Code

CHAPTER 38

“LET’S SEE WHAT we’ve got.”

Shelton double-clicked the flash drive icon.

“Is there any way around the password?” I was watching over Shelton’s shoulder. Hi was beside me. Ben was slouching in his usual spot on the bunker’s window bench.

“Doubtful.” Shelton glanced at me. “You don’t happen to know it, do you?”

“Oh sure.” I leaned back against the table behind me. “Karsten emailed it to me right after we stole Cooper. I have his ATM code too, if that’d be helpful.”

“Just asking.” Shelton popped the collar of his navy polo. “Because this is gonna be a tough nut to crack.”

“Ideas?” Hi rubbed his chin. “We’re incredibly smart. Maybe we know enough to figure it out.”

I thought back to the day we discovered Karsten’s secret lab. The pouring rain. Shelton picking locks. The shock of finding Karsten’s ghastly experiment.

So much security. So much effort to keep the project hidden.

Could we crack his password?

“Try ‘Candela,’” Hi suggested. “Or ‘3-3-3-3.’ That was the door code.” Shelton did. “Nope. And … nope.”

“What about ‘parvovirus’?” Ben offered. “Or maybe Karsten used his name.”

Shelton entered the possibilities. None worked. “This is getting old, fast.”

“Wait.” I was thinking out loud. “It wasn’t regular parvovirus. Karsten mixed canine parvo with the harmless form that’s contagious to humans.”

“That’s right!” Hi said excitedly. “The human strain is Parvovirus B19. Try that.”

“No.” Suddenly I had it. “Karsten created an experimental strain. That was the point.”

“Shoot!” Shelton pressed his fists to his temples. “I can’t remember. And Karsten said he destroyed all the records.”

“Except this drive,” Ben said. “We have to access it somehow.”

I tried to visualize the lab as it had been that day. Desk. Computer. Quarantine chamber. Clipboard hanging next to Coop’s cage.

What had I read? What had Karsten told us that night in the bunker?

I smiled as it came to me. “Parvovirus XPB-19. The experimental form of B19.”

Shelton was already typing. His fists rose in triumph. “We’re in!”

Then his hands found his cranium once more. “Oh no!”

The words on-screen were pure gibberish.

“What is it?” I said.

“The individual files are encrypted.” Shelton clicked one at random. A new password box appeared. “And this level uses a code key. Meaning it’s synced to a device that changes the password every few minutes.”

“So the answer won’t be Karsten’s favorite color.” Hi shook his head. “Bummer.”

“To get past this mother, we’ll need professional help,” Shelton said. “Even then we might strike out.”

“Blargh.” Computers were conspiring to thwart me. “We’re nowhere on identifying the body either. Spotter won’t work without a better pic of the victim’s face.”

“Oh no.” Shelton’s chin dropped to his chest. “No no no.”

“What’s your problem?” Ben said. “We’ll figure something out.”

“You think she doesn’t already have a plan? Can’t you guess what it is?”

Hi paled. Ben looked from face to face, clearly still confused.

Shelton groaned. “I’m not going at night. Period.”

“Tomorrow afternoon.” I gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Broad daylight.”

“Okay, people.” Ben crossed his arms. “Care to share?”

“No big deal.” Shelton’s tone was nonchalant. “Just a quick stop at Mepkin Abbey to get a new headshot of Mr. Dead Guy.”

“Oh.” Ben’s expression soured. “That.”

Shelton turned from Ben to look at me. “Did I guess right, Tor?”

“We have to give Spotter another try.” Firm, to hide my own misgivings. “We need to know who’s inside that crypt.”

I glanced at the items lined up on the table. We’d examined every scrap connected to the Gamemaster. Gotten nowhere.

“We have no other cards to play.”

The guest lot was nearly empty. We entered the abbey’s welcome center in silence. Though our cover story was solid, the mood was grim. No one wanted to revisit the crypt.

Brother Patterson was behind the gift shop register. His face lit up. “Welcome back!” His black-and-white robes swished as he swept around the counter. “What a pleasure to see you again so soon.”

“We really enjoyed our visit.” I conspicuously hitched the backpack on my shoulders. “So much, in fact, that we decided to make Mepkin Abbey the subject of our local cultural report.”

“Wonderful! The store offers several volumes of Mepkin Abbey history, or you can review our texts and original documents in the conference facility at no cost.”

Perfect.

“We’ll visit the library, if that’s okay. We’re supposed to use primary sources.”

“Be our guest.” Patterson gestured to the rear door. “Do you remember the way, or shall I escort you?”

“We remember,” I said quickly. “Thanks so much.”

Ben was last over the cemetery wall.

Hi stood on tiptoes, peering back the way we’d come. “The path is clear. No one followed.”

Our luck was good. We hadn’t encountered a soul as we snuck past the library, through the gardens, and over the wooden bridge leading to the graveyard. I was feeling confident we’d pull off this mission.

But I didn’t want to think about what came next.

Shelton worked the lock on the iron grate, then proceeded to the crypt door. Finally, “God help us, but we’re in.” Despite the mild temperature, beads of sweat dotted his brow.

