by Paula Stokes
Yoo Mi looks from Alec to me, a curious expression on her face.
“I don’t think so,” I tell Alec. “I have to go. Thank you again.” I turn and hurry inside the building, casting a glance back over my shoulder.
Alec is pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, the interaction seemingly forgotten. But I can’t shake the lilting tone of his voice, like he was mocking me, like he knows something that I don’t.
* * *
Yoo Mi and I return to our desks and I grab my phone headset and get to work. It’s hard to concentrate, though. Every few minutes I check the time. When we all break for lunch, the other girls get their coats and look expectantly at me.
“Oh,” I say. “I think I’m going to skip lunch today. I’m not very hungry.”
“You should eat something, at least,” Susan says.
“My stomach is feeling a little queasy. Go on without me. I might just get some crackers from the vending machine.”
As expected, Yoo Mi says, “Well, if you’re not going to lunch. I’ll stay with you. I don’t want you to be alone if you’re sick.”
“No, go on,” I insist. “I don’t want you to starve because of me. I’ll just put my head down and take a little nap.”
“Okay,” Yoo Mi says. She gives me a long look, but she can’t really insist on staying with me without arousing Susan’s or Minnie’s suspicion.
I wait a couple of minutes until I’m sure the girls are in the elevator. Then I take a different elevator down to the second floor, where I duck into the stairwell. I swipe my card to access the level B-1 and peek out into the main hallway. This floor doesn’t look anything like the rest of the building. The walls are made of heavy cinder block and the floor is plain concrete. The air is cold and crisp, the scent of some kind of medicine making my eyes water. I start down a long hallway, passing doors on both sides with caution signs and symbols on them.
Luckily the doors are numbered and I quickly realize Lab 6 must be one more floor down. I turn back to the stairwell. Before I can reach it, the door to Lab 2 starts to open. I flail for a hiding spot—a corner, an alcove, a bathroom, anything—but there’s no time to obscure myself. I remember something Gideon once told me about hiding in plain sight: the more you act like you belong somewhere, the more people will believe it.
Quickly I adopt a serious expression, striding past an older man in a lab coat as if I have somewhere critical to be. He’s busy fishing his phone out of one of his pockets and doesn’t even seem to notice me. Whew.
I swipe my badge into the stairwell and descend to floor B-2. It only takes me a couple minutes to find a door marked Lab 6. The door is made of metal with a thick pane of glass embedded in it. I peek through the glass but it’s slightly distorted and I can’t see much. Glancing around to make sure there are no security cameras pointed in this direction, I lean in and put my ear to the glass to listen for voices. The only sound I hear is the pounding of my own heart.
I check the time. 1:06. Kyung and whoever he is meeting will be arriving shortly. I need to get into the lab and find a place to hide. Fishing one of my throwing knives out of my boot just in case, I swipe my cloned badge and step into the lab.
It looks about how I expect—a big white room full of steel tables and high-tech research equipment. There are racks of supplies between each of the tables, and a long counter along the back wall features microscopes and computers, with rolling chairs at each station. I can tell from the personal items like backpacks and notebooks that at least six people work in this lab.
A clock on the wall reads 1:08. My heart sinks as I realize there’s really nowhere to hide in here. And then I see a trash chute in the far corner of the room labeled BIOHAZARD. It probably leads to an incinerator below where medical waste is burned. It’s just big enough for me to crawl inside. I squeeze my body into the chute and pull the door almost completely closed behind me. I brace myself against the walls with my feet so I don’t fall down into the darkness, grateful to Jesse for teaching me this rock-climbing technique last year when we were recording a ViSE.
I use one hand to hold the chute door open just a hair so I can see out into the room. I can’t reach my phone to check it in this position, so I measure the passage of time by counting my breaths. About thirty breaths later, the door to the lab finally starts to swing open. What I see next shocks me so much I almost lose my footing and go tumbling down the chute: Kyung walks into the lab with three other men. One of them is Alec Kwon. The second is an older man in a military uniform. The third man is Sebastian.
