Nicholas Stone
3rd July 2005, 10:02 PM
Outfoxed…
Chapter Thirteen
With Ryoga’s help, Akane stood before the cabinet where Nabiki
said Maeda’s safe was hidden. She still felt groggy and heavy headed,
but it was now or never and they knew luck would finally run out if they
stalled any longer. She reached down grabbing Ryoga’s hand holding the
flashlight, directing the beam around the sides and top of the cabinet.
“Damn,” muttered Akane, letting his arm fall free.
“Damn, what?” asked Ryoga.
“This safe is alarmed. I’m going to have to disable it first.”
Ryoga drew back, eyeing Akane. “How did you determine that with
just one pass of a flashlight?”
Akane smirked and looked back at him as if amazed he would even
ask such a thing. Ryoga thought and then understood.
“Oh, Happosai. My bad.”
She shook her head. “I’m going to need the bag. Where is it?”
“Over here.”
Ryoga let Akane go to get it and she yelped, teetering backwards.
Desperately, she called Ryoga and he barely caught her before she could
hit the floor.
“I still do not have legs, remember?” she said.
“You’re making this hard for us, Akane. Tom Cruise never had
this much trouble in both his movies.”
“Stop with the Tom Cruise stuff and hand me the bag!”
Ryoga reached out and pulled the bag from the floor, passing it
to Akane. She told him to set her on the floor and then opened it
shining their light inside. A few minutes of careful searching; Akane
pulled out a small black box with a long cord attached on one end. She
clipped another wire to the end of this, spreading five slender wires
apart, tiny suction cups on each end.
Akane pointed back to the safe and Ryoga hefted her back up.
Another quick look and Akane carefully placed the suction cups around
the outer edges of the frame making sure they were secured firmly in
place, and then slid the cover off the box. There was a small L.E.D.
window at the top; four sliding controls arrayed one over the other
below it. A tap of a switch turned it on and she gazed at the readout.
“Happosai taught you all of this?” asked Ryoga, amazed by the
sophisticated equipment.
“Yep. Some of my training involved, and I hate to admit this,
getting into the Nakimo Girls Technology School dorm. You’d be
surprised how much security they have in place.”
“A girls’ dorm? Happosai made you break into a girls’ dorm for
one of his demented raids?”
Akane slid a few of the controls around, eyeing the connector,
and readjusted the controls. “Yes,” she replied, smiling back at him,
“It was my ‘graduation’ assignment. I did so well the old geezer had
tears in his eyes. He even gave me a pair of gold-plated panties as a
present.”
There came a light beep and Akane placed the box on the mantle.
“Alarms by-passed,” she finished.
Disbelief covered Ryoga’s face. He could not believe that Akane,
the ever-so-innocent girl from days past could be so skilled. He rubbed
the back of his head and just stared at her.
“Come out of it, Ryoga,” said Akane, snapping her fingers in his
face.
“Uh, I’m sorry, I just… well I’m… Wow.”
“Heft me up.”
He did, Akane now feeling around the sides until she found a
slight depression near the top right edge. Child’s play she thought
pressing it in. A panel slid open and for a moment Akane grinned
pleased with her success. It suddenly faded away and she tapped Ryoga
pointing back to the floor. He set her down and she was silent for a
long minute.
“Akane?”
She shook her head activating the comlink. [Ukyo.]
There was no answer, Akane letting out a sigh.
“Akane, what’s wrong?” asked Ryoga.
She cut him a glance and called for Ukyo again.
[I heard you the first time, Akane,] Ukyo finally replied.
[You’re in I take it?]
[No. I can’t open the safe.]
“What?” said Ryoga.
“Will you keep it down!”
“Keep it down? After all of that magic you pulled, you can’t
open this safe?”
“It’s not that simple, Ryoga!”
[Akane, tell me this is a joke,] said Ukyo.
[No joke, Ukyo. Get Nabiki online, fast.]
[Hold on.]
Ryoga knelt down beside her. “Akane, what’s wrong with the
safe?”
“It’s not the safe, Ryoga; it’s how it’s secured.”
“What do you mean?”
“No time to explain. I just hope Nabiki can find an answer for
us.”
