Chapter 9
ALEX
Alex shifted in his seat, his features pinching as the alarm continued to blare. The loud klaxon hurt his ears, making his temples thud in time with its rhythmic wail.
He shared a worried glance with Kyle.
Across the desk, Vanessa raised a finger in the air. “Just a second, I’ll check on this. We just had a false alarm the other day. I’ll bet it’s just another malfunction,” she said, rising and heading for the door.
Alex licked his lips, recalling the so-called false alarm being less than a malfunction and more of a manipulation on his part.
If only he’d figured out another way to have found the program they needed, Ava wouldn’t be here right now risking her life.
He cursed Chris for bringing her here. The man couldn’t be trusted, and Alex needed to be rid of him.
Alex’s fingers curled into fists as he tried to imagine a Chris-free world, a wonderful place where only he and Ava existed. His eyes slid sideways…and Kyle.
He twisted in his seat, glancing at Vanessa as she spoke with someone else. Her features pinched before she nodded and scurried into her office, closing the door behind her.
“Okay,” she said with what appeared to be a nervous smile as she dashed back to her desk on her too-high heels.
“False alarm?” Kyle asked.
Vanessa plopped into her seat, adjusting a notepad on her desk before she shifted her pencil cup. “Uh, no. This one appears to be real. We’re in a lock down right now until it’s sorted out.”
Alex’s heart rose into his throat. Real? It had to be Ava. She’d probably attempted to reach the server room. Had they caught her?
His stomach clenched into a tight knot as he imagined her surrounded by armed guards. His mind conjured images of them slamming her against the wall as they roughly wrangled her arms behind her into handcuffs.
They wouldn’t call the police, either. They’d handle this privately. He would never see Ava again.
“Uh, no,” Alex said with a shake of his head, leaping from his seat. He couldn’t be stuck in here now.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Vanessa said with a broad smile that looked fake. “The security here is excellent. This will all be sorted out in no time.”
“Well, I am going to go back home while they sort it out because I can’t be locked in here,” Alex said, pacing the floor.
“He’s claustrophobic,” Kyle answered with a chuckle. “Extremely. The minute he thinks he can’t get out of somewhere, he just panics.”
Kyle rose from his seat, blocking Alex’s pacing. “Nice deep breaths, buddy. Remember what the doctor said.”
“I’m not…” Alex growled through clenched teeth before he shook his head. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but he had to get out of this room so he could search for answers, maybe even hack into the security feeds and find Ava. He just couldn’t be stuck here. He hoped Kyle would pick up on the ruse.
“Oh, there’s plenty of air. I mean, we’re not on a lockdown that shuts off any of the power or air systems.”
“Nope, it’s not that. I just need to get out of here.” Alex gripped the back of the chair, worry coursing through him. Could he hack into the security system from his phone?
“Well, unfortunately, you can’t. When VoltTech locks down, they mean it. Elevators won’t work–”
“I’ll take the stairs,” Alex answered as he stepped toward the door. “Kyle, let’s go.”
“Uhhh, you can’t do that.” Vanessa rose and scurried to block the door. “No one is allowed in the halls right now. And they’re not going to let you out anyway. No one is allowed to leave during a lockdown.”
“Fine. I just…” Alex licked his lips, squeezing his eyes closed. “I need a second. Is there a men’s room?”
“Again, you’re really not supposed to be in the hallways during a lockdown.”
“I’m going to lose it if I can’t get to the restroom. I need to splash some cold water onto my face to try to calm down.”
“Uh, okay,” Vanessa said with a wince, “let me just notify the guard that you’re going.”
“With me,” Kyle answered. “Just in case he has a medical episode.”
“Right,” Vanessa said with a crinkled brow. She pulled open her door and stuck her head into the hall.
She waved a hand, and they were soon joined by an armed guard.
“Uh, Mr. Stone and Mr. Carter–”
“Dr. Carter,” Kyle answered as he cleared his throat. “I may be a headhunter, but I am also a medical doctor. Double threat.”
Vanessa wrinkled her nose at him, fluttering her eyelashes. “Right. Uh, Mr. Stone and Dr. Carter need to be escorted to the men’s room.”
The man bobbed his head and waved his fingers, motioning for them to follow him.
They stepped into the hall, wandering behind the man as he led them forward.
“So, uh, something serious going on, huh?” Kyle asked.
“Lockdown,” he answered in a single word.
Kyle shot Alex a glance, tugging back one corner of his lips. “Right, lockdown. Which seems serious. Any idea what’s going on?”
“Nope,” the man answered before he motioned to a dark wood door emblazoned with the word MEN’S.
“Thanks,” Kyle said. “Come on in, buddy. Let’s get some cold water onto your face and see if that helps with the nausea.”
Alex pushed into the bathroom with Kyle following him. He turned on the water, bending over the sink as he pretended to prepare to splash the water onto his face.
As the door clicked quietly shut, he twisted to Kyle. “Ohhhhh, this is terrible, dude.”
“Tell me about it. And we’re locked in the office with that crazy woman.”
Alex screwed up his face. “She’s not crazy.”
“Dude, she’s crazy. She seriously thinks she has a shot with you, and we all know that’s not true.”
“Of course, it isn’t.” Alex answered with a shake of his head.
“And I don’t think we’re going to see anything from Project Eclipse. This is all just a ploy.”
“That is where I do not agree,” Alex said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “I think she may show us something, but with this lockdown happening, maybe not for a while.”
“No way, dude. She’s playing you.”
“How is she playing me?” Alex tapped on his phone, navigating to the VoltTech site. “She needs to show me something impressive if she wants any chance to be hired by StoneCorp.”
