There were too many things that could wrong tonight.

  I sat back against the truck wall, Trent no more than a few inches away, and tried to settle my breathing. My head ached. Pounded really. Sweat beaded across my brow where the others sat unaffected; the air conditioning in the truck making for a normally pleasant ride. I lifted my hand to check my hair was in order, a chocolate brown strand falling into my eyes when I touched the braid. The alien colour making me pause, and then I noticed the trembling in my fingers was back.

  I tucked the wayward hair away, and did the same to my hands.

  My eyes came up and found Tan’s. The first time he’d looked directly at me all day. He held my gaze impassively for a moment and then let his gaze trail down to where I’d tucked my hands under my thighs, stilling them. When he looked back up again I knew he’d seen the tremble. I knew he was aware I was not working at full speed.

  Slowly he inclined his head, as if to say, “I’ve got your back.”

  I was the one to look away, my throat embarrassingly constricting. A tumult of conflicting emotions coursing through my veins. I felt on edge. Off kilter. Dangerously close to breaking down and bawling my eyes out. None of which I had ever experienced when attempting to break and enter in order to steal something of worth.

  And what we were stealing here was essential. Life saving. Shiloh had a plan, we had no idea what it was. But if her drones were anything to go by, it would be devastating to Wánměi. We couldn’t allow that. We couldn’t survive it. So in we were going, possibly unprepared, definitely not up to par, and completely out matched.

  Never before had I been so scared about a job.

  “We’re here,” came Alan’s whisper from the front of the vehicle.

  The truck slowed down, the brakes making a high pitched squealing sound that set my nerves further on edge, until finally the wheels stopped rolling.

  And then the back doors opened from the outside.

  Chapter 21

  She Just Kept Smiling

  Trent

  Red glowing eyes stared mechanically into the rear of the truck, pausing on each person as though iRec-ing them on the trot. It was fucking creepy. And I was already feeling so fucking stressed out about Lena that this just sent my adrenaline into overdrive.

  I had a very bad feeling about tonight.

  “You are late,” the drone advised in Shiloh’s High-Anglisc voice.

  Yeah, nothing creepy about that.

  “We had an accident,” I replied steadily. “Hit a van on Nah Pehpeh Road.”

  The drone buzzed for a few seconds, scouring street-cam footage in the system to confirm our tale, no doubt. I forced myself not to hold my breath, just sat patiently and waited for the drone to accept our story.

  “You are still late,” it said, as if the reason for the delay was irrelevant.

  “We’re here now,” I offered with a small incline of my head; a show of respect expected from model Citizens. And these drone factory workers would be the epitome of model.

  “Vacate the vehicle and prepare for eScan,” the drone advised and I heard Lena let out an anxious breath of air.

  Damn it all to fucking hell, I should not have agreed to let her come. Her eyes looked glassy. Her attention wandered. I felt sick when I saw the bandage on her forehead. It hadn’t been a deep cut, but head injuries bled like fuck.

  Cursing myself silently, I followed the others as we all piled out of the vehicle, into damn near torrential rain, and stood in a row waiting for the drone to iRec us. Another drone had entered the rear of the truck as soon as we were out, and was scanning it for contraband and illicit equipment at the same time.

  While the iRec-ing drone started down by Tan at the other end of the row, I kept an ear out on the process but took the opportunity to see whether our schematics matched reality. It had been hard for Si to get a solid lock on what we’d face inside. We knew where the cafeteria was. We knew what security measures we’d face between the gate and the kitchen. But we had no idea what the staff actually did or said. How they acted with the drones and each other. If they got off the truck without being asked. If one person was a spokesman more than the others. If they all stayed in the kitchen or if only one - Two? Three? - worked the cafeteria floor.

  We’d have to wing it, but at least what I was seeing through the haze of an evening rainstorm and a still barred gate seemed to match what Si had managed to find out.

