“I know you will.” He takes the mug from my hands. “Now go get some sleep. You’re no good to anyone when you can’t think straight.”
I open my mouth to protest, before sighing and closing it. Maybe he’s right. A power nap wouldn’t hurt. It’s not like I can do anything while the program runs the new code.
“Yeah, maybe you're right,” I reluctantly agree, moving past him back to my room. Glancing at the computer, I don’t see any updates, so I decide to take Hawk’s advice and grab a quick nap. I don’t even bother to get undressed, collapsing onto the bed. I’m out before my head even hits the pillow.
A loud beeping noise interrupts the dead sleep I was in, making me groan. My eyes are so heavy, I don’t think I could open them if I tried. The noise infiltrates my foggy brain again, making me jolt upright.
I squint at the computer screen, unable to make out the blurry text as I fumble around on the mattress for my glasses. Finding them, I hurriedly slide them up my nose and fix my gaze once again on the screen as I rush across the room.
Taking a seat, I get to work, my eyes bouncing across the screen, unable to believe what I’m seeing. I did it. I motherfucking did it. A disbelieving laugh escapes me as my fingers fly across the keys.
“Guys!” I call out, unable to tear my eyes away from the lines of code in front of me long enough to share my good news with everyone else.
I hear footsteps as the guys come running.
“You’re in?” Excitement threads Hawk’s voice as he rushes into the room, and I hear the others close behind him.
“I am.” I’ve managed to find a back door access into the compound’s main system, meaning I can access their door codes and control the gates.
I feel everyone crowd around me as I continue to focus on the screen, working my way through the system. My brows furrow the more I search. “We might have a problem, though.” I huff out a breath, becoming frustrated when I can’t find what I’m looking for.
“What is it?” Cam asks, leaning in for a closer look, as if that will help him understand what he’s seeing on the screen. Based on the way his face scrunches in confusion, it doesn’t.
I groan in frustration, having gone through every nook and cranny I’ve gained access to. “I can change the door codes and lock down the facility, and I’ll be able to open the gates to get us in and out.”
“That all sounds like good news,” Mason says warily.
“Yeah, but I don’t have access to the cameras.”
“Why not?” Hawk’s voice is all business, ready to deal with this new setback.
I shake my head. “They’re not on here. They must not be connected to the internal system.” I run my hand through my hair in exasperation. “They must have the cameras hooked up to a remote network.”
“And you can’t just hack into that too?” Hawk asks.
“No.” I sigh. “Not without knowing what network it’s connected to.”
“The compound’s not connected to the same network as our parents' houses?”
“I don’t think so. I’m still trying to work through some highly encrypted pathways, but I haven’t found anything yet.”
“You’ll get there.” Hawk squeezes my shoulder. “This is great, West. Now we’ll be able to get into the compound and move around unobstructed.”
I give him a small smile, but I’m frustrated about the cameras. I’m desperate to get eyes on Hadley and reassure myself that she’s okay. Plus, being able to see inside the compound would enable us to pinpoint exactly where they’re holding her and allow us to keep tabs on each other once we’re inside. I have a bit more time to work on it, though. Beck won’t be back from Black Creek until later tonight, and it will take us a day or two to put a plan in place.
***
It's been two days since Beck came back from Black Creek. Fourteen days since Firefly disappeared, and nearly three weeks since I laid eyes on her. But tonight, all of that changes.
We’ve been chatting to Cain ever since, formulating a plan, and tonight’s the night we finally make our move. I’ve been through the company’s mainframe, and I know how to change the access codes and lockdown the whole compound. The whole place is set up similar to a prison, so that if there are any issues in one part of it, that area can be locked down until an override code is entered. Once we’re outside the gates, I’ll change the override code, and lock down the entire compound so we can get to Hadley without interference—assuming they are still holding her in the interrogation block. When we got back from the open day and told Beck where she was, he was surprised, claiming he’d only ever seen new recruits being held there, so it’s possible she’s been moved somewhere else since the open day, but we won’t know for sure until we get in there.
Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to gain access to the security cameras, so we’re going in blind, and I’ll need to find the control room as soon as possible to deactivate the cameras so no one will be able to track us, or sound the alarm.
Pulling up the map I drew of the compound—based on what we saw on the open day and Beck’s limited knowledge—on my tablet, I trail the route to the control room, and from there to the interrogation block.
“You’ve got the security side of things sorted?” Hawk asks. All four of us are in the living room, anxiously waiting for Beck so we can head out. He’s not questioning my ability; he just needs the reassurance that everything is ready.
“Yup, we’re all good.” Despite the nerves taking over me, my voice is confident. I won’t be much good if we run into any guards or, god forbid, an actual mercenary—although, at least I’ve got my contacts in this time—but this I can do. I have the same confidence in my computer skills as Mason or Hawk do when they take on an opponent in the ring, or Cam when he obliterates his competitor in the pool.
With a sharp nod of his head, not needing to hear any more for him to be convinced that the job is handled, he focuses back on his stretches, limbering himself up for the inevitable fight to come.
There’s a knock at the door, which must be Beck, and Cam goes to answer.
“What the—”
Wilder shoves his way past him, into the apartment.
“What are you doing here?” Hawk growls angrily as he glowers at Wilder, pissed off with his intrusion, now of all times, when we’re all on edge.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you go without me.” He scoffs, uncaring that he’s pissing off an already temperamental Hawk.
The idiot is wearing all black, but in white, across the front of his top, is written #darkknighttotherescue. I can see Mason staring daggers at it as I ask, “How did you even know we were going tonight?”
He just shrugs, and before any of us can argue with him any further, there’s another knock at the door. Fuck, that better not be Emilia trying to tag along too. We don’t need even more people to worry about tonight.