CHAPTER 42
Kyung goes to a locked silver cabinet and appears to punch in a security code. The cabinet doors swing open and he removes a couple of ViSE headsets. “Colonel Rojas. Mr. Cross,” Kyung says, as he hands each man a headset. I watch Baz’s expression carefully. He takes the headset Kyung gives him and turns it over in his hands like he’s never seen it before.
I have no idea what this means, whether Sebastian is legitimately trying to buy the tech from Kyung or if he’s posing as a buyer just to scope out how to steal it. All I know for sure is that he’s still keeping secrets from me, after everything we talked about this morning.
And that means I can’t trust him.
Kyung gestures at the nearest table and Baz hops up on it and lies down. Colonel Rojas frowns and says something to Kyung I can’t make out. Alec walks right past me to get a chair from one of the workstations at the back of the room. He rolls it up front and Colonel Rojas takes a seat.
“This scenario is just a basic example of the technology’s capabilities. We kept it simple for purposes of demonstration, but I’m sure you will both understand what sort of potential we’re talking about here, especially once the editor is fully functional,” Kyung says.
Both men slip the headsets over their heads and Alec dims the lights to the laboratory.
I wonder what sort of ViSE they’re playing. I think again of Kyung in his hotel suite, with the girl. Is he trying to start some sort of digital prostitution ring? But then why would a military colonel want to buy it? There are many covert uses for the tech, but most of them—like spying—are already being done with less complex technology like hidden cameras and listening devices.
I hear the men make occasional noises in the dark as they play their ViSEs. A sigh. A grunt. A muttered curse. But it’s not enough information for me to decipher what it is they could be experiencing.
When the lights flip back on, Colonel Rojas’s olive skin has gone pale. “That was … disturbingly real,” he says, his voice wavering slightly.
“And impressive,” Baz says smoothly. “How long until you think you’ll have a functioning version of the editing component?”
“A few more days,” Kyung says. “Two weeks at most.”
I swallow back a sigh of relief.
“Have you tested this on human subjects?” Rojas asks. “Can you guarantee there will be no fatalities?”
I nearly choke on my own breath. Human subjects? Fatalities?
“Well,” Kyung starts, “we’re still undergoing testing. But we don’t foresee any issues.”
Rojas nods, but he still looks shaken.
“The colonel seems a bit reticent about your product,” Baz says. “My people are less concerned about the possibility of a few deaths. New technology always has some bugs to work out, right? I can assure you we will be ready to make a deal as soon as you have a complete working prototype. In fact, since the colonel’s interest seems so lukewarm, we might be willing to pay extra for exclusive rights to this technology.”
“I did not say we weren’t interested,” Rojas protests. “Let me speak to my superiors and get back to you via secure channels.”
I don’t know what those secure channels are, but I’m imagining they’re probably not Kyung’s cell phone. I wonder how Baz has been communicating with him, since we haven’t intercepted any phone calls. What if Jesse and I hadn’t told Sebastian we bugged Kyung’s phone? Would we have
caught him red-handed setting up this meeting?
“As will I,” Baz says.
Kyung, Baz, and Colonel Rojas chat briefly as Alec locks up the ViSE technology. Something about sports. Something about food. My heart is pounding so hard in my brain that I can barely hear them. Human subjects. Fatalities. What is Kyung doing with the ViSE technology?
When the men exit the lab, I count to sixty to make sure they’re really gone and then crawl out of the trash chute. I check the time—1:44. I only have about fifteen minutes before whoever is working in here returns from lunch. I creep over to the cabinet and examine the lock on the door. It requires an access code, and I wasn’t close enough to see what Kyung punched in. Still, the metal isn’t overly sturdy—some kind of steel alloy most likely. With the explosives Baz made, we should easily be able to blow open the cabinet. Doing so might damage the tech, but I’m not even worried about that. In fact, it might be the best thing for everyone.
