Before he could put his hand on the door handle, Orla was there, helping him out and sliding her shoulder under his arm for support.
Sam wasn’t that unsteady, but something softened inside him at her gesture and the concern in her eyes. She gave him the briefcase, and they made their way inside the secured zone.
He spotted Devin standing by his computer, rapidly typing code before turning his attention to them. His expression contained annoyance and anger until he saw them and rushed forward. “Damn, man! Are you all right? Did the bullets penetrate?”
Sam didn’t have time to answer before Devin produced a chair and made him sit.
Orla looked at Devin with a frown, probably sifting through a catalog of faces until he saw it click. “You’re Devin Curtis, right?”
Sam glared at her question although he knew she couldn’t see his face. Devin didn’t say anything and unhooked the upper part of his suit until he had a clear view of his torso. As Sam drew a deeper breath free from his armor, he knew what he’d see were bruises. His ribs were tender, but as he relaxed and the pain lowered a notch, it didn’t feel as if anything was broken.
Devin leaned back on his haunches and exhaled. “Damn, man. You had me scared for a minute. Do you know how many times you were hit? You’re going to resemble the purple Teletubby in an hour or so.” And then his friend turned to Orla. “I hope you, and what you know are worth it, lady. For your sake.”
Sam smiled at Devin’s vehement tone. They were a team composed of people working on the other side of the law, but they were a tight unit.
Orla wasn’t the type of woman to cower when accused, not even when she was at a disadvantage. “Hey! I’m in the same fucking boat as you guys. And at least I’m doing it officially; you’d better think again before accusing me of having ulterior motives or not being all in. Especially since I know who you are.”
Devin unfolded his tall frame until he towered over Orla. The billionaire hacker wasn’t the biggest in size, but Sam knew looks could be deceiving. He wasn’t the nerdy-nerd he appeared to be, far from it. “I’m not the type of man to respond amicably to threats, Ms. Karlsen. If I were you, I’d be very careful about what you say next. I’ve allowed you to see my face, but know I didn’t do it lightly, and I have the means to destroy you, your finances, your work, and your reputation if you ever leak this information.”
From her expression, Sam could tell Orla was about to grind her teeth to dust and wasn’t going to give Devin an inch. Trying to diffuse the tension, he stood with a groan. “Guys, we’re fighting a common enemy. Orla won’t publish your name. Devin won’t sully your name. Now, can we get to the part where we open this briefcase, and I can go lie down for a bit?”
The effect was immediate, breaking the tension. Devin nodded at him and took the briefcase to his workspace. Orla moved to his side and touched Sam’s arm. The direct contact with his skin produced a spike of awareness, and he wanted more. However, more pressing things needed to be addressed, and he crossed to where Devin was examining the briefcase. “How can we be sure they won’t be able to detect the signal in here and tell the guys after us where we are?”
Devin snorted, not looking away from the task at hand. “We’re under so much concrete; there’s no way the signal can get through it. And I built this place with extra precautions, installed special deflectors, so when technology changes, we’ll still have an edge.”
Devin pulled over a chair for Sam to sit and royally ignored Orla. Knowing Devin’s temperament, Sam knew it would take some time before the hacker warmed up to her.
Orla snarled and grabbed a chair, dragging it over the concrete floor in passive-aggressive vengeance.
“There are painkillers in the bathroom, but if you want something stronger, I can get you anything you need. Or call the doc.”
“Please, no. If she’s notified of this, there’ll be hell to pay. And I’m okay. I’ll lay off the painkillers until we know what’s inside that thing.” And Sam hoped they’d find something useful inside.
“Won’t those guys know where we are anyway? If they followed the GPS, they might find footage of us entering the garage.”
Devin huffed. “I control every single feed or camera in the area. Now, just shut up, will you?”
Sam sighed and forced himself to stand and move before his muscles completely seized. The pain was manageable, but he couldn’t wait to remove the rest of his outfit and mask, take a shower, and grab a couple of hours of shut-eye while he could. This place was one of the few locations secure enough for him to relax.
It took Sam a second to notice Orla had followed him, which meant his body and brain was in need of rest before it shut down. And from the look on Orla’s face, she wasn’t far off collapsing either.
“We’ll stay until sundown and work from here. It’s the only place I can guarantee you’re safe.”
Orla shook her head, which wasn’t surprising. “I was disguised when I went to the party; they won’t recognize me.”
“Agreed, but the GPS led them directly to your apartment. If they have half our means, they already have your name, profession, picture, and bra size on file. They only have to wait for you to reappear to snatch you.”
“I won’t stay here waiting. The more we wait, the less time we have to find and stop Phantom from spreading. If they’re still on plan, distribution is supposed to start tonight.”
Sam nodded. “I know. But wandering the streets without knowing who to search for and where to look will be for nothing. As for starting tonight, I suspect the organization halted the moment Mr. Black was taken away and possibly kidnapped.”
“We go to Maximon and start our search there. We can go now.”
He wasn’t surprised she was fearless. “What? You’re going to barge in there telling everyone you’re a journalist and you want to talk to the president? Think. You’re good at that. Unless we find something worthy in that briefcase, we need to wait.”
Sam skimmed his fingers across her cheek, unable to help himself. “When did you eat last? And your eyes are bloodshot. You need to sleep. A couple of hours won’t change anything. Take the chance at rest while you can, because once we leave here, nothing is certain and we’d better be ready.”
Rubbing her eyes, Sam saw how her fatigue was slowly convincing her he was offering the most sensible solution.
