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ACCORDING TO ROBYN’S blueprints of the city, the mysterious tall skyscraper had a name. The Thespian Project. It had various floors and offices rented to so many people, it seemed like a dead end.
But it was all they had to go on.
“We can’t raise suspicions,” Robyn said. “I’ll rent it out and let it slip that a few Xeno Sapiens are having a conference in the city. Backdate the paperwork to show it was in the works for a while.”
“That’s not lying low,” Steele said.
“There’s no point in trying to be undercover with our bunch,” Robyn said, smiling easily. “We stick out like sore thumbs. Best to allow them to become distracted with trying to get glimpses of us, like we meant to be there.”
“Ahh, subterfuge,” Jason said. “I love it.”
“We’ll only take a handful of Xeno Sapiens, of course,” Robyn said. “And they’ll be hooded.”
“Hooded?” Several of the Xeno Sapiens looked insulted, but Zealish was relieved. The last thing he’d want was to have his ugly mug plastered on the live feeds and possibly have Angela know that was what was coming for her. If she was able to watch the feeds, of course. She’d run screaming before he even had a chance.
“Yes, hooded,” Robyn said firmly. “Because we have an arrangement with the government to keep them updated on the exact number of Xenia citizens on the outside at all times. And if someone gets accused of a crime on the outside, we want to be able to prove that it couldn’t have been that person.” She looked straight at Zee. “Because he was safe and sound within the walls with hundreds of witnesses.”
Jason laughed. “They’re our own witnesses.”
“Well, of course,” Robyn said. “But that’s not our problem. Who else lives within the walls but us?”
“What about Angela voluntarily leaving Xenia?” Renegade asked. “How will we get her back in should we find her there?”
Robyn strummed her fingers against the clear glass of the conference table. It was a hologram table—set up to feel like the real thing. It also enabled Robyn to have access to computer files she may need, such as blueprints or maps. The drawback to a hologram was the ability to see through the table. That meant he had to hide his impatience, otherwise known as his tapping feet.
“We’ll have to come up with a reason why she left. And we can’t have her return immediately—unless she needs medical care, of course. It would look too suspicious if she returns right when Everly does. Zee, I want you to remain hidden with her on the outside.”
“How do we account for getting all hooded figures back inside Xenia if one stays out?”
Pax replied. “We have a set of twin Xeno Sapiens with camouflage capabilities. We include Jett and Brax on the conference team, have them both affix their signatures to the logs, but have one stay back here with their mate and have Zee replace the other.”
“And how do we account for another person entering Xenia if Zee stays behind?”
“Make sure Jett is outside the gates when we return, camouflaged, of course. We’ll hand him an extra hood, and he’ll slide in with us.”
“And to get Zee back in?”
Thane cleared his throat. “Angela can come to the front gates like she’s returning. She has access as Zee’s mate. I’ll volunteer for patrol and bring him up the wall the same way Everly and I used to clear it.”
“I did not just hear that,” Robyn said.
“It could work,” Steele said.
“I suppose. Timing is everything. I received the subpoena to request Everly’s presence for her testimony. As many of you remember, we thought Crested Ute would use the angle that favoritism was used for her to be released from prison so early. They’re saying the rehabilitation program was created for her. It looks especially suspicious since she is now a citizen of Xenia. It’ll be easy enough to refute—she and I had never met previously. She had never met any Xeno Sapien and has only become mated and therefore a citizen since her freedom was obtained. But their actual goal is to get her out of the protection of the city. She’ll have heavy guard, of course. I have several dates I could choose from. We need to pick the date closest to when our team is ready for Angela’s extraction. Angela’s kidnappers will assume that Angela is pretending to be Everly since they believe they already have Everly. They’ll be distracted—maybe even send a team to watch the court hearing, which means less watchful eyes over the real Angela. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to strike—when their resources are split between two places.”
“If you can schedule us a two-day conference, we can visit the conference the first day. Zee can sniff around for Angela. The second day of the conference, you can schedule Everly’s court date. Hopefully, Zee will have found Angela by the second day, while the rest of Crested Ute are busy with Everly’s court hearing.”
“That’s the best we can do,” Robyn acknowledged. “Thane, I’ll have you on Everly’s patrol along with Team B from security. Any questions?”
“Yeah,” Renegade said. “What cool gadgets do you have for us?”
Steele smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.” He pulled a tiny foam piece from his bag. “This little button is a volume magnifier. Place it in your left ear. Anything that you focus on with your left eye can be increased in volume by pressing on the button. Works great in crowded rooms because you can zero in on one conversation. The only downside is having to be careful you’re not caught staring at someone.”
“Too bad we don’t have Rivet here. He can focus his eyes randomly.” A couple of people snickered.
“The hoods should mask our focused staring,” Robyn said. “No one will notice.” She nodded at her mate. “Go on.”
“This little bit will knock out all cameras within a mile radius. Use it sparingly because it won’t take long for computers to unscramble the frequencies. You have no more than ten minutes. Then we have common trackers, and a time freezer.”
“What’s that?”
Pax grinned. “That signifies something cool that we couldn’t really name. It doesn’t actually freeze time, of course. It basically throws someone into a frozen unconsciousness, but the brain is amazing and tries to compensate, hence the term, freezing time. The time frame is brief, maybe fifteen, twenty seconds. Try to use it when they’re still so they don’t notice the span. For example, if someone is sitting in a hot tub and you toss it at them, they may slide underwater. In fifteen seconds when they wake submerged, their brains will notice something happened that they missed. However, if they’re sitting in a chair, watching live feeds and not moving, when their brain becomes conscious in fifteen seconds, they’ll think the feeds had a bump that cut some footage instead of thinking they lost time. We have the power punch rolled into this small marble that explodes upon impact, the gases merging and knocking out the consciousness of the brain immediately. If you’re within a foot of the person, make sure you hold your breath so as not to be affected.” He held up the round object.
“We also have glasses for you, Zee,” Steele said. “To cover up the Midas eyeballs.” He slid a pair of shades down the table. “There are wrist monitors for all that will let you know how long signals are scrambled. The monitors are linked to the trackers you’ll be placing.”
“Okay,” Jason said, standing up. “Any questions?”
Zee cracked his knuckles. He was ready for this.
