Kira's gaze moved to his ear, catching the twinkle of a green stone.
Odin had assumed the female persona again.
Kira was a little surprised. While the hacker rarely stayed the same gender for long, Odin typically tried to stay consistent during a mission.
It made it so much easier to slip through the nets of law enforcement when they were looking for one gender while Odin became the other.
The transformation was so thorough that even scanning Odin’s DNA wouldn’t expose the deception.
It was a useful talent, but only if no one ever suspected. It made Odin as slippery as an eel and was one of the reasons Kira had so much trouble tracking the changeling that first time.
Finn watched Odin with suspicion, likely picking up the same change Kira had but not knowing what it meant.
"If you kill me, everyone will see. The Haldeel will arrest you, and you'll lose this race,” Odin said as soon as she arrived.
"Do you think I give a shit about this race?"
"Probably not, but you might change your mind after what I tell you."
Kira narrowed her eyes at Odin. "I'm waiting."
"The Tsavitee have something planned for the race. I want to know what, and the only way to learn that is by competing."
Finn glanced at Kira. "We should inform Graydon."
"And say what? Hello sir, this person wanted by half the universe says they think the Tsavitee are here and plotting?” Scorn filled Odin’s expression. “Do you think they'd believe that?"
Finn's jaw flexed. "It will be our fault if something goes wrong."
"It's more likely you'll scare them off. Then what? It could be years before we draw them out again," Odin argued.
Finn ignored Odin, his eyes never leaving Kira’s.
She gave him a sharp nod. "Do it. Inform Graydon."
Odin made a rude sound. "What happened to 'at all costs'?"
"I made a promise,” Kira said, reaching for patience. “Also, it will only benefit us in the long run to have Graydon in our corner.”
"They could be monitoring our communications," Odin said sulkily as Finn touched his arm to open a channel.
A humorless smile came from Finn. "Not these."
"Being cocky will only lead to destruction,” Odin said.
Jin snickered. "Oh ho, someone gets a little touchy when they're overruled."
Odin regarded the drone with a flat stare. "Careful Tin Can, or we'll revisit exactly how touchy I can be."
Jin spun toward Kira. "Why is this menace here? We already know we can't trust her."
"Odin is here because she has a unique set of skills that no one else can replicate,” Kira forced herself to say.
"And also because you need someone with a pulse to act as the controller since the officials won't recognize a pile of nuts and bolts as advanced enough to trust with someone's safety," Odin added in a chipper voice.
"Shows what you know. I don't have a single nut or bolt in my body. I'm way too advanced for that," Jin sniffed.
While the two were arguing, Finn moved closed. "Graydon said that without more concrete information, the race officials won't delay the semifinals."
