DHAKA, BANGLADESH
Bangladesh. I step out of the airport and it's like entering another world. People bustle past to jump into taxis or rush to meet up with family or friends. Cars are honking uproariously while drivers call out for our group's attention for us to ride with them instead of the taxi Danny ordered us. Even the air smells different. More like a big city instead of the salty air of Florida.
I drag my suitcase across the bumpy pavement to the back of the taxi van Danny ordered us. We traveled eighteen hours, arriving here in Dhaka, Bangladesh on their Monday morning, and even with a private plane, we look a little haggard in our wrinkled clothes.
"Tell me the hotel is close by." Sun tosses her carry-on into the back. "I'm desperate for a shower."
"By the way," Tony whispers to me. "If my mom calls looking for me, tell her I'm staying at a friend's house."
"Wait, what? She doesn't know you're in Bangladesh? I thought you told her it was a work trip."
"Shhh..." Tony glances around to make sure no one heard before slipping his luggage next to Sun's. "Dude, chill. There's no way she'd let me skip school. I'm surprised your mom said yes."
"Me too." I try to push away the thoughts of Mom's text that greeted me when we landed.
Basically, since I'm not acting like a responsible adult, I'm grounded for eternity. I remind myself this will be worth it once I find Dad.
"You lied, didn't you?" Jake whispers in my ear as I'm about to get in the van with the others. "Your mom didn't want you going on this trip."
"Shut up and get into the van," I snap. "And don't you dare tell anyone that or I'll tell the group about your Batman obsession."
"And there's the red-haired fire I've been waiting for." He grins and jumps into the van.
"Head for the Purbani International Hotel," Danny tells the driver once we all settle inside. Then he peeks his head around the front seat to talk to us. "It's the closest hotel to the bank and only eighteen kilos from here. The hotel is in the older section of the city so not the newest of places, but it should work for what you need. I also checked on the bank's hours. It opens at 10 a.m. so that gives you two hours to get settled into your rooms before heading over there."
Except as we leave the airport, traffic keeps our taxi van moving at a snail's pace. The van is stifling hot and the scent of petrol from the highway penetrates the air despite the AC's best efforts to cool us down. Horns blast through our silence while pedestrians weave in and out around our van, some even tap on the doors and windows, waving.
An elephant charm dangles from the driver's mirror and music blasts from his speakers. I peek out my window and soak in the eclectic mix of shops and hundreds of people going about their daily business. This is a city of chaos and constant motion. We pass by a mosque and then just a few minutes later, we turn the corner where a Hindu temple stands, the golden peaks gleaming against the cloudy sky.
A woman holding a tiny baby races to our taxi, pounding on the glass windows while holding out a palm for money. Her eyes stare vacantly at me as if they've already lost hope. I want to help, and against our driver's warning, I roll down the window and slip her a five-dollar bill.
Instantly, our van is swarmed by what feels like a hundred beggars. Our driver spews off what sounds like a lecture in Bengali at me while the others try to keep the grabbing hands from tearing at my clothes. Thanks to our driver, we manage to get away without hurting anyone, but I can't stop myself from looking back out the rearview mirror, wishing I could do something to help them.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, our driver pulls into the large parking lot of our hotel, which is a tall V-shaped white building that looks like it could've had a new paint job a decade ago.
"It doesn't look like much," Danny says with a grin, "but they serve excellent curry."
"Man, somebody give me a bed," Tony mutters. "I could really go for a long dreamless sleep."
My stomach is twisted and queasy from the start and stopping of the car so I'm relieved to step out of the taxi. The air burns hot against the back of my throat, reminding me of the scorching days in Florida when the forest fires are out of control. The bellhop smiles at me, asking in a lilted English accent if he can take my bag, but I thank him and continue into the main lobby.
The white tiled floor gleams, reflecting the ceiling lights. Two large stone elephants stand like sentinels on either side of a grand stairway. The walls display murals of countryside landscapes and tall, ornate golden pillars spike up, climbing to the ceiling.
"After everyone has dropped off their bags in their rooms," Javier says. "Let's meet back here in the lobby to make our plan. If all goes well, we could be flying back to home early tomorrow."
My room isn't anything fancy, but for just over a hundred U.S. dollars a night, I'll take it. The white tiled floor continues into my room, keeping the area cool.
