Muted Trilogy: Mute Part 23

Jack had eaten a quick dinner with his father before meeting Jemma where she waited at his house; they'd decided it wasn't safe to completely split up, even during the day, and she'd felt guilty at the thought of eating dinner with his dad when she'd turned down the dinner invitation from her own parents.

"We start with research, of course." Jack seemed back to his normal self, in a relatively good mood considering what they were planning. Jemma stopped pacing and sat next to him, her arm resting against his as she looked at the screen on his laptop. "Okay, so here's the tax a.s.sessor's page for the building." He scrolled through written descriptions, photos of the plot and the building itself, and what looked like a floor plan. "It doesn't have as much information as there would be on a residential building. We can't see interior walls, but we've both been in there. It was just a big room with cubicles, and a small office to one side, right?"

Jemma sent a wave of agreement, then looked between the photos and the representation of the shape of the building. "Those back windows there, that's where the office is."

"That's what I'm thinking, too. That's about where my initial planning ended, though. This isn't exactly something I've ever come close to doing."

"Me neither." Jemma scanned through the information on the page but didn't see much that she didn't already know. The building was one floor, standard height, carpet inside, slab foundation. "There are those big vent-type things that look like they'd be easy enough to get into, but they face the busier street, don't they?"

"Yeah," replied Jack. "Plus I'm not sure what's on the other side of them, whether we could get through into the building. There's not likely a guard after hours. It closes at 6:30, so employees should be gone pretty soon."

"Are we doing this tonight?" asked Jemma.

"Tonight or tomorrow night, if we think we can make it that long."

"Tonight probably gives us better chances." Jemma sat back. "But that means we have no time to plan. If it was guarded, at least we might be able to just bribe someone. There's an alarm, I'm guessing?"

"More likely than not." Jack navigated to Google Maps. "There's a security sticker on a couple of the windows."

"What does an alarm do when it goes off? I mean, it makes noise, obviously, but who does it notify?"

"Sometimes just the owner. Sometimes the security company or the police."

"We know the police are pretty overworked," sent Jemma. "Would they respond to something like this?"

"Maybe. Probably depends what else is going on." Jack ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you think we could just break a window, get what we need, and get back out before the police or anyone gets there?" asked Jemma.

"It depends. Have a way to test it, though, maybe. I need to Google a bit more."

Jemma watched as he ran through a list of terms quickly enough that she had trouble following, despite her well-above-average reading speed, running through information about alarm systems and radio signals.

"Okay," sent Jack. "So I read an article a couple years back, before one of the big computer conferences, that said most security systems were still using unencrypted radio waves that have been outdated for a while. If we had more time, I could probably get us in and out completely without anyone noticing. As it is, though, I think I've got the parts to put something together that'll trigger a false alarm."

"Just once or do we get a few chances?"

"It should work as many times as we need it to. We'll have to be close, though," he added. "Probably across the street at the furthest."

"There's a Subway or something there, right?" Jemma pulled up the map on her phone. "So we go there and set off the alarm and see how long it takes someone to show up. Then we've got an idea of what we're working with."

"Right," sent Jack, beaming at her. "It gets better, too, if we keep setting it off. What would you do if your alarm kept going off and seemed like it was malfunctioning? On top of that, it's a place without much in the way of high-risk valuables."

"Eventually I'd either shut the alarm off or just ignore it," sent Jemma. "Also, even if the police come out, they're not going to do it more than once."

"Exactly!" Jack's eyes sparkled. "We do it until there's no reaction or until we have a good idea of how much time we have inside."

"And do we... Is there a way to break in without actually breaking anything? Or are we going through one of those back windows where we'll be hidden?"

"I'm thinking the window might be best," sent Jack. "Less chance of setting off some backup alarm before we're even in there."

"All right. So that gets us inside and then back out. Do we know what, exactly, we're looking for?"

"Paperwork. That's more your area, sorting, reading quickly. Hopefully the office isn't a disaster and we can find what we need without too much issue."

Jemma nodded. "We can check under our names first, check for any sections kept apart from others. If it's there and we have enough time, I'll find it."

"Well, then that's our plan. We're doing this tonight?"

She nodded again. "Seems like it makes the most sense."

"Okay," sent Jack. "I'm gonna go get what I need to mess with the alarm system."

Jack exited the room, and Jemma was left with her thoughts. The whole situation seemed surreal. They were being watched and could potentially be captured for who-knew-what use, and now they were planning a break-in to get information. From a blood bank. There may not have been any vampires, but given the telepathy, it didn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to get firmly into the supernatural.

