A Surprise Favor – Chapter 20

As the car approaches the data center, my stomach twists with nerves. It’s huge. The metal and concrete walls of the two-story complex go on and on, creating the impression of an impenetrable fortress. I can almost feel the electricity surging through it. I just want to get in and out with the drives before Dominic and my mom show up.

And they will show up.

“Skylar, your mother and Dominic have departed their shuttle, and they have tasked an autocab to your location,” Ai informs me as our autocab glides up to the security checkpoint. Carlos signs us in. “They will arrive in approximately thirty-five minutes.”

It won’t be enough time.

“Don’t worry,” Carlos assures me. “The appointment will be quick. In and out. If we keep the autocab here, we could be back in the car in fifteen minutes, tops.”

I make eye contact with Nina and Declan, the only other people I allowed to come with us. Nina seems unperturbed, and Declan is staring out the same window as me. He narrows his eyes as the car approaches the front entrance.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” he says, looking around.

“I don’t see anything wrong, but I could be missing sky-high drones.” Nina cranes her neck to peer out the window. “Let me check before you get out of the car.” She exits and shuts the door behind her.

My foot taps away, waiting for the moment when I can step out and head inside. I want to be done with this mission now, and the anxiety of it is making me nauseous. I swallow and try to keep my lunch in my stomach where it belongs.

Finally, Nina opens the door and looks in. “I think it’s safe. We should go.”

As we disembark from the autocab, I’m hit with a wave of humidity that makes my shirt stick to my skin. The sun beats down on the concrete, and a sultry breeze rushes past us, bringing no relief. Another scorcher of a day. I wish I was on the beach instead of at this place.

A lone guard approaches as soon as we arrive at the outer door. He carries a gun on his belt. Wasn’t I just shooting something like that an hour ago? He gives us a careful once-over before motioning towards the entrance.

The lobby is a modern and expansive space, with white-tiled floors, tall glass windows, and chic potted plants. Multiple comfortable leather chairs and couches are placed around, accented by chrome details. Ambient light shines down from recessed ceiling lamps, creating a relaxing atmosphere.

I’m not relaxed.

I poke Carlos in the ribs and urge him forward to the front desk of the lobby. He’s no longer the awkward early teenager who wouldn’t have dreamed of approaching a stranger at a desk. There are days I still can’t believe how confident he is now. When he smiles at the man, I know he’s got this covered.

We’ll grab the drives and leave.

“I’m going out to hold the autocab and monitor the area. You stay here,” Nina says, turning around and leaving without a word from me.

“She’s awfully presumptuous,” Declan says under his breath. “Let’s go.”

The man at the front desk smiles at me, too. “And this is?”

“Skylar Kawabata,” I tell him, and he checks something on his screen.

He smiles. “Good afternoon, Ms. Kawabata. Please scan your hand, and then key in the ten-digit code for your account.”

I place my hand on the scanner, and the screen switches to a virtual keypad. Typing in the number Carlos had me memorize earlier, the screen flashes green. I think that’s good. Carlos does the same.

The man stands up. “It’s not necessary for both of you to come.”

“Oh, we’re definitely both going.” I step forward like I own the place.

“That’s fine,” he says, softening his voice. “Please come sit until our security guard can escort you down.” He gestures to the lobby, but I’m too anxious to sit.

“I’m sorry to be a pain, but we’re in a rush.” I glance over my shoulder at Declan waiting in the lobby. He frowns.

“I will get him up here as soon as possible. He’s with another customer in the center right now.”

I want to throw a fit, haughty princess style, but I’m aware it won’t lead me anywhere.

I still want to, though.

The look on my face must be enough to curdle milk because he blanches. Carlos pulls on my arm and directs me towards the couches in the lobby. “We’ll be over here.”

We make our way over to sit, and I try to appear unperturbed and relaxed. Time is ticking away, and every moment brings Dominic and my mom closer.

Suddenly, my brain is flooded with things that could go wrong. The drives have been lying dormant in a storage container for a decade. They could be corrupted. They could be damaged. What if they don’t work? I start to sweat.

Declan sits next to me.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be out of here in no time.” He glances at me. “You look stressed.”

“Oh yeah? You know that look?” I raise my eyebrows at him.

He smiles as he puts his arm over my shoulders and we sink into the couch. “I do know that look. It’s the same one you had the first time I met you, when we were battling to regain possession of the Amagi from the military.”

