Chapter 28 #2
My eyes widened. “I think she can smell us,” I said in a low voice.
Ginger trotted along the fence line, right to the section nearest the trees. She stopped there, staring, ears flicking, body tense.
Mr. Skinny cursed at her. “What are you doing, stupid? Get on with it.”
“She’s always like this,” Mr. Whiny complained, clutching his coat tighter to his torso. “Never behaving. Always doing her own thing. It’ll be good to get rid of her. All of them. It can’t come soon enough for me. I’m cashing in and getting out of here.”
Mr. Skinny grunted and stomped his feet. “Come on, dogs, it’s cold out here. You have exactly one minute to finish your business or hold it for eternity, for all I care.”
Ginger didn’t move. She kept her eyes on the tree line right where we were hiding. On me. We didn’t dare move.
Mr. Skinny marched toward the dogs. “I mean it, I’m not standing out here freezing for you dumb dogs.” He stopped near Ginger and I tensed. “Not even for you. Do your business or not, princess. I don’t care.”
“I’m done. Let’s bring them in,” Mr. Whiny said. “Starting with her.” He pointed at Ginger.
The two men opened the building door and then fanned out to trap Ginger between them. The rest of the dogs ran inside, except for Ginger and Tootsie.
Barbie put both hands over her mouth and sucked in her breath. I wasn’t even sure I was breathing.
Mr. Skinny was the closest, so he reached for her collar. A sharp yelp tore out of him as Ginger clamped down on his fingers and released just as fast. He staggered back, clutching his hand.
“She bit me,” he screeched. “She’s never done that before. What’s wrong with her?”
Unfortunately, the distraction was enough to let Mr. Whiny grab Ginger by the collar. I started to surge forward again, but Gray kept her firm grip on my arm.
“Stay down, Lexi,” she hissed at me. “I mean it.”
It wasn’t easy, but I stayed where I was.
“You’d better be on your best behavior, missy,” Mr. Whiny said, snapping a leash on Ginger’s collar.
“Al-Rashid expects you to put on a stellar show tomorrow morning and so do we.” He dragged her toward the door and Tootsie cautiously followed behind.
“If you screw up your debut, you screw us. If that happens, you’re done.
Kaput. Finished. I’ll put you down myself and enjoy it while I do it. ”
My vision tunneled in anger and I tightened my fists.
“Damn, I’m bleeding,” Mr. Skinny said, still holding his hand to his stomach. “She’s a menace.”
Still talking among themselves, they hauled Ginger back inside with little Tootsie following. The door slammed shut behind them. For a moment, none of us spoke.
Gwen’s eyes were bright with fury. “They’re treating her like a piece of equipment.”
“I’m glad Ginger bit of one of them,” Gwen said grimly. “I feel like biting them myself.”
“At least they’re alive,” Barbie’s said, her expression a mixture of tears, disbelief, and joy. “Both of them. My Tootsie is alive. I’d given up all hope.”
I forced myself to calm down and think. Anger had to wait. Strategy and planning was the only way we were going to help the dogs and whatever else they had cooped up in there.
Before I could say anything, Barbie spoke, her eyes still glittering.
“I’ve spent twenty years trying to put this company and those bastards in the ground.
And now I find myself standing in the woods near my mortal enemy’s lab with three women who claim to be at a bachelorette party but who operate like they’re a special forces unit.
I’m an investigative reporter, and I know there’s a lot more going on here.
But damn it, right now, I don’t even care. I’m just so grateful for you.”
She took a breath and then pointed a finger at me. “You. You must be some kind of genius, hacking into a high-tech lab in the woods with nothing more than your brain and a laptop balanced on your knees. How can you do that?”
“Their firmware is weak, and they have a security system I’m already familiar with?” I said, shrugging.
She glanced at Gray and Gwen for corroboration.
When they didn’t give up anything else, Barbie sighed.
“Fine. Keep your secrets. At this point, all I really care about is that we’re on the same side.
But I’m done watching. I want my dog back and this lab shut down for good.
I’ve got more resources than you might expect, and I’m ready to use them.
Let’s get on with whatever we need to do to make that happen. ”
I nodded. “We’re definitely on the same page and the same side. This trip was productive. Give me a few more minutes to penetrate the Wi-Fi through the security system and install a back door so I can get in quickly later.”
I sat on an old log, hardly noticing the cold on my backside. My fingers flew as I split my brain. Half working on the hack, the other half spiraling over worry about Ginger and what I was going to do when I got my hands on those lab losers.
When I finished, I turned to the others, who were waiting patiently for me.
“Done. At least we have learned that someone named Al-Rashid is coming tomorrow morning to see Ginger. We have confirmation that she’s alive and in the lab.
Tootsie, too, although that one was a surprise.
We also know that the lab apparently feels threatened enough by Barbie that they stole her dog.
Momentum is on our side, even if time is not.
So, like Barbie suggested, let’s get out of here and figure out our next steps. ”