Page 125 of CHOICE Lover
It’s worth a shot. Maybe she’ll see something he’s missing. Before he can change his mind, he thinks the command: Message Sable.There’s been an emergency. I need you to come to my office ASAP.
This is the whole point of having friends, isn’t it?
A second later she responds,On the way. If this is a setup for Inspector Wanda, I’m going to be pissed.
GROW’s headquarters is in the same industrial quadrant, and she’s been working extra, trying to appear like the dedicated employee she isn’t for the inspector’s benefit. It only takes Sable eleven minutes, making it 19:25 when she throws his door open.
“They’ve got Electra,” he says.
“When did this happen?” Sable asks, breezing through his door and around his desk. No hello or anything. She is truly the perfect friend forhim.
“Around 16:30. I got this message as soon as I got here.” He shows her the image of Electra, pointing out the gene scanner, then the snip of the orange-haired scientist. Finally, the image of the men outside the simulation chamber’s emergency exit.
Sable frowns and her eyes go distant for a moment. “DumBot says the first seventy-two hours after an abduction are critical. If that’s true, we have approximately sixty-nine hours to get her back and solve the case that your inspector friend has yet to crack.”
He leans back in his chair. “So it seems.” He explains his hypothesis, and she listens intently.
She wordlessly requests control of his system, which he grants. She enlarges the image on the screen, so Electra’s curled-up form fills it. “She seems to be in one piece. It doesn’t look like they’ve hurt her. They didn’t send any demands?”
Right as he says, “Not yet,” his device pings. It’s a lengthy message from the same sender as the photo. He pulls it up on his system. Sable crowds his space and they scan it.
It’s a demand for a list of highly classified information from his company, including intellectual property, methods, and formulations.
He runs his hands through his hair, his worry for Electra stunting his ability to think clearly. “It has to be the same people behind the robbery.”
Sable moves to lean on the wall behind him. “So if they’re working with your former scientist, why do they need Electra? And wouldn’t Lextr know the bulk of that information?”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Well, I think we can safely rule out GROW’s involvement. Their accidental reincarnates probably gave whoever is behind this the idea.” As she speaks, the images on the screen move, then a new window opens. It’s a portal to a part of the network he’s never accessed.
“Don’t worry, this is encrypted.”
For a second, he questions the wisdom of giving her access to his system. “Is that BLACKOUT?”
“Yes,” she says nonchalantly. “Untraceable.” A message opens. She drops the files into it and fills in a username.
“What are you doing?”
“That’s Oro1’s handle. You met him, remember?”
“Of course I remember.” He specifically remembers Electra’s pretty blush when the man kissed her hand. “Why are you sending this to him? I think the fewer people who know, the better.”
“Unless they’re one of MSP’s top hackers with access to the same facial recognition program as Inspector Wanda?” she asks, raising a brow.
“Fine.”
“So what do we do now?” She walks around the desk and takes a seat.
“Waiting doesn’t feel right, but I don’t know what else to do,” he admits.
“We could run a few simulated clone experiments for your twin project,” she suggests.
He shakes his head, not remotely tempted. “I’ve put that on hold.”
Her brow twitches. “Any particular reason?”
He narrows his eyes as he assesses her. “Are we friends, Sable?”
