Nabiki? … Impossible!
by
Nicholas Stone
Outfoxed…
Chapter Thirteen
With Ryoga's help, Akane stood before the cabinet where Nabiki said Maeda's safe was hidden. She still felt groggy and heavy headed, but it was now or never and they knew luck would finally run out if they stalled any longer. She reached down grabbed Ryoga's hand, and holding the flashlight, directed the beam around the sides and top of the cabinet.
"Damn," muttered Akane, letting his arm fall free.
"Damn, what?" asked Ryoga.
"This safe is alarmed. I'm going to have to disable it first"
Ryoga drew back, eyeing Akane. "How did you determine that with just one pass of a flashlight"
Akane smirked and looked back at him as if amazed he would even ask such a thing. Ryoga thought and then understood.
"Oh, Happosai. My bad"
She shook her head. "I'm going to need the bag. Where is it"
"Over here"
Ryoga let Akane go to get it and she yelped, teetering backwards. Desperately, she called Ryoga and he barely caught her before she could hit the floor.
"I still do not have legs, remember?" she said.
"You're making this hard for us, Akane. Tom Cruise never had this much trouble in both his movies"
"Stop with the Tom Cruise stuff and hand me the bag"
Ryoga reached out and pulled the bag from the floor, passing it to Akane. She told him to set her on the floor and then opened it, shining their light inside. After a few minutes of careful searching; Akane pulled out a small black box with a long cord attached on one end. She clipped another wire to the end of this, spreading five slender wires apart, tiny suction cups on each end.
Akane pointed back to the safe and Ryoga hefted her back up. Another quick look and Akane carefully placed the suction cups around the outer edges of the frame, making sure they were secured firmly in place, and then slid the cover off the box. There was a small L.E.D. window at the top; four sliding controls arrayed one over the other below it. A tap of a switch turned it on and she gazed at the readout.
"Happosai taught you all of this?" asked Ryoga, amazed by the sophisticated equipment.
"Yep. Some of my training involved, and I hate to admit this, getting into the Nakimo Girls Technology School dorm. You'd be surprised how much security they have in place"
"A girls' dorm? Happosai made you break into a girls' dorm for one of his demented raids"
Akane slid a few of the controls around, eyeing the connector, and readjusted the controls. "Yes," she replied, smiling back at him, "It was my 'graduation' assignment. I did so well the old geezer had tears in his eyes. He even gave me a pair of gold-plated panties as a present"
There came a light beep and Akane placed the box on the mantle. "Alarms by-passed," she finished.
Disbelief covered Ryoga's face. He could not believe that Akane, the ever-so-innocent girl from days past could be so skilled. He rubbed the back of his head and just stared at her.
"Come out of it, Ryoga," said Akane, snapping her fingers in his face.
"Uh, I'm sorry, I just… well I'm… Wow"
"Heft me up"
He did, Akane now feeling around the sides until she found a slight depression near the top right edge. Child's play, she thought, pressing it in. A panel slid open and for a moment Akane grinned pleased with her success. It suddenly faded away and she tapped Ryoga pointing back to the floor. He set her down and she was silent for a long minute.
"Akane"
She shook her, head activating the comlink. Ukyo
There was no answer, Akane let out a sigh.
"Akane, what's wrong?" asked Ryoga.
She cut him a glance and called for Ukyo again.
I heard you the first time, Akane, Ukyo finally replied. You're in I take it
No. I can't open the safe
"What?" said Ryoga.
"Will you keep it down"
"Keep it down? After all of that magic you pulled, you can't open this safe"
"It's not that simple, Ryoga"
Akane, tell me this is a joke, said Ukyo.
No joke, Ukyo. Get Nabiki online, fast
Hold on
Ryoga knelt down beside her. "Akane, what's wrong with the safe"
"It's not the safe, Ryoga; it's how it's secured"
"What do you mean"
"No time to explain. I just hope Nabiki can find an answer for us"
He let out a moan and turned sitting down beside her. "No! We've been here too long already!" said Ryoga, holding his head in his hands. "How come we can't get any breaks here"
Akane grabbed Ryoga by the collar and pulled him around until they were eye to eye. "Tom Cruise did not panic when things got rough… don't you start," she told him.
Ryoga gulped, nodding and she let him go.
Akane? It was Nabiki, and Akane quickly answered.
