Part 10 (1/2)
”Wait!” Phoebe all but shouted.
Sam and Nina gave her a pointed look while the wind whistled about them and time ticked away.
”What's my handle again?” Jesus. She didn't want to forget what name she was supposed to use when they corresponded on the walkie-talkies.
”Little Mouth,” Sam reminded her. ”You know, so on the off chance anyone is catching our frequency they won't have our actual names?”
Oh, right. Phoebe rolled her eyes. Not only because she'd been dubbed Little Mouth to Nina's Big, but because Sam had thought of something so detailed like the possibility another ent.i.ty could listen in on their conversation on a walkie-talkie.
It was very Alias. Who used walkie-talkies anymore anyway? But he was a scientist. Maybe he'd done all sorts of factoring and statistics and come up with a probability she wasn't smart enough to consider. ”Right. Little Mouth.”
Dear G.o.d in heaven, she sent up a silent prayer. Of all the days to not have a bout with my forgetfulness, now would be the s.h.i.+niest one. Amen.
”And I'm Gigantor,” Sam said with an encouraging smile before he pulled his mask back down over his face.
”And why are we using walkie-talkies again? What if someone inside O-Tech hears us talking?” she fretted, wrapping her arms around her waist in a protective gesture.
”Because you said you suck at texting, nimrod, and we need a way to communicate when we split up to spread out this search,” Nina grated, planting her hands on her hips.
Right. She did suck at texting. She always jumbled those crazy acronyms when she was in a rush, and her fingers never seemed to hit the right keys. AutoCorrect was not her friend, and if she was nervous, it would do them no service if she was LOLing when she should be OMGing. Thus, they'd decided on a lesser, if not totally outdated form of technology.
”The volume's on low, Phoebe, remember? The human ear won't be able to hear us. You know, vampire hearing?” Sam said, gentle and calm.
Phoebe nodded, her throat tight. ”And what was it about all those security cameras again?”
Nina bent at the waist, placing her hands on her thighs before she looked up at Phoebe. ”No one can see you on them because, unlike your reflection, the one I know you're thanking Vidal Sa.s.soon you can still whip all that hair around in, you don't show up in pictures. Remember, that's why we took your picture? To check and see? It wasn't just to f.u.c.king see if you really do have supermodel skills, Phoebe. Now, please. For the love of all that's f.u.c.king holy, shut up and let's get moving. It's already midnight, and we've got a lot of ground to cover.”
”So you ready?” Sam asked, ignoring Nina's urgent demand, his eyes focused on Phoebe.
Phoebe didn't trust herself to speak, so instead, she simply nodded.
Sam nodded curtly, then leaned back against the steel, aesthetically cold and imposing, and gave a tentative nudge to the wall with his shoulder. To everyone's relief, it disappeared inside the wall.
Now, if they could just get the rest of him inside without him taking out whatever was behind the wall, it was on.
Pulling her mask back over her face, Phoebe closed her eyes and thought of the image she'd seen on the plans for O-Tech's cafeteria. She attempted to imagine the tables that would line the area, where she'd land if she made it inside, how Sam had taught her to tuck her body inward in case she crashed into something.
Fear made her feet shuffle as her hand went to her neck. She tugged at the constrictive turtleneck and groaned. This would never work, and if they didn't find out what was happening to them, she and Sam were going to die. And it would be on her because she couldn't get this being a vampire right. She just needed a little more time. So no one would die.
Die. Oh, f.u.c.k.
”Listen to me, Phoebe,” Nina whispered inches from her ear, low, seductively comforting. ”Just concentrate on Sam. See him in the cafeteria. Picture him in your mind. Do you see Sam?”
Instantly, she was at ease. How odd when mostly Nina just made her want to spork her eyes out. But, yeah. She saw Sam. All hot a.s.s and rippling muscles.
And she was seeing him on some sheets in his big king-sized bed. Ohh.
They were nice sheets, too. Egyptian cotton. Dark, delicious, smooth against your skin. Probably much like Sam would be. Double ohhh.
Did they have a king-sized bed in O-Tech's cafeteria?