Creatures of lore aside, though, she really was here planning to break into a building, and it didn't quite feel like anything but a dream, like she was brainstorming for a story. Or maybe an episode of Buffy.

And then there was Jack. She'd finally made a friend, a good one, and they were about to commit a crime together, but their chances of getting arrested seemed slim compared to their chances of disappearing without a trace.

She felt around for Kendall's connection again, but she was still unable to connect, and there'd been no lights on when they'd driven by her house on the way to Jack's. Again, it was something she had trouble wrapping her mind around; yesterday, she'd Talked to two people who were no longer around to Talk to. The connection's continued presence, if inaccessible, did at least mean they were probably alive.

But for what purpose?

She jumped as Jack came back into the room.

"Sorry," he sent, arranging several parts on the coffee table. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"You're fine," sent Jemma. "I was just thinking."

"Plenty to think about. Anything in particular?" Jack sat next to her on the couch and started arranging the electronics in the order he wanted them.

"Tonight. What's next. What was yesterday." Jemma aimed for an airy tone and was rewarded by Jack's grin, a sparkle in his eye as he looked away from the electronics and toward her. She grinned back at him, the moment carrying more than just the attempt at a joke. He searched her eyes before responding.

"So you were thinking about everything in particular." He smiled again and then turned his attention back to the pieces, putting them together as if they were Legos.

"Exactly." Jemma watched him, his quickly-moving fingers proof of his familiarity with the various boards and wires and metal.

"This won't take me too long," he sent, "and then we can go ahead and head to Subway. Are you hungry yet? We can kill two birds with one stone."

"Getting there maybe. I know I should eat, but everything feels a little fake. I'm not really hungry, not any more than I would be in a dream. Unless I'm dreaming about being hungry, but that's a bit different."

Jack sent a wave of agreement. "It would be an easier puzzle to solve, for sure."

He set down the hodgepodge of electronics and plugged a USB cable from that into his laptop, then opened a program. His connection dimmed slightly, as he fiddled a little more with the hardware and with his computer. Finally, he nodded and let a wave of satisfaction through.

"Okay. That should do it." He looked over at Jemma. "Ready to go?"

"Let's do this," she answered, standing and waiting for him to finish packing up his laptop before they left.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:.

Consequence They sat at a table from which they'd be able to see the blood bank across the street. Jack set up his laptop, and Jemma unwrapped her sandwich, using the extra wrapper to obscure the device that would mess with the alarm.

"Subway is open until 11, so we've got a few hours before we need to set up somewhere else," sent Jack. "Let's see how many times we can set off this alarm in the meantime." He looked at her over his laptop screen. "Ready?"

She nodded, and he pushed a few b.u.t.tons. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a small, bright light flashing near the blood bank's door.

"I'm watching one side of the parking lot and you're watching the other, right?" she sent.

"Right," he agreed.

Jemma took a bite of her sandwich, chewing slowly, not entirely sure she'd be able to swallow with the tension that coiled as she waited.

And waited.

She was eventually able to swallow the bite without any ill effects, and the light was still blinking, no sign of anybody in the parking lot or in the building.

"How long do you think it'll be?" she asked.

Jack shrugged. "Depends. The police could be here any minute or in twenty minutes or not at all. If the building manager comes, it shouldn't take too long, but obviously it depends on where they live."

She sent a wave of acknowledgment and took another bite, setting her sandwich down while she chewed. The restaurant was uncrowded, with just one other table occupied and one person working his way through the line.

Even eating as slowly as she could, her sandwich was halfway gone before she finally saw movement, a bright red car entering the parking lot across the street.

"Jack," she sent, glad for the private and immediate method of communication.

"I see it. Twenty-two minutes."

Jemma kept her face pointed toward the table but her eyes fixed on the blood bank. A man in jeans and a t-shirt went inside and turned on a few lights. They could see him move through the building, checking everything, and then he went back to the door, got the alarm to stop blinking, and went back to his car.

"Do we set it back off immediately or give him a chance to get home first?" sent Jack.

"Let him get home first a time or two, then set it off before he can even leave, once he's already annoyed," sent Jemma, trying to decide how many times she might be willing to check on an empty building.

"Good plan."

The car pulled back out of the lot and onto the main street, disappearing quickly.

"Anything constructive we can do while waiting?" sent Jemma.

