“They didn’t find the lens,” she said.
“They weren’t looking too hard,” Hal responded. “But it’s all right, I think I’ve seen it.” He strolled to the doorway that led to the supply closet they had come through, reached up over the frame, and plucked something off the lintel.
A lens.
“Think it’s the only one?” Fiona asked.
Hal took it to a table, picked up a heavy piece of machinery, and crushed it before he answered her. “I don’t know. My guess is yes.”
“Even if it is, with the comms down, how did they get a signal from it?” she asked.
“Self powered, very short range.” He picked up a small recycling receptacle and swept the lens pieces off the table into it. “I’ve used some like it before. They had to be waiting very close by, probably watching the entrances as Tean suggested,which also explains how they got here so fast. The lens is motion activated, so the moment we walked in front of it, it sent them a signal.”
She hoped it was as simple as that. “What I don’t understand is if they thought Eazi was in here, why didn’t they just look for him when they put the lens in place?”
Hal shrugged. “Maybe they were nervous they’d be interrupted, maybe they were overwhelmed with choice and thought you could narrow things down for them.”
She tilted her head from side to side, unsure. Then she shrugged. No point guessing, either they’d find out later, or they wouldn’t.
“I need to go back down to the runner, I think there’s a chance Eazi duplicated some of the way station’s databases on it as a backup for when I was down on Balco. If you need to meet up with your crew, I can meet you at Security Headquarters.”
Hal shook his head. “Where you go, I go.”
She pressed her lips together, but he simply looked back at her, implacable, so she nodded and led the way back down the secret staircase to the runner.
There was a database saved on the runner, and when she loaded the images of the three men, she had the date, time and ship they’d come off of.
“A Balcoan vessel. No surprises there. The freight ship they arrived on is from one of the companies that is supposedly supplying Paxe. Again, that’s hardly surprising.” She leaned back so Hal could also see the screen.
“They’ve been here for a week.” Hal leaned closer, one hand gripping the table, his other arm draped over her shoulder.
She tipped her head and let it rest against him. Allowed her eyes to close for a moment.
“When the comms are back up, we can ask General Olna to do some research on them and their company.” He rubbed his chin against the top of her head.
“If the names they gave on entry are legit.” Which was highly unlikely.
With a sigh, she forced herself to her feet. She wanted to have a shower, lie in her own bed with Hal, and sleep.
He studied her face for a moment, and then pulled her close. “You all right?”
“No. I’m worried about Eazi and Paxe, and that something bad is about to happen.”
He gave a grunt of agreement. “Something is definitely coming, and I wonder if the games the Garmman were playing on the airspace boundary are connected. It seems like a little too much is happening all at once for it to be coincidence.”
“Well, let’s go to the apartment and see if Eazi left a clue for us there.” She could only think of one other place he would have left a message for her—her way station office—but her apartment was definitely more likely.
“What about Paxe?” Hal asked as they made their way back up to the warehouse. “Are you going to look for him, too?”
She shook her head. “I know where Paxe will be, and it’s nowhere anyone can reach without dying.”
Hal slid her a look, and she shrugged.
“He has issues, and he came by them honestly. It’s possible he’d recognize me as a friend if I tried to climb into the shell of his new Class 5, which is where I’m sure he is, but why would I take the chance? The odds of dying are quite high, and the ways and means are probably varied enough, my reflector bracelet may not cover them all.”
Hal took her hand as they stepped out into the warehouse. “Good point.”
CHAPTER 26
