up and walked over to look. “There is no way we’ll both fit in there.”

“We will. But it will be tight. Really,
really
tight. Just eyeballing it, taking into account the width of your hips and mine, we can do it. But the closet is only twenty-five by twenty-two, which is why we have to strip down to almost nothing. It’s our only option.”

“Are you nuts? We won’t fit. You have to account for the cables. You go in there alone. I’ll stay out here and distract them if they come in.”

“There’ll be no distraction and we both know it. I did account for the cables. We’ll fit. Please, you’ve got to trust me and my math. I won’t go in without you, Elvis. I just won’t. So, either we go in together or we stay out here together. The key word is together, okay?”

“Okay.”

He pulled off his pants. Thankful, I grabbed them and stuffed them in my backpack, pushing it as far under the desk as it would go.

For a moment we stood face-to-face—me clad in my bra, undies and knee socks and Elvis in his reindeer underwear and socks. Normally, I’d be embarrassed but there wasn’t time, and besides, this was my best friend.

I took his hand, pulling him to the closet. “Okay. I’m going in first. You come in next. Try to put your legs, arms and anything else you can in a space that isn’t already occupied by my body. Got it?”

He nodded, a lock of brown hair falling over one eye. “Okay, got it.”

I climbed in and then motioned for him to follow. He inhaled and then stepped inside. Instantly, he was pressed so tightly against me that I could barely breathe. My back smashed uncomfortably against a bunch of cables. Elvis shifted his position slightly so he straddled my right thigh, but he had no place to angle his hips except squarely against mine.

There was no ceiling to the closet. It was open to the room, mostly for cooling purposes. That was good because it let light into the space, but bad because we couldn’t make even the tiniest of noises or we would be heard.

Elvis’s head was to the left of me, but my chin rested on his shoulder, my hair falling against his bare chest. He had lifted his arms and placed them on either side of my head, his fingers splayed out. Our torsos and chests were smashed together so hard that taking a breath was painful. His breath warmed my cheek and shoulder and I could feel every inch of him on me, including the part that now pressed hard against my inner thigh. My cheeks heated. He must’ve been feeling just as mortified, but I couldn’t think about that now. We were doing what had to be done to survive.

Elvis managed to close the door. We were so squished I could feel it each time he tried to take a breath.

“You’re right,” he whispered. “We fit. Barely. There’s no lock on the inside, but at least there’s a small handle.”

“We’ll have to hold on to it as if our lives depend on it,” I whispered back. “Especially since they do.”

I wiggled my arm and inched it toward his. My fingers closed over his on the handle. “We’ve got this. No one will think to look in here.”

His breath warmed the side of my neck.

“Lexi, this is a crazy idea.”

“It’s our
only
idea.”

He managed a smile. “True. But it’s going to be really embarrassing if the police find us asphyxiated and smashed in here together without our clothes on.”

I wished I could pat his back reassuringly, but I couldn’t move. “I’m not embarrassed.”

“Well, you didn’t just announce you were a virgin.”

“That’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I wasn’t exactly experienced either...until recently.”

We froze when we heard a noise. Gunfire. They were finally blasting the door open. I tensed as I heard a loud crash, the chatter of voices and footsteps walking toward us.

The terrorists were in.

My heart pounded. I was sure Elvis could feel it. My eyes met his. He smiled and mouthed,
We’ve got this
.

My fingers tightened on his as the footsteps got closer. A hundred thoughts raced through my head. Had I pushed the backpack far enough under the table? Was my rent paid through the month? Would Slash miss me? If I died, would my mother dress me in some pink, frilly dress for my funeral? Jeez, why hadn’t I specified my final dress code in my will? Wait! Did I even
have
a will?

The footsteps stopped and the chair scraped across the floor. Whoever it was had decided to sit down at the computer terminal in the Server Room. I heard the tap of someone typing on the keyboard. My fingers squeezed Elvis’s so hard I was surprised he didn’t wince. I closed my eyes.

“What the hell is this?”

I recognized the voice. Willem Jouret.

A second accented voice I didn’t recognize answered. “What the hell is what?”

