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"I can get around that.” Chenny's eyes lit up.

Stephanie held up a hand. “I don’t want the details.”

"Once I’m in, I could potentially clone his drive or install a backdoor. I’d be able to search for and delete any data that he stole."

"He's not going to leave it unattended," Stephanie said.

"Unless he’s distracted," Marcus replied, already calculating scenarios. "If we invite him to tomorrows game..."

"In the executive box," Stephanie caught on immediately. "I might be able to get to it and give it to someone.”

“How are you going to do that?” Chenny asked.

Stephanie tapped her chin. “Chilly.”

“You’re cold?”

“No, you dolt. Our mascot. I can have her come up to the executive box and make a big deal. When Reed isn’t looking I’ll grab his laptop bag and stash it somewhere we can look at it after the game.”

“No good. If he notices it’s missing he can move the data.”

Stephanie bit her lip. “Can you teach me what to do?”

“No. And I’m going to need at least a half hour with it.”

"Kind of hard to be on the ice and hacking into Reed's laptop simultaneously."

Marcus stopped, reconsidering. "Unless you’re not.”

“Coach isn’t going to bench me.”

“We’re playing Columbus tonight, right?” Marcus said with a grin.

Chenny’s eyes narrowed. “Diedrich.”

“Diedrich,” Marcus nodded.

“I definitely don’t want to know.” They were talking about Columbus’ enforcer.

“You just get Reed in the executive suite and Chilly as a distraction. Chenny will be outside the door by the start of the second period.”

“And I’ll have the laptop back by the end of the game.”

She blew out a sigh. “I don’t like this.”

For the next hour, they mapped out the operation with the precision of a power play drill. As they finished, Chenny stood and stretched. "I need to grab some equipment from my place and then get some rest. Do you need me for anything else?"

"We've got it," Marcus assured him.

When Chenny left, Marcus finally allowed himself to close the distance between him and Stephanie. His hand found hers, fingers interlacing with an ease that still surprised him.

"I don't like you taking this risk," he admitted quietly. "Reed's ruthless."

"So am I," she replied, squeezing his hand. "You've seen me at press conferences."

Despite everything, a smile tugged at his mouth. "This isn't about your capability. It's about—"

"You wanting to protect me," she finished. "I know. And under different circumstances, I might even find it endearing rather than mildly infuriating."

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