“Two of my girls. They love guns.”

  Cassidy remembered them from his visit to the Mines. He didn’t really want to drag anyone else into this, especially Miners. One member could be operating independently. Three was picking sides. “I’d rather we take our chances.”

  “I wouldn’t,” Jazz said. “We need all the help we can get.”

  “Fine,” Cassidy said. “Brie, go out into the street to make the call, just in case. Tell them to bring tranq rounds too. We don’t kill any agents unless we have no other choice.”

  “Got it, Cass,” Brie said, getting up and heading out the door.

  “I appreciate that,” Jazz said.

  “Let’s see the uniforms,” Jessica said.

  Jazz opened the other box. “These are authentic,” he said as Jessica reached in and pulled out one of the rubbery blue uniforms designed to protect the maintenance crew while working near the heavy generators that helped provide power to the spire. “I picked them up from the local office myself. By the time anyone notices they’re gone, we’ll be long done with them.”

  “Beautiful,” Jessica said, turning the suit in her hand. It had a logo of a fireball on the flat oxygen tank affixed to the back, the words STARFIRE MECHANICAL arcing over it. “We’ll wait until Brie gets back and then we get ready to move out.”

  “I really hope this doesn’t turn into a disaster,” Jazz said.

  Cassidy locked eyes with Jessica. He didn’t see any fear in them. No concern or hesitation. She was that sure she was right and equally eager to prove it.

  “Me too,” he replied. For both their sakes. “Me too.”

  Chapter 45

  The Golden Spire and its complex occupied an entire city block. Surrounded by a gilded wrought iron fence that was ten feet tall and monitored by both human and mechanical guards, the home of one of the wealthiest people on the planet was both overtly ostentatious and sublimely threatening.

  The Spire itself wasn’t the only building on the property. It occupied approximately half the plot, located in the exact center adjoined by additional, smaller structures in each of the four corners, with a guardhouse at the main entrance. All of the structures were covered in ornate carvings, gold-plating, stained glass and frescoes. The negative space between featured lush gardens, green grass and outcroppings of some of the only trees within the confines of the seawalls. Like the other spires that dotted the metropolis, it was an oasis paradise in a desert of humankind.

  It took nearly an hour to reach the front of the spire from Jazz’s pharmacy. To keep up appearances, they were forced to use a white box truck with the STARFIRE MECHANICAL typeface and logo hastily stenciled on the side, which meant driving through always heavy ground traffic. The drive had taken so long that Shell had called in nearly twenty minutes earlier to let them know that she and Miners Brie, Kyra and Ju were in position, ready to take an elevator to the rooftop of an office tower a couple of blocks away. There, they would gain line of sight with the spire.

  Jessica had given each of them new ClearPhones, all of them loaded with access to Leonidas. It would allow them to communicate freely beyond the ever watchful eye of Unity and the UDF. The devices were also transmitting their location back to the Unity Mobile Interface which she had left with Shell. Combined with the schematic for the spire, which they had lifted out of the database of the architectural and engineering firm who had built it, the system allowed her to monitor their individual positions within the building. It would keep Shell and Brie apprised of where the others were in the event they got separated.

  In an effort to estimate the size of the guard detail, Brie had also combed through the databases of a number of security companies, looking for assignments to the compound. While nobody was foolish enough to try to steal from Bizrathi Praan, it was expected for him to employ a certain number of security people to maintain order. According to Brie’s research, The Spire had two hundred guards on duty at any given time, the majority of which had come from the Marines after their enlistment was complete. Not only did he have a lot of security, but the force was well-trained and likely outfitted with Slivers and stim packs, which put every member of Praan’s security detail on a level with or at least close to that of Garrett and Jazz.

  Breaking into the Golden Spire was the last thing Cassidy ever expected he would need to do. Even with the extra help they had gained from Jazz, Shell, and Brie and her Miners, it was a pitiful assault team in comparison to what they were stepping into. The Silver Dragons might have helped minimize the difference in numbers, but even they wouldn’t have guaranteed success. That was probably why Liao had shut Garrett down.

