“Well, you know – I got rapped on the knuckles last week for leaving dust around. I don’t want to deal with that again,” Trent laughed, even though no such thing had happened. “Gotta be extra thorough! But you seem like you know the value of a job well done.”
“Huh. I guess,” Laura said, turning her attention back to her fern. Slowly, she put the snippers she’d been using to neaten the plants back in her toolbox. Then she spent some time arranging the toolbox on its cart. Then she took off her gloves, folding them up. “Well… I guess I’m done. Will you be here much longer?”
“Not if I can help it,” Trent laughed, relief coursing through him.Finally!“’Nother five minutes, tops, I think.”
Laura nodded. “Okay. Good. Well – have a nice evening.”
And with that she was gone, rolling her cart back toward the service lift, without looking back.
Trent let himself breathe a long sigh of relief. With Laura out of the way, he could get started. He’d give her five minutes to get down to the car park and leave the building, and then he’d get moving – down into the basement where the cleaning gear was kept, and then up into the ducts, to make his way to the safe.
And then I can get out of here for real.
Impatience and adrenaline were rushing through him as he packed up his cleaning gear – not a good combination in any circumstance, but especially not in this case because his kangarooknewthey were in enemy territory, and the spike in his heartbeat was making it shifty, ears twitching, whiskers bristling, powerful shoulder muscles bunching.
I don’t like it.
I’m sure you don’t,Trent thought as he rode the lift down into the basement.But let’s just get it over with, yeah?
Something’s wrong. It doesn’t feel right.
Despite himself, Trent cocked his head, bringing his shifter senses to the fore – especially the advanced sense for danger.
Well, what is it?he asked.
I don’t know.The kangaroo swiveled its head, searching.But there’s something here…
Trent gritted his teeth. He really couldn’t delay any longer. Danger or not, he only had a small window of opportunity. His handler had told him Equitix had found a buyer for their list, and it’d been brought here to this building for the handover tomorrow. There wouldn’t be another chance.
Quickly, he put his cart away, not bothering to stow it as neatly as he otherwise would – it wasn’t like he was going to be here tomorrow to be disciplined for it anyway. Opening a side compartment of the cart, he silently removed the black mask and gloves he’d secreted in there for just this moment, slipping them on.
All right. Time to move.
He’d checked out the duct system on the building blueprints – he knew they’d lead him where he wanted to go,andthat he could fit inside them, though it’d be a tight squeeze. He went to a service door, punching in the code, and opened it, before heading up the ladder just inside to the entrance of the duct system.
It was easy to pull himself up and inside, though his shoulders were touching the smooth metal sides as he pulled himself along.
Oof. Too many oliebollen, maybe,he thought as he scooched along. He’d done a quick trial run before, and he didnotremember things being quite this tight!
Stop. Wait. I sense something.
Trent froze as the kangaroo suddenly twitched to attention, its senses straining toward the duct running at a crossroad ahead of them – the one that Trent would have to turn down if he wanted to get to where he had to go.
I don’t hear anything – what is it?he asked, but the kangaroo didn’t answer him. It just kept looking straight ahead, seeming twitchy as hell.I can’t stay here all night waiting for you to get your head on straight,Trent told it after a minute of silence.I have to get this done, I’m already running behind schedule.
He started on his sliding way again, only to hear a sudden noise – and then a black shape slid along the duct in front of him, too fast for him to see exactly what it was. One moment it was there, the next it was gone.
What the –
It wasn’t like there were many options for what it could be, though – it had to be another person, on their way to the vault, just like he was.
I have to get there first,he thought grimly, though he knew that was impossible now. Somehow, he’d been outfoxed, and whoever that was had gotten in ahead of him.Too late to abort. I’ll just have to deal with them.
Trent slid his way up to the intersection, peering around the corner. The duct was empty, so whoever it was had already found their way to the section that overhung the room with the vault, and made their way down.
All right, let’s go. At least I’ll be able to get the drop on them,Trent thought grimly. He found it quickly enough – the vent that whoever-it-was had jimmied open to get out of the ducts. And when he peeped down through the newly created hole, he could see them crouched over the digital lock on the vault, busily working.
There’s something familiar about them,Trent thought as he prepared himself to drop down on them.Something – oh, what thehell!
