Chapter 9
Thursday
It was the day that the team had planned to attempt the bank heist, but Rachel was completely unaware when she woke up in the morning. She got herself ready and called in sick for work, well actually she called her dad and complained about being sick and he said that she was fine not to come in. Rachel really just wanted a whole day to go over the evidence she gathered and think about things. She sat down at her desk and started to look at the gadget that she had found on the rooftop near the warehouse. She found a power button on the side and watched as the screen came to life. Text flashed on the screen that read, “Existing Code” then a bunch of numbers started scrolling across the screen and Rachel didn’t know what to do anymore. Shortly the numbers stopped and then a blank box appeared with the words “Enter New Code” above it. There was a number pad and an enter button on the front panel. Rachel didn’t know what kind of code she had to put in so she hit the power button and set it aside for now. Rachel tried to remember all the things that had happened over the past few days. One thing that really stuck out was when Ethan was in her apartment.
‘How did he know where I lived?’ Rachel wondered. The only thing she could think of was the police roster, and if he did see that then they must have an extremely skilled hacker. And this technology, it didn’t look like any she had ever seen. They must have some sort of person who tinkers with electronics. She also knew that they had an extremely skilled driver, and Ethan. So that’s about four, then there were the two females who always charged in with Ethan, that made six. And finally there was also a sniper rounding the group out at seven, lucky number seven. So a group of seven would need a hideout that was big enough for several people to live and potentially use spare parts to make new technology. One place stood out immediately, the junk yard. As soon as the idea came to mind Rachel leapt up, grabbed her bag from the night before, and ran out the door.
She lived a couple blocks from the junk yard and decided to take her bike because her patrol car was at the station and she wanted to get there fast. As she got nearer to the junk yard she saw another cyclist heading in that direction, curious she decided to follow. The biker was taller, slightly tan, with dark hair and was a little more fit than average. He was fast too, Rachel was pedaling her hardest and she was still losing ground. The biker also had quick reflexes, several times he narrowly avoided a street bum, or a dog walker, or a business man on his way to work. Rachel avoided obstacles too but not nearly as gracefully. The biker seemed to take notice of Rachel and was obviously trying to throw her off. As soon as he realized she was tailing him he no longer headed for the junk yard. Suddenly the cyclist cut across traffic, almost getting run over in a busy street in downtown LA. Rachel followed as close as she could but she lost some ground. When the biker cut across the busy traffic again she wondered who would do something so reckless, but she knew who almost instantly. It was the same person who decided to drive down the wrong side of the road in a van full of stolen artwork. Rachel didn’t know why but for some reason her gut told her that this was the driver. Maybe if she could follow him long enough she could either catch up to him and explain her and Ethan’s situation or she could find their hideout. Rachel followed the biker and now pedaled with a new determination. The biker seemed to be slowing down and Rachel knew that she was gaining even if it was only slightly. The cyclist turned down a narrow alley, so narrow their handlebars almost touched both walls. Rachel’s foot slipped off the pedal and she almost went tumbling but she righted herself with minimal time lost. The biker had turned left upon exiting the alley and Rachel followed his lead. The biker was now approaching the back side of the junk yard, they had made about half a loop around the outskirts of it, and he was slowing down. Rachel put all the strength she had into one last effort and she started to gain on him. They were so close now their bikes almost touched. Rachel felt that she had nothing to lose so she threw herself off of her bike and tackled the biker in front of her. They both tumbled to the ground and their bikes both collided into the back chain link fence of the junk yard. The biker tried to squirm but Rachel pinned him to the ground. In the struggle the cyclist had turned over and was now lying on his back facing Rachel.
