I’mjust getting connected when there’s a knock at the back door, andMilasays, “That’sprobablyShauna.Excuseme,” before leaving me alone.
Throughmy comms,IhearMilaopen the back door, andZoesays inEliza’svoice, “Sorryto have you come back to let me in, butIseem to have misplaced my security pass.”
“Oh, it’s no problem.Wouldyou like me to scan my badge to let you into the art gallery?”
“You’rean absolute star.Thankyou.Youmust feel like a doorman lately.”
“Youhave no idea.”Then, in a whisper,IhearMilasay, “Youlook and sound so much likeEliza!”
AndI’minto the feed.I’vegot access to more than adozen cameras, andImove the streams around soIcan see the art gallery, the hallway leading to it, the hallways outside my room, the foyer, and the hallway leading to security.Thesecurity feeds don’t have audio, butIcan hearZoethrough my comms.
MilaletsZoeinto the art gallery.Whenwe approachedMilawith this plan, she was actually excited about it, even if it does come with risks.Milasaid that if things went poorly and she was questioned, she’d simply say that she thought it was the realElizaasking for help.Ihave no doubt that she’ll be fine if that does happen, butIreally hope nothing falls back on her at all and makes her job any more miserable until she leaves to go back to school.
Milaheads back up to the lobby, so my attention goes straight toZoein the gallery.Flynn, theirAustralianhead of security, is already in the room.Wefigured someone from security would be in there— it just means thatZoewill have to be more convincing since it’s him.
“Thoughtyou were in a meeting withMr.Savovic,”Flynnsays.
Zoe’swalking around the room, stopping to inspect each piece of art.Shegives him a glance as if she’s so focused on her work that she’s barely noticing him. “Hegot an urgent call and asked for some privacy to take it.Thatgives me a free ten minutes, soIthoughtI’dquickly check that everything’s in order.”
Flynnseems to buy it.Butthen he says, “Oi, weren’t you in that teal blouse with the paint swirls, cashmere shawl, and wide-legged trousers?”
“Iwas, yes.UntilIwas grabbing a drinkof water andPetracame around the corner and bumped right into me.Gotsoaked.Luckily,Ihad this spare outfit in my bag.Butit’s not my favorite andI’llbe changing back the moment my other one’s dry.”
Niceon-the-fly explanation,Zoe.Andshe is nailingEliza’stone and cadence.Iwatch through the cameras in the room as she walks withEliza’sgait and holds her body the same wayElizadoes.Eventhough it can compromise a mission quickly, most operatives either miss little details like that, or they just don’t get them quite right.ButnotZoe.Sheseems to catch every detail of every person’s body language and every detail about not only their voice and accent but down to their word choices and cadence.
Yep.She’sgood at faking.
Iignore the voice and reframe the thought.Sheis a pro.AndIhave to admit that it is rather attractive.Iget so lost admiring the master at work thatIforget to check the other cameras until my periphery vision is drawn to movement on one of them.
Thelobby camera showsMilaanswering the front door again— this time, it looks like it’s the caterer, bringing something for tomorrow,I’msure.Milais leading her back in my direction where they go inside a room that’s not in my security feeds.Aftera moment,Milaand the woman head out of the room just asIcan see thatZoehas walked over to theTrustsculpture.
“Biscuitcrumbs?”Zoesays with both disbelief and extreme disappointment in her voice. “Youmust be having a laugh right now.”Flynnhas barely had a chance to take a step away from the wall he’s standing by whenZoeliftsup theTrustpiece and brushes the “crumbs” off the pedestal.
Justas we had planned, the alarm starts to blare, the room locks down, and three security personnel in other locations head toward the gallery just asFlynnshouts, “Eliza!Whatare you doing?”
Frommy vantage point through the security cameras, andI’msure fromFlynn’sperspective,Zoeis so smooth that there isn’t the slightest clue that she placed the tracker.
“I’msorting out an issue that shouldn’t have arisen in the first place,”Zoesays inEliza’sBritishvoice. “Haveyour staff been letting people in herewith food?”Shesounds equal parts disgusted and accusatory.Sheputs theTrustsculpture back in its spot on the pedestal. “Ifyou don’t want alarms going off, keep people with crumbs away from these.”
Iam scouring the footage from the halls, especially toward the security room, andIsee what has to be every member of the security team either heading toward the room or watching the exits.Flynnis making sure the piece is just how it should be and is giving instructions to his security team that has just poured into the room whenIget a phone call from a very panickedMila.
“TobiasRennertis here!TherealTobiasRennert.”
Oh, no.
“WhenIwas back in the kitchen with the caterer,Petralet him in.Shesaid he wanted to seeEliza, soPetramessagedEliza, andElizasaid she’ll be down from her meeting to greet him in two minutes!”
“Delaythat meeting,”Isay, my voice as urgentas it can be without being loud enough to be heard outside the room.
“How?”
“Distracthim.Gethim somewhere else so he’s not in the lobby when she comes down.Shecan’t see him until we are gone.”
“Okay, um…”Milasays. “Oh!Thebathrooms.Theone by the library is all black from ceiling to floor.Peoplealways think it’s weird.I’llshow it to him like it’s an attraction.”
“That’sperfect,”Isay and end the call.Thenthrough the comms,Isay, “Damjan, stand by for extraction.Zoe, we need to wrap this upASAP.”
Fromthe screens,Isee thatZoeis heading toward the gallery door andI’mabout to disconnect my tablet so we can make a quick exit, but thenIseeElizacoming down the hallway toward my room.Butbefore she makes it to me, she’ll reach the small hallway thatMilajust took the realTobiasdown.SoIsay, “Holdthat.Slighthiccup here— stay in the gallery if you can.”