Nabiki, we've got problems
So I gather. Ukyo says you can't open the safe. Why not
Akane tapped Ryoga pointing to the safe and he picked her up again. You did see the keypad inside here, Nabiki
I did, so crack the combo and get in there
Did you also see the card slot above it
In the walk-in closet of foyer, Nabiki stood speechless at the latest wrinkle in her plan. Ukyo, wondering if this meant the jig was up, gave her a slight nudge to bring her out of it with no success.
What card slot? Nabiki finally answered.
Guess that answers that question, replied Akane. There's a card slot just abo
eeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Akane grit her teeth fighting back the cry in her throat as a sharp piercing wail cut into their conversation across the circuit. She twisted around in Ryoga's arms, buried her face into his shoulder and hugged him tight. He went stiff wondering if she had gone back into her zone again. Nabiki managed to pull the comlink from her ear, holding it away from her grimacing at the sound. It was so loud even Ukyo could hear it and she too drew back, grimacing. Unfortunately, Ranko's reaction was not as subtle.
"nnnNNNGGYYYAHHHHH!" she cried, teetering in her steps, the tray in her hands wavering around as she fought to maintain her balance. The guests around her stared in surprise and then the whine ceased and Ranko staggered to a stop. Her eyes cut from side to side and then Ranko timidly smiled.
"…uh… cramps in the back of my legs… sorry," she said and limped off out of sight into the hallway.
Mrs. Iwamoto, standing next to a distraught Vicky, let out a giggle and turned to her. "So, Victoria, is this more of your exquisite entertainment you have planned for tonight"
She, as well as several others of the Bonsai club, laughed and strolled off leaving Vicky fuming. "I'm going to kill her, I'm going to kill her," she muttered, storming off.
Meanwhile, Nabiki put the commlink back on and could hear what sounded like someone choking coming across the circuit.
…are you trying to kill us, Hikaru? Should I just finish this job myself
Doctor Tofu? said Nabiki.
Hikaru dropped from Ono's grip as he looked up. Ukyo
No, Nabiki. What's going on
"We're on," he told Gosunkugi.
"great, can i breath now?" said Hikaru.
"Will you get up from there? Grief!" Ono pressed the comlink. Nabiki, why are you up here, or is this a sign we've run into problems
More problems, Doctor Tofu. Akane now cannot open this safe
She what
…the safe has an additional code in it, came Akane's weak voice. I need a card containing the key
Ono blinked, digesting Akane's explanation, matching it against the images of disaster dancing in his head. So we're extracting you guys now, right? he finally said.
No, answered Nabiki. We're going to find out what we need to open this safe and get it
Nabiki. That's going to take more time and we're already behind as it is
So it will not matter then, right? Look, I'm this close to breaking free of Maeda's foul grip and I'm not about to pass this up
Even if one of us gets caught in the process
Ow, real life, Nabiki frowned at Tofu's comment. No… but we've got to try
You're pushing it, Nabiki, but okay. So what now
Yeah, what now, she thought. Doc, is Hikaru on line
I'm here
Hikaru… what's wrong with your voice
Doctor's Laryngitis
Not the time to figure that one out, Nabiki arched a brow and went on. Hikaru, you're a geek
Intellectual Developer, thank you
FOCUS, HIKARU! everyone shouted together.
Nabiki cleared her throat and continued. Hikaru, you like electronic stuff, do you think you can crack this thing
I'll need to see it first before I can tell you
Now how are we going to do that? asked Tofu.
I got you, Hikaru, said Akane, Stand by
She tapped Ryoga and he set her down. "Bag," she told him and Ryoga opened it up. Akane rummaged around inside through the contents until she found what she was looking for. It was a disc about two inches in diameter, a quarter of an inch thick, black with a smaller lens like circle in the center. A long thin wire snaked out from it and she pressed a pad on the back.
Hikaru, I've switched on that mini-camera you gave me. Are you picking up the signal
Hikaru struggled to control the display and the cracked keyboard, but finally navigated too an icon on the screen. A window opened up and the low light image of Akane's face appeared in it.
"Akaneeeee," he gushed, gaining a sharp slap to the side of his head. Ono glared at him, jabbing a finger at the mic and he shrugged.
I-I-I see you, Akane. You look tired
Beyond that
Let's get to the safe, please, said Nabiki.
Ryoga picked Akane up again and she pointed the small camera at the safe. Hikaru strained to see the details, adjusting controls, squinting hard, but then finally received a decent view.
Well this guy has good taste, he told them.
