Kathy Reichs - Code

“Here we go.”

Bracing myself, I tapped the Plexiglas with my index finger. The shield didn’t move or open.

“How do I accept? I can’t reach the screen.”

Before anyone could answer, I heard the scrape of a footfall.

All heads whipped to the door at our backs.

Hi ran to investigate. Froze at the threshold. “What are you doing here?”

“Hi?” I couldn’t see past him into the corridor. “Is someone there?”

“Yes.”

His tone chilled my spine. I sprang to Hiram’s side and peered into the passage.

Locked eyes with the last person I expected to see.

CHAPTER 46

CHANCE SMILED COLDLY from the other side of the grate.

“Trapped in a cage, are we? Seems to be a specialty of yours.”

Ice ran through my veins as I hurried through the passage. The others followed at my back.

Chance Claybourne.

Down here in the bowels of the building, where he had no business being.

Where only the Gamemaster knew we’d be.

How could I have been so dense?

“You!” Shelton shouted. “You’re a monster. Let us out!”

Hi covered his face with his hands. “Man, I did not see that coming.”

“What’s going on?” Jason called from behind me. “Claybourne, bust us loose!”

“Chance, why?” I could barely form the words. “All those people!”

His face pinched. “What people?”

I pressed close to grate. “You have to disarm the device!”

“Device?” Chance squinted. “Victoria, I have no idea what you’re talking about. How’d you lock yourself in there?”

“Stop lying, you turd!” Shelton’s voice crackled with fury and fear. “Murderer! Lunatic!”

“A former mental patient, too,” Hi said bitterly. “God, why didn’t I see it? We knew the Gamemaster was no-joke crazy. Plus Chance hates us, and has all that money.” He smacked his forehead. “I’m such an idiot!”

“That’s the last time I’ll be called a ‘murderer’ by you freaks,” Chance snapped. “Or ‘crazy.’ Now what the hell is this? What’s a Gamemaster? Why are you down here?”

Doubt crept in. Chance sounded genuinely confused.

“Why are you down here?” I shot back.

“I followed you. Your exit wasn’t exactly subtle, stampeding past everyone on the stairs. And now I see Jason’s involved too. I want to know what’s going on.”

“Wait.” Shelton pointed with both hands. “You’re not the Gamemaster?”

“Enough, you moron! What absurd game are you playing? Tonight of all nights.”

I believed him. Chance really was clueless. He wasn’t the Gamemaster.

But he might just save our asses .

“Listen up!” I said. “There’s a machine in this room that will poison everyone upstairs. We’re trying to shut it down. You have to free us.”

“Poison people?” Chance’s gaze bounced from face to face. “Like, kill them? Is this some kind of nerd joke?”

“No, you jackass!” Ben elbowed forward and slammed the grate with both hands. “Everyone upstairs could die in the next few minutes. Just do what she says!”

“It’s true,” Jason added. “Get this thing open as fast as you can.”

Chance’s lips parted, but I cut off whatever he planned to say.

“Please. Trust me. I’ll explain everything later.”

I saw a thousand questions burning in Chance’s eyes.

“Please!” I slapped the sides of my stained white dress.

“Fine!” Chance stepped back and examined the barrier from his side. “This is some type of sliding door, like in a garage.” Pause. “Two clamps are locking the runners in place. I’ll have to release them.”

“Just do it!” I ran back into the ventilation room, the boys on my heels.

Under the Plexiglas, a timer was counting down.

15 … 14 … 13 …

I stared at the screen I couldn’t touch. “What do we do?”

Hi wiped sweat from his brow. “I guess we wait.”

A loud clanging kicked up behind us.

Hurry, Chance!

The five of us stared at the device, hoping we weren’t too late.

The HVAC units continued to roar.

I looked at Shelton. He was tracking the clear tubes exiting the rear of the Gamemaster’s box. “Those feed into the duct for the unit marked ‘second floor.’ The gas will shoot straight up to the ballroom.”

“We bust the tubes,” Ben said. “Problem solved.”

“And have the poison discharge in here?” Hi looked incredulous. “You got some kind of a death wish? Chance has to clear the doorway first.”

Shelton’s voice cracked. “So it’s either us or them?”

The prospect of such a choice shocked everyone to silence.

Jason finally spoke. “We can’t let the gas into the AC. No matter what.”

Horrific images strobed in my mind. Debutantes collapsing. Panicked guests scrambling for doors. Kit and Whitney, gasping, choking, struggling to breathe. Bodies littering the gleaming parquet.

“We won’t,” I swore. “We’re going to win this sick game.”

The HVACs shifted to a low humming. Red lights blinked on both units.

Hi paled. “Oh crap. Are we out of time?”

My eyes shot to the tubes. “I don’t think the gas released.”

Ben pressed close to the chain-link and peered inside the corral. “The HVACs have switched to standby. AC isn’t blowing right now.”

My eyes flicked from the tubes to the timer.

3 … 2 … 1 …

Horns blared from speakers inside the box. The sound morphed into a whimsical, circus-like tune.

The question dissolved from the screen. A new message took its place.

Type the Magic Word to disarm the device!

A touchscreen keyboard appeared at the bottom of the display.

Above it, a cursor blinked.

The timer reset to five minutes and began counting down.

A cacophony of beeps and shrieks replaced the music.

My eyes flew back to the tubes. Still clear.

On the screen, a second line scrolled below the first.

Don’t be wrong, or pay The Price!

Jason looked at me, eyes hopeful. “You know the magic word, right?”

“No. Yes. I mean … we must already know the answer, but have to figure out what it is. That’s how The Game works.”

Jason locked his hands on his head. “This isn’t a game, Tory!”

“How do we enter anything ?” Shelton pushed against the plastic barrier sealing off the niche. “We can’t reach the screen.”

I ignored him, tried to block out the piercing racket blasting from the device.

Combine what you’ve learned to uncover The Danger .

“What led us here?” I asked.

“Your castle theory,” Hi said. “Along with the specific date and time.”

“No, I mean tonight.” I answered my own question. “We found the sunburst symbol upstairs, and again on the electrical room door.”

“That led us to the red balloon.” Shelton slapped the clown face stamped onto the box. “And this nightmare.”

Combine what you’ve learned .

My brain formed a synapse. “He’s using elements from earlier clues.”

Hi yanked my list from his pocket. “So what’s left?”

“Several of these factors are already in play.” I read aloud. “Castle. Sunburst. Bromomethane.”

“This box wants a magic word,” Ben said. “Like a code. The Gamemaster’s first letter—the one on Loggerhead—was encrypted. Maybe that’s a connection.”

“But there’s no message to decipher!” Shelton wailed. “Nothing to decode.”

My mind scrambled for links, but the clanging in the passage, combined with the grating static, kept breaking my concentration. “I can’t hear myself think!”