”Not that Sam, Phoebe,” Nina chastised, though her tone wasn't gruff. Placing her hand on Phoebe's shoulder, she squeezed it. ”Picture the Sam who's inside O-Tech right now-exactly where you want to be. He's sitting at one of the tables, waiting for you. Can you see that Sam?”
And like when she'd landed in her kitchen, though she hadn't paid attention to the detail of it, the texture and feel of it, due to how frightened she'd been, she was just there. The darkness enveloped her, slithering over her skin like a sensuous lover, and when her eyes opened, she was in the cafeteria of O-Tech.
So neener, neener, neener, Home Depot.
Her eyes scanned the large room with its long buffet where the food was kept warm, and the cash register at the end of it. Picnic-style tables lined the walls and smaller, more intimate tables sat in cl.u.s.ters of twos and threes. As her eyes fully adjusted, she had to keep herself from gasping. Her vampire vision still astounded her, and it was an effort to not become startled each time she realized she could see in the dark.
”Phoebe?”
In her excitement, she launched herself at Sam, wrapping her legs around his waist and throwing her arms around his neck. ”I did it!” she whisper-yelped against the knit fabric of his mask.
He tilted his head back while his strong arm braced her spine. ”Nice job, Ninja Barbie,” he teased.
Her legs went slack immediately, instantly embarra.s.sed that she'd thrown herself at him. She slid down the hard length of his body, her eyes focusing on the top of his pecs encased in a black turtleneck. ”So what's next?”
Sam pulled his phone from his back pocket and scrolled to the picture they'd taken of the building's specs. ”First we let Nina in, then we split up and search every corridor-every door-and we use our super speed to do it. In and out. Though, I gotta say, even though I've said it before, I've been all over O-Tech, and unless there's something hidden that I somehow missed, I doubt we'll find anything.”
He'd been voting down this venture from the get-go, and the more he a.s.sured them he hadn't missed some secret pa.s.sageway, the more Phoebe had to wonder if they'd offended his sensibilities. Because he sure didn't love the idea that he could have missed something.
Phoebe put her hand on her walkie-talkie, preparing to find a window they could open for Nina to let her in. ”Well, that's why we're all here. So we can give it a thorough once-over.”
”Gigantor, this is Big Mouth. Let's do this, and do it now. Find a window.”
Phoebe was the first to whip out her walkie-talkie, putting it to her mouth and pressing the talk b.u.t.ton. ”Roger that, Big Mouth.”
The static crackled before Nina responded, ”Shut the f.u.c.k up, Barbie.”
Sam took her by the hand and pulled her out of the cafeteria, pointing up at a camera as they pushed through some double doors and headed out into the hallway that led to the bas.e.m.e.nt stairs where they'd hoped to let Nina in.
They flew along the staircase, stopping short at the janitor's office where Sam claimed there was a window he'd once seen the janitor, Herb, blowing smoke from. She mentally crossed her fingers it was a window they could gain access to without having to break it.
Sam popped the door with ease and not too much damage to the door's handle, and shoved it open.
Her eyes flew past the bucket and the mop to the window where Nina's pale, beautiful face floated before them. Sam flipped the locks on it, and twisted the bolt, popping open the window and letting Nina climb through. She hopped down onto the desk below and jumped to the floor like a pale gazelle.
”Okay-I'll take the south wing. Sam, you go north. Powder Puff takes the east. We'll all meet up in the west wing if no one finds anything. And f.u.c.king remember, you see anything, anything at all-or anyone-you walkie-talkie me. No taking chances. No bulls.h.i.+tting around. I've got a serious grip on my strength. You two-not so much. Got it?” she inquired, her eyes dark and serious.
Phoebe nodded, turning away from them to dig her phone from her pocket to look at the picture of the plans for the eastern section of O-Tech, forgetting her fear for a moment and focusing solely on getting this over with.
Just as she made her way to the door, Sam's hand clamped on her shoulder. Eerily cool of palm, it still made her knees weak and her stomach jolt in excitement. ”Phoebe, be careful. Please.”
Her hand found its way to Sam's and she let her fingers wrap around his for a brief moment. The cool digits soothed her, calmed her, and with that, she smiled beneath her mask. ”You, too. Both of you,” she whispered before she slunk out of the janitor's office and took a hard right, heading for the eastern staircase.
Alone.