Masterminds Read Online Free PDF Page B

still?”
    “No one’s in there besides her,” Popova said. “Let me find out if she wants to—”
    Flint didn’t wait for Popova’s response. He shoved the doors to the office open, and as he did, he heard Popova finish softly in a tone that said she knew Flint was no longer paying attention,
    “—see you….”
    He waited for Talia to join him, then he closed the door.
    DeRicci stood near the windows. They ran floor to ceiling. Once they’d been the focal point of her office. Now, the mess along one wall caught Flint’s attention first.
    Mostly the mess was a meter-high pile of food cartons. Fortunately, they had nanocleaners inside them, or the stench in the office would be unbearable. As it was, there was a bit of an unclean funk, like the dorm room of a poor college student who couldn’t afford the university’s cleaning bot services.
    He probably should remind her to clean them. She would have to go around some of them to get to the weapons cabinet on the far wall.
    He wondered if she ever thought about that or if she had forgotten the cabinet was even there.
    “Miles?” DeRicci said as she turned around. “Rudra hadn’t said you were here.”
    Talia had been right; DeRicci looked like she hadn’t slept in months. Earlier, Flint had seen how tired and gaunt DeRicci was getting, but he hadn’t noticed it until Talia had pointed it out.
    At some point, DeRicci might snap in just the way that Talia had.
    “Talia,” DeRicci said, nodding to his daughter in greeting.
    Talia raised a hand in a hello, but—true to her promise to Flint—didn’t say a word.
    “I assume this is important?” DeRicci asked Flint.
    “Yes,” he said. He walked deeper into the room. That funk—sweat, clothes that needed cleaning, blankets that probably hadn’t been washed since this all began—was worse the closer he got to the room’s center.
    “This is going to be hard to explain,” he said. “I just received word through an old link from a police detective from Valhalla Basin.”
    Talia’s head turned toward Flint so fast that she almost lost her balance. She took a step to steady herself.
    “He had helped us when Talia’s mother was kidnapped,” Flint said.
    Talia said, “Detective Z—?”
    Flint held up a finger, silencing her, and then sent along their links, Talia, you’re here because I asked you not to talk .
    “Let me, Talia,” he said out loud. “I have a lot of questions about this communication, but I don’t have time to deal with them.”
    He didn’t wait for Talia to nod or acknowledge his correction. He kept his gaze on DeRicci. “This man says he’s in this solar system, and he’s coming in—his word, ‘hot’—with information that we need here on the Moon. He wants to land in the port, but he doesn’t have the proper identification.”
    “Why not?” DeRicci asked.
    “Because,” Flint said, “official records say he’s dead.”
    Talia put a hand over her mouth. Her eyes teared up. He should have warned her. He mentally kicked himself.
    Is he? she sent.
    I have no idea , he sent back. Let me deal with this now. Questions later.
    She nodded.
    DeRicci, who, as usual, missed nothing, saw Talia’s movement and clearly knew that Talia and Flint were communicating on their links.
    “Do you have reason to believe this man is who he says he is?” DeRicci asked.
    “I don’t know what to believe,” Flint said. “But we don’t have time to do much research. I can contact Space Traffic and ask them to let him in, but I needed your permission first. This is a security issue. I don’t know if he’s going to cause problems, but if he’s coming in hot, he’ll need protection, which will drain resources.”
    “God,” DeRicci said. “This could be anyone. Or anything.”
    “Yeah,” Flint said. “I’ve thought of that. I considered ignoring him. But the contact makes no sense if it is someone else. I mean, why contact me?”
    Talia raised her eyebrows. She was thinking about