Synthetica (29 page)

“
I
don't believe you,” Anais said at once.

“
Yeah?
Why's that then?”

“
Why
didn't you take us straight to one of the offices? Why take us to
that particular lab?” Now that they were alone, all of the angry
thoughts that had been buzzing around her head burst out before she
could stop them. “Were you trying to set us up?”

Clay turned and contemplated her.

“
No,”
he said. “I wasn't.”

“
Then
why? Why bother -” Anais stopped short. She couldn't believe it
had taken her so long to ask her next question. “What was on that
computer drive you had?”

Clay didn't answer.

“
Clay,
what
was on that drive
?”

“
Nothing
for you to worry your pretty head about,” Clay said stubbornly.

“
What
have you done?”

“
I
said
nothing
,”
Clay snapped. “I ain't done anything wrong. It's none of your
business. But if it makes you feel any better, it wasn't a virus.”

“
Strangely
enough, no, that doesn't make me feel any better.”

“
Look,
I had nothing to do with these SLPs if that's what you're thinking.
I'm not a murderer,” Clay said, looking her in the eye. Anais
stared back. From where she was standing she could see the faint
outline of the scar on the top of his head.

“
You
know what, Clay? I think that's the only honest thing you've said to
me tonight,” she said quietly. The tips of Clay's ears went pink.

“
I
have another question for you,” Anais said. Clay sighed.

“
Out
with it then,” he grumbled.

“
Does
your ID chip work like everyone else's? Can Civitas and the police
track you?” Her eyes were on the top of his head as she spoke.
Clay touched the spot self-consciously.

“
I
don't know. I don't plan to find out either.”

The rest of their ride passed in silence, Clay having made it
obvious he wasn't prepared to answer Anais' questions in any more
detail. Anais' stomach was in knots as the lift finally slowed to a
halt. There was no way of telling if there were any police on the
other side of the door. There was nothing they could do if there
was. The doors opened, the light from the lift spilling out into the
darkness beyond. Anais breathed a sigh of relief. There was no one
there.

The pair crept out of the lift, Anais grateful for the alarm that
was covering any noises they might accidentally make. They were at
the very back of atrium – Anais could see the bank of lifts up
ahead. On their right were several doors, but Anais knew from their
earlier break-in that they needed the very last one at the end of
the narrow hall, before it opened out into the vast reception area.

They froze as they heard shouting up ahead. Flashlights were
bouncing around the atrium as police officers checked the area for
intruders. Outside, Anais could see the lights flashing from the
police cabs through the glass.

“
We're
going to have to make a run for it,” Clay breathed in her ear.
Anais nodded.

As quietly as they could, they sped towards the door, keeping low in
case one of the flashlights found them. They had almost reached the
door – Anais' fingertips were inches from it – when she heard a
voice that made her stop dead.

“
Halt!”

Terrified, they both froze. In that same moment, the alarm shut off,
the last of the sirens ringing in Anais' ears. The orange lights cut
out, leaving bright spots in her vision.

Anais slowly turned around, but to her confusion, there was no one
there. And then she realised – Xander and Skye's lift had arrived.
Every searchlight was now focused on a spot outside of Anais'
eyesight, but she knew where they were pointing. She gasped as she
realised exactly how many police officers were in that space. There
were at least thirty spots of light concentrating on the area by the
bank of lifts, each one belonging to a different officer. Now that
she knew how many there were, it seemed like nothing short of a
miracle that her and Clay had made it as far as they had.

Clay jabbed her in the back, but she couldn't move. She had to know
that Xander was okay.

“
Identify
yourselves,” an authoritative voice rang out. Anais could feel the
dampness on her palms. She swallowed hard, her heart thumping. She
knew that voice.

A
tall police officer detached himself from the shadows by the main
doors. Even in the dim light cast by the torches, Anais would've
recognised that sharp profile anywhere. The whole room spun and
nausea rose up in her stomach as Officer Nox advanced on the lift,
his gun raised.
This
can't be happening,
she thought, as panic began to rise within her.

Clay gave her another insistent poke, but she resisted. Ignoring
Clay's hiss, she crept over to the metal column and the large potted
tree that had been blocking her view of the lifts, and peered
through the leafy branches. She still couldn't see Xander or Skye,
but the light from the lift was casting their shadows on the floor.
She could see Nox's face clearer now, his grey eyes gleaming in the
half light. His dark green hair was swept back off his face, his
face somehow still full of arrogance despite the situation.

“
I'm
Skye Belaforte,” Anais heard Skye's calm voice. “I'm head of PR
here, and I'm also on the company's board of directors. By all
means, I'm happy for you to check my ID if you need further
clarification.”

“
What
are you doing here?” Nox's voice cut through the air. Anais could
just imagine the look on Skye's face at Nox's tone.

“
I
was double checking a few last minute details for the parade
tomorrow,” Skye said smoothly.

“
Who
tripped the alarm?”

“
He
did.” Anais saw Skye's shadow gesture towards Xander. Nox's eyes
narrowed over his gun.

“
And
why is he here with you?”