  The drone came to stop before me, calling my full attention by just being there. The rest of the group, thank fuck, having successfully been iRec’d. It lifted its arm and placed its hand at the right height ready for me to lean forward and rest my chin on its fingers.

  No matter how many times I did this, a pit of poisonous vipers always took up shop inside my gut. I dutifully leaned toward the outstretched hand and cool metal gripped my jaw; this drone wasn’t taking the chance that I’d pull back. I jerked at the change in iRec-ing procedures, but managed to remain still enough that the drone didn’t react. The eScanner hummed and buzzed as the green laser light flowed over my twitching eyeball.

  Jesus, I was a stick of dynamite away from going bang!

  Shiloh announced my assumed identity, as the drone’s free hand lifted my holographic card from its position on a retractable cord at my waist.

  “Identity confirmed,” it announced, releasing the card and my chin at the same moment. The snap of the cord retracting made me take a step back.

  Or it could have been those evil red eyes staring at me. I swear they looked alive.

  It took what felt like an eternity for the drone to turn away and return to its designated spot beside the gate, next to the rear of the truck. My heart beat un-fucking-believably fast; I could feel my rapid pulse in the side of my neck. My jaw ached with the way I was clenching it. I couldn’t tell if that was sweat I was coated in, or just rain. And conversely, my mouth was completely dry.

  I wanted to check on Lena, but a model Citizen wouldn’t move an inch until told otherwise by a drone. I couldn’t even turn my head to see if she was with us, or dazed and staring off into space like she’d done a couple of times in the back of the truck. She was standing next to me, so I could feel the warmth of her body at my side. I could also get a glimpse of her out of my peripheral vision; she wasn’t swaying. She was rigid, spine straight, shoulders back; more Elite than Citizen. There was a slight difference, I prayed the drone wasn’t programmed to notice such small tells.

  Finally the drone in the truck emerged without a word to us. For a second, I wondered if we were simply meant to return to the truck without instruction. But almost too long later the original drone announced, “You may proceed. The cafeteria has been advised of your arrival. Your pay will be docked for your tardiness.”

  Then the gate swung open and we were moving forward as one, trying to get in the truck on top of each other, as though the hounds of hell were at our ankles.

  I turned and reached out to shut the door at the back of the vehicle, my eyes meeting the eerie red of the drone’s through the thick sheet of pouring rain. It didn’t stop watching me until the door blocked it from my view.

  Fucking. Creepy.

  The truck lurched forward; even unflappable Alan a bit too heavy footed right then. I lost my balance with the momentum and stumbled to the bench seat beside Lena with a loud thump I was sure the drones outside could hear. No one said a word, but faces were white and lips were thin.

  “Fuck me,” Wang Jie finally whispered into the strained silence. “Did that drone look like it was, I don’t know, reading us or something?”

  A few heads nodded, but it was Lena who replied. “Shiloh has evolved.”

  All eyes lifted to her pale face; a paleness that seemed natural on Lena, yet I knew right then it wasn’t.

  “We can assume the drones are capable of more than we’re aware,” she added.

  “How the fuck do we counter that?” Wang Jie demanded, as though Lena would have all the answers.

  She lifted Elite eyes to his face and held his glare. I had to hand it to him, he didn’t look away. Not many can hold a staring match with an Elite and feel good about it. Something in the way they have been taught to be superior makes their stare unnerving. Lena could unnerve with a single look.

  Strangely, it made me relax. Not the look as such, but the fact she was delivering it. Maybe we would get through this assault in one piece.

  “Well?” Wang Jie asked, cracking under the pressure.

  Lena smiled. It was fucking devastating in an insect crushing kind of way.

  “We steal Shiloh’s programme.” My eyebrows raised halfway up my forehead.

  “Since when has that been our goal?” I asked, as the truck began to slow at the next checkpoint.

  Lena turned to look at me, offering the full force of her Elite stare. I cocked my head and grinned. She might scare the fuck out of Citizens like Wang Jie, but I’d seen this woman climax. I’d seen her at her most vulnerable. Her most glorious. All because of me.

