As she spoke, she clicked on the files, pointing out everything she was talking about as she went on. At one point, Quess had moved in behind me to observe over my shoulder, and as soon as she was done, he reached around me and grabbed it with an, “I’ll be responsible for that.”
I let him peruse the pad while I placed a hand under Dinah’s elbow and began guiding her toward the shaft we had entered through. “All right, we gotta go. Tell Tian she and Liam have to help you lash, step by step. Use Lionel Scipio’s code to access the nearest hatch leading to the Attic, and then use the elevator to go to the roof. If… If you see Alex, tell him I’m sorry, and not to try to rescue me. If we haven’t gotten to you by the time the Patrians arrive, assume we’re dead and just leave.”
“Okay,” Dinah said, placing her hands on the edge of the vent and stepping on the bench below it. “Be careful, and, for what it’s worth, good luck.”
“You too,” I replied. “Now get moving, and no turning around. We’re sealing the vent up behind you, so unless you want to get caught in there…”
“I know, I know,” Dinah grumbled, some of her earlier fire returning. It was a good sign, in my mind, but I refrained from commenting and let the woman focus on getting into the shaft. As soon as she was gone, I placed the vent grate back over it, and then looked to the others.
“Hurry up and put Tony’s net back in,” I said to Quess, turning around to present my neck in what I hoped would be the last time I had to do this for the day. “And then let’s get moving. We don’t have a lot of time.”
36
I studied the pad Quess had handed me while he worked on my neck and the others finished using his special spray on their faces to confuse the surveillance system’s facial recognition software, going over the map Dinah had left us. I had already sprayed my face before Quess’s incision and was taking a moment to decide whether we should change our uniforms while the others got ready. To be honest, I felt pretty strongly against the idea, even though there were spare uniforms in the lockers. It was going to take precious time for us all to change, and I wasn’t about to get caught by an Eye with my pants down, should someone wind up walking in on us.
But remaining in uniform was a risk. While the spray kept our faces from being recognizable, there were humans responsible for watching the camera feeds and reporting anything out of the ordinary—like four Knights slinking through the halls armed to the teeth, for example. But I was betting the chance of us being noticed on the feed was pretty slim, not just because there were literally hundreds of camera feeds all over the Core alone, but because I was guessing the Eyes were pretty distracted by whatever story Sadie was feeding them about Scipio’s condition.
It was the Eyes in the halls I was really worried about. They’d definitely notice four Knights and raise the alarm, if we encountered any. According to Dinah’s map, we had to move through a hundred feet of hall to get to the hatch, crossing three other halls on the way and running in a straight line. A hundred feet wasn’t far, but that didn’t work in our favor, either—if a single Eye came around any one of those corners and spotted us, they could have enough time to run and send out a warning. Their nets were still working, so they could easily call for help.
But there wasn’t much choice. If we stayed in one place too long, we’d get caught. And if we didn’t take care of any Eye that we came across quickly and efficiently, we’d be caught.
Quess tapped my shoulder, breaking my concentration. “You’re done,” he said, and I reached out with my mind and was reassured by Tony’s presence.
I did not like that, he declared. Too lonely.
Sorry, I replied, feeling empathy for the AI. He’d had no eyes, or ears, or any ability to contact or communicate with any of us while the net had been out of my head. It must’ve been awful.
I handed the pad back over to Quess with a “Thanks,” and he quickly tucked it into his pocket. “Okay, guys,” I said. “It’s pretty much the first right and then a straight shot down the hall to the T-intersection at the end. Quess, you’ll need to get us in quickly, using the instructions Dinah left, and until we get there, we’ll have to be on the lookout for any Eyes. If they see us and we can’t knock them out or kill them before they can call for help, we’re sunk. I’ll go first, then Eric, then Quess, and finally Maddox.”
“I should go first,” Maddox said as she tucked her black hair into a band. “We need to keep you safe no matter—”
“The time for that has come and gone,” I interrupted. “There’s no need to protect me exclusively now. You all know what’s at stake. If I die, you get down there, stop Sage, and start the New Day protocol. Understood?” I had caught the others up on the way over, so they would all know the plan going in. I had tried desperately to undersell it in an attempt to change their minds, but they hadn’t.
Maddox frowned, but nodded, unable to find a fault in my logic, and I pulled out my baton and gun. I couldn’t fire it—the noise would draw too much attention—but Tony and I could use it to knock people unconscious, and that could be useful.
Exhaling a slow breath to steady my nerves, I hit the button to open the door, and then stuck my head out into the hall, checking both sides. The dark gray corridors were empty, but I knew they wouldn’t be for long, and I stepped out and headed right, toward the first and only real turn. I moved at a light jog, slowing to a cautious pace just at the first intersection. I slid my back against the right-hand side of the wall, focusing on the connecting hallway as more and more of it came into view.
There was no one there, but we had a hundred feet and three more intersections, and anything was possible at this point. I signaled that it was all clear but sped off like a bullet toward the next intersection, already worried about the thirty-odd feet of distance we had to cover, should some Eyes emerge from the cross section.
