by R S Penney
Ben stood primly with hands behind his back, a sly smile on his face. “Linda and I are both with Michaelson International,” he explained. “We came to Brazil just a couple years ago after transferring from New York.”
“Really?”
Anna let the pair of them gab for a moment. It would be much easier to inspect this man for any sign that he might be wearing the transceiver to match Keli's collar while he was distracted. Sadly, she saw no outward hint of it.
Camacho stood there with his arms folded, nodding along with every syllable that came out of Ben's mouth. This guy was smooth. It wasn't hard to see why people flocked to him, even if his views on some issues were garbage.
She maneuvered closer to Ben.
He glanced over his shoulder with a warm smile. “Sweetie, this can't be very fun for you,” he said, leaning in close as if to whisper a secret. “Why don't you go find your friends while the senator and I talk?”
“I am quite content to wait for you,” Anna replied. “And I don't appreciate you trying to shoo me off-”
He took her hand and gave a squeeze.
Only then – after she felt cool metal pressed into her palm – did she understand his purpose. Ben had used the brief moment of feigned affection to give her his multi-tool. It was simple misdirection. He kept the senator distracted while she took a few readings.
“All right,” Anna said, nodding slowly to him. “I guess I should let you boys have some alone time. Meet me out by the pool when you're done talking politics.”
“Thank you, sweetie.”
She strode past the senator, waving the multi-tool over his back and pressing the button on its surface that triggered a general scan. Hopefully that would be enough to pick up anything out of the ordinary. She would have to find some place private to check the results.
A set of stairs at the back of the foyer led up to the second floor. Given that she hadn't seen Jack or Gabi downstairs, it stood to reason that they had gone that way. At the very least, she could give them an update on her progress.
At the top of the stairs, she found a living room where several guests sat on soft red couches, talking quietly with one another. Wooden shelves on each wall housed enough books to fill a small library. She still marveled at that. On her planet, information was stored digitally. People sometimes had physical books, but never a whole collection.
A hallway to her left stretched on to what appeared to be a kitchen, and she could see caterers buzzing about like bees extracting pollen. There were other rooms as well. Jack and Gabi might be in any one of them.
Smoothing her skirts with both hands, Anna strode down the hallway with her head down. You could get lost in this place, she thought to herself. That or have one really fun game of hide and seek.
A door on her right led into a small room with a gray sofa and a television set on a wooden stand. This appeared to be the rec room. She would have moved on without any hesitation if not for the sliding glass door on the far wall.
Through it, she could see dimly lit balcony and two figures who stood side by side near the railing. It was too dark outside to say for certain – and Seth couldn't see through solid objects, even if they were transparent – but she was pretty sure that she had found Jack and Gabi.
Anna flowed across the room.
When she got closer to the door, her suspicions were confirmed. The tall man with the ridiculous blonde hair was obviously Jack, and his companion in the gorgeous silver dress…They were holding hands, and Gabi was leaning her weight against him with such obvious affection that it was hard to believe it might be feigned. Of course, that was part of her job: playing a role. This could all just be part of the mission. Somehow, that line of reasoning didn't feel very reassuring.
Anna closed her eyes, a single tear running over her cheek. Why are you getting so upset? she wondered, brushing it away. It's not like you were going to make a move for him. Get over yourself, Lenai.
She slid the door open.
Jack immediately turned, glancing over his shoulder with an expression that made her think of a soldier getting ready to draw his gun. His features softened as soon as he saw her. “Hey. What's the situation?”
Crossing her arms with a sigh, Anna frowned down at herself. “We haven't found any sign of our friend.” A shiver went through her despite the muggy night air. “I took a scan of the senator.”
Gabi was leaning against the railing with her arms spread over its surface, her face turned up to the sky. “Perhaps we were wrong,” she said. “It might be best to discreetly leave this party.”
“I don't think so,” Jack muttered. “Something about this place feels off. If you ask me, he's got her squirreled away somewhere.”
“I'm inclined to agree with Gabi,” Anna said softly. “I keep wondering why Keli hasn't reached out to us. Surely she doesn't want to stay with these people.”
“She might.”
Turning on her heel, Anna paced a line with her arms folded. “No, it doesn't track,” she said, shaking her head. “If she was happy with her situation, she would have alerted Camacho to our presence. We'd be fending off goons by now.”
“So what do you think?”
“I think we should-”
The image flashed in her mind before she could finish her thought: a bedroom with blinds on the window, the feeling of something cold around her neck. A man who stood in the corner with a cane, watching her.
The image was foggy, but Anna recognized him without any effort. Rawlins. The man hadn't sold Keli to one of his clients. Rather, he had decided to rent out her services to whomever was willing to pay. That meant he almost certainly had backup somewhere in this house. Things had just become that much more-
Pain!
She felt it like a jolt surging through her body, setting every last nerve on fire. The collar had done its job, punishing Keli's transgression with a sudden shock to her system. It took a moment for the pain to fade.
Anna looked up with tears on her cheeks. “Keli is here,” she croaked out, her voice strained by the pain. “She touched my thoughts, but the collar kicked in before she could-”
Only then did she notice her two companions.