  “Adaptability, Trent,” she said in that throaty purr she has. “It’s a thief’s best friend.”

  I blinked, realising I’d been trapped in the moment a little too long not for it to have been noticed by the others. So scrambling to think of a distraction, a counter to Lena’s hold over me, I said, “We have no idea which human in the factory would be able to access that. Definitely not one of the identities Si has singled out for us to steal.” Then getting on a roll, feeling more and more confident about my argument, I added, “Without contact lenses, even if you did steal someone else’s ID card, we’d not be able to use it. Retinal scans and holographic card readers work hand in hand in there.”

  She shrugged her shoulder in that unexpected non-model way she had. Sucking me in all over again.

  “This could be fun,” she announced, making Alan scoff up the front and Tan to shake his head as though well used to Lena’s bizarre tangents.

  I could have punched the guy on his long nose for knowing Lena as well as he did.

  “We’re here,” Alan said, as he reversed the truck into place. “Three drones, two x-ray machines, one for us and one with a conveyor belt for the food delivery.”

  It was as we’d expected. Not so much the number of drones, but definitely the added security measures.

  “Showtime,” Lena said almost cheerfully, moving towards the door before I could stop her. I caught up as she hopped down, a little too light on her feet as though she was having fun. I gave her a look. A behave yourself look.

  She just kept smiling.

  Then the first drone approached us, laser gun out and armed. The whir of the weapon, not my silent reprimand, making Lena drop the smile.

  And then the drone announced in Shiloh’s controlled tones, “The Chief Overseer is in attendance.”

  And I felt, more than saw, Lena crumble.

  Chapter 22

  So Full Of Him

  Lena

  Oh, God.

  “He will require an appropriate meal, befitting his status, in the cafeteria in an hour,” the drone was adding.

  Oh, God.

  “Choose your server well, he will expect the best.”

  Oh, my God.

  “He may tour the kitchens, so ensure your workspace is appropriately presentable.”

  Oh, dear God, this was bad. Very bad.

  “That is all. You may unload and begin your shift now.”

  Wang Chao was not dead.

  I could feel the tension in the team, all of them practically vibrating with it. I could see the utter fear in their eyes, the complete disbelief, the devastating blow this was to our side. We thought we’d assassinated him. We thought we’d dealt the Overseers a severe blow.

  I’d thought Shiloh had been lying. But Wang Chao had been under the tightest security levels since the attack on the Palace. Just as she’d said in Geh Dowee.

  And we couldn’t even communicate this to Si; the shortwave radio left behind in the van with Navin.

  And now, there was no way we were getting out of here alive. No way in hell.

  My eyes lifted to find Trent’s across the small space between us. His already locked on mine. The desire to go to him, to wrap myself up in his arms was acute. I took a step. He shook his head, just minutely, briefly. Making me realise we were being watched by three drones, several cameras, and maybe Wang Chao.

  Alan had started handing out food boxes, Tan placing them on the conveyor belt, as per our original plan. I closed my eyes, thankful they’d managed to recover quicker than I had, and headed toward the x-ray machine, Trent walking silently at my side.

  We stepped through the bulky device, a drone manning the vid-screen on the other side eyeing it ominously. My heart jumped into my throat, my pulse beat wildly, but no alarms went off. My nerves were jagged. My usual poise all but gone.

  Then we were walking into an industrial sized kitchen in such immaculate and pristine order that a deep chill set itself up inside my bones. Order meant organisation. Organisation meant rules. Rules meant someone watching to ensure they were adhered to. All consequences I’d rather not have faced.

  Silence greeted us as the day shift staff finished up their duties. Conversation only offered when absolutely necessary and only when related to tasks. We watched them, unobserved, for a few minutes, then Trent walked toward the eScanner on the side of the wall and docked himself in for work. One of the cafeteria employees looked up at the sound of the laser light, weary relief flashing across her face before her eyes narrowed.