It should be awkward, sitting here in this public space with Declan and his arm around me. But it’s not. I no longer mind if people know I’m dating, that I’m building a network. The rumors have always said no one would want me. I’m determined to prove them wrong.

“You are definitely someone I’m looking forward to spending more time with.” Declan’s stare is intense. “I’ve been thinking about you since the trial, wishing we’d run into each other again. Now, here we are.”

I take a deep breath and let his words sink in. He’s been thinking about me for years. Saif said almost the same thing. Maybe this is going to work out. I nod and smile. “Yeah, here we are.”

I’m not sure what else to say. The heat of Declan’s body next to mine is searing as he moves closer and gazes into my eyes. His hand gently touches my cheek, sending warmth through me.

“It was a long time to wait,” he whispers softly.

My brain turns from thoughts of the data drive to Declan instead. A welcome relief. I can’t believe we’re here together after all this time. It was so unexpected to see him at the party, and now we’re considering something more permanent.

I like him a lot, but he has yet to handle anything stressful other than a trial. What will happen when he’s thrown into the fire?

“We both seem to have grown a lot since that trial,” I say, taking his other hand in mine. “We’re getting a chance now to try something new.”

“I hate to be a soppy romantic, but it feels right, like it was meant to be.”

I smile at him, trying to break the intense moment. “I think we have Marcelo to thank for that.”

His smile grows. “He deserves a raise.”

“He deserves sainthood.”

Carlos is ignoring us, so I decide to be bold. My heart pounds as I lean in to kiss Declan softly on the lips — my way of thanking him for continuing to be here, despite my crazy life. He kisses me back with a passionate intensity that promises more tender moments, just like this one in the future. Mmmm.

We sit in companionable silence for a few moments as we enjoy the peace of the lobby. He’s made me forget my anxiety over the data drives and the impending arrivals of my mother and Dominic. We don’t need to fill this time with words; simply being together is enough for now.

The door opens on the opposite side of the desk, and a different security guard escorts an older woman out. She walks bent over with a cane, a bag hanging from the crook of her arm.

“Ms. Kawabata, Mr. Duarte? Please come with me.”

“Good luck,” Declan says, squeezing my hand. “I’ll wait here. I’m sure Nina can hold the autocab on her own.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible.

The security guard escorts Carlos and me through the door and into an elevator. As we descend into the depths of the concrete building, I’m hit with a wave of stale air that has been trapped in here for decades. Two floors down, the walls are cold, and there’s a faint musty smell like wet cardboard, though the place is bone dry. Bright fluorescent lights illuminate the length of the hallway, giving off a lifeless glow.

“Your lockbox is up here in section 3B,” the guard says as we approach the gate to a section labeled ‘3.’ “Ready?” he asks at the gate. Screens with keypads illuminate on either side of the door.

I turn over my wristlet to check if there’s any news from Ai, and my duonet access is down. They must have it blocked for security purposes. Oh well. I let my hand drop.

The guard inputs a series of numbers and then Carlos’s name shows up. He enters his code and the screen flashes green. Then the same thing happens to me. I input my code, and the screen flashes green. The door clicks open.

“Perfect.” The guard pushes the door open. Inside, a wall of lock boxes stretches from the floor to the ceiling. Only one of them is open. “I’ll give you privacy.” He steps back into the hallway.

Carlos and I approach our lockbox past an old steel door that looks as new as the day it was installed. These environmentally controlled places take their jobs seriously. You would never know that on the other side of this compound are rooms filled with racks of servers and cabinets containing hard drives, humming away in unison like a thousand tiny voices murmuring their secrets all at once.

Not here, though. This room is so quiet I can hear Carlos’s heart beating.

“What the…” he says, standing over the open lockbox.

When he turns to me, I see it, and all the blood in my head falls to my feet. The lockbox is empty except for a piece of folded paper.

My brain blanks as I try to process what I’m seeing. “Is this some kind of joke?” I turn and look around, but no one is here. There’s a tiny camera in the corner, but that’s about it.

Carlos snatches the paper and unfolds it. He sighs. “Son of a bitch.”

He hands it to me.

Written in a barely legible scrawl, the words make my blood heat to a million degrees. “Skylar, I’m so sorry. I can’t let you have these drives without speaking to me first. Come see me on Rio when you find this. Miguel.”

“Motherfucker.”

Miguel. Mom’s first husband has finally shown up and gotten involved in my life. Unfortunately, in the worst possible way.

Carlos and I stare into the empty lockbox, wishing the drives would just suddenly appear. But nothing happens.

Shit.

Miguel got here first.