Christian turned her to face him and frowned before brushing Gemma’s jawline with his thumb. He wandered toward the war room’s lavatory.
Rami stepped forward with his hands raised. “What’s happening to Gemma needs to take a backseat, I’m afraid. Right now, we need to focus on finding Colton and determining how Gemma’s sister is involved, and if they truly do have her.” He motioned to the hologram table for Gemma to sit.
She obliged, and a second later, Christian returned with a wet cloth for Gemma to clean her face. Her stomach in a knot, she wiped furiously at her upper lip.Figures a side effect of my disease would be random nosebleeds.
“What did Colton say exactly?” Rami asked Gemma once her face was clean.
She blinked slowly, shoving her anxiety as deep as she could manage. “He said Nadine wanted to talk and to come alone. He showed me where to meet and told me to go there at ten.”
“That’s in less than an hour,” Imara spouted.
Rami spoke over his shoulder at the Kaizen. “How many troops can you have mobilized in an hour?”
“Twenty,” she said. “Maybe twenty-five.”
Gemma stood. “No. He said for me to come alone. I’m not risking my sister’s safety becauseyouwant to catch him.” She squeezed the cloth in her hand so hard that diluted purple fluid dripped onto the floor.
“We’re not going to risk your sister’s safety,” Rami said. “Youwillappear to be alone.”
She shook her head. “Colton’s too smart. He’ll expect that.”
“I can track him,” Christian interrupted, coaxing Gemma back into her seat. “I’ll follow Gemma at a distance and keep connected with you on comms. The minute he mobilizes, I’ll let you know, and I won’t let him out of my sight.”
The Kaizen shook her head. “Too risky.”
“But what other option is there?” Imara asked. “If he gets a whiff that you’re onto him, he won’t show. I’ve done enough con jobs to know.” Hawk raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Not all of us were born rich.”
Rami held up a hand. “How do you think our spies stay undetected in Perileos? Technology.” He turned to Gemma. “You wear your hair braided often, do you not?”
She nodded.
“Phoebe will weave in a hidden mic through which we can listen and track you at the same time. Only the most sophisticated anti-bugging systems could detect it, and we would detectthatif Colton were to bring one inside.” Rami turned his attention to the group. “We allow Gemma to go on her own. The three of you will stay close by, hidden from sight and far enough away that Colton can’t detect you. We will wait until confirmation that Nadine is safe before Phoebe moves in with her team. Understood?”
Gemma and her friends nodded.
Rami spoke to her once again. “Give them a code word or phrase that lets them know it’s safe to arrest Colton.”
Gemma lifted her chin, determination setting in. “ ‘City of Lights.’ The moment you hear that, you’ll know my sister’s safe.”
Gemma took a deep breath, and at exactly09:45, she left her room—alone—and headed for the spot where she was to meet Colton. It was on the ground level, toward the back of the tower and through a maintenance shaft similar to the one she and Christian had found.
“Identification,” one of the guards said as soon as she’d stepped out of the lift, pretending to not know whom Gemma was headed to meet. Though secretly part of the Kaizen’s team, Rami had instructed the guards to remain at their posts and perform their roles as usual.
Gemma turned her head so he could access the biochip embedded in the skin behind her ear. He scanned it with a datapad.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Imara hovering on the staircase, her body covered from head to toe in white. Even her black hair and russet face had been covered by a mask—only her dark brown eyes were visible. If Gemma hadn’t known to look for her, she would’ve blended in seamlessly into their white surroundings. No wonder she’d been so popular for thieving and snatch-and-grab jobs.
“What’s your reason for being down here, Miss Proctor?” the guard asked.
“I’m retrieving a file from the history room for Rami.”
The guard stared at her for several moments then grumbled, “Fine. Get your file, then head back upstairs.”
Gemma nodded. “Thank you, sir.”
Following their carefully devised plan, Gemma stopped at the door to the information center, looked both directions, and continued to the removable wall panel.
Like the one Christian had shown her, a tiny lever sat behind the piece of metal. Gemma pushed it, and the panel popped off. Slowly and quietly, she lowered the piece of wall to the floor and slipped inside the maintenance shaft.