  I smiled and waved out, then stepped up to the iRec machine Trent had vacated to prove to her that we belonged. If we scanned in, then the hope was the shift leaving would believe we were two new employees starting their first night on the job.

  “Everything in order?” Trent asked, as he approached the closest worker. The man looked up and did a double take. “Supervisor Drake asked me to handle the change-over,” Trent added. “He’s dealing with some damage we sustained in an accident on the way here.”

  “You crashed the truck?” the guy asked, falling for the distraction nicely.

  “Van of Citizens blew a tyre on Nah Pehpeh Road and hit our side. It’s still drivable.”

  “Just as well you weren’t delayed any longer,” the man replied. “They tell you who’s here tonight?”

  “The Chief Overseer,” Trent replied evenly. I was thinking he should have showed a little more excitement about our leader attending a meal in the factory’s cafeteria. But like me, excitement was a bit too hard to fake right now.

  The man eyed us suspiciously, his gaze settling on my bandaged forehead.

  “Two new employees in one shift,” he commented.

  “We used to work at the Ohrikee,” I offered. “In the kitchens there. We’re well versed in what’s required.”

  The guy hesitated, then surprised me by saying, “Always thought they should have had four industrial grade ovens, not three.”

  I smiled. Called his bluff. “They did have four.” Well aware of what the Palace’s kitchen housed from adolescent night time forays.

  He nodded slowly. “So you’re right,” he said, and then turned away to pick up a vid-screen. He swiped until he brought up the change of shift information and then quickly pointed out the main parts.

  Within minutes, a rattling of information given in record speed, the hand-over was done, and the obligatory Wánměi above all others; Wánměi leads the way was shared. Then the day shift scanned out and left the way we’d come. With Trent accompanying them on the pretence of grabbing something he’d forgotten from the truck.

  The next part was up to Trent’s skill at distraction and the rest of the team’s skill at avoidance. There was no way we wanted the day shift to come into any more contact with the false change-over staff.

  I stood motionless for only a moment and then picked the vid-screen up searching for information on what was required of us. We’d have to carry out our mission whilst also carrying out the normal duties of the cafeteria staff, in order to not raise any alarms. I found what I was looking for and had confirmed what needed to be done immediately by the time Tan, Alan and Wang Jie walked in.

  I nodded in greeting, but didn’t talk. Until we could scan for microphones, and doctor the security cameras in here, we had to appear as normal as possible. I pulled my makeup case from the pocket of my uniform and pretended to check my mascara. The device, as well as a lipstick and blush compact had passed inspection through the x-ray machine. As Si had promised me they would.

  Tan approached my side, after iRec-ing at the eScanner as per usual change of shift procedures.

  “The first three tasks need to be completed immediately,” I said indicating the vid-screen on the bench, while I turned as though to face him, make-up case up at eye level. “The following three within the next quarter hour.”

  “On it,” he replied, swiping up the vid-screen and turning to the others to issue orders, while I completed a three-sixty degree turn of the room.

  I lowered my make-up case and pressed a discreet button on its side, watching as a small LED light blinked in the corner. Ten seconds later the microphones and cameras in the room had been identified.

  Trent walked back in then, making it slightly easier to breathe. My eyes met his, a steady look to ground me, and then he was off following one of Tan’s orders and preparing the food for the next factory meal break in half an hour.

  I approached the corner with the most prominent camera lens and pretended to be checking the contents of a shelf just out of sight. I glanced over my shoulder, catching Tan’s waiting eyes, and offered an exaggerated smile. Within seconds Tan tipped a stack of empty trays over, making them collide with Wang Jie. Who turned around and yelled non-model-like obscenities back.

  I counted to five in my head, then watched the security cameras in the room all rotate to view the disturbance. None of them any longer on me.

  My hands fumbled as I pried open the back of the make-up case to retrieve my father’s transponder, almost dropping the precious device on the floor in my clumsy and anxious state. I sucked in a breath, just as I caught it; reflex the only thing that saved me from being the centre of the now alert security camera operators.