“Um, so, are we thinking traditional infiltration here?” Rick piped up, his gaze bouncing between him and Aiden. “Like a breaking and entering? Or do you intend to sneak in as part of the personnel?”
“Either,” Aiden beat Darren to it. He let go and laced his hands together on top of the table. “But I think sneaking in is preferable.”
Nyle nodded. “That’s the part I have yet to work out aside from the security issue.”
“Maybe I can help. I’ve dealt with a couple of the DuLaurent subsidiaries on Mars, so I might know someone who works there. Granted it’s an actual storage warehouse and not a front for something else,” Rick suggested. His taut expression betrayed he wasn’t a fan of the breaking and entering option.
If Darren and Aiden could get in and out through the front door… that was certainly going to make things easier. If not, then Darren had every intention to get them in and outanywaybecause even if he was rusty, this kind of thing had been his specialty.
Theoretically, he could also handle whatever security Nyle couldn’t disable remotely—or if the hacking device failed—and if Aiden had held his own against those two henchmen at Horizons, then Darren didn’t have to worry about him not pulling his weight. Still, it was probably a good idea to go through some basics of subtlety and quick incapacitation with Aiden in the hideout’s training area.
“It looks like we all have stuff to do.” Nyle clapped. “I’ll carry on digging about the vault…”
“What’s wrong?” Darren asked, sensing Nyle’s hesitation.
“It might be nothing, but… I came across Claudia’s name in some of the correspondence I intercepted recently.” He gaveAiden an apologetic look. “It was just a couple mentions, but considering she’s… Well, I thought it was strange that someone was talking about her. I can look into it further if you want me to.”
The entire crew held their breath as Aiden thought Nyle’s offer over. His eyes grew distant and he stayed quiet for a few moments. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
Darren could understand why Aiden wanted to follow that thread. Maybe it would lead somewhere, maybe it was nothing. They didn’t know, but if it could shed some light on the woman’s motivation, it would help close that chapter of Aiden’s life. It would give him closure, and Darren wished for that wholeheartedly.
Nyle nodded, his lips lifting up in a sad smile. “Okay. I’ll tell you if I find anything but I’m not making any promises. I’ll also start the decryption process of the earring in the meantime,” he announced, placing the star-shaped ornament on the table and plugging a very thin physical connector into its data point. Darren assumed it would route the data through the scanner-like black device Nyle produced from his pocket. “The security of these things is very tight, so it takes a while to bring it down.”
Snorting, Bea sprung up from her chair. “Cool. Kristen, let’s go fit in that new cooling bracket I got you,” she said and practically dragged him out into the hangar.
Darren watched the two until the massive doors closed, then turned his attention to Nyle and Rick, who’d scurried to one end of the table and were discussing the likely vendors Marcus would’ve hired to install additional security measures. This left him and Aiden as the only two without something to do.
“We should familiarize ourselves with the building’s layout,” Aiden suggested, probably also realizing they had better things to do than sit and stare at Nyle and Rick working.
Darren bobbed his head in agreement. The part of the building that they had layouts for was pretty straightforward, though what worried him was the rest. He hoped Nyle would manage to get the plans for it too, but if he didn’t, then they had to go in blind.
“Hey, I was thinking I could show you some moves first?” he said, aiming a friendly smile Aiden’s way. “Nothing too complex, I promise, but enough so anyone regrets picking a fight with you. We don’t really know what Marcus is hiding on those lower levels, and it never hurts to be ready, just in case.”
Aiden considered that. “That’s probably a good idea.” He stood up and began walking, then paused, looking down at the dress shirt and slacks he was wearing. “I’ll go change and meet you at the training area in ten.”
Darren’s stomach squeezed in anticipation. He didn’t actually know how good or bad Aiden was at fighting, but he was definitely excited to find out.