He let out a moan and turned sitting down beside her. “No!
We’ve been here too long already!” said Ryoga, holding his head in his
hands. “How come we can’t get any breaks here?”
Akane grabbed Ryoga by the collar and pulled him around until
they were eye to eye. “Tom Cruise did not panic when things got rough…
don’t you start,” she told him.
Ryoga gulped, nodding and she let him go.
[Akane?] It was Nabiki’s and Akane quickly answered.
[Nabiki, we’ve got problems.]
[So I gather. Ukyo says you can’t open the safe. Why not?]
Akane tapped Ryoga pointing to the safe and he picked her up
again. [You did see the keypad inside here, Nabiki.]
[I did, so crack the combo and get in there.]
[Did you also see the card slot above it?]
In the walk-in closet of foyer, Nabiki stood speechless at the
latest wrinkle in her plan. Ukyo, wondering if this meant the jig was
up, gave her a slight nudge to bring her out of it with no success.
[What card slot?] Nabiki finally answered.
[Guess that answers that question,] replied Akane. [There’s a
card slot just abo—.]
[eeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!]
Akane grit her teeth fighting back the cry in her throat as a
sharp piercing wail cut into their conversation across the circuit. She
twisted around in Ryoga’s arms, burying her face into his shoulder and
hugged him tight. He went stiff wondering if she had gone back into her
zone again. Nabiki managed to pull the comlink from her ear, holding it
away from her grimacing at the sound. It was so loud even Ukyo could
hear it and she too drew back, cringing. Unfortunately, Ranko’s
reaction was not as subtle.
“nnnNNNGGYYYAHHHHH!” she cried, teetering in her steps, the tray
in her hands wavering around as she fought to maintain her balance. The
guest around her stared in surprise and then the whine ceased and Ranko
staggered to a stop. Her eyes cut from side to side and then Ranko
timidly smiled.
“…uh… cramps in the back of my legs… sorry,” she said and limped
off out of sight into the hallway.
Mrs. Iwamoto, standing next to a distraught Vicky, let out a
giggle and turned to her. “So, Victoria, is this more of you exquisite
entertainment you have planned for tonight?”
She, as well as several others of the Bonsai club, laughed and
strolled off leaving Vicky fuming. “I’m going to kill her, I’m going to
kill her,” she muttered, storming off.
Meanwhile, Nabiki put the commlink back on and could hear what
sounded like someone choking coming across the circuit.
[…are you trying to kill us, Hikaru? Should I just finish this
job myself?]
[Doctor Tofu?] said Nabiki.
Hikaru dropped from Ono’s grip as he looked up. [Ukyo?]
[No, Nabiki. What’s going on?]
“We’re on,” he told Gosunkugi.
“great, can i breath now?” said Hikaru.
“Will you get up from there? Grief!” Ono pressed the comlink.
[Nabiki, why are you up here, or is this a sign we’ve run into
problems?]
[More problems, Doctor Tofu. Akane now cannot open this safe.]
[She what?]
[…the safe has an additional code in it,] came Akane’s weak
voice. [I need a card containing the key.]
Ono blinked digesting Akane’s explanation, matching it against
the images of disaster dancing in his head. [So we’re extracting you
guys now, right?] he finally said.
[No,] answered Nabiki. [We’re going to find out what we need to
open this safe and get it.]
[Nabiki. That’s going to take more time and we’re already behind
as it is.]
[So it will not matter then, right? Look, I’m this close to
breaking free of Maeda’s foul grip and I’m not about to pass this up.]
[Even if one of us gets caught in the process?]
Ow, real life, Nabiki smirking at Tofu’s comment. [No… but we’ve
got to try!]
[You’re pushing it, Nabiki, but okay. So what now?]
Yeah, what now, she thought. [Doc, is Hikaru on line?]
[I’m here.]
[Hikaru… what’s wrong with your voice?]
[Doctor’s Laryngitis.]
Not the time to figure that one out, Nabiki arched a brow and
went on. [Hikaru, you’re a geek—,]
[Intellectual Developer, thank you.]
[FOCUS, HIKARU!] everyone shouted together.