"I'm monitoring the radio waves, making sure the alarm isn't doing anything unusual. It looks like it's got all the normal triggers, windows and doors opening or breaking. I don't see any triggers that seem to come from inner rooms, so we should be okay once we get in."

It was still seeming too simple, too easy. Not real. Breaking the law had to be more complicated than this. They were forgetting something, missing...

"Gloves," sent Jemma, and Jack blinked, sending a wave of confusion. "We should go next door and get some gloves, just in case the police do end up investigating and we're not already, you know, missing."

"Smart. The convenience store should still be open when Subway closes, and we'll head across the street after that. Maybe stay parked at the convenience store since that's open and a car won't stand out?"

Jemma nodded and continued working on her sandwich, finishing it just before it was time to trigger the alarm again. Jack was watching his screen intently and jumped slightly when she crumpled up her wrapper.

"Sorry," she sent, smiling wryly when she realized they'd had this exchange, only reversed, earlier in the night.

"You're fine." Jack looked away from his computer long enough to wink at her, then shifted back to a serious look. "Ready to set it off again?"

"Ready when you are."

Jack nodded and did something on his laptop, and the light started blinking again. Traffic had thinned some, and Jemma thought she might be able to hear the beep of the alarm, very faintly.

"So, what do you think, longer or shorter wait this time?" Jack arched an eyebrow at Jemma and grinned.

"Longer. He had probably already changed into whatever he sleeps in." She studied Jack for a long moment until he sent a questioning wave. "You seem like you're in a pretty good mood."

"Well," he sent, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'll admit that I like the strategy on some level, and I love that I threw some parts together and now have a nifty remote that I'll never use again. Also, I figure being nervous and serious, which is my other option, that's not really gonna help us. If that weren't enough reasons"-his grin grew-"we probably look less conspicuous if we seem like we're on a normal outing together, just eating and then relaxing at Subway, and why wouldn't I be in a good mood when I'm out on a date with you?"

Jemma felt her cheeks flush slightly, and Jack's smile softened before he looked away, though the smile lingered while he studied his computer screen. She turned to look out the window, watching the cars drive by as she kept the parking lot in her line of sight, as she worked to stop blushing from his mild flirting. As he'd said, it was a good cover. It didn't mean that he meant it or that she had to reciprocate, and even if he did mean it, this wasn't exactly the ideal time to start anything. She rested her chin on her hand, trying to avoid tapping the table with her free hand while the light continued to blink in her direction.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable," sent Jack, his tone apologetic without directly sending any emotion. Jemma dropped her hand back to her lap and looked at Jack, whose face was neutral. "I mean, I was being honest and don't take back what I said, but I'm sorry it made you uncomfortable."

"It didn't really," sent Jemma. "I mean, sort of, but only because I hadn't..." She rubbed her arm and looked back out the window. "You know I'm not really used to relationships of any kind. I'm even less used to flirtation than I am to friendship. It isn't that I object." She looked at Jack, who was watching her closely, then away again. "I just wasn't sure how to respond."

"Just be yourself," he sent with a wave of affection. "We're good around each other, right?"

Jemma nodded. "We are."

"We don't need to be anyone else, don't need to respond in a way that isn't us. When I'm with someone I like, I tend to flirt, the same as I tend to be a bit hands-on. The same as with that, though, if it makes you uncomfortable, I can rein it in."

"That doesn't sound like being yourself, though," sent Jemma.

"I'd be less myself if I knowingly hurt someone I care about."

Jemma sent a wave of understanding and a silent request for a moment to process. After making the wordless request, she realized she had no doubts he would respect it. He never ignored her discomfort, never expected her to force her way through it as her family did, however well-intentioned they were. The flirtation really had surprised her more than made her uncomfortable, and she'd gotten used to his casual touches.

She turned to face him, reaching her hand across the table and loosely taking his, earning a hesitant smile and a return of the sparkling in his eyes. Before she could verbalize her thoughts, she caught a hint of movement in her peripheral vision and turned to see the red vehicle coming to a stop in front of the blood bank's door rather than parking in an official parking s.p.a.ce.

The man wore the same clothes as far as Jemma could see, but he moved more quickly, held himself more stiffly than before.

"He's already pretty upset," sent Jack. "How about we set it off again before he has a chance to get home?"

"Let's do that," she sent. They watched while the man went through the building again, less thoroughly this time, then left.

"Response time was 25 minutes," sent Jack. "I'm feeling pretty good about our chances even if the false alarms don't work."