There were doors on either side of the hall, and I kept a wary eye on them as well, knowing that at any moment one could open, a gray-clad member of the department stepping out to discover us. My nerves itched to check behind me, but I kept my eyes glued to the front, knowing Maddox was watching our tail.
I slowed again as I approached the next junction, pausing several feet from the intersection and taking a moment to listen. We were all doing our best to cover the sounds of our footsteps—which meant I had no problem hearing the two male voices coming from the left hall. Thankfully, they were muffled. I quickly motioned everyone back against that wall, and sidled up to the left wall, stepping gingerly to mask any noise.
Tony slowly started to fill me up again, like water pouring into a container, and I felt him slowing down my heartbeat and regulating my breathing. I sent him a feeling of gratitude as I began to creep up to the corner. The voices were still too low to discern, but they didn’t seem to be moving any closer to us. Or any farther away.
I slowly slid my head out around the corner, exposing just one eye, for fear that any more than that would attract unwanted attention, and peered down the hallway.
Two men were squatting in front of a wall twenty-five feet down. I couldn’t make out what they were looking at—they were facing the wall on my side of the hall—but they were pressed tightly together, and clearly working on something. I studied them for a second, taking in how focused they were on their work, and then retreated back behind the corner, weighing out the options.
If we moved to attack, they could spot us before we were close enough to do anything to them, and call for help. Alternatively, if we tried to dart across the open hall while their backs were to us, we ran the risk of one of them looking up and over his shoulder at the wrong moment and noticing us. I considered both plans, and then decided our best bet was to try to sneak across.
I turned and signaled to the others, using Callivax to explain the situation and the plan. My friends watched my hands closely, and then nodded or flashed an “acknowledged” sign. I put Maddox first in the line, followed by Quess and Eric, and then put away my baton to have both hands
on the gun. I didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary. The sensors in the Core were undoubtedly working fine, and if I killed someone, the alarms would go off, bringing every Inquisitor on the floor down on us.
I leaned out past the corner again, taking in the two men. They didn’t seem to have moved at all, past whatever they were fiddling with on the wall, and I seized the opportunity and motioned for Maddox to go. The tall girl quickly began to walk, stepping lightly on her feet and keeping her pace moderate, so as not to draw attention. I kept my eyes on the two men the entire time, gun at the ready, but noticed when Maddox entered my field of vision, and tracked her progress.
As soon as she was across, I waited five seconds, and then waved Quess forward. The two men continued to work, oblivious to our presence, and I couldn’t help but thank whatever lucky stars were shining on us that we were finally catching a break.
Once Quess was safely across, I waved for Eric to follow. The large man padded up next to me and was starting to move past me when one of the men in the hall stood up and tossed something down in disgust. I quickly reached out and pulled Eric back behind me, before ducking around the corner, praying the man hadn’t seen anything.
“This is so stupid, Toby. We should be in central command helping them out, not running around checking the secondary systems!”
The man squatting next to him hadn’t moved, but I could hear his answer, delivered in a slow and deliberate voice. “It’s not our job,” he said simply. “Now come here and help me with this.”
“No! And have you seen Scipio’s levels? They are downright erratic!”
“I’m pretty sure that’s to be expected, considering he’s under attack right now,” Toby replied, his voice far more cool and collected than I would expect, given the nature of their conversation.
“Yeah, about that,” the other man blurted out, still clearly needing to vent. “Can you tell me how a girl from the Knights learned how to program intelli-viruses? Because I accessed her server file, and there is nothing there that indicates any proficiency in—”
“Don’t have to be a programmer to have a vision,” Toby replied, punctuated by a heavy clank. “Look, kid, I know you’re scared, but don’t be. IT Department has the greatest minds in the Tower, and they are working nonstop to save Scipio. They did it last Requiem Day, and they’ll do it this time, too.”
“Yeah, but all the people trapped in the rest of the shell—”
“Will probably die,” Toby said with a heavy sigh. “But the important thing here is that you won’t. IT won’t. And neither will Scipio. Now come here and help me inspect this plasma manifold. I know it’s not as exciting as central command, but…”
There was a rustle of fabric, and I chanced a quick look to see the man squatting down again, his attention on the secondary systems they were working on. I hesitated, and then moved forward, pulling Eric along with me. It was a gamble for both of us to cross at the same time, but I was willing to take the chance.
We moved at a quick jog, and I kept my eye on the two men, searching for any sign of them turning to see us, but they remained facing straight ahead. As soon as we disappeared around the corner, I let go of Eric and began moving toward the next intersection. It was disconcerting knowing that I had left Eyes behind us—Eyes who, at any moment, could finish and come this way—so my urge was to get through the hall as quickly as possible.
The next intersection was still and silent, but that did little to reassure me.
It wasn’t until we were at the hatch in the third intersection that I began to feel like we would actually get in without anyone noticing. But at that moment, the two men from earlier emerged from the hall two intersections down.