“Someone has been fooling with the system again. Damn kids. They’ve been jacking it up. That’s probably why the access code got all screwed up.”

“Can you fix it?”

“Of course I can fix it. But it’s going to take some time.”

“We don’t have a lot of time.”

“I said I could do it. You worry about your part and let me worry about mine. Let me check the cables first.”

Elvis’s fingers tightened over mine as the footsteps approached the closet. I squeezed my eyes shut and wished I knew an appropriate prayer.

We were about to be toast.

Chapter Sixteen

Static crackled and a garbled voice spoke. The footsteps moved away from the closet.

“Yes, Computer Central is secure,” Jouret said into what must have been a walkie-talkie. I heard popping noises and screaming. My horrified gaze met Elvis’s.

The other voice on the walkie-talkie was barely audible over all the noise. “Damn, we’ve got early company. Be my eyes. What do you see?”

I heard more tapping and figured Jouret was checking the security cameras on the exterior. “They’re already here. That was fast. I see at least three police cars out front with two figures already exiting the vehicles. I figure we’ve got about two minutes before we’ve got company at the front door.”

“Then get your ass down here. We’ll need everyone down here until we have the kids under control.”

“Roger.” The chair scraped across the floor and something hit the table with a crash. “Let me get my mask. Can’t have anyone recognizing me. Come on, we’ve got to give them a hand.”

Footsteps pounded and then silence.

I waited a full minute before I exhaled and pressed my lips against Elvis’s ear. “They’re gone.”

We remained still for another minute until we were sure no one else was around. The cables were burning into my back. Elvis looked equally as uncomfortable with sweat beading on his chest. Finally he shifted his leg. It caused his hips to press even more tightly against mine, until I could feel every bump and curve of him nestled between my legs.

His face reddened. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I was getting a cramp.”

“It’s okay. What should we do?”

“The security company must have gotten your message. I don’t think the gunmen were expecting the police so quickly. This may be our chance to escape.”

“Do we risk it?”

“We can’t stay in here forever. If they’re busy rounding up people and securing the physical perimeter, this may be our best chance.”

“Okay.”

Elvis began to wiggle against me so he could maneuver his way out. At one point his mouth was so close to mine, I could feel his breath on my lips. He stilled and I had the strangest feeling that he intended to kiss me.

Then the moment passed and he managed to shift his hips and fall out of the closet. I stepped out after him, shaking my limbs to get the circulation back.

“Hurry. Grab the backpack.” He snatched his coat off the back of one of the chairs and then shoved it at me. “Put it on.”

I shoved my arms into the coat, then pointed at the desk. “Elvis, look. They brought their own laptops.” I pointed to the desk where a laptop had been opened, but not yet plugged in. Two more laptops encased in black, leather carry bags were lying on the ground. Elvis picked one up and slung it over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re going to fight fire with fire.”

My eyes widened. “What? Are you sure that’s a good plan? When they see one missing, they’ll know they’ve got renegades. They’ll hunt us.”

“Maybe. But this is our best lead as to what is going on here. I think the risk is worth it.”

I considered. “Okay. Agreed.”

I yanked my backpack out from under the desk. Elvis already stood by the door with the laptop bag over his shoulder.

“Watch your step,” he whispered.

Debris and twisted metal had been scattered everywhere when they shot open the door. I wiggled my toes and glanced at his. Getting naked didn’t seem like such a good idea now. I shivered and pulled his coat tighter around me.

He dared a quick peek into the hallway. “It’s clear. Where to?”

“The Weather Station is a couple of rooms down. Let’s go there and regroup.”

“Seeing as how I have no better alternative, it sounds like a plan.”

I had never been so glad
not
to be alone.

I took a quick look both ways and dashed down the hallway. Elvis was close on my heels. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure it could be heard three floors down. I slid sideways in my socks, skidding to a stop in front of the door. The room was dark, so I took that as a good sign. I pressed on the handle and the door swung open. We stepped into a blessedly empty room.

My heart still thudding, I clicked the door shut and locked it, turning to survey the Weather Lab.

“Nice setup,” Elvis said softly.