Jack had his eyes squeezed shut, tears glistening on his skin. His face was as red. “Yeah, I felt it too,” he said, leaning against the railing. “She's somewhere in the house.”
Gabi was hugging herself, shivering and rubbing her upper arms. “Well, that settles our little debate,” she whispered. “Though if the collar went off, it stands to reason that Rawlins will wonder why.”
“We have to find her now.”
Anna leaned against the sliding door with her arms folded, heaving out deep breath after deep breath. “I'll grab Ben,” she said softly. “We meet by the stairs to the third floor in five minutes.”
They nodded to her and made their way back into the house. When they were gone, she took a moment to catch her breath. Anxiety began to claw at her insides. This house was filled with civilians, and they were about to make a play for the most valuable human being on this planet. If this came out wrong, a lot of innocent people could get hurt. Not that she had much choice in the matter. Leaving Keli with Rawlins wasn't an option; even Keli seemed to understand that much.
Still, Anna needed a moment to collect herself, a moment to make certain she was ready to make the hard choices. She could only do her best, try to protect as many people as she could. It was beyond her power to protect everyone. Perhaps that was callous, but the consequences of inaction were just as steep as the consequences of action. Jena had taught her that much. So she took a deep breath, and then she set about her task.
Chapter 26
Gabrina Valtez opened her purse, retrieving the stun-pen that she had stored there. The small device would extend a needle that pumped a powerful sedative into anyone unfortunate enough to get within arm's reach.
Frowning to herself, Gabi narrowed her eyes. “It will have to do,” she said with a quick bob of her head. “We're going
to have to do this quietly. If Rawlins' men kick up a fuss, we'll have bedlam on our hands.”
A set of carpeted stairs led up to the third floor, illuminated only by moonlight that came in through the window. For the moment, they were alone, but it was a good bet that Rawlins had one of his goons guarding his back.
She turned.
Jack stood at the foot of the stairs with arms folded, scowling down at the floor. “I still don't like it,” he said. “I could go up there myself and take out any guards in a few seconds.”
Lifting her chin, Gabi stared down her nose at him. “And alert the whole house to our presence?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. “No, my dear, I'm afraid discretion is not one of your virtues.”
Footsteps announced the approach of two people right before Anna came around the corner and stood next to Jack. “What's going on?” she asked, focusing her attention on her fellow Justice Keeper. Gabrina nearly tsked with annoyance. Keepers had a habit of ignoring everyone else.
Ben came up behind her with one hand pressed to the thigh where his pistol should have been holstered. The man's posture was stiff. Clearly he did not enjoy being without his weapon. It was a mindset Gabrina sometimes noted in younger agents. They tended to feel naked without a weapon.
Such attitudes were the product of a poor understanding of just what made an agent dangerous. Her greatest weapon wasn't a gun; it was her mind.
“Rawlins probably has guards up there.”
Anna turned her back on them, bending over with her face buried in her hand. “I figured as much,” she muttered. “Okay, Jack, you and I will go up first and work clean-up crew. Gabi, you and Ben-”
“If I may make a suggestion.”
Anna whirled around like a jealous woman ready to stab her husband's mistress, but her expression softened in just a moment. “Sure…” she said once she regained control of her temper. “What do you have in mind?”
Gabi closed her eyes, breathing deeply through her nose. “There are other options available to you,” she said. “In all likelihood, we'll only find one man up there, possibly two. Let me deal with them.”
“What are you going to-”
“Trust me…” Gabi said, thrusting one hand out to forestall any further objections. “I've been doing this for quite some time now. I know how to handle these things quietly.”
She turned and climbed the steps.
On the third floor, she found a hallway with windows in the wall to her left and doors in the wall to her right. Sure enough, a lone man stood about twenty paces down the corridor, leaning against the wall with his hands folded over his stomach.
He was a tall fellow in black pants and a matching jacket, his tanned face marked by a mole on his cheek. And bald as an eagle to boot! Now all she had to do was get close enough to knock him out before he made too much noise.
The man saw her.
He came at her, striding down the hallway with arms swinging at his sides. “Guests are not permitted up here,” he said, stopping right in front of her. “The senator has asked that you remain on the first two floors.”
Gabi forced a smile, her cheeks burning with furious heat. She bowed her head to him. “You'll have to forgive me. I didn't know the third floor was off limits. Sometimes I just need a break from the commotion.”
“Go back downstairs.”
Crossing her arms, she backed away from him with a tight frown. “Yeah, all right,” she muttered under her breath. “But if you don't mind my asking, what are you doing up here by yourself?”
His face crumpled with obvious disgust. “I work for Senator Camacho,” he said, leaning one shoulder against the corridor wall. “He has asked me to make sure that no guests find their way up here.”
“Sounds dreadfully boring.”
“There are worse jobs.”
“Still, you get stuck up here, all by yourself, while everyone else has a good time downstairs.”
“I am not interested in flirting,” he snapped. “You should be leaving now. The third floor is off limits to all guests.”
