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Then, without looking me in the eyes, he continues running in the direction of our control center.
“What’s going on? Why Dana and not Jessa?” My heart rate is higher than it should be, and dread hits me as a thought I don’t want to entertain enters my head.
“Our servers have been infiltrated. Link was able to get a short message out before all communications were cut. We’ve got headsets to an old communication system, and I need to get to them. Both Hunter and Waldo are MIA. Our computers and all systems are shutting down. Jack, I need you to prepare yourself.”
Jessa.
My thoughts run wild as we reach the main building.
As we rush down the hall, I notice our camera lights are out. Our compound security system is offline.
Logan stops outside the control center, removes his gun from its holster, and opens the door. Inside, the first room is quiet. The lock on the inner room is engaged. Someone’s made it through and locked themselves inside.
Logan drops his gun on the table. We both know that room is completely bulletproof. It’s everything-proof.
Walking to the side of the room, he opens up a cabinet and rifles through boxes. Then he pulls out the headsets we need to speak with Link on backup.
My world spins, then breaks apart as I move to the window to see Jessa in the other room, sitting at the table with two laptops. Oblivious to her surroundings, she’s shifting her attention between both computers and a phone on the table.
I know that look now.
She’s on autopilot.
Anger rises inside me, and I lunge at the window, banging my fists against the bulletproof glass, jarring her out of her concentration.
She jumps in her seat, and her eyes meet mine. Her fingers stop typing for a few seconds as a look of remorse replaces her shock, and nausea surges at the uncertainty of what she’s about to do.
Then she drops her eyes back down, and her fingers pick up where they left off. She’s back in her head.
“Link, speak.” Logan steps to the window beside me, handing me a headset. I put it on, keeping my eyes on the situation in front of me.
“Waldo and Hunter haven’t checked in since 0400. The servers were accessed at 5:02 a.m. She had a username and password, so she was able to gain access and move around the system for three minutes virtually undetected—she accessed our mainframe and began to shut everything down at 5:05 a.m. The username and password she used belong to—”
“Hunter.” Logan’s response snaps my attention to him, and I follow his line of sight into the room, looking just past my Jessa.
Stepping out of a room behind her and looking at the two of us is the shell of the teammate we’ve known for almost ten years.
Hunter is our mole.
Except it doesn’t look like him. With his gloves off and nothing to lose, there’s no love lost in his eyes.
Without giving Logan or I the respect that our time together warrants, he lowers his eyes to the ground and moves to Jessa, handing her a pen and paper. Then, backing up against the wall, he watches as she continues to do her thing.
“She’s turned off communication into the room and deactivated our cell tower. She can’t hear you, but you can hear them.” Link’s talking fast, and there’s no mistaking the defeat in his voice. “Logan, I’m a sitting duck here. My team is trying to get back in, but right now I can only watch her take over. She’s fast. Faster than I ever thought she’d be. Wait. She’s linking off-site. Shit, I can’t even run a trace.”
The first video screen on the wall flashes to life, and Hunter stands up straight as Maxwell’s face fills the screen. My heart breaks as pure rage fills my head and rings into my ears.
After everything she saw, everything she remembers, how can she work with him?
The severity of our situation sinks deep into me as I realize she not only has control of everything we have, but she can connect to Maxwell now and hand everything over.
“What’s going on?” Dana’s voice is shaky as she enters the room. “That’s my phone.”
She walks toward us and stands beside me. Grizz follows behind her as she processes everything we’ve just taken in. Then, seeing Maxwell on the video screen, she puts her hands against the glass.
“Jessa?” Dana’s first instinct is fear for her friend. She thinks Jessa is trapped in there.
“She can’t hear you. She’s turned off communication. If you know anything, now is the time, Dee.” Logan wastes no time, but Dana isn’t having any of it.
