Page 72 of Final Exit

She’d wanted to cancel the whole thing, feeling more and more uneasy after her long, awkward night avoiding Kade. Surprisingly, it was Jace who’d disagreed. He’d completely flip-flopped in his attitude toward Kade after the safe-room incident. He was more inclined to trust Kade than she was.

“This looks a lot like the safe-room at the technology lab,” she said, hesitating in the doorway.

“If you’re worried about it then stay there.” He sat in front of one of the monitors and flipped it on.

“What’s behind that glass window? What’s behind the other door?” She motioned toward the door to her right.

Kade lowered his hands from the keyboard and turned around.

“A control room.” He motioned toward the glass. “You can see out from the other room into here, but not the other way around. There’s an intercom that allows the people in the control room to communicate with anyone in this part of the warehouse.”

“Show me.”

He let out a heavy sigh and got up. Using the ring of keys on the lanyard again, he left the lab and unlocked the only other door in the building, then pulled it open. Again, he didn’t hesitate. He stepped inside. But this time he held the door and waited for her.

“You wanted to see the control room,” he reminded her.

Why was she so nervous? This was Kade. Just because they weren’t pursuing a relationship didn’t mean that he’d changed loyalties. From the start, he’d risked everything to save her life. He’d done nothing to earn her doubt now. She needed to just get over herself and stop treating him like an enemy.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just a bit on edge. I know I can trust you and I don’t mean to imply otherwise.”

He stared at her a moment, then gave her a curt nod.

The guy sure knew how to make a girl regret her apology.

She straightened her shoulders and moved past him. The room was just as deep as the lab but much more narrow. And it looked just like she imagined a control room would look, with an electronic panel of buttons and dials facing the rectangular window. A row of eight desk chairs were pulled up to the panel.

“You said they used this place to investigate the recent Sarin gas scare?”

He nodded. “Everything in that other room is mobile and can be taken out in a matter of minutes. When it’s not being used as a computer room, it can be used as a bio-lab. They do simulations and test detection equipment, all kinds of experiments as part of investigations, and to prepare for the worst kinds of things criminals can dish out.”

Just to be thorough, as she’d promised she would be, she took a long look around. After assuring herself that there weren’t any other doors or places where someone could be hiding, she headed to the other room.

Once again he sat at one of the computers and began typing on the keyboard. She followed him in this time and watched what he was keying. Although she didn’t know the system he was using, it seemed fairly straightforward. Nothing he did set off any alarm bells. She continued to watch him pull up various files, skim them, then close them.

Finally he pulled up a file that, once opened, revealed a set of topography maps and land surveys.

He pointed at the screen. “See these red dots? Those are all pieces of land the FBI owns in and around Boulder. Is Austin coming or not?”

“Maybe. Why?”

He shrugged, as if he didn’t particularly care whether Austin or the rest of the Equalizers showed. “I got the impression that he’s the Equalizers’ computer guy. He’d probably figure out a lot faster way to cull through this stuff than me. But if they’re not meeting us here, fine. We just might need a few extra hours to open all of these red dots and come up with a list of possible locations that could be the retraining facility.”

He clicked on one of the red dots and started skimming through the survey and associated specifications that popped up on the screen.

Bailey’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She tapped a message on the screen, giving Jace the details. Thirty seconds later, he stood in the doorway, with Devlin, Mason, and Terrance crowding behind him.

A squeak heralded Austin’s approach. Everyone moved aside so he could wheel into the room. He immediately shoved a chair aside and pulled into place beside Kade.

“I didn’t think you guys were coming,” he said.

Jace shot a look at Bailey before answering. “I wasn’t sure if we were either. Good to see you’re okay.”

Kade nodded. “You, too.”

Austin leaned toward him, staring at the screen. “What have you got?”

Soon, Kade was relinquishing his position in front of the terminal so Austin could take his place. The rest of the Equalizers formed a semicircle behind him, looking just as eager as Austin to see what kinds of information he could discover. Kade limped over to where Bailey stood by the door.

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