Nabiki cleared her throat and continued. [Hikaru, you like
electronic stuff, do you think you can crack this thing?]
[I’ll need to see it first before I can tell you.]
[Now how are we going to do that?] asked Tofu.
[I got you, Hikaru,] said Akane, [Stand by.]
She tapped Ryoga and he set her down. “Bag,” she told him and
Ryoga opened it up. Akane rummaged around inside through the contents
until she found what she was looking for. It was a disc about two
inches in diameter, a quarter of an inch thick, black with a smaller
lens like circle in the center. A long thin wire snaked out from it and
she pressed a pad on the back.
[Hikaru, I’ve switched on that mini-camera you gave me. Are you
picking up the signal?]
Hikaru struggled to control the display and the cracked keyboard,
but finally navigated too an icon on the screen. A window opened up and
the low light image of Akane’s face appeared in it.
“Akaneeeee,” he gushed, gaining a sharp slap to the side of his
head. Ono glared at him, jabbing a finger at the mic and he shrugged.
[I-I-I see you, Akane. You look tired.]
[Beyond that.]
[Let’s get to the safe, please,] said Nabiki.
Ryoga picked Akane up again and she pointed the small camera at
the safe. Hikaru strained to see the details, adjusting controls,
squinting hard, but then finally received a decent view.
[Well this guy has good taste,] he told them.
[What do you mean?] asked Nabiki.
[That’s a LockTight 1217. An excellent choice of valuables’
security if I must say so.]
“You know this safe?” said Ono.
“Yes, Doc. Why it’s one of our flagship models in the Kuno
Security Development Department.”
“You built this damn thing?”
“Well… not to brag, doc, but I did have a hand in the coding
sequences.”
[So that means you know how too crack that card code, right?]
asked Nabiki.
Hikaru frowned. [Now why would I want to do something like
that?]
[Ooo, if I could just reach through this thing—!]
[Not a problem, Nabiki,] said Ono.
The sounds of choking returned over the circuit. Nabiki waited a
moment and then spoke again. [Hikaru! Why won’t you open it for us?]
[…(GAACCKKK!)…because i can’t do it!]
[Oh I see you need more convincing,] said Ono, increasing his
pressure.
[Wait, Doctor Tofu, let him go.] The choking stopped and Nabiki
paused to allow Hikaru a chance to catch his breath. [So, Mister
Smart-Guy, why can’t you do it?]
[… huh-HII-huh-HII-huh…I can’t do it from here.]
[So does that mean you need to be with us, Hikaru?] asked Akane.
[Even if I was there, I still could not do it.]
Nabiki was at the end of her patience. [Spill it, man! Why
not?]
[The LockTight Series comes with four key cards. One copy of the
master is kept by the Kuno Security Service, two are emergency one-time
use only cards, and then there’s the master itself.]
[So we need too find one of the three cards then.]
[No. The two emergency cards have a special code in them. Once
used, and if this place is wired as instructed, a silent alarm gets sent
to the nearest police station, and another is sent to whatever security
is on the grounds. One of the two will call here to verify there is a
problem, and you have to have a password to answer them.]
“Damn it!” shouted Nabiki. She pulled off the comlink and threw
it aside, moving to the front of the closet in frustration. Ukyo eyed
her and picked up the link.
[Hey guys,] she said.
[Ukyo?] answered Ono.
[Hi, Doc.]
[What happened to Nabiki?]
[She’s over here fuming about something.]
[Probably about this keycard we need to open the safe.]
[Courtesy of the Kuno Industries,] added Akane.
[Just our luck.]
[Unfortunately, Hikaru here knew about the safe’s design, but
neglected to tell us this.]
“Hey I didn’t know it was a LockTight!”
Ukyo grimaced at the harsh words. [Doctor Tofu, that doesn’t
sound like you at all.]
[You teamed me up with this boy! What do you expect?]
She could not help but giggle, Ukyo moved up next to Nabiki. She
was rambling to herself, trying to reason a way through all of the
mishaps and problems they were experiencing.
“He’s thought of everything… every move I’ve made, every small
detail planned to perfection and now because of a small card I’m doomed
to everlasting servitude.”
“Nabiki—.”
“I can’t believe this. I-I just can’t believe this.”
