Page 31 of Dan

“If that’s all, we can disrupt the signal once we’re closer,” said Tanner. She nodded, watching them work on the tablet.

“You know, I can create a shortcut for you so that you don’t have to enter the coordinates and codes every time you want to disrupt a signal,” she smiled.

“Really? We’ve been trying to figure out a way to do that for years,” said Tanner.

“May I?” They nodded, handing her the tablet.

The men watched as her fingers flew across the keyboard, entering in codes and messaging to allow the system a one-tap approach. She hit enter, and numbers and letters flew over the screen, then stopped.

“Okay, update your tablets,” she said, looking at the men. They all nodded, pressing the update prompt. A few moments later, an icon appeared on the screen. It was a simple pair of eyeglasses, and under it, it read “NO LOOKEY.”

“Oh, you’re fucking cute as shit,” smirked Tanner. “That’s awesome!”

“I thought maybe some of the, umm, less tech-savvy people might need something easy to remember,” she blushed.

“Are you referring to me?” frowned Nine.

“Oh, no, sir. I mean, I just saw you struggling with your phone earlier, and well, I….”

“Never mind,” grinned Nine. “I know what you mean. Thank you.”

Twenty minutes later, as they neared the office building, Finley looked at all the men and nodded.

“Go ahead and disrupt now. We’re close enough,” she said. With one tap, the cameras, sensors, and alarms were disrupted and off-line.

“Alright, Finley. Take the dogs and enter through the front door. Act casual and normal. We’re going to head in from the back and make sure none of the security personnel calls for backup. Just tell them that you’re there to get something out of your parents’ office.”

“Okay,” she nodded. Opening the door to the SUV, she grabbed the leashes for the dogs and walked slowly toward the office building. Reaching the big glass doors, she pushed and was surprised to find it open and unlocked at this time of night. Remembering that all the security systems had been disrupted, she simply smiled inwardly to herself.

“Ms. Xavier! What are you doing here?” asked the security guard.

“I’m here to get something from my parents’ office.”

“They’re not here. I’m sorry, but we have orders to not allow you up there. We’re supposed to call them if we see you.”

“There’s no need for that,” she said casually. “They told me to do this.” Security came around the desk, two men coming at her, then suddenly stopped hearing the low growls emanating from the beasts by her side.

“What the hell are those?”

“That’s not nice! They’re my dogs. Don’t be rude. And don’t touch me if you want to keep your hand. Let me pass.”

“We can’t do that,” said another agent, pulling his weapon. “You’re going to have to wait downstairs in a nice private room.”

“I have a better idea,” said a low voice behind him. “How about I take you to the nice private room, and you tell me everything you know.” The security team stared at the huge men holding their friend, then back at Finley who was now surrounded by more large men.

“Your father will kill you for this,” said one of the men.

“I hope he tries,” said Finley calmly. Trak, Antoine, and Nine took the three security agents to the basement level ‘private’ rooms, which turned out to be little more than private cells.

At the private elevator for her parents’ office, Finley entered the code, and the doors opened, welcoming the entire group inside. At the seventeenth floor, they opened once again, remaining open until they made their descent.

“Behind that painting, there is a door that leads to a private file room,” said Finley. “I’m going to see what I can get off their laptops, but I don’t think it will be much. They weren’t very tech-savvy.”

In the file room, Code, Tanner, and Hiro made short work of finding what they needed. One entire file cabinet was filled with information from the work of Faser Industries, including the debacle in New Mexico.

There were files that were decades old and some that were newer, attempting to carry on the technology and work that once was squashed by the very men now reading the folders.

“Finley,” said Code. “We found what we wanted. It’s all here, just like we thought. We need to take all of this, but what do you want us to do with the rest of this?”

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