“Okay, this is a good spot,” I said.
“Looks like they’re definitely keeping dogs back here,” Gwen said. “Possibly more than one.”
“They are doing some kind of training,” Gray commented. “Agility, maybe?”
“Who knows?” I said, my breath pluming in the cold. I was freezing, and I didn’t want to tarry any longer than we had to. I dropped to a crouch behind a fallen log and flipped open my laptop. Thankfully, the tree line distance was workable. It took me less than a minute to find the lab network and start probing the Wi-Fi.
“What exactly are you doing?” Barbie asked, looking over my shoulder.
“Testing things,” I said automatically, fingers already moving. “Give me a minute and I’ll be able to determine what they’re using for their security system, including the cameras.”
“A minute?” Barbie’s eyes widened. “Who are you people?”
“Just a few girls at a bachelorette party in Atlantic City,” I replied. I didn’t say more as I opened my network scanning tools. I quickly determined the lab maintained only a single Wi-Fi network. My scanners detected multiple external transmitters, which I presumed to be fence cameras and other security remotes like the front gate. Apparently, the lab’s isolation had made them less cautious about their security.
That was very good news for us.
However, I still needed to look at the security cameras to see if I could identify the type they were using, as that would help me pinpoint any known vulnerabilities. As I crept forward, keeping myself obscured in the trees and bushes, I realized that Barbie was following me closely.
“What are you looking for?” she whispered, though we were a good distance from any camera that might have a microphone.
“I want to get a better look at those security cameras. Knowing their type might help me break into their security system and perhaps see any internal cameras.”
“Would this help?” she offered as she pulled a compact set of binoculars from her purse.
Surprised, I took them from her. “You carry binoculars in your purse?”
“All part of being an investigative reporter.”
“Nice.” I held the lenses up to my eyes and adjusted them. I focused on the nearest camera and my heart leaped. “Bingo.”
“Bingo what? What did you find?” Barbie asked.
“Good news for a change.” I handed her back the binoculars and carefully headed back toward Gray and Gwen. “Guys, you’re not going to believe this.”
“Believe what?” Gwen asked.
“I know this security system. It a Supra Vision Technology system. That the same one they used at the Chinese compound in the Cook Islands that I hacked into during Slash’s and my honeymoon when we stopped the coup.”
Barbie’s eyebrows shot up. “Chinese compound? Coup? What are you talking about?”
I realized in my excitement I’d said more than I should have. A lot more. “Well, it’s a story. A long story.”
“I want that story later,” Barbie said.
I shrugged. “We’ll see. Anyway, I already know how to penetrate and manipulate this system. It took me fifteen minutes the first time. I’m betting it won’t take me half that now. It’s about damn time something went our way.”
At that moment, a door at the rear of the building swung open. A group of dogs darted out into the yard, barking and scrambling. My eye caught a flash of gold as one burst into the cold air.
My heart slammed into my ribs. “Ginger,” I breathed.
She tore across the grass, fast and fluid, ears pinned back, body low and purposeful. She made a beeline for the fence and ran along it as if desperately searching for a way out. The two scrawny scientists stepped outside with them.
“Well, well. Mr. Whiny and Mr. Skinny have entered the scene,” Gray said in a low voice. “We’re only missing Baldy. The three amigos.”
“Or three stooges,” Gwen muttered.
Beside me, Barbie gasped loudly, raising the binoculars to her eyes. “Oh my God,” she breathed, her hands shaking. “That’s Tootsie. That’s my dog there, the little one.” A small black-and-tan terrier trotted after Ginger, tail wagging cautiously. “I thought they killed her, but they kidnapped her.”
