Teddy ran through the options in her mind. She could confront Nick and Clint in front of all the instructors and other students. Or she could get drunk first and then confront them. But Pyro (or, more specifically, his flask) was nowhere to be seen. Time for Plan C.
She turned to Dara. “Do you know who that guy is talking to Clint?”
“No clue, but I’d like to.”
Teddy sighed, exasperated. “Never mind.”
Dara nodded to where Molly and Jeremy were sneaking out of the dining hall. “I think Molly and Jeremy managed a trade for lab keys. Want to see if we can grab some Internet time?”
Two words were at the forefront of Teddy’s mind: Google search. If Nick knew so much about her, the least she could do was find out more about him. She was done playing by the rules. If Clint didn’t have to follow them, then she didn’t have to, either. “Hell, yes.”
Dara and Teddy made their way to the back of the dining hall to catch up with Molly and Jeremy. “Mind if we tag along?” Teddy asked. “Desperate for some Internet.”
The two looked at each other, hesitating a moment before Jeremy responded. “That would be fine.”
They left through the back of Harris Hall and cut through the meditation lawn to the lab. Jeremy fished a key from his pocket and opened the door. For a second, Teddy expected an alarm, a flashing light, something, but nothing happened. Inside, it was just the same office space, the two shiny Macs powered down for the night.
Outside, they heard footsteps. Boots on gravel. A shadow slipped across the glass of the door. Dara sucked in a breath. “Of course, we’re going to be the ones who get caught doing something one time that the entire school gets away with.”
“Shhh,” Molly whispered.
Teddy’s heart pounded. Was she about to throw her entire life away, her shot at Whitfield, just to get revenge on Nick and Clint for setting her up in Vegas? Clint had forced her hand, but he’d done it to give her a second chance, Teddy could see that now. Her convictions had seemed stronger back in the dining hall.
The noise grew closer, and then the lab door creaked open, revealing . . . Pyro.
“Hey, heard you guys got Internet.”
“Jesus H. Christ,” Dara said. “You nearly gave us all coronaries.”
“I just wanted to see how the Chargers are doing. Heard Rivers got hurt.”
“Is that English?” Dara asked.
“Football,” Pyro said.
“There are two computers in the reception and two more in Eversley’s office,” Molly said. “I’ll use one in there, it’ll likely have a password on it, but I can break in, no sweat.”
“I’ll keep watch,” Jeremy said.
Dara and Pyro booted up the computers in the reception.
“I’ll come with you,” Teddy said to Molly, who looked at Jeremy as if for permission. “Is there a problem?” Teddy said to him. Maybe Molly was nervous. Using two unlocked computers was different than breaking in to Eversley’s office.
“Go,” Jeremy said. “We don’t have much time. Ava and Liz have the next spot. I have to meet them after at Harris. Brett’s been letting the entire school in and out of here all night.”
Molly reached for the office door. Locked. Molly tried the key again, but it didn’t work.
“This,” Teddy said, “I can do.” She grabbed a paper clip from a desk drawer, fashioned one end into a shallow hook, and inserted it into the lock. After a couple of jiggles and twists, the lock clicked.
“Something you picked up in Vegas?” Molly asked.
“Maybe one day I’ll learn to do it with my mind.”
They entered the dark lab. Teddy fumbled for a light switch. The fluorescent bulbs flickered on. There were two computers on one side of the room and a patient table on the other. All around them were floor-to-ceiling cabinets.
“Kind of a depressing office, huh?” Teddy said.
“Tell me about it.” Molly was already at work on one computer and Eversley’s password.
“Just tell me it’s not something like ILOVEBOOBS or PSYCHICSSUCK.”
But Molly didn’t seem in the mood for jokes. She took out a USB drive and plugged it into the computer. “This program does the hard work for me.” In a few seconds, she was in. “Not too bad—49ERSFAN#1!—didn’t peg Eversley for a sports guy, though. He and Pyro should hang out.”
“You came prepared.” Teddy typed the password onto the second computer in front of her, watched the screen come to life. All right, Nick, Teddy thought. Let’s see what you’ve got.
Jeremy appeared at the door. “About fifteen minutes or so?”
Molly nodded, furiously typing away, the number of windows and boxes and programs running simultaneously on her screen astounded Teddy.
“Wow, that looks intense.”
It took Molly a second to realize that Teddy was talking to her. “Oh. Sorry, I’m trying to help a friend. Nothing serious, I promise.” She glanced at the clock. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
Teddy went back to her computer, clicking on the file STAFF & FACULTY LIST—UPDATED. And she’d thought this would be hard. She clicked on the search bar and entered Nick. There were three Nicks on campus. One who worked in janitorial. One in security who had been at the school since 2015. And one Nicholas Stavros who had joined the faculty a month ago as an FBI liaison. She closed the document and looked over at Molly, only to find that Molly was staring right at her. “What?”
“N-n-nothing,” Molly stammered. “I just—” She swallowed. “I have to tell Jeremy something, and then I think we should wipe the history on these computers and get going. I’ll be right back.” She stumbled out of