Gabi stared at him with her mouth agape, blinking slowly. “Men…” she huffed, throwing up her hands in frustration. “They're always the same. Show the slightest bit of interest in anything they say, and they think you want to sleep with them.”
“I did not say that-”
She looked up at him with a glare that could peel paint off the walls. “Did it ever occur to you that I was offering sympathy? That is something human beings often do when confronted with someone in unfortunate circumstances.”
He backed away from her with his hands shoved into his pockets, refusing to make eye contact. Perfect! She always relished the opportunity to chastise some presumptuous bastard. “I apologize,” he said. “But you really should go.”
“Yeah, I gathered that.”
She turned away from him.
“Wait!”
A triumphant smile bloomed on Gabi's face, one that she covered with the tips of her fingers. A few subtle cuts at the man's fragile ego…she thought with just a little too much venom. And he falls to pieces right in front of you.
When she turned back around, he was shifting his weight from one foot to the other and blushing hard enough to pose a fire hazard. “I did not mean to be rude. I am grateful for the company.”
“Well, we all need that sometimes.”
He leaned in close with a broad smile, his cheeks growing redder and redder with every heartbeat. “I could use a little more of that,” he whispered. “Perhaps when my shift is finished.”
Ignoring the bile rising in her belly took some effort. What was wrong with people like this? Show them the tiniest smidgen and they started to think you wanted to climb into bed with them. Still…this would do.
Gabi bit her lip, lowering her eyes to the floor. “Well, I didn't want to presume,” she whispered. “But since you brought it up, I think I could be persuaded.”
“Oh could you?”
“Kiss me.”
He closed his eyes, grunting his approval. Heaving out a breath, he came at her with lips puckered.
Fishing the stun-pen out of her purse. Gabi waited for him to come a little closer. She pressed the tip to his neck, then extended the needle. His eyes popped open. Then he was gurgling, stumbling backward.
She caught him as he lost his balance, easing him down to the floor. Less than a minute later, he was breathing slow and steady, passed out in the middle of the hallway. She would have to move quickly if she wanted to free the telepath before anyone saw the man's unconscious body.
Making her way back to the staircase, she poked her head around the corner and signaled the others. The rest would be up to them. Her part in this little affair was done. Funny that the anxiety was worse now that there was nothing left for her to do.
The others came up one by one, Anna first in her gorgeous red dress. She crossed her arms, then froze when she saw the unconscious man. “Nicely done,” she whispered. “Next time I doubt your skills, punch me.”
“Noted.”
Jack was next, climbing the final step with a grunt. He offered a loving smile as he met her eyes. “Good call, Gabs,” he said softly. “At times like this, I'm really glad you're on our team.”
Ben followed, offering a small nod of respect. Well, that was done then, but what came next would be much more difficult. Getting Keli away from that psychopath would be a simple thing if not for that slaver's collar.
She was at a loss for what to do about that.
The hallway stretched on for several dozen paces before ending in a doorway that led to a large open area. Bright floodlights on the front lawn, dimmed by thin curtains on the windows, provided enough illumination for her to see.
Sucking on her lower lip, Anna shut her eyes. “All right. I want suggestions.” She touched three fingertips to her forehead. “Ben, can you isolate and duplicate the signal from the slaver's collar?”
The man looked up at her with lips pursed, his face bathed in
the light that came in through the windows. “Possibly,” he said. “But it could take some time. I don't know how much.”
“Do it.”
Jack was down on one knee in the middle of the floor, scowling into the distance. “I don't think Rawlins has any more guards,” he whispered. “But if we come at him before Ben's finished, he'll use Keli as a hostage.”
“I know.”
Ben lifted his multi-tool in one hand, pressing a button on its surface. A hologram appeared in front of his face, displaying a bunch of squiggly lines that moved from right to left from her perspective. “There is a signal here,” he whispered. “But it's encrypted.”
Pressing her lips together, Anna felt her eyes widen. “Can you crack it?” she asked, surprised at the desperation in her own voice. “What if you had your multi-tool imitate it perfectly?”
Ben shook his head. “I wouldn't trust that,” he said, shuffling closer to her. “Among other things, the collar is designed to interpret Rawlins's vital signs and administer a shock if anything's amiss.”
“So?”
“So how do you think that collar will react if it receives the exact same information for an extended period of time? No one's heartbeat remains constant. Without the cipher, I won't be able to circumvent the collar.”
“How long can you give me?”
Ben knelt on the carpeted floor with his head down, heaving out a frustrated sigh. “I don't know,” he answered honestly. “The collar won't notice anything wrong unless the readings remain constant for too long. A minute. Maybe two.”
Squinting as she thought it over, Anna nodded once. “Then let's do it,” she said. “Duplicate that signal exactly and then flood the whole area with it.”
“That won't give you much time.”
“I won't need much.”
Ben pressed a button on his multi-tool, bringing up the holographic interface. With a few quick gestures, he programmed the tool to do as she asked. Now they would have to move quickly.
Jack closed his eyes, scrubbing a hand over his face and through his hair. “Okay,” he said, getting to his feet. “If we're going to do this, let's do this. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind getting a little dirt on this tux.”