“I love you.”
She stared blankly at the woman in front of her. “I know you do.”
***
“Tell me again exactly what we’re looking for—you know—what the computer looks like,” Angela whispered.
Jason clicked on his flashlight and shone the light at the endless shelving units lined up, one after another. “It’s a laptop. A little bigger and heavier than the one you’ve been using over the past few days.” He stopped at a shelf in the middle of the room holding printers and an old scanner. One of the boxes was marked “computers”.
“Here we go. Start here. I’ll see what else I can find and then come back.”
“How will I distinguish the laptop we’re looking for from any other laptop in this place?”
“There’s a sticker.” He opened the labeled box. It was filled with cables and connectors and behind the box sat a laptop. He inhaled, then opened it up. It wasn’t his computer. He pointed to the bottom left corner of the keyboard, near the command button. “When and if we find the right computer, there will be a Raider’s sticker, black and silver, right here.”
“A Raider’s fan, huh?”
“Got a problem with that?”
“What if I do?”
She could see him smiling in the dark.
“What about you,” Jason said. “Do you have a favorite team?”
“Of course. The Jacksonville Jaguars.”
He laughed.
“What?”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“I don’t kid about things like football. The owner is very charismatic.”
“I believe they’re the least beloved team in the NFL.”
“Yeah, five years running. The Tennessee Titans are a close second.” She nudged him in the arm with her elbow. “I always go for the underdog. You ought to know that.”
***
Ten minutes later, Angela realized this wasn’t going to be as easy as she hoped. The good news was that there only appeared to be two shelves stocked with computer equipment. The bad news was that there were very few loose items. Almost everything had been boxed up tight. Jason was working three shelves away. Every noise they made echoed off the walls.
Angela had moved halfway through her shelf when she heard a noise. She shut off her flashlight and tucked it into her back pocket, then stood silently in the dark, listening, watching for shadows. She peered around the edge of the shelf. Her breath hitched when she spotted the silhouette of a man. It wasn’t Jason. This guy was bigger, broader. The moonlight came through a high window, hitting him just so. He was making his way to the area where she’d last seen Jason.
Angela promptly headed in the opposite direction, her mind whirling. She needed to warn Jason, but how?
The gun. She needed to get the gun from the car. She ran for the doors that said “Fire Exit Only”, and pushed on their metal bars. An alarm went off, sending a high-pitched warning through the neighborhood. She dashed in the direction of the parking lot, didn’t bother to stop and check if anyone was chasing her. Her heart pounded against her chest. By the time she reached the car, she was panting for breath.
“You’re not going anywhere, lady.”
She grabbed the flashlight from her back pocket and swung around hard and fast, making contact with the man’s face and sending him reeling. As soon as she saw him bent over, both hands covering his face, she jumped in behind the wheel, locked the doors, and turned on the engine.
He lunged for the car, grabbing the door handle, but quickly let go, pulled out a gun, and pointed it at her just as she slammed her foot on the gas.
The car lurched forward as a shot rang out.
Angela drove toward the warehouse, leaning forward and ducking her head in hopes of avoiding a bullet.
Another shot was fired and the back window shattered.
There was no time to think. She needed to find Jason before it was too late.
***
The hollow sounds of footsteps Jason heard were not Angela’s. But before he could check it out, an alarm went off, the screeching whistle piercing his skull.
He’d made it through an entire shelf. He peered into the box he’d just opened, saw a laptop and opened it up. No sticker.
Another noise.
He was out of time.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two more laptops in plain sight further down the shelf, power cords wrapped around them. Out of options, he managed to grab them both and slide them into his backpack. After hooking the straps over his shoulders, he took off running, leaving the flashlight and crowbar behind. But when he reached the end of the aisle, he nearly rammed into a dark hulk of a man.
The moment he spotted the gun, Jason took a couple of steps backward.
The man lifted his weapon, aiming at his chest.
Jason turned and bolted just as he heard the blast and felt his body jolt forward.