What do you mean? asked Nabiki.
That's a LockTight 1217. An excellent choice of valuables' security if I must say so
"You know this safe?" said Ono.
"Yes, Doc. Why it's one of our flagship models in the Kuno Security Development Department"
"You built this damn thing"
"Well… not to brag, Doc, but I did have a hand in the coding sequences"
So that means you know how too crack that card code, right? asked Nabiki.
Hikaru frowned. Now why would I want to do something like that
Ooo, if I could just reach through this thing
Not a problem, Nabiki, said Ono.
The sounds of choking returned over the circuit. Nabiki waited a moment and then spoke again. Hikaru! Why won't you open it for us
…(GAACCKKK!)…because i can't do it
Oh I see you need more convincing, said Ono, increasing his pressure.
Wait, Doctor Tofu, let him go. The choking stopped and Nabiki paused to allow Hikaru a chance to catch his breath. So, Mister Smart-Guy, why can't you do it
… huh-HII-huh-HII-huh…I can't do it from here
So does that mean you need to be with us, Hikaru? asked Akane.
Even if I was there, I still could not do it
Nabiki was at the end of her patience. Spill it, man! Why not
The LockTight Series comes with four key cards. One copy of the master is kept by the Kuno Security Service, two are emergency one-time use only cards, and then there's the master itself
So we need to find one of the three cards then
No. The two emergency cards have a special code in them. Once used, and if this place is wired as instructed, a silent alarm gets sent to the nearest police station, and another is sent to whatever security is on the grounds. One of the two will call here to verify there is a problem, and you have to have a password to answer them
"Damn it!" shouted Nabiki. She pulled off the comlink and threw it aside, moving to the front of the closet in frustration. Ukyo eyed her and picked up the link.
Hey guys, she said.
Ukyo? answered Ono.
Hi, Doc
What happened to Nabiki
She's over here fuming about something
Probably about this keycard we need to open the safe
Courtesy of the Kuno Industries, added Akane.
Just our luck
Unfortunately, Hikaru here knew about the safe's design, but neglected to tell us this
"Hey I didn't know it was a LockTight"
Ukyo grimaced at the harsh words. Doctor Tofu, that doesn't sound like you at all
You teamed me up with this boy! What do you expect
She could not help but giggle, Ukyo moved up next to Nabiki. She was rambling to herself, trying to reason a way through all of the mishaps and problems they were experiencing.
"He's thought of everything… every move I've made, every small detail planned to perfection and now because of a small card I'm doomed to everlasting servitude"
"Nabiki"
"I can't believe this. I-I just can't believe this"
"Nabiki, get a hold of yourself. You're stronger than this"
Nabiki spun around, "But I can't avoid fate, can I? So close, so close"
"Then we need to find out who has this card"
"You have any ideas"
Ukyo shook her head and Nabiki sighed. She leaned back up against the door thinking then her brows rose. That deadly, scheming look she had slowly appeared and Ukyo knew she was forming a plan in her mind.
"Earpiece," she said and Ukyo handed it over. Hikaru… if that alarm is set off normally, will it send out a signal to the police
Depends on the customer. Some do, some don't
An alarm here
Loud enough to wake the dead
Hmm, muttered Nabiki. She suddenly pulled Ukyo close. Hikaru, can these alarms be triggered accidentally
Happens about once or twice in a life span of the safe. We're working on
Spare us, geek! Okay, here's the plan. Ranko, I know you can't speak so just listen. Go out and alert the others that we're about to set off the alarm up there
WHAT
Let me finish… Akane, place that camera thing somewhere up high where it can see the safe without being seen itself. Hikaru, how far will it see in good lighting
With fair clarity about three an a half meters
Monitor it. Once Akane and Ryoga have it in place, they're going to trip the alarm and hide
Where are we going to hide
Find a place, sister. When you're ready, tell Ukyo, hide and we'll see who comes up to check this safe
"And after that?" asked Ukyo.
Hikaru will describe our target and we go get him or her. Everyone clear about what they have to do
They all said yes. Good. Let's make this a clean one
She handed the comlink back to Ukyo and stood, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Ukyo fixed her hair and wondered what it was that had Nabiki thinking so intensely.
"And?" she said.
"Hm? Oh, I need an alibi"
"You bet. The first person Maeda's going to be looking for is you once that alarm goes off"
A good point, Nabiki nodding at her with a knowing smile.
"Well then, I'll make it easy for him to find me …"