“Nabiki, get a hold of yourself. You’re stronger than this.”
Nabiki spun around, “But I can’t avoid fate, can I? So close, so
close!”
“Then we need to find out who has this card.”
“You have any ideas?”
Ukyo shook her head and Nabiki sighed. She leaned back up
against the door thinking then her brows rose. That deadly, scheming
look she had slowly appeared and Ukyo knew she was forming a plan in her
mind.
“Earpiece,” she said and Ukyo handed it over. [Hikaru… if that
alarm is set off normally, will it send out a signal to the police?]
[Depends on the customer. Some do, some don’t.]
[An alarm here?]
[Loud enough to wake the dead.]
Hmm, muttered Nabiki. She suddenly pulled Ukyo close. [Hikaru,
can these alarms be triggered accidentally?]
[Happens about once or twice in a life span of the safe. We’re
working on—.]
[Spare us, geek! Okay, here’s the plan. Ranko, I know you can’t
speak so just listen. Go out and alert the others that we’re about to
set off the alarm up there.]
[WHAT?]
[Let me finish… Akane, place that camera thing somewhere up high
where it can see the safe without being seen itself. Hikaru, how far
will it see in good lighting?]
[With fair clarity about three an a half meters.]
[Monitor it. Once Akane and Ryoga have it in place, they’re
going to trip the alarm and hide.]
[Where are we going to hide?]
[Find a place, sister. When you’re ready, tell Ukyo, hide and
we’ll see who comes up to check this safe.]
“And after that?” asked Ukyo.
[Hikaru will describe our target and we go get him or her.
Everyone clear about what they have to do?]
They all said yes. [Good. Let’s make this a clean one.]
She handed the comlink back to Ukyo and stood rubbing her chin
thoughtfully. Ukyo fixed her hair and wondered what it was that had
Nabiki thinking so intensely.
“And?” she said.
“Hm? Oh, I need an alibi.”
“You bet. The first person Maeda’s going to be looking for is
you once that alarm goes off.”
A good point, Nabiki nodding at her with a knowing smile.
“Well then, I’ll make it easy for him to find me …”
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Chapter Thirteen
With Ryoga’s help, Akane stood before the cabinet where Nabiki
said Maeda’s safe was hidden. She still felt groggy and heavy headed,
but it was now or never and they knew luck would finally run out if they
stalled any longer. She reached down grabbing Ryoga’s hand holding the
flashlight, directing the beam around the sides and top of the cabinet.
“Damn,” muttered Akane, letting his arm fall free.
“Damn, what?” asked Ryoga.
“This safe is alarmed. I’m going to have to disable it first.”
Ryoga drew back, eyeing Akane. “How did you determine that with
just one pass of a flashlight?”
Akane smirked and looked back at him as if amazed he would even
ask such a thing. Ryoga thought and then understood.
“Oh, Happosai. My bad.”
She shook her head. “I’m going to need the bag. Where is it?”
“Over here.”
Ryoga let Akane go to get it and she yelped, teetering backwards.
Desperately, she called Ryoga and he barely caught her before she could
hit the floor.
“I still do not have legs, remember?” she said.
“You’re making this hard for us, Akane. Tom Cruise never had
this much trouble in both his movies.”
“Stop with the Tom Cruise stuff and hand me the bag!”
Ryoga reached out and pulled the bag from the floor, passing it
to Akane. She told him to set her on the floor and then opened it
shining their light inside. A few minutes of careful searching; Akane
pulled out a small black box with a long cord attached on one end. She
clipped another wire to the end of this, spreading five slender wires
apart, tiny suction cups on each end.
Akane pointed back to the safe and Ryoga hefted her back up.
Another quick look and Akane carefully placed the suction cups around
the outer edges of the frame making sure they were secured firmly in
place, and then slid the cover off the box. There was a small L.E.D.
window at the top; four sliding controls arrayed one over the other
below it. A tap of a switch turned it on and she gazed at the readout.
“Happosai taught you all of this?” asked Ryoga, amazed by the
sophisticated equipment.
“Yep. Some of my training involved, and I hate to admit this,
getting into the Nakimo Girls Technology School dorm. You’d be
surprised how much security they have in place.”
