Page 10 of Operation Delta

"Hey." Abe grabbed my chin and lifted it until our eyes met. "There is nothing wrong with avoiding violence. Not everyone can be a fighter, just as not everyone can do whatever it is you do on a computer. I certainly can't."

That was true. There were maybe a handful of people in the world that could do what I could on a computer. I just chose to use my abilities for good instead of lining my pockets with other people's money, but that was a choice. I knew I could get away with it if I truly wanted to.

"Money," I gasped. "I'll bet that's why they shot Michael."

But why?

"Michael was working on a code when I left the lab," I continued as I tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, "but it was for a video game, and not a very good one. Why would they shoot him over something like that?"

"Okay, I need you to finish telling me exactly what happened."

"Well, they shot Michael. That's when I decided I needed to be somewhere else, but when I turned to go, one of Mr. Atkins' goons was standing behind me. He grabbed me. I scratched him until he let me go and then I ran, but there were two guys coming in so I shifted and hid in the planter. As soon as they were gone, I ran. I've been down in the bunker this entire time."

"So, how did you get out to the alley then?"

"Oh, I have a bolt hole in case of emergency." I chuckled. "I put a tracking device on their car."

Abe's eyebrows lifted again. "You low-jacked them?"

My brow flickered in confusion. "Um…"

"You can trace where they are going?"

That, I understood. "Yes."

"Show me."

I had to step over quite a bit of stuff as I led Abe downstairs to the basement. For some reason I couldn't fathom, the goons had never made it down to the basement. They hadn't gone upstairs either. Their destruction seemed to be limited to the kitchen, dining room, and living room. I was grateful for that, but confused.

When we reached the basement, Abe glanced around. As soon as he spotted my computer in the corner, he started for it.

I snickered. "That's just for show. It doesn't have anything on it except my Christmas list and a few video games." I walked over to the bookshelf and started pulling out books and pushing them back in different sequences. "The real fun is back here."

I swung the bookshelf out then completed the rest of my security measures before opening the door. There weren't many people I allowed into my sanctuary, but I figured if Hank trusted Abe, I could too. If I was wrong, I could always erase him from existence.

Yes, I was that good.

I waved my hand. "Come on in."

"Said the spider to the fly." Abe arched one of his eyebrows and a small smirk crossed his lips as he walked past me into the bunker.

I had no idea what that meant.

I stepped into the room then closed the door, reengaging my security measures. I wasn't taking any chances that those thugs might come back and decide to ransack the basement.

It was a good thing that the bookshelves were attached to the wall. If they came back to create more havoc, they couldn't pull them off the wall and discover my secret entrance.

I walked over to my computer and sat down then tapped a few buttons on the keyboard and brought up my tracking system. I had designed the program myself, so I knew it was good. I grabbed the piece of paper I wrote the serial number down on, read it, then typed it into the program. It took just a few minutes to bring up a map of the city and pinpoint the tracking device's location.

"Is that them?" Abe asked as he pointed to the blinking red dot.

I nodded. "Looks like they are moving south toward Chestnut Hill."

"Do you think this Atkins guy lives in that area?"

"Anything is possible." Chestnut Hill was a pretty fancy neighborhood, so it might make sense. "He was dressed in a pretty fancy suit. Maybe he has mansion there or something. He certainly seemed to have the money to hire goons to do his dirty work."

Wouldn't that be hilarious?