“So he might have sent people to the warehouse himself, to check out the story?” Trayla moved her empty plate away and rested her elbows on the table. “That doesn’t mean we can’t still go, does it?”
“Is the market running again today?” Fiona asked. “Because if the warehouse is still under the Security department’s control, the players in this strange game may decide to go look for more parts at the market while they still can.”
“It is running.” Natta stood. “I feel like we should get there as soon as it opens.”
Fiona checked the time, nodded. “I think some of us should go to the warehouse, others to the market, and keep in touch.” She turned to Hal, found him watching her.
“I’m with you,” he said.
CHAPTER 19
Hal foundthe Grihan ears and wig Fiona wore to be quite disconcerting.
She was back to being Feenra Planer, and he realized he didn’t like it. She did look very Grihan, though.
“It’s a good disguise,” he admitted.
“But you don’t like it,” she said, sending him a sidelong look.
“It’s not that—” He suddenly grinned. “No, I don’t. But I’ll get over it.”
They had decided it was better for Grih / Balco relations that Trayla, Crin and Natta go to the market. It was a public place, and they weren’t doing anything wrong browsing the stalls.
If any of the Grihan soldiers were caught in the warehouse, though, that might result in consequences.
Fiona was more likely to get away with being found where she shouldn’t be, but that would mean she would have to remove her disguise and let the Balcoans know who she really was. As Hal refused to be parted from her, he told her they would have to hope his excuse of being there to protect her would work if they were detained by Balcoan Security.
“Let’s try to avoid that,” Fiona said as they pulled to the side of the road on the street Eazi had directed them to a few days before.
Hal gave a grunt of agreement.
“We parked in the carpark of this company when we were here last time. They were closed.” Fiona studied the building. “Does it look closed again to you?”
Hal got out of the hover slowly, and saw movement in the window. “There’s someone there.”
“But no hovers in front of the building.” Fiona cast a suspicious eye over the place.
Hal came around the back of the hover to join her, and she pointed to the pathway that ran between two buildings.
“That goes all the way over to the parallel street,” she said. “Then we head to the left, and the warehouse is right there.”
They’d driven past the warehouse before they’d turned down the street and parked out of sight, and neither of them had seen anyone there, but Hal couldn’t believe the Security Department could have been done with the crime scene so quickly.
He followed Fiona down the narrow walkway, keeping his head on a swivel as they went.
They were in Distani, a prosperous and thriving capital city, and there was nothing that looked run down or poorly maintained. Some of the plants lining the walls between the two buildings were a little overgrown, he noticed, but that just added to the charm and softened the industrial look of the district.
They emerged onto the street, but instead of heading to the front door of the warehouse, Fee led them down the side of the building. The wall that had blocked their path to the back of the warehouse was now good cover from curious eyes from the building next door.
There had been a window in the wall they were walking beside, but it was no more. Black soot smudged the areaaround where the window had been, and the whole shape of the rectangular opening was twisted into a drunken parallelogram.
“That was the laser,” Fee guessed. “Handy entry point, though.”
“There has been no activity at the warehouse since yesterday evening.” Eazi’s voice gave Hal a start. As usual.
Fee sent him a laughing glance, and he bared his teeth at her, which just made her smile a little wider.
“So we’re good to snoop?” she said, eyes cutting up to the sky.