“A girls’ dorm? Happosai made you break into a girls’ dorm for
one of his demented raids?”
Akane slid a few of the controls around, eyeing the connector,
and readjusted the controls. “Yes,” she replied, smiling back at him,
“It was my ‘graduation’ assignment. I did so well the old geezer had
tears in his eyes. He even gave me a pair of gold-plated panties as a
present.”
There came a light beep and Akane placed the box on the mantle.
“Alarms by-passed,” she finished.
Disbelief covered Ryoga’s face. He could not believe that Akane,
the ever-so-innocent girl from days past could be so skilled. He rubbed
the back of his head and just stared at her.
“Come out of it, Ryoga,” said Akane, snapping her fingers in his
face.
“Uh, I’m sorry, I just… well I’m… Wow.”
“Heft me up.”
He did, Akane now feeling around the sides until she found a
slight depression near the top right edge. Child’s play she thought
pressing it in. A panel slid open and for a moment Akane grinned
pleased with her success. It suddenly faded away and she tapped Ryoga
pointing back to the floor. He set her down and she was silent for a
long minute.
“Akane?”
She shook her head activating the comlink. [Ukyo.]
There was no answer, Akane letting out a sigh.
“Akane, what’s wrong?” asked Ryoga.
She cut him a glance and called for Ukyo again.
[I heard you the first time, Akane,] Ukyo finally replied.
[You’re in I take it?]
[No. I can’t open the safe.]
“What?” said Ryoga.
“Will you keep it down!”
“Keep it down? After all of that magic you pulled, you can’t
open this safe?”
“It’s not that simple, Ryoga!”
[Akane, tell me this is a joke,] said Ukyo.
[No joke, Ukyo. Get Nabiki online, fast.]
[Hold on.]
Ryoga knelt down beside her. “Akane, what’s wrong with the
safe?”
“It’s not the safe, Ryoga; it’s how it’s secured.”
“What do you mean?”
“No time to explain. I just hope Nabiki can find an answer for
us.”
He let out a moan and turned sitting down beside her. “No!
We’ve been here too long already!” said Ryoga, holding his head in his
hands. “How come we can’t get any breaks here?”
Akane grabbed Ryoga by the collar and pulled him around until
they were eye to eye. “Tom Cruise did not panic when things got rough…
don’t you start,” she told him.
Ryoga gulped, nodding and she let him go.
[Akane?] It was Nabiki’s and Akane quickly answered.
[Nabiki, we’ve got problems.]
[So I gather. Ukyo says you can’t open the safe. Why not?]
Akane tapped Ryoga pointing to the safe and he picked her up
again. [You did see the keypad inside here, Nabiki.]
[I did, so crack the combo and get in there.]
[Did you also see the card slot above it?]
In the walk-in closet of foyer, Nabiki stood speechless at the
latest wrinkle in her plan. Ukyo, wondering if this meant the jig was
up, gave her a slight nudge to bring her out of it with no success.
[What card slot?] Nabiki finally answered.
[Guess that answers that question,] replied Akane. [There’s a
card slot just abo—.]
[eeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!]
Akane grit her teeth fighting back the cry in her throat as a
sharp piercing wail cut into their conversation across the circuit. She
twisted around in Ryoga’s arms, burying her face into his shoulder and
hugged him tight. He went stiff wondering if she had gone back into her
zone again. Nabiki managed to pull the comlink from her ear, holding it
away from her grimacing at the sound. It was so loud even Ukyo could
hear it and she too drew back, cringing. Unfortunately, Ranko’s
reaction was not as subtle.
“nnnNNNGGYYYAHHHHH!” she cried, teetering in her steps, the tray
in her hands wavering around as she fought to maintain her balance. The
guest around her stared in surprise and then the whine ceased and Ranko
staggered to a stop. Her eyes cut from side to side and then Ranko
timidly smiled.
“…uh… cramps in the back of my legs… sorry,” she said and limped
off out of sight into the hallway.
Mrs. Iwamoto, standing next to a distraught Vicky, let out a
giggle and turned to her. “So, Victoria, is this more of you exquisite
entertainment you have planned for tonight?”
