‘You’ll need to disable the control center before you can set foot on any of the concourses, right?’ Aviary said.
‘And I suppose you have a plan for that?’ Nasira said.
‘As it turns out, I do. But I need access to the network those computers run on,’ Aviary said. ‘And I think I know where you can find it.’ She pointed at a spot on her laptop screen.
‘What’s that?’
‘The Campbell Apartment,’ Aviary said. ‘Cocktail bar on the third level. Used to be an apartment for some rich dude. Looks like a lot of the wiring runs through there, including some new fiber for the upper levels.’
She pulled one of her ethernet-to-antenna hubs from her ruck and gave it to Nasira. ‘This gives us access to the fiber optic cable, which should already have an ethernet port you can use. That cocktail bar has, according to this, access to the same fiber connection as the control center. All you need to do is connect your phone and hit this button—’ Aviary showed her the button in the Settings app ‘—Personal Hotspot mode, with a difference. Hit the Hijack toggle on this panel and it gives me direct access to the network your phone is hooked up to.’
Nasira was confused. ‘So I just hit the button and—’
‘Yes. Just hit the button and the Hijack toggle,’ Aviary said.
‘And what’s the point of all this?’ Nasira said.
‘Once we have access, I can shut the security cameras down in seconds. Minutes. Five minutes. Maybe ten. Can you get us to the Campbell Apartment? West end, upper level.’
‘I can get there but I’ll pass at least one camera to get inside, and another once I’m inside, I’m guessing,’ Nasira said. ‘And another in the bar.’
Aviary consulted her laptop. ‘Yeah. That’s a risk we’ll have to take. I don’t think anyone watching the cameras will be focused on the upper levels. Just the main concourse and lower levels.’
‘It’ll have to do,’ Nasira said. ‘But you need to move locations.’
‘Why?’ Aviary said. ‘I’m coming with you.’
‘Denton was trying to get a fix on us. And you’re not coming.’
‘You can’t leave me alone!’ Aviary said. ‘What if I get shot? Or worse, captured!’
‘That’s why you’re moving locations,’ Nasira said.
Her hands tightened into fists. ‘You don’t want me to come?’ Aviary slipped her laptop into her ruck and stood, soaking wet. ‘Fine! I’ll go hide while you face off with those operatives all by yourself!’
STAGE 4
IMPACT
Chapter 42
‘Sophia, it’s nice to finally meet you,’ the Commander said.
He stood between identically dressed Blue Berets, all wearing ballistic masks. One of them looked different though, dressed more in casual gear with just boots and a mask added to help him blend with the others. She noticed he wore a thin permeable hood and his mask was modified with chiseled eye holes to give him a wider peripheral. Black camo cream blended the skin around his eyes with the mask. She was beginning to think the masks served a psychological purpose more than a protective one.
On her two o’clock, four Blue Berets were standing with carbines. They looked ready to step in if Sophia tried to make a run for the Commander.
Sophia and Czarina had been escorted into the ballroom by DC. He probably figured she wouldn’t go if Blue Berets tried to march her. She still carried his sword, now in its sheath, and her ruck. She carried her Glock on her belt. Czarina was wearing the ruck that contained the meteorite.
Sophia drew short in the grand ballroom, just before the seven-piece chandelier that glittered above. Czarina and DC remained on either side of her.
Czarina had been relieved of her carbine but Sophia had insisted on keeping her pistol holstered. DC had talked the Blue Berets into leaving it. The Commander still eyed her holster.
‘It’s a good holster,’ Sophia said. ‘Thank your men for it.’
The Commander gave a slight nod. He said nothing.
The ballroom was empty near the stage. The rest of the ballroom was scattered with tables from a function earlier that evening. She noticed platters of salmon and flutes of champagne. The Commander stepped forward to drink from one.
He was indistinguishable from his soldiers. She couldn’t see any insignia or feature that differed from the others. She only knew he was the Commander because he addressed her, and his voice betrayed his age.
She watched him remove the mask. He didn’t look entirely familiar but she was sure she’d heard his voice before. Or a voice quite similar.
The Commander had a shaved head and a trimmed graying beard that ran patchily across sharp cheekbones. His nose was narrow, slightly hooked.
‘I can’t help but be a little curious regarding your plan,’ Sophia said.
She kept her Glock in her holster where he could see it, but held her iPhone in one hand, the concealed lens pointed in his direction. The lens was wide enough that the other Berets were in view. She knew Nasira and Aviary would be watching.
‘And with good reason,’ the Commander said, his thin lips pressed together. ‘My men are in place. Do you have the meteorite with you?’
‘I do,’ she said.
Sophia tried to read him but he was standing too far away. She could only pick up on DC’s emotional state and that of the Blue Berets standing off side. They simmered between restlessness and anxiety.
‘Good,’ the Commander said. ‘Then I trust you’d like to hear me out.’
She didn’t have much choice. If she resisted now it would be difficult. She knew she couldn’t trust DC.
‘What do you plan to do with the meteorite?’ she said.
‘Set a trap for Denton,’ he said, ‘that he can’t resist.’
‘It’s the only one he doesn’t have,’ Sophia said. ‘But I suppose you know that.’
The Commander’s narrow, dark eyes flickered between Sophia and Czarina, perhaps trying to figure out who in fact was carrying the meteorite. They were both wearing rucks and the meteorite could be in either.
‘I have five platoons,’ the Commander said. ‘One on the fourth floor, ready to take the stairs and cut off Denton’s forces in the west foyer. The other on the second floor, ready to take the main stairs and cut off Denton’s forces in the silver corridor. I have one platoon split into two fire teams, one covering the west entry to the building and the other covering the east. We also have four snipers, two on either side.’
‘Where do you plan to keep the meteorite?’ Sophia said.
‘Basildon Room, northeast corner,’ he said. ‘Walls are wired with flashbangs and CS gas, remotely triggered.’
‘Your plans for Denton?’ she asked.
‘Capture,’ he said. ‘Kill only if necessary. Given his … value I would prefer him alive.’
‘Why do you want to stop him?’ Sophia said.
‘He has been a liability ever since his father was killed by the Akhana,’ the Commander said. ‘But now, he’s out of control. It’s time we brought him in.’
‘And what about me?’ Sophia said. ‘Is it time you brought me in?’
He arched a whisper-thin eyebrow. ‘It might shock you to learn you aren’t as important as you once thought. The deranged minds of Cecilia and Denton aside, we have little interest in one broken little operative.’
‘Hey, I’m no Denton but I figure if you have the opportunity to kill me, you might embrace that,’ Sophia said.
‘Under normal circumstances perhaps,’ the Commander said. ‘But right now you are more use to us alive than dead.’
‘At least until I hand over the rock,’ she said.
‘Don’t get in our way, we won’t get in yours,’ he said.