  Two hundred guards sounded like a lot, but they had a lot of ground to cover both inside and outside the main ultra-tall skyscraper, which meant their density wouldn’t be all that high in any given area. At least a quarter of the defenses were probably on the ground, another quarter near the rooftop, and the rest split across the floors between. Getting inside would be the hardest part, but Cassidy still felt that a small team like theirs would have a better chance of reaching the top of the Spire.

  As the only real unknown in the group, Jessica had to pull double-duty as the truck driver while also working to locate a ClearPhone she could use to access the spire’s internal network. She drove one-handed, her device cradled against the console of the vehicle and pointing up at her while she gestured in front of it, navigating through different screens. She nearly hit a rickshaw as she made the final turn to the spire’s front gate, slamming on the brakes and sending her phone careening onto the passenger side floor.

  “Shit!” she cursed, shaking her head at the near miss.

  Cassidy scooped up the phone in his gloved hand. They were already wearing the hazmat suits, the floppy headgear hanging from the neck just above the oxygen tanks. The blue rubber sat loosely against his skin but was cinched tight around his waist, leaving him feeling as though he were dressed in balloons. It made it a little awkward to move, but he wasn’t going to need to wear it for long.

  “Thanks,” Jessica said as he placed the phone back in the console, facing it toward her. She split her attention between the road and the device as they approached the golden gates of the Praan compound on their right. A pair of guards in dark body armor flanked both sides of the entrance on the outside, motionless as the pedestrians and other street traffic flowed past them.

  “We should have a signal by now,” Garrett said from the back seat of the cab.

  “We should,” Jessica agreed. “We don’t. We need to get a little closer.”

  They rolled toward the gate, using the traffic as an excuse to stay slow as Jessica’s ClearPhone continued scanning for devices within the geofence of the compound. Implanting the scheduled visit from the maintenance company was a simple but key aspect of their plan. If they couldn’t piggyback another device to make it happen, it would make an already difficult inception that much harder.

  “Still nothing?” Garrett asked.

  “Stop asking,” Jessica replied. “You’ll know when I’ve got it.”

  “We’re out of time,” Cassidy said. “Turn toward the gates.”

  “Damn it.” Jessica growled softly as she steered the truck up to the gates and stopped. The guard on the driver’s side walked toward them. She activated the window to roll it down, allowing some of the rain to fall in.

  Cassidy looked down at the phone. Still no other devices. Apparently, Praan didn’t like the guards using theirs while they were on duty.

  “Oh, hi,” Jessica said. “We’re with Starfire Mechanical. We have an appointment to check your power generator.” She picked up her device, changing the screen to a work order she had created on the company’s system. “It looks like your voltage is fluctuating. We just need to duck inside and take a look.”

  “Standby while I call it in,” the guard said.

  “No problem.”

  He tapped on his helmet to activate a comm system. “Mister Wilkes, this is the front gate. We’ve got a crew from Starfire Mechanical here to take a look at the generator.”

  He glanced at Jessica, waiting while the admin looked for them on the schedule. He made a face a few seconds later, no doubt because Wilkes hadn’t found anything.

  “He says you aren’t on the calendar,” the guard relayed. “I’m afraid I can’t let you in.”

  “Really?” Jessica said. She tapped on her phone and turned it toward the guard. “This is my work schedule for the day. You are here.” She motioned to the time blocked out for their appointment. “Why is it on my schedule but not on yours?”

  “Standby,” the guard repeated. “Mister Wilkes, this is the front gate again. The driver is showing me her company schedule, and we are listed.” He paused to listen. “Yes, sir. Yes, sir.” He looked at Jessica. “He wants to know how long this is going to take, and if you’ll need to shut the power off. Mister Praan is hosting a party.”