37
The two men were looking down at a pad as they crossed the intersection, but all it would take was one of them noticing the splash of crimson our uniforms made against the gray walls, and we’d be sunk.
I was torn between moving and remaining perfectly still. Either way was a risk, but I felt strongly that movement would only draw more attention to us. For several long seconds, all I could hear over the pounding of my own heart were the faint sounds of their voices and footsteps. I watched them closely, searching for any sign that they were going to look over at us.
But they didn’t. Whatever conversation they were having was apparently engaging enough to keep their focus on the pad, and they disappeared down the adjacent hall within a few seconds. I closed my eyes in relief, then twisted my head around to check on my friends and saw that they had followed my lead and remained still as well. Blowing out a deep breath to steady my nerves, I motioned for Quess to keep working.
Within a minute, he had pried the security keypad from its mount in the hatch and connected several thin electrical wires coming from the pad to several exposed metal nubs inside. He tapped a few things on Dinah’s pad, and a moment later the security light on the keypad turned from red to green, and the hatch popped open.
Quess grabbed it and pulled, revealing the bright white-blue glow of the energy stream inside. He remained in the hall to disconnect the pad and reattach the keypad, but I didn’t wait for him to finish; I was already motioning for Maddox to approach the glowing portal. The tall girl hesitated for a second, and then stepped over the half wall, lifting one leg up and stepping down to straddle it. I watched as she shifted her weight and found her footing on the rungs that ran down the side of the shaft, waited for her to disappear, and then gave her a five-second count.
As soon as the five seconds expired, I gave Eric a look that told him it was his turn, and he nodded slowly and followed after Maddox. His movements were stiff and wooden, but he made an effort to move at a reasonable pace, so that was something. More than I expected, all things considered.
My heart began to ache as I thought about Zoe, but I pushed it aside and took a quick look back down the hall, making sure the coast was clear. “Quess?” I said, pitching my voice soft and low. “You almost finished?”
There was a click from behind the open hatch a second before I finished my question, and then Quess stepped around it and moved toward the portal, tucking the pad and wires into his pocket. “All set,” he replied, throwing a leg over the half wall. “Just pull it closed behind you, and they’ll never know it was open.”
“Perfect,” I murmured, turning around to scan the hall one more time. To be honest, this was all beginning to feel a little too easy, and I couldn’t help but suspect it was part of an elaborate trap set up by Sadie or Sage. There weren’t any signs of anything sinister, but still, I felt the tingle of awareness that told me to keep moving, just in case.
I turned to see if Quess was out of the way—he was—then quickly went through the hatch after them. I climbed down a few rungs on the inside before reaching out into the hall to pull the door closed behind me, feeling that each second it took was a second too long, giving our enemies the chance to attack and stop us.
But the door closed without any sign of attack, and the green light on the inside of the hatch clicked to red as soon as it sealed, just like Quess had said it would. I exhaled, and then took a quick glance over my shoulder, flinching at the bright glow of the beam being sent down the shaft. The energy ray crackled with power, flowing from a point at the top of the shaft to a port in the bottom, feeding the machines that housed Scipio. The heat in the room was dry and stifling, and each breath I took felt like it was somehow lacking in oxygen, making me almost lightheaded. I closed my eyes against the glow, turned around to face the ladder, and took a moment to collect myself.
As soon as I was ready, I began to descend. I was slow at first, but after a few seconds I got the hang of it and began moving at a steady speed. A quick glance down told me that my friends were moving equally fast, and I relaxed a little and settled into the rhythm.
Minutes ticked by as we continued our descent. Sweat formed on my brow and at the nape of my neck, dripping down my back and slickening my skin. My hands were beginning to ache from
having to grip the bars, and my forearms and calves were burning from the repetitive motion. After a while, I started to consider switching over to my lashes to get some small measure of relief, but decided against it. The heat and low-level radiation being emitted by the beam wouldn’t affect the lash ends from this distance, but if the lash beads accidentally got too close to the stream, they could melt or lose their ability to produce a static charge, and then I’d be stuck. Granted, we had come down the shaft on lashes before, but the lashing had to be precise, and my arms and shoulders didn’t feel like they were up to the task. So, down the ladder I climbed.
The relief I felt when my feet hit the bottom seemed to be echoed by all of my friends, who were in various positions of stretching or shaking out their burning muscles. I took the opportunity as well, reaching overhead to relieve the ache in my shoulders and back while I slowly examined the bottom of the shaft.
The beam fed through a large hole at the center, taking up most of the space, but there were several supercomputers tucked against the walls, all of them with large pipes running toward the power conduit, like spokes on a wheel. I had no idea what the computers were for, but they weren’t what I was looking for. I was trying to find the integration chamber, or at least access to it. I wasn’t sure—I hadn’t looked this far ahead at Dinah’s blueprints. To be honest, I hadn’t thought we’d make it down here without getting caught. But now that we were here, I needed to know where to go next.