Page 68 of Snow

She started toward the door when she noticed a small table to the right. A laptop sat open on it, the screen dark. Next to the computer was a box filled with blank white access cards. A small card reader was connected to the side of the computer. It was the computer used to make the key cards.

Nova glanced at the door. She should leave. She had already found more than she expected. Capperson’s notebook alone could be the break they needed, and every second she stayed inside that office increased the chance that someone would discover her.

However, her feet moved toward the computer before her brain could object. She brushed one finger across the touchpad, and the screen awakened.

There was no login prompt, just a management window displaying a search field and several tabs marked users, access history, and card management.

Nova clicked the search bar and typed Brett’s name. When his name appeared, she selected it, and a long list populated the screen with dates, times, doors, and platforms.

Nova skimmed the list looking for anything unusual. Most entries showed access to spaces on Platform One and Two. But then she saw entries where Brett had accessed Platform Three repeatedly in the last week alone, often late at night, during hours when most of the crew would have been asleep.

Nova switched the date range to the previous month. The list expanded until Platform Three entries filled nearly half the screen. Brett hadn’t been avoiding Platform Three. He practically lived there at night.

She took a picture, then lowered her phone and stared at the box of blank cards. An idea took shape. Snow needed access to that platform.

She could assign his existing card, but if Brett were monitoring Snow’s whereabouts, which she was pretty sure he was, then he would see if Snow accessed Platform Three.

A blank card, however, wouldn’t be tied to him.

Nova selected the “card management” tab and took one of the new cards from the box. The system guided her through a short setup screen. She avoided names, employee numbers, and anything that would connect the card to Snow, creating a temporary maintenance credential instead. She selected full access for Platform Three.

She held the card over the card reader. When the card reader gave a faint beep and flashed a small green light, Nova let out a breath she had apparently been holding.

She nearly laughed at how nervous she was.

Seconds later, she heard voices coming from the outside, followed by footsteps on the metal stairs.

Shit…shit…shit!

She quickly pulled the card from the reader and shoved it into her pocket, then clicked back through the program until the welcome screen reappeared.

The voices and footsteps grew louder. “I don’t care what he said. I’m the boss out here,” a man snapped.

Oh God! That was Brett!

Nova’s heart was beating so hard she thought it was going to burst right out of her chest.

She stepped back from the table. Her hip caught the corner, causing a cup filled with pens and pencils to fall onto the floor.

“No. No, no, no.”

The footsteps grew louder as Nova dropped to her knees. She grabbed the cup, scooped up all the pens and pencils, and shoved them back into the cup.

The voices were now directly outside the heavy door.

Nova quickly placed the cup back on the table. She hurried to the door, slipped out, and pulled the door closed behind her, making sure it was locked.

Just as she made it to her desk and dropped into the chair, the door handle turned, and Brett walked in, followed by two other men.

Nova kept her eyes on the laptop screen in front of her, though every muscle in her body tightened.

The two crew guys followed Brett toward his office. One was tall and broad-shouldered with a stained work shirt. The other looked younger, his face pale beneath several days of beard growth.

Brett didn’t acknowledge Nova, which she was happy for.

“Do either of you understand what the consequences would have been if that valve hadn’t been sealed?” he asked, his voice clipped.

“But it was sealed,” the younger man replied.