  “We shouldn’t need to shut the power down. Diagnostics will take about thirty minutes or so, but if we do find a problem and have to turn off the generator to work on it, the backup will automatically kick in. There won’t be any disruption in power beyond a slight blink of the lights that nobody will even notice. I can guarantee nobody will even know we’re here, but I’ll let you know if we’re going to be here any longer than a half hour. The last thing I want to do is upset Mister Praan. I’m just trying to do my job.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the guard replied. “Mister Wilkes, they estimate thirty minutes for diagnostics, and then they can update the time.” He waited. “Yes, sir.” The guard stepped back from the truck and tapped on his wrist. The gate immediately began to swing open. “The maintenance entrance is around the back. It’ll be open for you.”

  “Thank you,” Jessica said. “We’ll be in and out as quick as possible.”

  “Have a nice evening,” the guard said.

  “You too.”

  Jessica glanced at Cassidy, fighting to keep her excitement hidden. It had been easier to gain entry than they had guessed. She pulled the truck forward, moving slowly until she was through the gate. Then she exhaled sharply. “I thought we were screwed. I don’t know why this thing isn’t capturing any devices.”

  “Praan’s having a party,” Jazz said. “There’s probably nobody of consequence down on the ground right now, and your phone won’t reach through the clouds. Bad luck in that sense, but it works both ways. They’re too distracted to care if a crew comes to do some work.”

  “It might make this a little easier,” Cassidy agreed.

  “Whatever the reason, we’re in,” Garrett said.

  Jessica drove the truck around to the back of the spire to a small covered area designed to keep delivery and maintenance vehicles out of sight from the road so as not to spoil the property’s appearance. Another vehicle was already parked there. A high-end entertainment company providing services for the party. She stopped their truck beside it. All four cab doors opened and the group climbed out. Jazz and Garrett went around to the back to quickly retrieve their gear. When they rejoined Cassidy and Jessica, they all finished sealing their suits, encapsulating themselves and activating the stored oxygen delivery before approaching the maintenance entrance.

  The light on the security panel was already green, ready for their arrival. Cassidy pulled the door open while the others filed through, and then closed it behind him. The light on the panel turned red, signaling it was secured again.

  Not for long.

  Even the maintenance entrance was ostentacious—the floor covered in white marble, the ceiling painted with angels and clouds and a huge diamond chandelier dangling overhead. A doorway and elevator rested on either side of the grand foyer, one side going up, the other down. A cleaning robot sat in the shadows near the wall, ready to tidy up any mess left behind in the area.

  “This is the life,” Jazz said, taking it all in.

  “Let’s go,” Cassidy said, moving to the elevator on the left. He hit the call button and the doors slid open. They stepped inside. There were no other buttons to press. There was only one floor the elevator went down to. It only existed to transport heavy equipment to and from the utilities underground.

  The descent only took a few seconds. The elevator stopped and the doors opened, revealing a subterranean tunnel that immediately reminded Cassidy of the service area beneath the Sunrise Towers. Same idea, different location. They moved along the tunnel, following it until they reached a door marked as the generator. A security panel blocked their entrance to the generator itself, but they had no intention of going inside.

  The real prize was right in front of them.

  The three men stood around Jessica as she pulled off her hazmat suit, blocking any potential camera feeds from watching her. She had her original street clothes on underneath, her long coat covering a black dress. She pulled a screwdriver from the inside pocket and quickly used it to open the security panel to get at its wiring. Working quickly and expertly, she stripped part of two of the wires and spliced in a small black device. Then she returned the panel’s face and screwed it back together, all in under two minutes.

  “Done,” she said.

  Jazz dropped his large toolbag on the floor for Jessica to unzip, exposing the weapons hidden inside. Cassidy had just started tugging at his hazmat suit when he heard movement from the far end of the tunnel. The others heard it too. Jessica reached toward the ordnance in the pack as a handful of UDF agents in black body armor rounded the corner.

  “Shit,” Jazz said.

  A moment later, another unit joined them from the other side, boxing them in.

  “Double shit.”

  Chapter 46

  “Put your hands up!” one of the UDF agents shouted. “Put them up now!”

  Cassidy slowly raised his hands, as did the others. All except Jessica. She remained crouched in front of the bag, her hand tucked inside it.

