Chapter 5

FIVE

TUESDAY, 1:00 P.M.

Caleb's hands scraped across the asphalt, but he righted himself and sprang to his feet. A hand grasped his arm and yanked him back to the curb seconds before a blur of green-and-orange metal from the trolley flashed by.

The gasps of a few bystanders mixed with the rush of wind from the passing cable car. He wobbled and Juliette tightened her grip.

Cell phones hung in the air, consuming every detail of Caleb's tumble.

Only, he hadn't tripped. Someone dressed in all black had rammed into him. He scanned the street. "Did you see who knocked into me?"

Juliette loosened her fingers from around his bicep and shook her head. "I lost him when I saw you stumble into the street. He's gone. But are you injured?"

Caleb did a mental self-assessment and brushed the grit from his hands onto his jeans. "Aside from my pride being a bit wounded, I'm not hurt." He put a finger through a hole in his favorite T-shirt and cringed. And his glasses were missing. He'd have to wear his contacts when he got home.

Juliette rolled her eyes. "I can buy you a new T-shirt, Caleb. Maybe we can find you an even nerdier one."

Her eyes grew serious. "I'm taking Ivy's case," she said. "I'm your new bodyguard. That man intentionally pushed you in front of that trolley."

"I don't believe in coincidences, and if you hadn't pulled me back…"

Sirens wailed in the distance. "Let's not think about what might have happened. You're safe and we need to get you off the street." Juliette grabbed his arm again, and they walked toward the awning of a hardware store to get out of the way of onlookers. As they walked, Caleb scanned the faces of every person in the crowd, committing each one to memory in order to help the police. But he knew the perpetrator had taken off right after the shove.

Juliette waved her hands like Moses parting the Red Sea to forge a path through the gawkers. She led him toward the building, about a hundred feet away from the crowd. "The situation has changed, Caleb. It doesn't take a mathematician to add up these events. The bank robbery. Your home invasion. The man shoving you into the road. This hacker group is coming for you."

Caleb swallowed. "Blake called me before we left. Apparently Rushmore has declared war against Cyberskies." He couldn't form words or wrap his mind around how close he'd come to his own mortality. His skin pricked as his mind recalled every vivid impression of the trolley rushing by him. But one thought shut down all of the others.

Ivy.

"This puts Ivy right into their crosshairs," Juliette said, as if reading his mind. "If these guys are gunning for you, they could go after her."

"If anyone is targeting me, Ivy could become collateral damage." He bit his bottom lip. "Should I take her out of school? Do you think she's in danger?"

He shot Ivy a text to make sure she was okay. He'd relented and given her back her phone so he could keep tabs on her, especially after the break-in. Her instant response of "Fine" slowed his heartbeat to within a normal range.

He flipped the phone so Juliette could see Ivy's text. His phone had survived his tumble into the street by some miracle.

"I'm on it," Juliette said. "I'm calling in for reinforcements. Let me check with Noelle in my office and see if we can get additional bodyguards in place."

Officers Matt Williams and Ladecia Slaton headed toward them while her fingers flew across the screen of her iPhone.

His neighbor placed his hands on his hips. "Did you two decide to team up to find trouble? Because I've seen both of you at crime scenes in the past twenty-four hours."

Juliette put her hands on her hips, ready to volley the sarcasm back into Matt's court. Caleb tried to hide his smile and let Juliette handle the retorts. "We just want to make sure you're earning a paycheck. But we're concerned that these crime scenes are related."

Matt's face grew somber. "How so?"

Juliette turned to Caleb. "Did you notice anything identifiable about the man?"

Of course he remembered every detail, but the hood had covered most of the man's facial features. He closed his eyes and let his memory draw him a picture of every detail. "Tall and lanky man. Pointed jawline. I didn't see his eyes. But he had an angry red cut across his right cheek."

She nodded. "Kind of like someone hit him in the head with a trophy. I thought I saw some sort of scar or wound. I think he's the man from the bank."

"So you can describe him?" A jolt of energy sparked through Caleb. This could be their first lead. And it all tied back to Rushmore.

"No. He was wearing a mask, but I clobbered him in the face, which explains the wound."

A chill shuddered through Caleb, and he listened to Juliette explain her theory that she'd faced off with their perpetrator during the bank robbery on Monday.

Hazard Pay Montgomery. Jules was still living up to that stupid nickname. Caleb had always hated it. Because it meant that Juliette put herself in danger.

Matt pulled up info on his phone. "If this is the same guy from the bank robbery, we might have our first crack in this case. But it also means Caleb needs someone to watch his back." The officer eyed Juliette, who hadn't stopped scanning their surroundings.

Matthew and Officer Slaton excused themselves to interview other eyewitnesses and see if they could get various cell phone videos with different vantage points of the incident.

"Your new job as a bodyguard suits you," Caleb said.