I hadn’t been in this classroom before. It looked a lot like the other science labs with lab desks and stools. This lab also had several expensive-looking pieces of weather equipment. An electronic maximum-minimum temperature sensor sat on a side table across from an aneroid barometer. The walls were covered with white scrolls of paper with weather data, and someone had hung a handmade sling psychrometer near the window. The room was neat, with no open books or scattered papers, so I assumed there had been no class in session when the shooters came.

I crept to the window and peered out. I could see at least a half dozen police cars and assorted security personnel running around the perimeter. Their presence was comforting.

I jumped when a voice came on over the intercom system.

“Attention police and security personnel. Please be advised that the school is now secure. Do not, I repeat, do not try to access the building. Precautions, including explosive devices, have been taken to prevent your entry. We have over two hundred hostages and will kill two for every attempt made to enter the building. We are willing to negotiate for their lives. For now we have two simple demands. One, power should not be cut to the building. If electricity is cut, one student will be shot for every five seconds the power is down. Second, do not interfere with our cyber communications. If at any time our connection goes down, gets slow or is interfered with, students will be shot. Further demands will be forthcoming.”

I exchanged a worried glance with Elvis. “What was that all about?”

“Don’t know yet. The official response to an active shooter scenario is an immediate breach by police. We learned that after Columbine. But apparently these guys want to make it clear this is a hostage situation and they are willing to negotiate. Totally different scenario.”

“So no immediate help is forthcoming.”

“I would say that’s a safe bet.”

“Jeez.”

He took me by the arm. “Come on, Lexi. Let’s go to the back of the room. There are shadows there and we’ll be better hidden. We don’t know when we might have company.”

I followed him to the back of the room, shivering.

Elvis took the backpack from me. “You’re cold.”

“Scared witless actually. But at least I have your coat on. You must be freezing in your boxers and socks.”

He shrugged. “Getting dressed wasn’t a priority until now. Besides, my coat looks better on you.”

“It smells like you.” Wait, I needed to try that again. “I meant that in a good way.”

“I figured. Glad to hear it.” He dug into the backpack and tossed me my skirt, polo shirt, and green sweater.

I pulled everything on and then pulled out my shoes. Elvis stood looking ruefully at his shirt. I’d ripped off several of the buttons trying to get it off him, so it gaped open.

“I’m sorry, Elvis. I ruined your shirt.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry. I’ve never had a woman rip my clothes off before. I, um, kind of liked it. Under different circumstances, I might have even loved it.”

Ooookay. Wasn’t sure what to make of that comment, but I couldn’t analyze it right now. Time to move on or we’d be discovered. I could stress out about it later, if we survived.

“Elvis, we have to find a hiding space in here in case they do another search.”

He glanced around the room. “These storage cabinets over there are big enough.” He began clearing out one of the lower cabinets. “We can both squeeze in here if we remove the equipment.”

He began arranging equipment on top of the counter, making it look like it belonged there. I helped. When we were done, there was just enough space for the two of us to sit with the doors closed.

I examined our cramped surroundings. “This isn’t much of a hiding space, but we have to work with what we’ve got.”

Elvis nodded. “I need time to check out this laptop.”

He booted it up and I tried to angle myself better so I could see what he was doing. The light from the screen seemed overly bright in the dark cabinet.

“It’s password protected,” I observed.

“As expected.”

“But we don’t have the software, or access to the software, to break it.”

He shifted and rooted around in his pocket. He pulled out his car keys and held them up.

“You’re going to start your car from here?”

“Glad to see terror has not robbed you of your humor.” He flicked his thumb against a flash drive. “I’ve got what we need.”

“Oh, please tell me you have decryption software on there.”

“I have decryption software on here. Actually brought a variety in case you changed your mind and gave me a crack at that file.”

“Elvis Zimmerman, you’re amazing.”

“Now you tell me.” He grinned and plugged in the flash drive. “Okay, this is going to take some time.”

“We seem to have a lot of it at the moment. At least I sincerely hope so.”

He set up the software and it started working. Now we waited.

I wiggled my feet, feeling the adrenaline rush subside and my brain begin to work on something other than my immediate survival. “Jouret was seriously pissed I changed the access code to the room. Just wait until he finds your bug.”

