Page 60 of A Barista's Guide to Love & Larceny
Great. Actually, Katya said, the spark of her idea audible even via telepathy,that would be a really great place to plant the device, if you can manage it.
“Here?” Dani said, then realized with extreme mortification that she’d spoken aloud. Wyatt and the two OneiroLabs employees turned to look at her, confusion squinching their faces.Oh shit.
“Um, here.” Improvising, Dani held out her badge. “Do you need this?”
“Yes, actually,” the concierge said. “Both of your badges, please.”
Dani?Katya said.Can you do it?
Dani felt Wyatt’s eyes on her, waiting for her reply. Her hand slipped into her pocket, touching the cool metal of the nail. She scanned the desk again, assessing—yes, if both the security guard and the concierge were distracted enough, she could probably drop the nail down into one of the ports on the closest device, a panel with various buttons and sliders.
“Your badges?” the concierge repeated.
We can do it,Wyatt answered for her. He lifted his badge from over his head and instead of gently handing it to the concierge, like a normal person would, he properly flung it at them. The badge fell to the floor, and both the concierge and the security guard went for it at the same time.
“Oh man, I’m so sorry,” Wyatt said, leaning over the desk, his body blocking Dani’s. “It just slipped out of my hand—”
Dani knew her moment when she saw it. Heart pummeling her sternum, she pulled the nail from her pocket and reached her arm down the other side of the desk. She couldn’t quite make it all the way to the panel, her hand dangling with the nail just a few inches away from an empty port.
“Got it,” the concierge said. In her panic, Dani dropped the nail. It took everything she had not to make a noise as the nail landed neatly in the port. She watched as the metal bubbled, liquefied, and slithered into the panel, disappearing without so much as a trace.
Shocked at her own success, Dani stepped back and busied herself with taking off her own badge—which, reliably, got stuck in her hair. She fought with it for a minute, then passed it over, rocking back and forth on her heels as the concierge did something on the computer. Wyatt touched her elbow, a surprisingly soft, grounding gesture, and Dani forced herself to still.
Nice, came Katya’s voice.I’ll have access to their power grid in just a sec.
Good work, Silva added.You’ve essentially already done what you came here to do. You’ll have to keep going through the motions, though—Miss Novak needs to make certain that we have what we need. If she does, we’ll get you out as soon as we can.
The concierge returned their badges and gave them directions to the lab. Dani didn’t listen, only nodded and smiled, then followed Wyatt to the elevators. She couldn’t believe they’d already done it. She wanted to feel relieved, but she was still on edge, and suspected she would be until they were safely out of OneiroLabs’s jurisdiction.
Can’t we just go ahead and walk out?she thought to everyone over the shell.We could make some kind of excuse about an emergency or something, right?
I don’t see why not, Silva answered, and Wyatt took a sharp, frustrated inhale.As long as Miss Novak confirms that we’re all set, that would likely attract less attention than shutting things down. For now, head to the laboratory level as planned.
“Great,” Wyatt muttered. “Don’t use my powers at all. Why should I feel useful?” He hit the up button at the elevators, and as they waited for a car, Dani snuck a look at the other people standing there with them. They were all older, much more professional in their style and the way they held themselves, which only made her feel all the more out of place.
A single elevator arrived, and they all herded inside, far more cozily than Dani would have liked. She didn’t want to be this close to real OneiroLabs employees—what if one of them could sense their duplicity somehow? Their glamours seemed to be holding up so far, at least, but there was still time for the operation to go belly-up if they weren’t careful. Dani closed and opened her fists as people called out their floors: six, ten, fifteen.
“Eight, please,” Wyatt said when the person pressing buttons for the group looked at them. Then the car went quiet as it began to rise.
We’re on our way up to the research labs, Wyatt said.
I’ve got their internal cameras and can see you now, Katya came in.We’re looking good.
The new exit plan, Silva added,is that once you get off the elevator, head to the restroom. Act like one of you isn’t feeling well. Spend a few minutes in there, then come back out and take the elevator down again. You can tell the front desk you’re under the weather and you’ll have to reschedule, if they ask.
Are you sure we should bounce already?Wyatt said.I mean, we’re all the way in here. What if we, like, went ahead and looked for the formula right now?
Absolutely not, Silva cut in before the panic of this suggestioncould become something real in Dani’s chest.We went over this, Mr. Shalhope. We aren’t prepared to execute that plan tonight. We don’t have the contingencies in place.
Fine, Wyatt said with a mental huff.But let it be known that I think this is a missed opportunity.
Your incorrect opinion is noted, Katya said, and Dani swore she could hear her eyes roll through the shell.
The elevator stopped on floor eight. Wyatt and Dani stepped out into the deserted lobby. Both the receptionist and the barista were gone, the chairs empty, the zen garden undisturbed. Two people were walking down the right-hand hallway toward them.
Okay, Katya said.The bathrooms are in the hallway at your ten o’clock.
No arguing, Silva added, and only Dani could hear the pissed-off breath Wyatt blew out.
