Death's Twilight

by A. J. Leavens

CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Hotel Agora, December 5, 2308 06:00:38 (T-Minus 00:06:02:34)

  Kozel and Slade both woke at the harsh sound of the chronometer's alarm. Slade was tempted to snooze it once, but he realized there was too much at stake. There was a Letter to deliver. Slade jumped in the shower, instantly missing his preset temperature unit from The College as the cold water hit his bare skin. After a lather and shave, Slade vacated the washroom so Kozel could get himself clean.

  Heading to the kitchen, Slade made some bacon, eggs, and toast for them both. There was no juice, but that was quickly fixed with a call to the Agora's Manager, who was still more than willing to accommodate an Emissary within his walls. The juice arrived just as Kozel exited the washroom to eat.

  "So what's the game plan, Emissary?"

  "Eat first. You'll need all of your faculties if we are to pull this off. Do you have the ability for a skill upgrade?"

  Kozel paused mid-step, looking at the floor, embarrassed.

  "Sorry, Kozel. I should not have asked such a personal question. What I meant to say was, Are you familiar with the SKATE system?" Slade had forgotten the information he had learned about Kozel's family and their financial situation.

  "Yes, Emissary." He said, still flushed.

  "Great. I've taken the liberty of ordering you a sprinting and climbing upgrade. I think you'll need them for today's mission."

  "But, Emissary. The funds..."

  "Are being taken care of by iCorps. You are assisting me, after all. You can download after you eat."

  A small smile.

  "I suppose I am helping." A bigger grin. "What's for breakfast?"

  They ate quickly, and then adjourned to the salon, where the viewing screen already had the blueprints of the Principal's Office on the screen. Slade accessed the system, and pulled up the blueprints of the motion sensors, making the screen show both at the same time.  Kozel looked blankly at the motion sensor documents.

  "What is that? I recognize the Office prints from yesterday, but the other?"

  "A generic pressure sensor device. I figure the ones on the roof won't be that much different from these. Have you started downloading yet? We've got two hours before we leave."

  "On it." He punched a series of numbers into his chronometer. It chirped twice to acknowledge the command. The light changed from blue to red, and Slade could see a progress bar begin to slowly fill. Kozel closed his eyes, and Slade could see his eyes moving rapidly behind his eyelids. After a few moments, he opened them again, shaking his head slightly like he was trying to clear some dizziness

  “Downloading has begun, Emissary.”

  “Good.” Slade brought Kozel's attention back to the viewing screen.

  "The easiest access to McDonald will be a direct shot to her office. You can be sure that she's beefed up her security since our last visit, and even if they're older like those other guards, we can be stopped by sheer numbers alone."

  "I don't particularly want to kill anyone either."

  "I agree. No one dies. Except Herman at his appropriate time." Slade smiled.

  "So why do you have pressure sensor blueprints?"

  "The skylight above McDonald's office is wired with six sensors. According to this," Slade said, pointing to the screen, "They are set to go off if anything heavier than a squirrel touches it."

  "Don't forget the cameras, Emissary."

  "I haven't. Watch this."

  Slade placed his hand on Kozel's chronometer, and slowly used his sub dermal tattoo to copy the chronometer exactly.  It took about a minute, but the look of astonishment on Kozel's face was worth it.

  "Y-your hand. It disappeared!"

  "Touch your chronometer."

  He did so, and felt Slade's quite solid hand. He looked quickly between the chronometer and Slade.

  "How did..."

  "I have a sub dermal tattoo. It allows me to bring images, letters, or symbols to the surface of my skin using tiny LED emitters implanted in areas of dense muscle tissue."

  To further illustrate, Slade scrolled LIKE THIS MESSAGE across his forehead.

  "So you're like a chameleon?"

  "Not really, but I can see how you would make that connection. It takes me a lot longer."

  "Still a useful thing to have."

  "Indeed."

  The plan was simple: Slade would gain access to the skylight using the skills he had acquired the previous night, disabling or destroying the cameras as needed, and would use his sub dermal tattoo to assist in camouflaging him. Once on the roof, Slade planned to literally detach the skylight from the roof and pop unannounced into McDonald's Office.

  "Is there any way we can listen to what's going on in that office before you crack the seal? I'd hate for her to clam up because she suspects something."

  "You've got a good point. I should have thought of that yesterday. I think at this point, we'll just have to confront her with the information we have, and hope she fesses up."

  "But we don't have information."

  "She doesn't know that. And I'm counting on that fact. The element of surprise is definitely in our favor at this point."

  "And if Herman's in the office too?"

  "Then we get a two for one deal."

  "Sounds like you have it all planned out.  Why do you need me?"

  "I need you to make sure I can get out of there afterwards. You'll be on the roof away from the cameras. I need you to pull me up once I'm done getting the information I need. I'll need you able to climb anything you see, and if we get into trouble, I need you faster than a cheetah."

  "No kidding. When do we move?"

  Slade checked his chronometer. It was seven twenty-five. Time to get going. McDonald would be in her office by eight thirty at the latest.

  "Ten minutes. Can you be ready?"

  "I'll be waiting for you." He said, grinning from ear to ear.