I set my suitcase on the chair by the window and draw back the curtains to take in the view from eight stories up. I suck in a breath. Dhaka is one huge, sprawling city, with a rolling landscape of buildings, some spiking up like jagged peaks. Some sections look appear more like shanties or small crumbling square concrete structures. There are so many buses, cars, motorcycles, and those cute cycle rickshaws I spotted on the way here.
Even though I've only been here a few hours, I can already feel the tempo of the city. It's alive and wild and full of the unknown.
The need to freshen up drags me away from the window. I pull out a pair of khaki pants and a long-sleeved shirt to not draw any attention to myself. I debate on what to do with my hair, but end up just brushing it out, too tired to deal with it. Once I change and splash water over my face, I tuck my purse strap over my shoulder and head back downstairs.
In the back of the lobby is an area set with tables and chairs surrounded by tall fake palms strung with colorful lights. The hum of soothing Bangla music fills the lobby. Jake and Javier are already there, laptops opened and talking.
In a way, it's weird seeing Jake with my team, acting like he's a part of us. My emotions roll over me and I can't make sense of it all. One moment, my heart flutters at seeing him. The next, there's that anger that if it weren't for him and his nosing around in his dad's bank, none of this would've happened.
"Hey." I stroll up to their table where he's sipping a Coke. "What trouble are you two getting us into?"
"I think I can do nearly all the searching remotely," Jake says, eyes intent on the screen. He clicks on his keyboard and then swivels his screen so I can see it. Why does it seem like he's avoiding eye contact with me? "But to get into the system, I'll need to have one of you place some Botware into their computer system."
"We're scientists," Javier says. "Not criminals. We've no idea how to do that."
Jake shifts in his chair. "What are you implying? That I'm a criminal?"
"He's not," I say quickly. "Except why would we need to get anywhere near one of the bank's computers? It will look suspicious, won't it? And after this whole heist disaster, they'll have security at its all-time high."
"Good point." Jake shrugs. "I guess that's where your ingenuity comes in."
"Ingenuity?" Sun asks as she sails into the lobby, her black hair fluttering around her chin. She's applied fresh red lipstick and classic black pants and a flowered blouse. As she settles beside me, I feel like a rumpled mess compared to her classic chic look. "If you're looking for brilliant ideas, I'm here."
Jake holds up a thumb drive. "We need an excuse for you to insert this into one of the computers at the bank."
"That's it?" Sun scrunches her nose. She waves her hand at a server who rushes over to our table. "Green tea for two and scones all around. Can't have our brain cells cannibalize themselves to gain energy to ward off starvation now can we?"
"That's true?" Jake asks.
"Yep." I nudge him. "So if you want to stay smart, don't starve yourself."
Javier leans back in his chair and takes a gulp of his coffee. "But it's more than that, isn't it? We have to insert the thumb drive and then take it out."
"I need about five minutes to connect to the server through the thumb drive," Jake acknowledges. "And then ideally you'll need to take the drive out, otherwise we'll leave behind a digital footprint and evidence. Well, the reality is we're going to be leaving a digital footprint regardless. There's just no way around it, but if we can avoid drawing attention to it and making it easy to be traced back to us, that's better."
"What exactly are you doing with the drive?" Sun asks. "You think you can access the files to see who withdrew the money?"
"I doubt I'll be able to do that." Jake rolls his neck. "Hacking into the bank's server would take more time than we have today. But from what I've been able to figure out is that the surveillance cameras are on a different system, which I should be able to access easily."
"And if we're caught?" I cringe at the thought.
The others suddenly look highly interested in the plate of scones the server delivered to the table.
"Listen." I fold my hands. "This mess is Jake's and my problem. You both don't have to go. Just coming all this way is moral support and that in itself is huge."
Jake looks up at me, his gaze intense and on fire. He means business, but I can't quite read what's going on behind his eyes. One thing I do know is through all of this, I need to stay focused on Dad. Those flutters in the pit of my stomach can't become anything more than that.
"Oh, I'm in," Javier says. "There's no way I'm not helping out with this."
"This discussion is a waste of time." Sun sips her tea. "We've already said we're willing to take the risks. If it weren't for your father, Aria, my father wouldn't be alive right now. So let's just focus on how we can get this surveillance data and go from there."
I share an idea to execute our plan and the others add in their thoughts. By the time we finish, I'm feeling like we might actually be able to pull this off.
"I like it." Jake closes his laptop. "Let's do this."
"What about Tony?" Sun's eyes wander to the elevator. "He hasn't come down yet."
"He probably fell asleep." Javier chuckles. "Let him be. No need for him to get into any more trouble than he already is in."