And then I remember that I can’t trust Baz anymore. I think of the way he asked about a finished prototype, about the way he said his people were unconcerned by the possibility of a few deaths. It sounds like he’s back working for whichever government is paying the best this week. Maybe Jesse can manage to shoot open this cabinet with his gun, or we can break in some other way. All I know is we need to figure out a way to steal the tech on our own now.
The clock reads 1:48 as I slip back out into the hallway. Keeping my chin tucked low, I make it to the stairwell without being seen. There, the gravity of what I just did crashes down on me and my muscles go slack. I sink to the concrete steps and pull out my phone. With shaking fingers, I text Jesse.
Me: We need a new plan.
Jesse: What?
Me: I saw who was in the meeting.
Jesse: You did? I’ve been in the coffee shop since 12:45 and haven’t seen anyone besides what look like Usu execs.
Me: They probably entered through the parking garage.
Jesse: Ah, good point. So do you have pix? Should we e-mail them to Baz?
Me: We can’t trust Baz.
Jesse:?
Me: Baz was at the meeting. I don’t know if he’s trying to buy the tech for a foreign government or steal it or what, but he’s lying to both of us.
My phone buzzes with a call. Jesse. I don’t blame him for wanting to talk to me. I know I sound unhinged. But now it’s 1:55. I need to be back upstairs in a few minutes or Yoo Mi is going to know something happened.
Me: I’m sorry. I can’t talk. Text Baz and tell him that you and I are going to grab dinner together after I get off work. Instead of 8:00, we’ll meet him at 10:00 to go over everything one last time. Then you and I can steal the tech right after everyone in the lab goes home and hide it. We can still pretend to break in with Baz later if we need to.
I start heading up the stairs back to the office, but my muscles are still weak and on the fourth floor I give up and go out to the center of the building and wait for the elevator.
Jesse: Are you sure you’re okay?
Me: Fine, but I have to get back to work. I might have to stay a little later than usual tonight because I haven’t been able to focus much today.
Jesse: Maybe you should just leave early.
I’d like nothing more right about now, but if I do, then Yoo Mi will know something happened, and she’ll tell Baz.
Me: I can’t. Meet me at Gangnam Station, in front of exit 7, at 8:00. I promise I’ll explain everything.
The elevator opens on the twelfth floor and I duck back into the customer service department right at two. Yoo Mi is just settling back into her workstation.
“There you are,” she says. “I was just starting to worry.”
I smile tightly. “I’m fine. Feeling a little better even.”
* * *
The rest of the day passes without incident. As the clock ticks past six p.m. and some of the other trainees begin to gather their things, a pair of men enter the room. My insides go cold. One of them is Alec Kwon. The second man is the guy I saw get out of the car with Alec and Kyung on Monday.
The guy with the gun.
“Miss Lee,” Alec says in a musical voice. “I’m Mr. Kwon and this is Mr. Yun. Talent Acquisition had a question about one of your hiring forms. If you could follow us, please.”
“Sure.” I stand up slowly from my chair, looping my purse over my shoulder. Around me, worried eyes start peeking toward me and then back to their work. Yoo Mi’s eyes seem to be focused completely on her workstation. I wonder if this is somehow her doing, if Baz ordered her to set me up.
“This way, please,” Alec says.
My insides clench into a fist as the men take positions on either side of me. There’s no way Talent Acquisition sent a freelance neurotechnologist and a gun-toting security specialist to escort me to their office. Maybe someone caught me on camera on the restricted floors. I glance furtively from side to side as we head down the hallway toward the elevator. There has to be an escape route somewhere.
“So you work for Mrs. Kim?” I ask, trying to remain calm.
“We work where we’re needed,” Alec replies, pressing the down arrow.
My blood goes cold. Talent Acquisition is above us, on the fourteenth floor.
I glance up at the display. The elevator is four floors away. That gives me just enough time to make a decision. As the elevator button dings and the doors slide open, I take advantage of the millisecond of distraction and race for the stairwell. A pair of executives step out of the elevator and provide me a tiny bit of cover.
