“Martin, you need to calm down.”
“Don’t tell me what I need!” His voice cracked, loud enough that it would carry into the corridor if anyone was passing by. Thenhe seemed to catch himself, drawing a breath that shuddered through his entire frame.
When he spoke again, his voice was controlled. Cold.
“You’ll regret this, Alina.”
He turned and walked towards the door, his steps precise despite the tension vibrating through his body.
“That scan is just the beginning,” he said without looking back. “GenCon has resources you can’t imagine. Equipment, personnel, authorization to access any area they deem relevant to their research. And I’ve made sure they understand that whatever you’re hiding, it’s worth finding.”
He paused at the threshold, his hand resting on the door frame.
“You could have been part of something extraordinary. Instead, you chose to be my enemy.” Now he did look back, and his smile was the coldest thing she’d ever seen. “I hope your principles keep you warm when I’ve taken everything else.”
Then he was gone, his footsteps echoing down the corridor until they faded into silence.
Alina stood frozen for a long moment, her hands gripping the edge of the workstation so tightly that her knuckles ached. Her heart was pounding, her breath coming too fast, and there was a fine tremor running through her body that she couldn’t seem to stop.
He knows. He doesn’t know exactly what, but he knows I found something.
And he’s not going to stop until he finds it too.
The backup device. She’d forgotten about the backup device.
Alina spun back to her workstation, nearly tripping over her own chair.
Ninety-seven percent. Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine.
Complete.
She yanked the device free and shoved it into her pocket, her fingers clumsy with adrenaline. Then she started systematically erasing any trace of the transfer, her mind racing through contingencies even as her hands moved through the familiar motions.
I have to warn Rhyx. I have to get word to Jeb and Mattie. If GenCon is bringing in ground-penetrating radar, it’s only a matter of time before they find the entrance to the lava tube, and from there?—
“Alina?”
She whirled, a gasp catching in her throat.
Cass stood in the doorway, her face creased with concern. Behind her, Roland—her cybernetic companion—chirped softly, his optical sensors fixed on Alina with what looked almost like worry.
“Jesus, Cass. You scared me.”
“I’m sorry. I heard shouting.” Cass stepped into the lab, her sharp green eyes taking in Alina’s pale face, her trembling hands, the rigid set of her shoulders. “What happened? Was that Martin?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“He—” Alina’s voice cracked. She swallowed, tried again. “He found something. Radar scans of the mountains. He knows I’m hiding something, and he’s working with GenCon to figure out what.”
“That bastard.” Cass’s jaw tightened. “Did he touch you?”
“Just my face. Before I pulled away.”
“That’s still assault, Alina. You need to file a complaint.”
“File a complaint with who?” Alina laughed, but there was no humor in it. “The colonial administration is practically in GenCon’s pocket. The research council is more interested in protecting their funding than their personnel. And Martin knows exactly how to play the system—he’s been doing it for years.”
