Arden blinked.
Mina nodded. “We found the equipment you planted in the other berth. Don’t bother to deny it was Lasair, I know my tech when I see it. I’m impressed with how long you managed to pull it off before we caught it.”
Arden swallowed, feeling uneasy. Mina’s praise was confusing. She didn’t want to confirm what Mina suspected, but she didn’t want to deny it and insult Mina’s intelligence either. Instead, she walked over and snatched up her discarded phaser from the ground.
“I won’t hold it against you. I understand the need for caution, but I won’t forget either,” Mina said. Then her voice turned dismissive. “Well, that’s done. Let’s get to the reason you’re here, shall we?”
Mina led the group over to the hovervan parked beneath the ship docked in the center of the berth. The ship had sleek silver lines and a bullet-shaped nose, reflecting a distorted view of the group as they walked toward it. The loading dock was still down, showing off its vast interior.
Their goods had already been offloaded and placed into the hovervan. The back doors of the hovervan were open, so that Colin and Arden could inspect the trade. Inside the van were rows and rows of phasers in all shapes, sizes, and scope, along with several boxes of electronic equipment that could be used to circumvent computer systems.
Two of the boys stepped around them and up to the back of the van.
“Go ahead and check the goods,” Mina said.
Arden looked to Colin before they both walked to the open doors. She stood between the boys while Colin jumped into the back of the hovervan. He ran a hand over all the items, making a cursory check. Not that he could count the items there, but he could at least inspect the quantity and eyeball the inventory to make sure it was authentic.
Her heart thrummed with excitement. This was it. Soon, she and Colin would set her plan in motion. She’d find a way to save Mariah, and maybe figure out how to deal with her feelings for Dade at the same time.
When Colin finished checking the packages, she returned to Mina to deal with the payment.
“Everything look good?” Mina asked.
“Seems to.” Arden held out a scanner strip that linked to a bank account Lasair laundered money through.
Mina wanded the strip, waited for the bleep, then nodded and pocketed the wand. She handed over the keys to the hovervan. “The vehicle ID tags should get you through the day, but ditch the van as soon as possible.”
Arden nodded.
“Look,” Mina added, her voice lowered so that only Arden could hear. “You take care of yourself, all right?”
Arden didn’t know how to react to that. Was it a warning? Did Mina know something? Her gut had always wanted to trust Mina, even when she pulled crap like today. Arden found herself giving a reassurance that she didn’t quite feel. “Don’t worry, I will.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Arden held a large vase of flowers in front of her. She wore a brown delivery hat, the brim pulled low over a pair of halo-glasses. Only a small strip of her lower chin and jaw was visible. She kept her head down in an attempt to avoid the facial recognition scanners that dotted the lobby ceiling in Sky Tower Two. She was relatively sure that she hadn’t been placed in the FACE system, a computerized recognition program used to target and apprehend criminals. And she wanted to avoid being added.
A slow beat of anticipation thumped inside her as she walked across the empty lobby to the girl sitting behind the sleek glass desk. The steel wall behind her was emblazoned with the Croix logo.
There were two guards, both soft around the middle. One stood by the Tower quadralift, swinging his stun-stick with a twirl as he paced the floor. The other was positioned next to the glass doors leading outside. She didn’t like having her back to him and fought not to let that discomfort show in her posture.
The girl behind the desk was young, her hair twisted in braids with silver beads that tinkled like little bells. She wore a shiny blue dress with the Croix logo embroidered on the collar. She popped her gum. The green wad peeked through with every loud chew. Her gaze flicked over Arden, quick and assessing.
The girl snapped her gum again. “Yes?”
“Delivery for Mr. Atherton in six-fifty-seven.” Arden placed the flowers on the high counter, moving the vase to the side so that she could show her badge. The city certification number flashed neon along the bottom. Then she adjusted her halo-glasses to capture an image of the girl, including her name badge.
The girl clicked on the comm unit, pushing the buttons to ring the Atherton residence.
“Recoding the tone,” Colin said through the receiver in Arden’s ear as he intercepted the call. “Three seconds, two, one.”
The line clicked over.
“There’s a delivery for Mr. Atherton,” the girl said, her demeanor changing from slouchy and annoyed to professional.
“Thank you, Maggie. You can send it up,” Colin responded, using the receptionist’s name noted on her tag.
Maggie clicked off the comm unit.
“You can go on up,” the girl said, pointing to the lift.
The security guard set his palm on the scanner to open the Tower quadralift door.
Arden slipped in.
Once the door closed, she adjusted the collar of the work shirt, scratching at the cheap synth-fabric. Then she touched her halo-glasses again to access the schematics, switching to her visual-mapping program. “Entering target Level. Commence upload mapping protocol.”
The glasses showed her the layout of the Level she was about to enter on a three-dimensional plane. The walls rose and spread forward, locating all possible doors and exits. She used her eyes to flick through the 3-D schematic: lines indicating walls, floors, and air vents. She scrolled to locate the door to the apartment. “Objective achieved.”
“Affirmative,” Colin said through her earpiece. “Activating heat sensors now. Will confirm targets in ten.”
Arden wore the heat sensors on her body. Hacking the Tower surveillance provided a limited view. This was mostly because the Solizen didn’t trust one another, so there weren’t many cameras. Just one pointing to the door of the quadralift, another pointing down the hallway. It left a lot of room for error. Thus, by using the heat sensors, at least she’d be forewarned whenever another person was nearby.
Arden clicked the map to set a pin on the location of the apartment door. It marked it, and then began to list all available routes. She took note of the camera placement in the halls. Where they were directed and what areas they recorded. Labeling which ones needed to be taken out.
“The quadralift exit is clear,” Colin said, watching security footage of the floor. “Security guard on north side walking toward you. Will be in target sight in three minutes. Get moving.”
“Roger.”
“Stay alert.”