A hint of red swept across her cheeks. She shrugged. "I enjoy it and still get to use some of my Ranger training. But I think we need to get off the street like you suggested, in case the man in black is still watching. Would you consider heading back to my office so we can discuss your need for further protection?"

"So you're going to take Ivy's piggy bank money after all?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Caleb, are you making a joke? I didn't know you had it in you." He'd never been known for a sense of humor, and most sarcasm was lost on him.

But he wasn't kidding. The last thing he wanted was for Juliette to be officially in charge of his protection.

He shook his head. "I'm not joking. Are you seriously going to let Ivy hire you to protect me? Because if anything, Ivy is the one that needs a bodyguard. Should I take her out of school? She should be with me. Do you think she's in danger? Maybe I should text her?—"

Juliette placed a hand over Caleb's, silencing his jumbled thoughts.

"I think you both need protection—you've had two serious incidents in two days."

His pride took an arrow to the chest. He moved his hand away from hers and tightened his grip around his phone. Did she think he couldn't defend himself? Sure, he'd been an analyst in the Army, but he'd made it through basic training just like she had. "As long as we focus on keeping Ivy safe, then."

He crossed his arms. With Ivy on Juliette's side, it might be two against one. And Juliette's golden-brown eyes were just pleading with him to reconsider. He dropped his arms. "Let's go back to my apartment. We'll discuss an action plan. I'd like to get off the street and be home when Ivy gets back from school. My neighbor is picking her up."

Since he wasn't going to the office, he sent a text to his assistant, Michelle Corbin, to see if she would bring the rest of the laptops from the office to his apartment so he could continue to inspect the software. Despite the craziness around him, he had to be diligent about keeping the bank's systems safe.

They walked toward the car. At the light, they crossed the street, Juliette's hand resting lightly on his bicep. While he didn't want her protecting him, he let it go this time. She had pulled him to safety, after all.

There wasn't a space left in the parking garage. They found his car, and Juliette inspected it, even checking underneath with a telescopic mirror.

"It's clear." She stood up and put the mirror into her bag. "I'll follow you back to the apartment."

Juliette stood by the trunk of his car and watched him get in and lock the doors. He thought for a second that she wouldn't leave his side, but she relented long enough to get her car so she could follow him back to his place. It took all his strength to not drive to the school and whisk Ivy out of class. But Juliette was right. They needed to assess the danger level and come up with a plan.

The ride to his apartment seemed long, despite the short distance. He pulled into a space in the parking lot behind his building. The U-shaped apartment complex used to be a hospital but had been converted into twenty-two apartments. All his senses were on high alert as they got out of the car, and Caleb surveyed the area to make sure they weren't being watched. He was on the hackers' radar, which signaled a potential threat to all his neighbors. He caught Juliette doing her own reconnaissance of the area. They were both on duty now.

Back in his apartment, Juliette swept the place for any listening devices.

"I really don't think this is necessary. The thief didn't have time to plant any bugs." But his tone of voice probably didn't fool Juliette. The recent events added up to plenty of reasons for concern. And they couldn't be too careful.

When her search came up empty, she sat down at the table filled with laptops. Caleb moved to the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water. He placed one in front of Juliette and settled across from her, the mountain of laptops providing a nice buffer space. Despite their past friendship, Juliette's presence jangled his nerves. An odd reaction, like something familiar mixing with the thrill of the unknown. Which, when combined, might be explosive.

Juliette wrapped her hands around the dewy water bottle. "Do you get the feeling that Ivy isn't telling us everything? Why is she so insistent that you not go to work? It's like she knows Cyberskies is a target."

Her words gave credence to his own thoughts. "I've had the feeling she's been hacking again. And I keep thinking about these hackers. If I were them, and I wanted to make a statement and take down a bank, I'd attack their security software. Which they are doing. But if they're coming after me, Ivy might be on their radar. Maybe she discovered something about Rushmore."

Would these hackers be so bold as to contact his niece in order to get to him? His heart seized at the thought. Ivy was his responsibility, and if his job brought dangerous men to their doorstep, he'd never forgive himself. It would give Ivy's grandparents more ammunition in their quest for custody.

Juliette stood and moved to his side of the table, sitting next to him, erasing the barrier. And he didn't mind. Her presence seemed to calm the tornado of chaos.

"You are a good parent to Ivy," Juliette said. The smattering of freckles on her nose seemed more pronounced than he recalled.

He let out a long sigh. "I've lost everyone else I care about. My mom. Dad. Sister." You .

The unbidden thought sucker punched him so hard he nearly flinched. He had lost Juliette. Now she sat in front of him, and the past three years melted away.

But would the past always keep them apart?

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, and he sighed, not wanting to disrupt this moment of closeness with Juliette. "That's Michelle with the supplies I requested from the office." He opened the door to Michelle Corbin and Blake.

