Page 51 of Slap Shot
Oliver headed for the door, his mind racing through possibilities. Kai thought he held all the cards, but he'd made one crucial mistake. He'd revealed his location, his methods, his timeline. Information that could be weaponized if Oliver was smart enough to use it.
HEATHER
Heather's secure monitoring system chimed with an alert that made her blood freeze. Someone was accessing her network analysis tools—not from an external attack, but from inside the Chill's own systems. Someone with administrative privileges was running the same triangulation programs she'd built to track Kai's location.
Oliver.
She pulled up the access logs, her heart sinking as she recognized his digital signature all over her tracking algorithms. He was using her own tools to pinpoint Kai's exact location, which meant he was planning something monumentally stupid.
Her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number:Thanks for the network maps, sweetheart. Your boyfriend's getting close. Hope he's ready for what he finds. -HexAngel
Kai knew Oliver was coming. This wasn't just reckless. It was a trap.
Heather pulled up Oliver's location data from the triangulation program. The Meridian Building, suite 847, with ninety-seven percent probability that Kai was operating from that exact location.
She grabbed her phone and dialed 911, her hands shaking as the operator answered.
"I need to report a federal fugitive," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Kai Moreno, parole violation, currently operating from suite 847 at the Meridian Building downtown. He's a cybercriminal who's been conducting attacks against local businesses."
"Ma'am, can you provide more details about the nature of these attacks?"
"Data theft, extortion, corporate espionage. He's violated his federal parole and is currently in possession of stolen financial records from multiple organizations." Heather was already grabbing her laptop bag, shoving portable drives and equipment inside. "I'm Dr. Heather Quincy, head of cybersecurity for the Charm City Chill. We have an open case with Detective Stevens of the Hartford police.” She fumbled with his business card. “Case number 4565. I can provide evidence of his crimes to responding officers."
"Officers are being dispatched now. Please remain at a safe distance from the suspect."
"Understood." But even as she said it, Heather was heading for the elevator. Oliver was walking into a confrontation with someone who'd already betrayed him once, and police response time in downtown traffic could be twenty minutes or more.
Twenty minutes was too long.
The drive to the Meridian Building took twelve minutes of aggressive lane changes and running yellow lights. Heather's mind raced through scenarios, each one ending badly. Kaihad spent years planning his revenge, and Oliver's arrival was probably exactly what he'd been waiting for.
She parked in the building's garage and took the elevator to the eighth floor, her laptop bag heavy with equipment she hoped she wouldn't need. The hallway was quieter than the public spaces below, lined with small offices behind frosted glass doors.
Heather followed the suite numbers until she found 847, pressing her ear to the door and hearing voices inside. Oliver's voice, tense but controlled. And another voice, smoother, mocking, carrying the particular brand of arrogance that made her want to punch something.
"—Then you come back where you belong. With me. As partners," the second voice was saying. "Because once all this comes out, once everyone knows what you really are, I'll be the only person left who understands you."
Kai was trying to manipulate Oliver into some kind of partnership. Heather felt sick imagining what that might involve—probably more illegal hacking, more destruction, more innocent people getting hurt.
"That's never going to happen," Oliver's voice was firm, but she could hear the strain underneath.
"No?" Kai's voice turned predatory. "This is Coach Victoria Kovalchuk's email to Jack Westlake from last Tuesday..."
Heather listened as Kai read what sounded like a private email, her stomach dropping as she realized how damaging it would be if taken out of context. He wasn't just threatening Oliver—he was threatening to destroy Coach Vicky's career, her reputation, everything she'd worked for.
She checked her phone. No messages from police dispatch about their ETA. Oliver was in there alone with someone who'd already proven he was willing to use violence to get what he wanted.
Heather couldn't wait for backup.
She tried the door handle. Locked, but the mechanism was cheap—standard office building security, not the high-end systems a real professional would install. Her cybersecurity work had taught her that physical security was often the weakest link in any defensive system.
The lock yielded to techniques she'd learned during her first job, when they'd needed to access server rooms in buildings where the previous IT contractor had disappeared with all the access codes. Sometimes the digital approach wasn't the fastest solution.
"—Twenty-four hours, Oliver. That's how long your friends have left," Kai was saying as Heather eased the door open just enough to see inside.
The office looked like a mobile command center. Multiple laptops connected to portable servers, cables snaking across the floor in organized chaos. Kai sat behind the main desk, completely focused on Oliver, who stood near the door with his back partially to her.
Perfect positioning for what she had in mind.
