Neal sighs. “And if they could travel in time, why would they even need the Lyon disease? They’d be basically gods, they could wipe out the IA and all our planetary defenses just by going back in time to before they existed.” Frustrated at disproving his own theory, he shoves his hands into his pockets.
“Heads up.” My voice is low and casual, but it stops all conversation—a woman in a navy blue suit emerges from an intersecting corridor, nods absently at us, and continues on her way.
The secured part of the castle had enough entrances that we could use Dex’s code breaker out of sight. Which was good, considering it took us a good ten minutes to figure out how to operate it. But once inside, it’s been surprisingly easy to pass unnoticed. People see what they expect to see, and most of the rooms we’ve passed since we got down beneath the exhibit floor have been offices. These people aren’t highly trained operatives or security agents, they’re just office workers.
“We’ve got to figure out where they’d be holding my dad,” Jules says, once the woman’s out of earshot again. “We can’t wander around here forever, we’ll get caught.”
My pulse hitches up a notch as a thought comes to me. “Hang on. I’ve got an idea. Stay here.”
I turn and jog back toward the woman in the suit, calling out, “Hey, excuse me!” I can almost feel the twin expressions of horror Neal and Jules must be wearing, but neither of them try to chase me down.
The woman pauses, looking over her shoulder, and then turns when she sees me approaching. “Is everything okay, ma’am?” She has big, luminous brown eyes and a moderate accent, consonants and vowels pronounced with care.
Remembering I’m wearing the jacket of a security officer, I flash her a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I just need to ask—do you know where they’re actually holding Addison? I just transferred from the Catalan branch, and I’m completely lost.”
The woman’s eyes warm, amusement in her face. “It is a maze, right? I started last year and I still get lost. But I’m just an accountant, I don’t know anything about the Addison thing, and I don’t have clearance to discuss it anyway.”
I skate past that, sighing and making a frustrated sound in my throat. “Even just a general direction would be a big help.”
The woman’s brows draw in. “Why are you looking for Addison anyway? Aren’t his guards part of a separate unit?”
I step to the side and gesture behind me. One glance shows me that Neal looks absolutely panicked, already halfway around the corner—but Jules is still where I left him, watching and listening. Tense, but waiting.
“See that kid?” I’ve found that being dismissive of people my own age sometimes makes others see me as older. Hopefully between that and my uniform, this woman won’t realize I’m no older than the “kid” I’m talking about. “That’s his son.”
The woman’s eyes widen. “Dr. Addison’s son? He does look like him. Isn’t he wanted for arrest?”
I grin at her. “How do you think he got here? We scooped him up yesterday, the plan is to use him as leverage against his dad. De Luca sent me to escort him down here.”
Her eyes narrow again. “Youreport to De Luca?” Suspicion clouds her features, and she looks me over a second time.
“Sure do,” I reply. “I’m just in my first year, but I was the only one with clearance for this level close at hand.” The woman glances over my shoulder again at Jules, hesitant. In a low, conspiratorialvoice, I add, “Look, between you and me, I’m in way over my head. I’m terrified to ask someone in charge, because they’ll just tell De Luca I couldn’t do my job. I need this promotion.”
The woman sighs. “Well, I don’t know exactly,” she says finally. “But there’s a wing beyond the situation room at the end of the hall whose doors use a different code—none of us ever go in there. If I had to guess where they’re keeping Dr. Addison, that’s where I’d look.”
I flash her a smile. “Thank yousomuch. Seriously—what’s your name? If I get this promotion maybe I can return the favor.”
“Iveta,” she replies after a pause. “Iveta Nováková.”
“Got it.” I nod firmly, despite the fact that I’m not sure I could repeat that name a second time. “Thanks again. Take care!”
I turn and hurry back toward the others. Jules’s lips are twitching, and he meets my eyes with an approving grin.
Neal, watching from the corner, is wide-eyed. “Bloody hell, she’s got ovaries of steel.” He reemerges from the corridor after checking that Iveta’s moved on.
“Told you.” Jules reaches out as if to take my hand, then thinks better of it, given the cover story I’ve just laid out. “Let’s go.”
The coded door Iveta mentioned leads to another hallway, although there’s a muffling quiet in this area that immediately puts me on edge. There’s a security room just inside, and while there aren’t any monitors—clearly, they’re not foolish enough to put all their secrets on display—there are duty shift rosters in a folder, and a fire exit map on the back of the door. Between these, we can trace a route to what can only be Dr. Addison’s cell, although he’s never referred to by name in the duty rosters.
This time we get more than a few looks as we make our way down the corridor. No one stops us, but I can feel their suspicion the way a seasoned detective can detect deceit, and by the time we’re at the cell, my skin is crawling.
Neal’s got the code breaker, and he doesn’t wait for prompting to start it working on the code to the door.
“Hurry,” I hiss, before I can stop myself—there’s nothing Neal can do to go any faster, after all. But here, in a wing full of guards who’ve probably interacted with Addison on a daily basis, the odds they’ll recognize Jules have skyrocketed. And these guys willknowI’m not here to add Jules to their list of prisoners.
Jules is still, standing at my side and staring blankly at the door with his face gone ashen. He hasn’t seen his father since his arrest, and I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind. Evie and I were taken from our parents so young that she doesn’t even remember them, and to me they’re just distant figures of warmth and safety. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a parent you love as much as Jules loves his dad.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity and a half, the numbers on the display of Dex’s code breaker stabilize, and the door gives a click and a little whoosh of air. The door slides open a crack, and Jules’s steadfastness shatters instantly.