Michelle was the best hire he'd made. She kept him organized, and he honestly had no idea what he'd do without her. She strode in and laid a box of files and some additional laptops on the already cluttered table.

"I had to come over after Michelle told me about the break-in," Blake said. "I wanted to make sure you're okay."

Caleb ran a hand through his hair. "I've been better."

"I see you've been working. Are these all the laptops that were on their way to the bank?"

Caleb nodded. No sense in prolonging the inevitable. "I took all of the laptops we were delivering to our client to make sure the software was properly installed after the first bank robbery."

He offered Blake and Michelle a seat at the table. "I'm concerned that Rushmore is trying to infiltrate our system. I think that's why they broke into my apartment last night."

Blake's face paled. "That's not good. But sadly, my news is worse." His partner eyed Juliette.

"You can talk in front of Juliette," Caleb said. "She's, um, an old friend and a bodyguard."

"You hired a bodyguard?" Michelle's jaw dropped.

"No—I mean, Ivy sort of did…long story—but she's helping me sort through this mess."

"Well, sort through this," Blake said as he dropped his phone onto the table with a clank. "I just received this on the way over." The video opened with bold white letters on a black screen, and Caleb and Juliette leaned in for a better view.

This is Rushmore. You have something we want. And we have something you want.

The video rolled and showed a man gagged and tied to a chair. Caleb gasped. "That's Theo Payne. He's our operations director."

"Now do you see the need for a bodyguard?" Juliette whispered.

Caleb's pulse raced. His job had invited danger right to his doorstep. He refused to let Ivy be the next to become the target.

* * *

TUESDAY, 2:00 P.M.

English class was such a bore. Who cared where the comma went?

Today they were talking about Shakespeare's Twelfth Night . It was just some old dumb play. Why did they have to learn about this stuff when she needed to be perfecting her computer and math skills? Reading and writing just got in the way.

At least she had her phone back. She stuck it between the pages of her English textbook and made eye contact with the teacher to appear engaged. While looking up, she managed to scroll to her chat app at the same time. She'd told her new friend all about the break-in at the apartment after she'd bailed on gaming.

Well, CyberLane was a friend, even though they'd never met in real life. At least they went to the same school. And CyberLane understood Ivy in ways most people couldn't.

CYBERLANE121: I've got a project for us. A real hacker project. My brother is going to pay us to try and crack his program. He works for the government. Are you in?

Ivy blinked at the whiteboard as the teacher wrote a bunch of words. If it wasn't numbers, Ivy was out. Besides, all she had to do was take a quick scan of the board and commit everything to memory, and she'd ace every test. She'd raise her eyes up now and again to make sure she'd captured a mental image of whatever was written.

A real-life hacker job? Her first? This was what she wanted Uncle Caleb to teach her. She could become the world's best white hacker, testing systems to prevent the real hackers from succeeding.

Her stomach churned as she thought about last night. She needed to come clean about stealing Uncle Caleb's laptop. He might be mad about her hacking, but he needed to know about the program. Last night, she'd made the decision to stay quiet about the laptop so that she could work on the code. Just for one more day. Tonight, she planned to come clean and give her uncle the laptop. Then he'd take the threat seriously.

The program was the most intriguing thing she'd ever come across. It would do serious damage if it were released. If it worked.

But maybe CyberLane could help her make contact with actual hackers so they might figure out who was behind the break-in. Then the police would have information necessary to arrest them. She knew without a doubt they were searching for the laptop she'd taken. And if she tracked them down, Uncle Caleb would be safe. The hackers had stopped communicating in the email account, so she didn't have much else to go on.

She vowed to come clean when she got home today. It was the right thing to do. But she'd help any way she could. Her uncle might see her as a little girl, but she'd put her skills to good use and prove she was capable of more than just math homework. Especially if it kept her uncle safe.

Ivy kept her eyes on the board and tried to type with the page of her book covering her phone.

IREMEMBER4LIFE: I'm in. Send me the deets

CYBERLANE121: Maybe we should meet in person. Can you skip second period tomorrow?

IREMEMBER4LIFE: Duh. Gladly. Meet by the bleachers at the soccer field?

CYBERLANE121: C U there

"Ms. Covington? Why don't you answer the question for us?"

Busted. All eyes turned to Ivy. She scrolled through her memory database for mental snapshots of whatever was on the board. Not even knowing the question, she threw out the first thing that might make sense.

"I think this quote from Shakespeare sums it up best. ‘ Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them .'"

She held her breath. Mrs. Taylor nodded and smiled. "Nice answer." The teacher called on a different student, who had obviously not been paying attention. The kid squirmed.

That was a close call. She should probably do a little better at paying attention. But her mind drifted back to CyberLane's message.

What if greatness was about to be thrust upon her? While she relished the thought of a real hacker job, she had ulterior motives. She wanted more information on the people that had targeted her uncle. The one that had their sights set on her family.

And who better to ask than an actual hacker?