“Good. Pissed people make mistakes. We could use a little luck.”

“Agreed. But it’s not going to stop them.”

“No. I didn’t have time for anything that fancy.” He tapped something on the keyboard. “But it’ll rattle them, as did the police’s early arrival. We’ve already put a couple of crimps in their plan.”

I hugged my knees to my chin. “So, what do you think of their two initial demands? They can’t possibly believe the police won’t try to interfere with their communications. Given the way they’ve executed this operation so far, they aren’t stupid. They’ll know the NSA, CIA and everyone who is anyone in cybersecurity will be monitoring that connection six ways to Sunday.”

“They’ll encrypt, of course. I would venture a guess that your buddy, Mr. Jouret, has been busy crafting an impenetrable cyber fortress at the school to protect any electronic traffic. I suspect that’s what’s in the odd file on his desktop.”

“Agreed. So, you think he’s with the Veiled Knights?”

“He’s South African. I don’t see that as a coincidence.”

“True. We’ll have to figure out how that plays in. Still, even if these guys encrypt, they must know the FBI, CIA, NSA, DHS and everyone else will have the best minds working on that encryption.”

“It doesn’t matter. They won’t need the fortress to last forever. They just need it stay up for a short period of time. I guarantee you they’re on a tight timetable. They’ve made sure no one can get in from the outside, at least for a calculable amount of time.”

“But they don’t know about us inside.”

“No, they don’t, which gives us a tremendous advantage. If we can find out who these terrorists are and what the end game is, it might help us figure out what the Veiled Knights intend to get out of this.”

“But how can the two of us take on an entire army of terrorists?”

“With our brains. If we can remain undetected, we’ve got a fighting chance.”

I liked the quiet certainty in his voice. It made me feel safe and secure, at least as far as the situation warranted.

Elvis studied the laptop. “This is high-end equipment, which means their encryption software is likely to be good. It might take a bit longer than I’d expected. Good thing I brought the sophisticated stuff. I’m going to hit it with all I’ve got.”

“That seems like an excellent plan.”

I rotated my neck the best I could in our cramped quarters and tried to stretch out the kinks. “The police will know we’re in here. They will run all the license plates in the parking lot. They’ll know you’re here, too, Elvis.”

“Good. What about Slash? Does he know you’re here?”

“Yes. In fact, I sent him a request earlier today to run a trace on Jouret. It won’t take him long to piece that together. He’ll be all over that by now and, by extension, so will the police.”

“Do you think he’s out there now...in the parking lot somewhere?”

“I
know
he’s there. He’s probably setting up the command center and/or leading the encryption team. Either way, I’m pretty sure if we get out of this alive, he’s going to kill me.”

“Why?”

“He said trouble stalks me. He may be right. He specifically ordered me to stay out of restaurants, malls and public areas. In my defense, he didn’t say anything about schools.”

“I don’t think he can hold this against you. You were working.”

“I know. I guess he was right to worry about me. He’s right about a lot of things.” I pressed my ear to the cabinet and listened. “Elvis, I have an idea. There is a computer on the teacher’s desk. I think it’s time for me to take a look at what’s going on via the back door.”

He put a hand on my arm. “Wait. The terrorists are still likely to be doing sweeps. They may already be monitoring all online activity at the school and might be able to trace us directly to this classroom.”

“I know, but these early moments may be our only chance to get a good look while they’re still setting up stuff. I’m just going to take a quick peek. Nothing else.”

He considered. “Okay. Then
we’ll
both go.”

“Why? You don’t trust me?”

“I
do
trust you. More than anyone I have ever met. It’s just...dangerous.”

“Of course it’s dangerous. We’re trapped in a high school by a bunch of crazed terrorists. Don’t go all macho on me, okay?”

Before he could argue further, I opened the cabinet and fell out. I couldn’t hear any movement from the hallway. I came up on all fours, groaning as my legs cramped from being squished in the cabinet. Pushing up to a crouch, I glanced around the room, noting the computer stations. There were three computers set up in a cluster beneath the window and one at the teacher’s desk. I decided to take the teacher’s. I crept over to the desk, staying low.