The Sunshine in My Veins (Peterick) ➳ Book 1

Ten

The monitors glowed softly in the darkness, illuminating the faces of Pete, Patrick, and Gabe as they stealthily navigated their way through the room. While these computers were bound to be filled to the max with information it wasn't the information they needed. No, only the big computers controlled by the higher ups would have access to the data they craved.

"That way?" Pete asked, gesturing towards the back of the room.

Patrick pointed upwards. "That way."

"But why?"

"Harder to escape."

Now that he thought about it, Pete could easily see why Patrick went that route. Pete had used the tactic himself, trapping himself on purpose to ensure that no one forced him to flee upward into a perfectly executed trap. This also gave him more escaping options and a more even playing field.

"Let's go then."

Armed with some of the best weapons produced by the Arkkarredians, the three of them navigated their way towards the stairs. Nerves were running high, and none of them wanted to admit the possibility that they might be caught.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Gabe asked as they took the stairs slowly.

"Anything," Pete said.

"So if I were to find the complete number of pi you'd want me to tell you?"

Patrick could barely hold in the laugh—Pete's face was so red.

"Seriously, Saporta, this is not the time."

"How do you know my last name?"

Pete raised an eyebrow. "You told me."

"When?" Gabe asked frantically.

"A few days ago. You and I were talking. You must've fallen asleep a few minutes later and didn't remember."

"And why does Patrick look like he has no idea what you're talking about?"

"Patrick was sleeping. You were both tired, but you insisted on keeping watch with me."

Gabe didn't say anything, so Pete took that as a sign for him to continue up the stairs.

"C'mon, Gabe," Patrick encouraged. They climbed up the stairs side by side, the silence comfortably passing between them.

Pete was already situated at one of the computers furiously typing away. His face was bathed in the red light of a denied entry.

"Here."

Gently, Patrick pressed a sequence of numbers and letters into the keyboard, promptly bypassing the login screen.

"Thanks, Lunchbox."

Patrick smiled and sat in the chair next to Pete. Instead of unlocking that one, he settled to spinning around mindlessly in the very comfy chair. Pete chuckled at Patrick's child-like antics.

"You should try it," Patrick commented.

"I'd love to, but we've got to have someone doing some research."

"Gabe can do it. You're too stressed."

"Speaking of Gabe. . . ." Pete trailed off, looking wildly around the room. The man in question was nowhere to be seen. Pete gingerly raised his gun. "Where'd he go?"

Patrick strained his ears against the ever present sound of static, listening for anything that could give off an indication of where Gabe had gone.

Two heads snapped towards the doorway to see an out of breath Gabe stumbling through. He pressed a hand to his side obviously holding a cramp and hunched over only to stand straight up seconds later. "Sorry. Got lost. Bathroom."

"Patrick, get two more of these up and running," Pete instructed. There was something about the way Gabe's eyes darted around anxiously that made Pete snatch a memory drive off the desk and shove it into the computer. He started downloading files from the computer to the drive.

"Come sit, Gabe," Patrick called. He spun around in the chair again.

Pete tapped his foot. One minute.

"I'm fine," Gabe said, gesturing towards the door.

Patrick shrugged. "If you insist. These chairs are really comfy don't you agree, Pete?"

"Hm?" Two minutes.

"Aren't the chairs comfy?"

"They are," Pete replied absentmindedly.

Gabe slowly inched his way over, constantly looking over his shoulder while trying to make it look like he wasn't. Pete watched the download continue. Three minutes.

Having broken into this specific City Hall before, Pete knew that by each of the doors was an emergency button that would alert the nearest Arkkarredians of any break-ins or attacks and summon them for backup. His mind was piecing everything together just as Gabe pressed the end of his gun to Pete's head. Four minutes.

"You fucking—"

Pete's hands wrenched the weapon from Gabe's hands before the sentence could fully form. Gabe's body was tossed backwards, colliding with a few chairs.

"Pete," Patrick gasped.

"Don't trust him!" Gabe warned as Pete calmly advanced on him.

Patrick stood frozen as he watched Pete pull the trigger, sending Gabe into unconsciousness. Five minutes.

"He triggered an alarm," Pete explained. "And we've only got two minutes before we're outnumbered." He looked towards the computer screen. "Grab that memory drive and let's get out of here."

Patrick's hands shook as he attempted to get a good grasp on the tiny square device. Trembling, he managed to pull it out and shove it into his jacket pocket. "Got it," he proclaimed and followed Pete closely.

"One minute, Lunchbox. Think we can make it?"

"Either we do or die trying. There's no way I'm letting those freaks take me alive. Even if that's what they want."

The disadvantage to simply fleeing is that while they had information, there was no safe way to access it. The memory drive was sure to be traced once it was discovered that someone had copied the files to a missing external device shortly after the alarm was sounded. They'd have to find some safe place to extract the information and destroy any evidence in a matter of hours. If Gabe hadn't been around the only evidence would be a data log showing someone signed it. It could be anyone.

"Let's go then."

Hearts pounding both men made it out the front doors running into one Arkkarredians who received a sharp blow to the head, thanks to Patrick's quick thinking. The body hadn't even hit the ground by the time they were a decent distance away from the building.

Side by side the two had disappeared down an abandoned alley just as several Arkkarredians rushed into the square. Inside they'd find a missing vial, an unconscious Gabe, and an unlocked computer. The only remnants of a half-successful mission.