Exit 9

at all. It’s just sitting on its own server all by itself.”

“All by itself?”

Blanton nodded. “Nothing else on that server at all. I’ve triple-checked.”

Corey wasn’t the computer expert that Blanton was, but like most kids his age, he had a basic understanding of how it all worked. “You can’t get into their internal systems from there?”

Blanton looked around. “Hey, hold it down. I’d rather not have a lot of people know about this, okay?”

“Sorry.” It was early evening, and the place was starting to fill up. “So you can’t get through?”

“Uh-uh. As far as I can tell, there’s no tie between them.”

“Dammit. I was really hoping you could get in that way.”

“Well, I can’t.” Blanton paused. “Not this way.”

Corey cocked his head. “There’s another?”

A smirk grew on his friend’s face. “This is like a challenge, you know?”

“Blanton, just tell me. Is there another way you can get me more information about them?”

“Of course there is.” Blanton began typing. “I was able to locate some of their business filings that had addresses on their main facilities. I should say, facility. Seems they only have one address.”

“You mean the one in Portland? That’s just a mail drop.”

“I don’t mean the one in Portland. I mean the one in Chicago.”

“Chicago? What address in Chicago? I didn’t find anything.”

“That’s because you’re not me.” Blanton hit one more key. A map of Chicago appeared on the screen with a red dot glowing northwest of downtown, right next to O’Hare Airport.

“That’s it?”

Instead of answering, Blanton zoomed in. The dot turned out to be in an industrial area tucked in the southeast corner between I-90 and I-294. The building itself was probably about ten thousand square feet, and, at least when the satellite photo was taken, had a nearly empty parking lot.

“The whole building is theirs?”

“Yep.”

“And you were able to get into their computer system?”

“Well, see, that’s the challenge. I know they have something inside. I could figure out that much. Couldn’t hack in, though. The only way to do that is if I got in close and tapped into their local signal.”

“You mean actually go up there.”

“Well, yeah.”

Blanton sounded like it had been more of an intellectual exercise than anything else, but the idea appealed to Corey. Chicago was only about five hours away by car. They could be there around midnight.

“We’ll take my car.”

Blanton had raised his glass of beer to his mouth. “Uh, excuse me?”

“Better if I drive. I’ve only had a sip. That’s your second.”

“Drive where?”

“Chicago.”

“I’m not going to Chicago.”

“Come on, Blanton. Didn’t you say this was a challenge? Don’t you want to follow that through?”

“Dude, I have class tomorrow.”

“Uh, no, you don’t. Tomorrow’s Sunday.”

“Okay, not really a class, but a study group.”

“Since when do you join study groups?”

“What?” Blanton said. “I can join a study group if I want.”

Corey suddenly realized the truth. “What’s her name?”

“Whose name?”

“The girl in your study group.”

Blanton blushed but shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Never mind. What time does it start?”

“Three.”

“In the afternoon?”

“Well, yeah. It’s not in the morning.”

“We’ll be back in plenty of time.”

“I’m not going to Chicago.”

“Who’s going to Chicago?” Jeannie asked as she walked up.

Corey scooted over so she could join them. “Blanton and I.”

“Oh, no. I’m not going.”

Jeannie looked at her boyfriend. “When?”

“As soon as I can get no-boy here out the door.”

“You’re going to Chicago tonight? Why do you want to do that?”

Corey explained about the building Blanton had found.

“Maybe you should pick another company to do the paper on,” Blanton suggested.

That was the simple solution, but Corey was way too curious about Hidde-Kel now to give up that easily. “Fine. I’ll go by myself. You don’t need to come.”

“I’ll go with you,” Jeannie offered.

Corey smiled and squeezed her hand. He then looked at Blanton. “Not up for the challenge, huh?”

His friend groaned. “I don’t want to miss my group tomorrow.”

“I already said we’d be back in time.”

“All right, all right. I’ll go. But we’re stopping at White Castle and you’re buying.”

With the stop for food and another two for bathroom breaks, they didn’t reach Chicago until closer to one a.m. It took them another twenty minutes to get out to O’Hare Airport.

From there it was still a little tricky getting over to the area where the building was, but after a couple of wrong turns, Corey finally pulled his old Civic onto the right road. Driving slowly, both he and Jeannie read off building addresses.

“That’s got to be it over there,” she said, pointing ahead and to the left at a long, two-story brick structure.

The only sign on the building was an address number, the same that belonged to Hidde-Kel, according to what Blanton had found out. The parking lot beside it was sealed off by an eight-foot-high, chain-link fence with barbed wire strung across the top.

“Kind of fortress-like, don’t you think?” she said.

Corey drove about half a block past, then pulled to the side of the road and looked back. There was something unusual about the place, but it hadn’t been the barbed wire. He turned off the engine.

“You coming?” he asked as he opened his door.

“Hell, yeah,” she said. “What about Blanton?”

He nodded in the back at his unmoving friend. “We’ll let him sleep for now.”

As they walked down the street, it felt like there wasn’t anyone else around for miles. As they neared the building, they jogged across the street. Corey led Jeannie across a short expanse of brown grass to a row of leafless hedges in front of the windows.

There was no light on inside, which was odd, because in Corey’s albeit-limited experience, most businesses left some kind of light on inside. Not Hidde-Kel, apparently.

He looked around and found a wide spot between two of the bushes. He thought if he was careful, he could squeeze between them. He gave it a try and made it cleanly. Jeannie wasn’t quite as lucky.

“Ow!”

“You all right?” he asked.

She was clutching her neck just below her ear.