I made a decision. “There’s no need for everyone to go inside. Shelton, you keep watch out here.”

Relieved, he hurried to the fence.

“You’ll need me to move the lid,” Ben said. “Doughboy, too.”

Hi grimaced. “Let’s just get this done, then get the hell out of here.” “Agreed.” I handed out flashlights, drew a calming breath, then started down the steps.

Ben snagged my elbow and squeezed past. “Me first.”

Fine by me, snake bait.

I followed Ben down the narrow flight, with Hi right on my heels. I nearly jarred a tooth loose when the staircase ended sooner than expected. A reminder that we hadn’t unleashed our inner wolves.

“Guys,” I whispered. “Should we flare? It’s hard to see down here.”

“Don’t bother.” Ben’s response echoed in the crypt, conveying anger and shock. “No one’s home.”

“What?” I rushed to the sarcophagus and added my light to Ben’s.

The coffin was open. The corpse was gone.

I leaned inside the sarcophagus and shined my beam down its length. The only thing present was a withered set of bones.

The original tenant.

I pounded the lid in frustration. “The Gamemaster covered his tracks. He’s toying with us!”

Ben moved to the other side of the coffin. “Hi, help me push this back into place.”

“Why bother?” Hi whined. “Skeletor won’t care.”

“This is still a grave. Show some respect.”

Hi huffed, but joined Ben. Together they muscled the stone slab back into place.

“That wasn’t worth it,” Hi wheezed.

“Yeah, it was.” Ben was barely breathing hard. “Your good deed for today.”

Hi arched a brow. “Does it cancel out tomb raiding in the first place?”

Without bothering to answer, Ben picked up his flashlight and headed for the staircase. Hi hurried after.

I made no move to follow.

“Tory?” Hi had one foot on the steps, anxious to be gone. “What’s wrong?”

At first I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. But then my fury bubbled out.

“We’re always one step behind. Running straight in whatever direction the Gamemaster points. He’s owning us right now. Scripting our every freaking move!”

Abruptly Ben was beside me, his hand finding mine. “Later, Tor. Right now we need to get out of this poor sap’s final resting place.”

He’s right. Maintain focus.

Forcing myself calm, I bottled my rage for a later date.

Then Shelton’s voice echoed from above. “Someone’s coming down the path!”

“What should we do?” Hi hissed. “We can’t hide down here.”

“It’s a monk!” Shelton squeaked. “He just crossed the bridge!”

“Plan?” Ben was watching me intently.

My mind raced, came up empty. This trip was a full-fledged debacle. I sighed. “We take our medicine. Pray for leniency.”

“Guys, come on up.” Shelton called in a tight voice. “It’s Brother Patterson. He’s at the gate, and he’s … he’s not happy. At all.”

That was a massive understatement.

Turns out, a monk can be livid. I saw it firsthand after stepping into the sunlight.

“Of all the disrespectful, reprehensible acts!” Patterson herded us out of the cemetery at a near trot. “I don’t know what kind of juvenile pranks you had planned, but you are never to set foot on these grounds again! The entire order will be given your names and descriptions.”

We took the haranguing in silence. What was there to say?

“To think I’d gone to the library to help you!” A vein bulged on Patterson’s forehead. “The brother there had no idea what I was talking about. Of course not, since you never entered the building! I almost didn’t check up here, since I’d specifically told you the cemetery was off-limits.”

I couldn’t meet his eye. “We’re very sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, young lady. You violated holy ground. It’s to God you owe penance. Count yourself lucky I’m not taking the time to track down your parents.”

The walk to the welcome center was endless.

Once there, the boys scurried to Kit’s 4Runner like rats. Patterson stood in the parking lot, intent on actually watching us drive away.

Before climbing into the passenger seat, I made one last effort. “I’m deeply sorry, Brother Patterson. I don’t expect you to believe me, but we truly meant no disrespect. Thank you for showing us your wonderful abbey.”

Patterson’s eyes softened ever so slightly. “I’ve no idea why you would do a thing like this, young lady. Disturbing a grave! You seem like a nice girl, so I hope the shame of this day stays with you, and helps you make better choices in the future.”

Having gutted me with guilt, Patterson turned and walked back to the building.

“Options?” Ben asked as he pulled out onto the highway.

“I think some charitable work might be in order,” Hi said. “I’m not a Jesus man, but I’m pretty sure getting ripped a new one by a monk is bad karma in any religion.”

Ben snorted. “I meant about The Game.”

“What do you think, Tor?” Shelton was methodically wiping his glasses. “Lately it seems like everything we try blows up in our faces.”

“We’ve reached a dead end.” Admitting failure burned, but facts were facts. “We can’t trace the snare gun without access to LIRI’s security files, and we can’t ID the Gamemaster’s victim without a new picture. And since the body just vanished, we can’t even report a crime.”

“So our hunt for the Gamemaster is over?” Hi asked.

It’ll never be over. Not for me. I know Aunt Tempe wouldn’t quit.

“Temporarily,” I said. “Right now, we have to focus on winning The Game. We have to nail down the final location, and stop whatever horror this psychopath has planned.”

“Two days.” Hi was staring out the window. “That’s not much time.”

No. It’s not.