She, as well as several others of the Bonsai club, laughed and
strolled off leaving Vicky fuming. “I’m going to kill her, I’m going to
kill her,” she muttered, storming off.
Meanwhile, Nabiki put the commlink back on and could hear what
sounded like someone choking coming across the circuit.
[…are you trying to kill us, Hikaru? Should I just finish this
job myself?]
[Doctor Tofu?] said Nabiki.
Hikaru dropped from Ono’s grip as he looked up. [Ukyo?]
[No, Nabiki. What’s going on?]
“We’re on,” he told Gosunkugi.
“great, can i breath now?” said Hikaru.
“Will you get up from there? Grief!” Ono pressed the comlink.
[Nabiki, why are you up here, or is this a sign we’ve run into
problems?]
[More problems, Doctor Tofu. Akane now cannot open this safe.]
[She what?]
[…the safe has an additional code in it,] came Akane’s weak
voice. [I need a card containing the key.]
Ono blinked digesting Akane’s explanation, matching it against
the images of disaster dancing in his head. [So we’re extracting you
guys now, right?] he finally said.
[No,] answered Nabiki. [We’re going to find out what we need to
open this safe and get it.]
[Nabiki. That’s going to take more time and we’re already behind
as it is.]
[So it will not matter then, right? Look, I’m this close to
breaking free of Maeda’s foul grip and I’m not about to pass this up.]
[Even if one of us gets caught in the process?]
Ow, real life, Nabiki smirking at Tofu’s comment. [No… but we’ve
got to try!]
[You’re pushing it, Nabiki, but okay. So what now?]
Yeah, what now, she thought. [Doc, is Hikaru on line?]
[I’m here.]
[Hikaru… what’s wrong with your voice?]
[Doctor’s Laryngitis.]
Not the time to figure that one out, Nabiki arched a brow and
went on. [Hikaru, you’re a geek—,]
[Intellectual Developer, thank you.]
[FOCUS, HIKARU!] everyone shouted together.
Nabiki cleared her throat and continued. [Hikaru, you like
electronic stuff, do you think you can crack this thing?]
[I’ll need to see it first before I can tell you.]
[Now how are we going to do that?] asked Tofu.
[I got you, Hikaru,] said Akane, [Stand by.]
She tapped Ryoga and he set her down. “Bag,” she told him and
Ryoga opened it up. Akane rummaged around inside through the contents
until she found what she was looking for. It was a disc about two
inches in diameter, a quarter of an inch thick, black with a smaller
lens like circle in the center. A long thin wire snaked out from it and
she pressed a pad on the back.
[Hikaru, I’ve switched on that mini-camera you gave me. Are you
picking up the signal?]
Hikaru struggled to control the display and the cracked keyboard,
but finally navigated too an icon on the screen. A window opened up and
the low light image of Akane’s face appeared in it.
“Akaneeeee,” he gushed, gaining a sharp slap to the side of his
head. Ono glared at him, jabbing a finger at the mic and he shrugged.
[I-I-I see you, Akane. You look tired.]
[Beyond that.]
[Let’s get to the safe, please,] said Nabiki.
Ryoga picked Akane up again and she pointed the small camera at
the safe. Hikaru strained to see the details, adjusting controls,
squinting hard, but then finally received a decent view.
[Well this guy has good taste,] he told them.
[What do you mean?] asked Nabiki.
[That’s a LockTight 1217. An excellent choice of valuables’
security if I must say so.]
“You know this safe?” said Ono.
“Yes, Doc. Why it’s one of our flagship models in the Kuno
Security Development Department.”
“You built this damn thing?”
“Well… not to brag, doc, but I did have a hand in the coding
sequences.”
[So that means you know how too crack that card code, right?]
asked Nabiki.
Hikaru frowned. [Now why would I want to do something like
that?]
[Ooo, if I could just reach through this thing—!]
[Not a problem, Nabiki,] said Ono.
The sounds of choking returned over the circuit. Nabiki waited a
moment and then spoke again. [Hikaru! Why won’t you open it for us?]
[…(GAACCKKK!)…because i can’t do it!]
[Oh I see you need more convincing,] said Ono, increasing his
pressure.