“I think she thinks she’s already shown you something impressive enough.”
Alex frowned as he attempted to break the complicated security protocols with only his phone. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Uhh, if you hadn’t noticed, allow me to draw your attention to the massive amounts of cleavage she’s been flashing. I mean, I’ve seen way more than I wanted to.”
“So, she’s going to get hired over her cleavage? Does she think I’m that stupid.”
“Yeah,” Kyle answered. “She does. She thinks you’re probably some tech geek who has always fantasized about having the hot girl, and now you can flex your CEO-muscles and score big.”
Alex growled as he failed to access the security cameras. “I have the hot girl. But maybe not for long.”
His stomach clenched tighter with every second.
Ava wasn’t supposed to be here, tangled up in this mess.
She should be somewhere safe, not risking her life because of my dumb plan.
What if she was already in too deep? What if I lose her because I couldn’t see another way?
The knot in his chest twisted tighter as his fingers flew over his phone.
He couldn’t let that happen. “I have a terrible feeling that Ava is downstairs mixed up in this whole thing right now.”
Kyle tugged his phone from his pocket. “It does seem like a rather odd coincidence, doesn’t it.”
“What are you doing?”
Kyle pressed his phone to his ear. “Calling Shadow.”
“Do you think…” Alex’s heart skipped a beat. “Wait, maybe he’s the one who is going to be killed by the security guards.”
Alex pressed his ear against Kyle’s phone as the line trilled. Kyle pulled away from him, toggling on the speakerphone before he turned on the hand dryer and another sink.
“Doc, I’m a little busy right now, and…what is that noise?”
“We’re hiding in the bathroom at VoltTech, and I didn’t want your voice to alert the armed guard standing right outside.”
“Wait, what?” Sebastian asked. “How are you at VoltTech?”
“Vanessa asked Alex to come back here so she could show him something impressive. I came with. We’re stuck in here because they’re in some sort of lockdown.”
“Please tell me that this has nothing to do with Ava,” Alex chimed in.
He held his breath as he waited to hear the answer.
“Uh, sorry, no-can-do,” Sebastian answered. “Ava is right in the thick of things. She’s downstairs trying to get into that server room. But once she gets there, she may need an assist from you.”
“Uhhh, no-can-do myself here, bro. I’m literally trapped in a bathroom.” He pointed his fist against the button of the hand dryer to restart it.
“Where are you?” Sebastian asked.
Alex’s eyebrows rose as his jaw dropped open. “Umm, what part of trapped in a bathroom did you not get?”
“Which bathroom, genius?” Sebastian barked. “I’ll try to find a way out in the floor plans.”
“Oh, uh, fourth floor men’s room near the elevators.”
“Give me a second,” Sebastian answered.
Kyle shifted his weight from foot to foot as they waited.
“Are you on my laptop right now?” Alex asked.
“I am,” Sebastian said. “Thanks for hacking in.”
“Don’t mess anything up.”
Sebastian answered with a heavy sigh. “Okay, umm, do you see an air vent on the back wall?”
Alex twisted around, his eyes searching for a large grate. He spotted it above the last stall. “Yep, got it.”
“Open it and crawl in. You’re about to escape this lockdown.”
Alex swallowed hard as he glanced at Kyle. He wasn’t the adventurous type, but they didn’t have much other choice. They needed to get to Ava quickly.
“Okay, uh, so, it’s screwed to the wall,” Alex said.
“Improvise. Don’t you have a coin or something?” Sebastian asked.
“Ew.” Alex grimaced as he glanced at the phone. “Do you know how many germs are on money? I don’t carry any cash at all.”
“Doc?” Sebastian said.
“Sorry, no coins. Uhhh, looking for something else to improvise with.” Kyle dug into his pockets. “Uh, I have a mint, a pen, and my wallet…oh, wait!”
Kyle shoved the useless items into his pocket before digging a credit card out from his wallet and handing it to Alex. “Try this.”
Alex grabbed it and lined it up against the first screw before he pulled it away, his features pinched. “This says Grant Harrington.”
“Yeah. It’s Dad’s.” Kyle stared blankly at him.
“You…I’m not going to ask.”
“I just borrowed it. I needed a few things. And he’s not even going to notice. He buys cars like other people buy candy.” Kyle lifted a shoulder. “Plus, if it breaks while you’re using it as a rudimentary screwdriver, no harm, no foul, right?”
Alex pressed his lips together, lining up the card again. He grunted, twisting it harder—finally, the screw started to give. He shot a glance at Kyle, and they both lit up with excitement. The door squeaked open, and both of their eyes went wide.
“Alex? Are you okay?” Vanessa called.
“Uhh…”
Kyle shook his head, letting his tongue loll out of his mouth.
Alex bobbed his head, his heart hammering. “I mean—ohhh, gosh. Oh, I think I’m gonna throw up again.”
“Just let it come up, buddy. There can’t be much more of that salad in there. Uh, Vanessa, he’s pretty sick. Maybe give us about twenty minutes.”
“Right. Is there anything I can get you?”
“Nope,” Kyle said. “Nothing. It just needs to work itself out.”
“Oh okay,” she called.
Kyle motioned for Alex to hurry. Alex shifted the credit card from one screw to the next until he’d stripped them all from the grate.
With Kyle’s help, they pulled the grate from the wall, both of them wincing as it screeched against the metal of the air vent.
They eased it to the floor below before they peered into the metal tube. Alex swallowed hard, his real claustrophobia kicking in this time. But he had to do it. He had to crawl into that vent. For Ava. And for the rest of their lives.