But I can’t go down stairs very fast in my boots. I hear the door swing open and the sound of heavy shoes on the steps. I push myself to go faster, leaping over the last three or four steps at the bottom of each landing.
But it’s no use. The men have sturdier shoes and longer legs. They’re only two flights behind me. The farther down I try to go, the faster they’ll catch up. I frantically swipe my card at the next door and explode out onto the eighth floor, racing down the carpeted hallway. My head swivels left and right, looking for something, anything, I can use to slow them down. I reach out to jiggle each office doorknob desperately. Some of them are locked. Some of them open to puzzled looks from executives. I need one to be empty so I can lock myself inside. I need a place to hide. I need a few seconds to think. But I near the end of the hallway without finding what I want. Behind me, the men are shouting.
I lean down to pull a knife out of my boot. It isn’t going to be much against two men, at least one of whom has a gun, but it’s the best I’ve got. I don’t want to actually hurt anyone. I just need to get away … somehow.
And then I see a fire extinguisher mounted in a glass box, and next to it an escape rope. There’s a metal hook embedded in the wall. Hurriedly, I unlatch the nearest window and push open the glass. There’s no time to put on the safety harness. I link the rope to the metal hook, grab onto it, and launch myself out the window.
Quickly, I begin to half climb, half slide down the rope, my hands growing hot from the friction as I get lower to the ground. Seventh floor. Sixth floor. Keep going. Fifth floor. I pause for a second. Fourth floor. And then suddenly the rope jerks. I look up to see Mr. Yun hauling me back up toward the eighth-floor window. I slide faster than he can pull me up, but he’s taken in enough slack that I’m trapped in the air when I reach the bottom of the rope. I look down. I’m still more than two stories above the ground.
As I rise toward the third-floor window, I make a desperate decision.
I let go.
CHAPTER 43
I’ve never jumped onto pavement, so I’m not sure which way to land. I end up curling my forearms around my face and bracing my head with my hands. My feet hit the ground first, then my knees. The impact jars me all the way to my bones. My teeth click together, narrowly avoiding my tongue.
I lift myself off the cement, ready to start running again, but a sharp pain spikes through my ankle. I grab onto the edge of a nearby Dumpster to kee
p from collapsing. I look both ways, desperate for some kind of escape, but I’m not going to be able to outrun anyone. All I can do is limp toward the opening to the parking garage. As I duck into the dimly lit area, I pull the knife from my left boot, just in case. I’m not sure where Alec and his friend have gone.
Inside the garage, I lean back against the concrete wall. I lift a hand to my chest as I try to catch my breath. Right away I can feel that something is different. My snowflake necklace! It must have fallen off me when I jumped. Swearing under my breath, I peer around the corner of the garage. Sure enough, the necklace is lying on the pavement just a few feet away. I have to get it. I limp toward the necklace, but before I can reach it, Alec Kwon appears in my peripheral vision.
“Hello, Ha Neul,” Alec says. “You are Ha Neul, right?” He bends down and nimbly plucks the snowflake necklace from the pavement. He holds it up to the light for a moment and then deposits it into my hand, one finger lingering to trace the cross-shaped scar on my palm. “It seems this is very important to you.”
I tighten my fingers around the pendant. I can’t believe I spent so much effort disguising myself with wigs and makeup only to be recognized by my scar. At least he didn’t notice the pendant is more than a necklace. My other hand grips the hilt of my knife. “Get away from me,” I say, pointing it at him.
He laughs. “You’re on camera. I don’t recommend stabbing me.” He strokes my cheek with one hand and bile burns in my throat, rank and hot. “Come along. My superior would like to speak with you.”
My knife trembles in my fingertips. “What if I say no?”
“Well, then I suppose Mr. Yun would have to take you by force. Or we could call the police if you’d prefer that.”
Mr. Yun appears in the opening of the parking garage, his gun drawn. He reaches out and removes the knife from my hand.
“Police? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“You know it’s against the law to carry that knife, right?” Alec holds up my purse. “Let’s see what else you have.”
