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“So close,” Ben said.
“But no cigar.” Wade picked up his beer bottle and took a swig.
Jay held out a bottle to Vivian, and she shook her head. Jay twisted off the cap and pitched it into the trash. “There are benefits to the miss. It might just work in our favor.”
“How?” Vivan wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself tightly. Without the formula, how could she protect Jay and Ben?
“In our security brief, they think the Piper Phillips attack might have been a case of mistaken identity, and the attackers were going for Amanda Harcourt. They are doppelgangers. My boss says it was either random, or Amanda was the target. No one thinks that Piper was in anyone’s crosshairs. They don’t know all that happened to get to Piper’s badge. No one has even mentioned her badge and probably won’t. At least not until Monday or the next time Piper needs to get into her lab.”
Mike came out of the bathroom. “Sorry, I blew up your can. I wouldn’t go in for a while, Vivian.”
“Was Piper hurt?” Vivian asked. “They put her in the ambulance.”
“Tom told us she was hypothermic but otherwise fine.” Jay reached for Vivian’s hand. “She’ll be released tonight. Why?”
Vivian looked down at the gesture, but she wasn’t feeling it and shifted away. “Because she’s supposed to be going there tomorrow night to give a speech in her lab to drunk billionaires. And the lab is next to the computer.”
“Let’s say we can force her to put in the code,” Wade said.
“How?” Vivian asked.
Wade shrugged. “I stick a gun to her head.”
“I don’t want any guns,” Vivian said.
“Sorry, Viv,” Mike said. “A gun is key. Think of it this way—it’s there for intimidation. Without it, our job is harder, and people are more likely to get hurt.”
“Who has guns? Jay, you do? The security guards? That would put Ben and them at risk. With that Ethan guy and the others.”
“They don’t like guns. Security is allowed stun guns.”
“So Boz’s team has guns, and Benny has a dart rifle.” Vivian looked at him, then slid her gaze to Jay. “After two incidents, they’ll up the security.”
“Tom says that in case the person was after Amanda, they put out social media posts saying she’s out of the country. We’re not on heightened alert. He thinks everything will be calm. Outside, we’ll have security with the limos, ready to pull around and take people where they want to go. They could come in if they were called.”
“What does security look like on the inside?” Mike asked.
“One Alabaster guard on each level. Me and a guy named Owen and that all-American hero Ethan Osbourne with Tango who keeps stepping on our plans.”
“We take them out,” Boz said.
“We keep them busy, you mean,” Jay said. “Iniquus will have two. Guy named Gator. Guy named Jack. They’ll be sticking with their protectees.”
“So down in the lab?” Wade asked.
“We’ll have to see. I think we can keep them busy upstairs. Mike says he can program a thumb drive so that when Piper puts in her code, we have a minute or so to take all her data, then we give her a Benny shot and let her sleep it off. We’ll be long gone.”
“Shot from a syringe, Ben, right? Not a dart from your rifle?”
“Wade will be right there with her,” Ben said. “A syringe with a date rape drug is easiest.”
“Wade, where would you get that?” Vivian asked.
“I’ve got a copious supply.”
“You suck,” Vivian said with a snarl, then took a breath and added. “But in this instance that would be really good.” Vivian turned to Jay. “If I have all the data and the formula, I can put together the studies so we can market it as safe.”
“It’s not?” Ben asked.
