Masterminds Read Online Free PDF

to do the same thing thirteen days ago. I’ve given up trying to predict. Now I just follow my instincts. If I feel like checking an area, I check all of it—inside, outside, roof, ceiling, floor, subfloor.”
    He ran a hand through his hair again, and Ó Brádaigh thought maybe he saw some strands come loose. Maybe the problem wasn’t the enhancements after all, but the fact that Petteway pulled out hairs when he was under stress.
    “Sometimes,” Petteway said even more quietly, “it feels like I’m going crazy.”
    Then he realized what he had said. His eyes widened and he added, “Don’t read too much into that.”
    Ó Brádaigh made himself smile. “I think there would be something wrong with you if you didn’t feel that way. I was just thinking as I let myself in here that I had become obsessive about security. Our entire lives are different than they were a year ago. We’re in a place that we couldn’t have imagined then. Of course we’re going to have odd reactions.”
    “Of course.” Petteway tugged at his hair again. “Do you think we should hire security to guard this place?”
    “I think we should have done that a year ago or ten years ago,” Ó Brádaigh said. “But these days, how do we know we can trust the people we hire?”
    “Maybe someone from the Security Office…” Petteway’s voice trailed off.
    “And then we prevent them from being on the surface and seeing a real crime occurring.”
    Petteway frowned at him. “You’ve already thought of this.”
    “That and a million other scenarios,” Ó Brádaigh said. “I figure it’s just safer if I check.”
    Petteway nodded. “I figure the same thing.”
    Ó Brádaigh had never seen his supervisor so vulnerable before. It was disquieting. But then, everything was disquieting nowadays.
    “Normally,” Petteway said, “I’d order you to stop checking the vulnerabilities, but I think that’s what’s keeping us safe. People like you and me, double- and triple-checking everything.”
    “I hope you’re right, sir,” Ó Brádaigh said. “I really hope you’re right.”

 
     
     
     
    SIX
     
     
    FLINT RAN A hand through his blond curls. He felt slightly breathless, as if someone had just knocked him off his feet. He knew why: the name Zagrando had brought back those days when Flint discovered that Rhonda was dead and that Talia existed.
    “What happened?” Talia asked yet again. She had stood up as if she were about to leave the kitchen of the Security Office. Only she still clutched a glass nearly full of that lime drink. “You look upset.”
    Flint shook his head. “Not upset, exactly. But I do need to talk to Noelle.”
    “Can I come with you?” Talia asked.
    That was a question, wasn’t it? Did Flint believe Talia strong enough to handle new changes or did he try to protect her?
    He had to make the decision quickly.
    He had to make a lot of decisions quickly.
    “Yes,” he said after a moment. “You can come with me to see Noelle, as long as you don’t say anything.”
    “Why?”
    He looked at her. “You’ll understand in a minute.”
    Without looking at Talia, he headed into the corridor. All day he’d been concerned about Talia’s status as a clone, especially since the two crises on the Moon had been caused by clones. The hatred of clones was at an all-time high, and that made him afraid for his daughter.
    Not even the chief of Moon security, his former partner Noelle DeRicci, whom he trusted, knew that Talia was a clone. Now, with everything so very different, he preferred to keep it that way.
    Flint glanced over his shoulder. Talia was following him. She’d managed to set that sickly green drink down before she stepped into the corridor.
    DeRicci’s assistant, Rudra Popova, stood up as Flint approached. Her long black hair glistened in the light. She was clutching a crumpled bag that had probably held her lunch.
    “A few minutes ago, you said I could see Noelle,” Flint said. “Can I