Page 28 of Just Now

A Wi-Fi network. That was a good start. That could be the base for what she needed. Could she get in?

With nimble fingers, she opened the hacking app she had used before and started scanning for the network access.

It was surprisingly well protected. She heard Connor’s voice as she worked, heard him negotiating with the barman, trying to keep things calm.

He was trying to buy her time. That, she realized. But she didn’t know how much she had. And her hacking wasn’t working. The code was running, but it was taking too long. She needed more time.

Reminding herself that a calm mindset worked better, Cami tried to keep a cool focus. But it was hard to do when all around her she could hear rising voices, getting closer.

And then someone jostled Connor hard, sending him thudding into her and sending her finger jerking across the screen.

“Last week we got closed down!” the barman shouted.

“It wasn’t the FBI. We’re not here to close you down. Just to ask questions, and take a look at your footage.” Connor was remaining calm, but one calm FBI agent was not going to be enough if these men formed a violent mob, like they looked on the point of doing.

She got back on track. Brought up the screen she was working on. Thank goodness, that sudden movement hadn’t deleted what she was doing, but just shoved it to the side.

She’d gotten into the master panel. Here were the cameras. And here was the option to access the stored footage.

Copy it, Cami thought. Copy it while she could, because there was no guarantee in this environment that they were going to get to see it.

She typed out a command to send the stored footage through to an access point in the cloud. It was a little slower than her usual lightning speed because her hands were unsteady.

As she looked up, a mix of frustration and pure terror surged through her. They were now surrounded by a three-quarter circle of angry patrons. Behind them, the barman was holding a beer bottle by the neck.

The barman was picking up his phone, and she thought he was probably going to call for reinforcements. Connor was speaking calmly, telling them to put the bottles down, to go back to their seats, but nobody was listening.

This was dangerous. The men were blocking their way out, so they couldn’t even leave. She needed to do something very, very fast, because right now, this circle of men surrounding Connor was becoming way too aggressive.

What could she do? With the footage copying, Cami looked at what else was available to her.

Water sprinklers? That would stop these people. The cold shock of water would deflect what was turning into a potentially violent situation.

She was about to activate those when she hesitated.

Don’t do it, she told herself. Bad idea, potentially. She didn’t want anything accidentally shorting out the electricity. Not when she needed the connection to the cameras. If the water fried the connection, she might lose what she had now. Time was running even shorter now, but she had to keep looking. There had to be something else.

Then, scrolling frantically all the way to the end of the menu, she saw an option to trigger a fire alarm.

It could be their only chance to get out of there unscathed. She hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. She couldn’t see any real drawbacks, and could only think that this might prove to be an important distraction. Swiftly, she tapped the button

Immediately, the alarm blared, the shrill sound piercing through the dense air.

It was deafening. And disruptive. Immediately, the atmosphere changed. The sense of threat dissipated. The circle wavered, and a few people looked around. One or two strode to the door.

“Get out, guys,” the barman shouted. “Get out to the front parking lot while I go see what the hell’s going on.”

Swearing loudly, the barman put his phone down behind the counter. With a final glare at Connor, he turned and left, opening the back door and slamming it again behind him. Clearly, he was going to find the alarm’s controls and disable it. Maybe he’d even check for a fire along the way. At any rate, what she’d done had bought them some time.

Now, reluctantly, the men began to file outside. The fight had gone out of them. With the barman leaving, and the distraction of the alarm, the bar suddenly felt like a different place. Were they embarrassed by their earlier aggression? Cami thought it seemed like it as they shuffled out, and Connor was taking advantage of the situation as they passed.

“This is about serial crimes, gentlemen. Stop and take a look. Do you know this woman? Have you seen this woman in here at all?”

A few of the men glanced at the image of Kate that Connor held up on his iPad. She didn’t see any recognition in their faces. One or two shook their heads. At least, in the face of this deafening blast, Connor was making some headway and getting the information he needed.

And then the siren stopped, although Cami’s ears were still ringing from the noise. The barman had obviously found the alarm and turned it off. That meant he’d be back here soon, and the patrons would probably filter back in again as well. Cami thought the danger was over. Connor’s nerve had held, and her triggering the fire alarm had done the job.

But where was the barman? Why hadn’t he come back?

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