A glance spurred Hi and Shelton into position. As I eased close they tossed the ropes, then scrambled up to tie us off. I killed the motor.
“Permission to disembark, sir?” Tory had one foot on the quay. She knew I liked being captain, and was half apologizing for bossing me around.
“Granted.” I tapped my watch. “Shore leave, two hours.”
“Then we’d better dash.”
One final boat-check, then I followed the others down the pier. They waited where the paving stones gave way to a packed-earth trail, as close to a permanent road as you’ll find on the island.
Barely half a square mile, Loggerhead is even smaller than Morris. No permanent structures exist anywhere outside the LIRI compound.
We climbed a steep path and hiked into the woods.
The hooting gave way to howling.
“Monkey Town seems riled today.” Hi was scanning the canopy. “Banana crisis?”
The central forest is home to Loggerhead’s boisterous rhesus monkey colony. Dozens of free-ranging troops, squabbling in the trees or at feeder stations scattered about the woods.
No cages or corrals. The crafty little buggers go where they please. It’s not like they can escape — there’s nowhere to go.
The LIRI compound is fenced to keep them out, not in.
But yammering primates aren’t the only game in town. Cooper’s wolfpack family still patrols the woods. Every year, loggerhead sea turtles breed on the island’s protected beaches. Endangered seabirds nest in the tidal marshes. Deer, boar, duck, fox, raccoon, and dozens of other woodland critters inhabit the ponds, dunes, glades, and meadows.
Pure, undisturbed nature. Peace and quiet. Well, except for the monkeys.
I love the place. It’s one of a kind.
Cresting the final rise, we headed down a gentle slope toward LIRI’s front gate.
Which stood open. Weird.
I looked around. None of the dopey rent-a-cops were in sight.
“Where to now?” Hi asked as we reached the chain-link barrier.
“Lab Three,” Tory answered. “Scene of the crime.”
“Inside Building One,” Shelton pointed out needlessly. “Which means dealing with security.”
“Which means Hudson,” Hi finished. “Gonna be a problem.”
Terrific.
If anyone could ruin my day, it was that guy.
Chapter 3
Ben was already scowling.
Never a good sign.
Tory turned and gave me her Serious Face.
“Hiram.” She forced eye contact. “We need to get by security without a fuss. So keep the jokes in check, um-kay?”
“Scusi?” I raised both palms in shocked affront. “Those dudes freaking love me. We’re talking about forming a boy band. Techno-pop stuff.”
Her eyes rolled. “We need access to Lab Three. That’s not gonna happen if they call Kit to confirm we’re allowed upstairs. Which is what they’ll do if you piss them off. So don’t. Capisce?”
“Totes.” I flashed my patented thumbs-up. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
Tory’s expression remained skeptical.
I doubled the thumbs-up. Smiled wide.
“God help us.”
With that, she strode toward Building One, the rest of us a step behind.
The LIRI complex is bombtastic. Totally baller. It consists of a dozen modern glass-and-steel structures surrounded by an eight-foot chain-link fence.
Only two ways in: the main gate we’d just invaded, and a smaller one around back. Security is tight: motion-sensing cameras, keypad entries, auto-locks, you name it.
Hidden in the woods, the place felt like a Bond villain’s secret hideout.
Translation: I heart LIRI.
The larger buildings consist mainly of offices, conference rooms, and research labs. The smaller ones are mostly sheds, workshops, and garages that store the institute’s heavy equipment and supplies.
Building One houses LIRI’s executive suite, administration hubs, the most primo offices, and the three largest labs.
And security headquarters, unfortunately.
My dad, Linus, worked in there, too. Kit had just promoted him to the exalted position of chief lab tech, which completely rocked. The Stolowitski clan’s rise to power cannot be stopped.
I knew Pops would be crapping his shorts about the stolen equipment. The theft was as much in his domain as Shelton’s dad's.
So let’s solve this bad boy. It’s Big Shot time.
Tory paused outside the building’s hermetically sealed entrance.
Her shoulders rose. Fell. Then she marched straight through the sliding glass doors.
Shelton and I followed. Ben brought up the rear, as usual.
Tory had the coolest head. In tight spots, we usually let her do the talking.
Sometimes, of course, I couldn’t help myself. I’m not made of stone, and these clowns were such easy targets.
Our luck was bad.
Security Chief David Hudson was manning the kiosk.
He stood as we approached, hands robotically smoothing a meticulously pressed uniform. Hudson was somewhere north of forty, with close-cropped gray hair.
His mouth formed a hard line, eyes suspicious.
Polished shoes gleaming, Hudson stepped from the kiosk to block our entrance. Hips squared, he stuck out one hand. “State your business.”
Ermahgerd. What a toolbox.
“Good morning, Chief Hudson.” Tory flashed her dimples at Robocop. “We’re headed to Lab One. My father asked me to check something for him.”
“I have no order to that effect.”
“Kit will be here in a few minutes. He’ll fill you in.”
“You’ll have to wait until Director Howard arrives.” His expression soured, like he’d just caught whiff of a horrific fart. “A crime has been committed on these premises. My premises. Perpetrators unknown. Therefore, I’ve sealed the building until further notice.”
Hudson’s eyes narrowed, as if suddenly considering a new group of suspects.
“I’m afraid we can’t wait.” Tory fumbled for words. “You see, thing is, um…”
I stepped forward, ignoring her warning glance.
I couldn’t help it. This guy was a big pile of stupid.
“This is an emergency, Chief.” I waggled an index finger. “The midi-chlorians have already been isolated by centrifuge. If we don’t take a blood count now, the samples will be useless.”
Hudson blinked. “Midi-what?”
I nodded companionably. “Midi-chlorians. Our flux capacitor has isolated their Force-rendering properties in the organelles of a rare species of Arctic tauntaun. Professor Vader at, uh… Dagobah University is extremely excited.”
More confident nodding.
Hudson’s rigid façade cracked, ever so slightly.
He grabbed a folder from his booth and began flipping pages. “Is Vader a visiting researcher? I assume De-go-ba is a foreign institution.”
“Correct.” I spoke fast, knowing confusion was key. “Just outside of Hoth. Dr. Vader asked Director Howard to monitor his Jeffries tubes, so that the… uh, the proper gigawatts, weren’t too, um…”
Inspiration fled. I floundered.
Luckily, Shelton stepped into the breach.
“So the Sith Foundation doesn’t have to repeat the chemical displacement process.” Shelton yanked his earlobe, a nervous habit. “That’d be a logistical nightmare.”
“You’re telling me!” Recovered, I flashed wide eyes at Hudson. “This experiment has been running for months.”
I could sense Chief Jackass wavering.
Time for the stick.
My voice dropped to a serious tone. “Kit would be here himself, right now, if he didn’t have this awful security breach to deal with.”