[Wait, Doctor Tofu, let him go.] The choking stopped and Nabiki
paused to allow Hikaru a chance to catch his breath. [So, Mister
Smart-Guy, why can’t you do it?]
[… huh-HII-huh-HII-huh…I can’t do it from here.]
[So does that mean you need to be with us, Hikaru?] asked Akane.
[Even if I was there, I still could not do it.]
Nabiki was at the end of her patience. [Spill it, man! Why
not?]
[The LockTight Series comes with four key cards. One copy of the
master is kept by the Kuno Security Service, two are emergency one-time
use only cards, and then there’s the master itself.]
[So we need too find one of the three cards then.]
[No. The two emergency cards have a special code in them. Once
used, and if this place is wired as instructed, a silent alarm gets sent
to the nearest police station, and another is sent to whatever security
is on the grounds. One of the two will call here to verify there is a
problem, and you have to have a password to answer them.]
“Damn it!” shouted Nabiki. She pulled off the comlink and threw
it aside, moving to the front of the closet in frustration. Ukyo eyed
her and picked up the link.
[Hey guys,] she said.
[Ukyo?] answered Ono.
[Hi, Doc.]
[What happened to Nabiki?]
[She’s over here fuming about something.]
[Probably about this keycard we need to open the safe.]
[Courtesy of the Kuno Industries,] added Akane.
[Just our luck.]
[Unfortunately, Hikaru here knew about the safe’s design, but
neglected to tell us this.]
“Hey I didn’t know it was a LockTight!”
Ukyo grimaced at the harsh words. [Doctor Tofu, that doesn’t
sound like you at all.]
[You teamed me up with this boy! What do you expect?]
She could not help but giggle, Ukyo moved up next to Nabiki. She
was rambling to herself, trying to reason a way through all of the
mishaps and problems they were experiencing.
“He’s thought of everything… every move I’ve made, every small
detail planned to perfection and now because of a small card I’m doomed
to everlasting servitude.”
“Nabiki—.”
“I can’t believe this. I-I just can’t believe this.”
“Nabiki, get a hold of yourself. You’re stronger than this.”
Nabiki spun around, “But I can’t avoid fate, can I? So close, so
close!”
“Then we need to find out who has this card.”
“You have any ideas?”
Ukyo shook her head and Nabiki sighed. She leaned back up
against the door thinking then her brows rose. That deadly, scheming
look she had slowly appeared and Ukyo knew she was forming a plan in her
mind.
“Earpiece,” she said and Ukyo handed it over. [Hikaru… if that
alarm is set off normally, will it send out a signal to the police?]
[Depends on the customer. Some do, some don’t.]
[An alarm here?]
[Loud enough to wake the dead.]
Hmm, muttered Nabiki. She suddenly pulled Ukyo close. [Hikaru,
can these alarms be triggered accidentally?]
[Happens about once or twice in a life span of the safe. We’re
working on—.]
[Spare us, geek! Okay, here’s the plan. Ranko, I know you can’t
speak so just listen. Go out and alert the others that we’re about to
set off the alarm up there.]
[WHAT?]
[Let me finish… Akane, place that camera thing somewhere up high
where it can see the safe without being seen itself. Hikaru, how far
will it see in good lighting?]
[With fair clarity about three an a half meters.]
[Monitor it. Once Akane and Ryoga have it in place, they’re
going to trip the alarm and hide.]
[Where are we going to hide?]
[Find a place, sister. When you’re ready, tell Ukyo, hide and
we’ll see who comes up to check this safe.]
“And after that?” asked Ukyo.
[Hikaru will describe our target and we go get him or her.
Everyone clear about what they have to do?]
They all said yes. [Good. Let’s make this a clean one.]
She handed the comlink back to Ukyo and stood rubbing her chin
thoughtfully. Ukyo fixed her hair and wondered what it was that had
Nabiki thinking so intensely.
“And?” she said.
“Hm? Oh, I need an alibi.”
“You bet. The first person Maeda’s going to be looking for is
you once that alarm goes off.”
A good point, Nabiki nodding at her with a knowing smile.
“Well then, I’ll make it easy for him to find me …”
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