sensors.
Corey drove to the corner behind a stack of crates and parked on a particular square of stained cement floor. He punched a code on a keypad on his car’s dashboard.
The square started lowering.
When he’d dropped twenty feet or so, a black opening gaped in front of the car. He hit the accelerator and roared into the tunnel beneath Lake Anterra.
WHEN he stepped into HQ a few minutes later, he smiled. Corey always smiled whenever he got back to HQ. This past year was the first in his eighteen years of life that he’d had much to smile about, and this place was the reason. He looked down the stairs at the rows of cubicles, the bluish glow of computer consoles, the bustle of his superiors and coworkers.
Instead of going downstairs he circled the cement balcony overlooking the vast room. He kept his eyes open for the director, but Giles Holiday was nowhere to be seen.
“Corey! Hey, Cor!” A girl with short, wild hair and more piercings than ten average people was running up the nearest stairway to where he stood on the balcony.
“What’s up, Dizzie?”
She frowned. That was bad news. Dizzie didn’t frown much. It took a lot to even slow her smile down to a relative smirk. “Did you see the mission roster for tonight?”
Corey shook his head. “Don’t tell me—”
She told him. “Park is going with you.”
Great. Bradley Park—exactly who he didn’t want her to say but figured she would. “Okay,” he said levelly.
Dizzie’s frown lengthened. “Learn to show your emotions, Cor. You bottle them up like that, one day they’ll bust out of you like Mount Vesuvius or something.”
“What am I supposed to do, throw a hissy fit right here in HQ?”
“No.” She wrinkled her nose. “You could at least, you know, sigh exasperatedly or something.”
He sighed exasperatedly. “How was that?”
“Weak, but you’ll get there. I don’t see why you’re not more upset.”
“Your goal was to upset me?”
“No, I just...well, don’t you hate that guy?”
“Bradley? We don’t get along very well.”
“Ah, don’t get along very well, I see.”
“Look, if there was no one else available, there was no one else available.”
Dizzie cleared her throat. “Um, I don’t think it’s because there was no one else available.”
Corey grimaced. “So the director is testing how well we’ll work together, is he?”
“Guess so.”
This time Corey’s exasperated sigh was sincere. “But this is an important mission!” Then again, the director always seemed interested in much more than just the mission.
“I know. Talk to him about it if you want. He’s up in his office. You got the location, right?”
Corey patted his pocket where he’d tucked Mr. Love’s business card. “Got it.” He didn’t need to look at it again. He had the address memorized. But the card itself would be an important piece of evidence. “See you, Diz. You’re running com tonight?”
“Yep.” She rolled her eyes. “I get to spend all night listening to you and Park bickering at each other.”
She went back down to her cubicle, and Corey kept circling the balcony toward the director’s office. It had a wall of windows overlooking HQ, but they were shuttered at the moment. Corey knocked and got invited inside the rear door of the office. Director Holiday was at his desk. His computer was on, and papers were strewn in front of him. But he looked as if he hadn’t been paying attention to anything but his thoughts.
“Ah, Corey. How did you get on?”
“Got the address.”
“Right. Afraid I have some bad news—at least, you’ll think it’s bad.”
“Diz already told me. Bradley is going with me tonight.”
“And I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you both.”
“Good. Then you’ll see how obnoxious he is.”
“He? What about you?”
Corey blinked. “Sir, I follow your orders to the
Corey drove to the corner behind a stack of crates and parked on a particular square of stained cement floor. He punched a code on a keypad on his car’s dashboard.
The square started lowering.
When he’d dropped twenty feet or so, a black opening gaped in front of the car. He hit the accelerator and roared into the tunnel beneath Lake Anterra.
WHEN he stepped into HQ a few minutes later, he smiled. Corey always smiled whenever he got back to HQ. This past year was the first in his eighteen years of life that he’d had much to smile about, and this place was the reason. He looked down the stairs at the rows of cubicles, the bluish glow of computer consoles, the bustle of his superiors and coworkers.
Instead of going downstairs he circled the cement balcony overlooking the vast room. He kept his eyes open for the director, but Giles Holiday was nowhere to be seen.
“Corey! Hey, Cor!” A girl with short, wild hair and more piercings than ten average people was running up the nearest stairway to where he stood on the balcony.
“What’s up, Dizzie?”
She frowned. That was bad news. Dizzie didn’t frown much. It took a lot to even slow her smile down to a relative smirk. “Did you see the mission roster for tonight?”
Corey shook his head. “Don’t tell me—”
She told him. “Park is going with you.”
Great. Bradley Park—exactly who he didn’t want her to say but figured she would. “Okay,” he said levelly.
Dizzie’s frown lengthened. “Learn to show your emotions, Cor. You bottle them up like that, one day they’ll bust out of you like Mount Vesuvius or something.”
“What am I supposed to do, throw a hissy fit right here in HQ?”
“No.” She wrinkled her nose. “You could at least, you know, sigh exasperatedly or something.”
He sighed exasperatedly. “How was that?”
“Weak, but you’ll get there. I don’t see why you’re not more upset.”
“Your goal was to upset me?”
“No, I just...well, don’t you hate that guy?”
“Bradley? We don’t get along very well.”
“Ah, don’t get along very well, I see.”
“Look, if there was no one else available, there was no one else available.”
Dizzie cleared her throat. “Um, I don’t think it’s because there was no one else available.”
Corey grimaced. “So the director is testing how well we’ll work together, is he?”
“Guess so.”
This time Corey’s exasperated sigh was sincere. “But this is an important mission!” Then again, the director always seemed interested in much more than just the mission.
“I know. Talk to him about it if you want. He’s up in his office. You got the location, right?”
Corey patted his pocket where he’d tucked Mr. Love’s business card. “Got it.” He didn’t need to look at it again. He had the address memorized. But the card itself would be an important piece of evidence. “See you, Diz. You’re running com tonight?”
“Yep.” She rolled her eyes. “I get to spend all night listening to you and Park bickering at each other.”
She went back down to her cubicle, and Corey kept circling the balcony toward the director’s office. It had a wall of windows overlooking HQ, but they were shuttered at the moment. Corey knocked and got invited inside the rear door of the office. Director Holiday was at his desk. His computer was on, and papers were strewn in front of him. But he looked as if he hadn’t been paying attention to anything but his thoughts.
“Ah, Corey. How did you get on?”
“Got the address.”
“Right. Afraid I have some bad news—at least, you’ll think it’s bad.”
“Diz already told me. Bradley is going with me tonight.”
“And I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you both.”
“Good. Then you’ll see how obnoxious he is.”
“He? What about you?”
Corey blinked. “Sir, I follow your orders to the
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