“
I
was on night duty,” Anais' heart constricted at hearing Xander's
voice. She prayed with all her might that Nox would let them go. “I
accidentally set it off. I'm an intern, I didn't realise what I was
doing.”

For one wild moment, Anais thought they'd managed to pull it off.
She could almost sense the eye rolls; disapproval was coming off in
waves from the other officers at his explanation. But then she
caught sight of the expression on Nox's face and her heart
plummeted.

“
Hang
on...” Nox said slowly. He stepped towards the lift. “I know
you.”

He went right up to the lift, almost out of Anais' range of vision.
His brow furrowed as he struggled to remember where he'd seen Xander
before. Then his expression cleared. As fast as lightning, he raised
his gun again.

“
Search
the building,” he suddenly shouted to the police around him.
“There's someone else here, a girl. Find her, don't let her go.”

Before he'd even got the words out, Anais knew it was game over.
She was already running for her life. She shot past Clay and
wrenched the door to the supply corridor open, remembering at the
last moment to close the door as quietly as possible. Through the
metal she could already hear the running footsteps, and Nox's voice
shouting orders.

“
Come
on!” she hissed at Clay, setting off at a run down the corridor.

“
What
on earth do they want you for?” she heard Clay puff behind her,
but she had no time to answer. From behind them, she thought she
could hear a bang and a shout as the police drew closer. Her eyes
alighted on one of the supply closet doors that was slightly ajar.

“
In
here,” she said, pulling the door open and darting inside. Clay
followed her, softly closing the door behind them. They drew back
from the glass door, going deeper into the closet. There was just
enough room for them to squeeze behind a pile of crates which,
according to the peeling labels on their sides, had once housed
cleaning products.

“
Why
didn't you make a run for it?” Clay hissed in her ear.

“
Think
about it,” she hissed back. “Did you see how many police cabs
there were out there? There was no way we'd be able to get away from
here unnoticed. We're going to have to wait them out.”

From outside the room there came a bang and the sound of footsteps,
and they fell silent. Through a gap in one of the crates, Anais
could still see the glass door and the corridor beyond. Her blood
turned to ice as Nox and another police officer appeared on the
other side of the glass. Nox opened the door slowly, shining his
torch into the closet. Anais immediately pressed herself as tightly
as she could against the wall, trying her best not to breathe. She
wouldn't have been surprised if Nox had heard her heart instead, it
was beating so loudly.

Slowly, the two flashlights surveyed the small room.

“
Come
on, Quentin,” said an unfamiliar voice. “There's nothing here.
Let's check the others.”

One
of the torches disappeared, but the other remained, going over each
and every surface painfully slowly. Anais knew without a shadow of a
doubt that it was Nox's. She could just imagine the cold,
calculating look on his handsome face as he searched the room.
Just
go
,
Anais thought desperately as the sweat trickled down her forehead,
please,
just leave
.

She
shifted her foot ever so slightly, almost jumping in fright as it
came into contact with something soft.
Why
is Clay on the floor?
she thought to herself, before remembering Clay was standing right
beside her. Trying not to move her head, her eyes flicked downwards
and a strong hand clamped down on her mouth before she could scream.

Clay's face was inches from her own. He shook his head almost
imperceptibly at her. His eyes, just as wide as hers were, told
Anais that he'd also seen what she had.

Her heart racing, Anais stood as still as she could as the torch
continued it's agonising sweep of the tiny closet. Her whole body
was shaking, but Clay's hand on her mouth stopped the scream that
was threatening to erupt.

After a long, long moment, the torch clicked off. Anais peered
through the gap in the crate in front of her to see Nox giving the
closet one final look, before stepping back outside and closing the
door behind him. Clay's hand on her arm kept her in place for an
extra few moments, until they were sure he was gone.

As soon as Clay released the pressure on her arm, Anais sprang away
from the wall, bile rising her throat as she stared at the body on
the floor.

“
What
– what -” she managed to choke out, but she couldn't form any
more coherent words.

Clay crouched down by the body and, covering his hand with his
sleeve, gently pushed the dead man's head to the left. Anais'
stomach roiled as she saw the bloody gash on his neck, right where
his ID chip used to be. Clay looked up, and she saw her own fear
mirrored in his eyes.

“
I
don't know,” he whispered. “I don't know.”

He moved swiftly, dancing from shadow to shadow. The wind was
colder now, as night began to fade away into morning.

His blood was humming in his veins; the adrenaline making him
feel exhilarated, alive. He had completed the first part of his
preparations - now it was time for the second.

The building in front of him seemed squat and ugly in the
moonlight, especially after the towering mass of the Civitas
building. But the factory was larger than it seemed. He gripped the
handle of his bag more securely, being careful not to disturb the
contents too much. He glanced at the time on his wristwatch. It was
almost time.

He counted down the final few seconds. When the long hand
reached the number twelve, he ran across the road and into the
shadows of the building.

For a society that was supposed to be so technologically
advanced, he almost couldn't believe he could break into a factory
with a simple device of his own making. They could at least make it
difficult for him.

The security system went down in seconds. He wrenched the door
open and stepped into the darkness beyond. Time to plant a few more
fireworks of his own.