  “You!” the agent said, swinging his rifle toward her. “Hands up! Do it!”

  Jessica glanced at Cassidy before removing her hand from the toolbag, flashing him two fingers before raising her arms and getting to her feet.

  “You think Brie ratted us out?” Jazz asked softly.

  “No,” Cassidy replied simply. She’s a Miner. She wouldn’t be turned that easy. And the agents were already in the building. Some of them were already down here, but that might have been to keep them hidden from the guests upstairs.

  “Shut it!” the agent barked. The other unit closed in behind Cassidy and the others, keeping their rifles trained on the group.

  “My name is Detective Jeffrey Hall,” Cassidy said. “Special Investigations.”

  “We know who you are, Hall,” the agent answered. “It’s the only reason we didn’t shoot you on sight.”

  Cassidy’s eyebrows crinkled. He didn’t understand. The agent turned his wrist and tapped on it. A hologram appeared between him and them.

  “Captain Nevis,” Cassidy said. She stood in front of him, a smug smirk stretched across her face.

  “Hall,” she replied. “I see you have some friends with you. Or are they accomplices?”

  “You know what they are,” Cassidy replied.

  “My prisoners,” she said, her smirk extending to a full-blown smile. “Excellent work, Detective. I knew I could count on you.”

  “What?” Jessica said beside him.

  Cassidy looked over at her. He had guessed Nevis would play this like he had set them up. He decided he should play along. “I wasn’t sure your man at the warehouse would believe me when I told him I was embedded.”

  “He didn’t,” Nevis said. “But I did.” She looked over at Garrett. “Mason Garrett in the flesh at last. You’ve been a major thorn in my side, Mason. Or do you prefer Benjamin?”

  “Mason is fine,” Garrett replied. “Or Garrett. Honestly, I prefer if you don’t talk at all.”

  Nevis smiled. “Cute.” Her eyes shifted to Jazz. “And Mister Jazlin.” She shook her head. “This isn’t going to go well for you. It’s a shame too. You were a useful tool in the bureau’s belt.” Jazz didn’t react. He just stared blankly into the hologram while Nevis fixed her attention to Jessica. “I don’t know you. Do you have a name?”

  “If you’re going to take us in, just take us in,” she replied.

  “I thought we should talk first.”

  “We have nothing to talk about.”

  Nevis looked at Cassidy again. “Hall, you can put your hands down now. You’re free to go.”

  Cassidy lowered his hands but didn’t move, confused by Nevis’ reaction.

  “Your objective is satisfied. You’re dismissed. Sergeant Amman will take it from here.”

  Cassidy took a step toward the agents. “Captain, both Garrett and Jazlin have Slivers, and Jazlin has fast-twitch muscle fiber mods. I think I should stay and help cover them.”

  “Cassidy, what the hell?” Jessica said.

  He turned his torso to look back at her through the suit’s clear plastic viewport. He held a single finger against his hazmat suit where the agents behind her wouldn’t be able to see it, signaling he was still with them in case she wasn’t sure about his ruse.

  “Cassidy?” Nevis said, surprised. “You know who he is?”

  Jessica smiled. “Yes. My guardian angel. He told me the bureau might be waiting for us. He told me to be prepared.”

  Nevis’ face hardened as Cassidy turned back toward Sergeant Amman. He lunged toward the man, slightly awkward in the rubber suit, grabbing his rifle and turning it aside before throwing an elbow into the sergeant’s face.

  Before anyone could react, gas began spraying out of the tool bag—a putrid, yellow concoction, thick and heavy—that filled the confined space in a matter of seconds. The UDF agents started coughing almost immediately, choking on the gas while Garrett and Jazz stood in place and Jessica covered her mouth with her hand, holding her breath.

  Sergeant Amman tried to hold his breath too, but Cassidy delivered a sharp punch to his gut that forced him to exhale. He couldn’t prevent himself from drawing in the gas, and he started coughing too, slumping to the floor a moment later.