Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(27)

The next door was closed. This would be so much easier if I had a gun, because clearing a room with a knife was a terrible idea. Still, I couldn’t leave a room unexplored, not if I wanted a valid retreat option.

I stood on the hinge side of the door and reached across to the handle. It turned easily and I pushed the door open then stepped back so I was hidden by the frame. Silence. I risked a peek and the part of the room I could see was empty. I cleared the other side of the room, including behind the door.

Three more rooms proved to be empty, until only one room remained. I pushed the door open, not sure what to expect. What I did not expect, however, was another empty room. Weak light spilled in through the frosted window, illuminating an empty utility room. A door led out to the backyard. Boot prints in the dust proved Loch—or someone—had been this way recently.

To follow or not to follow.

It had been fifteen minutes since Loch disappeared. He could be out scouting the perimeter because he expected me to take longer. Or he could’ve decided to double-cross me and I’d walk out into an ambush.

Only one way to find out. I turned off my flashlight, pulled up the hood of my cloak, and touched the button next to the window. The windowpane changed from frosted to clear. The backyard was a tiny brown square covered in dead grass and surrounded by a low, broken-down fence. No mob waited for me to appear.

I stood at the edge of the window and let my eyes roam over the scene. If anyone was out there hiding, unless they were trained, they would eventually fidget, and the movement would give them away.

Nothing moved, other than the grass blowing in the wind.

So where was Loch?

Just as I was going to turn away to check the front, something drew my eye to the top of the next house. I froze and focused on the area. Nothing else moved and the low light made it difficult to identify what had caught my attention.

My patience was rewarded as someone moved again, just the slightest shift, but it was enough. Friends generally didn’t linger on in the shadows on top of adjacent buildings, so the only remaining question was: Who was it?

We could’ve picked up a random tail, a random merc squad, the boss from earlier, a tail from Veronica the fence, or the Rockhurst squad. We were collecting enemies faster than I could keep up.

I retreated to the darkened hallway. For now I would give Loch the benefit of the doubt and assume he was out scouting when the other people moved in. That meant he was either captured or holed up somewhere waiting to see what happened.

I briefly debated the merits of leaving sooner versus having better protection. I opted for better protection. Only time would tell if it was a wise choice.

The necklace and bracelet felt heavy for their size. The bracelet was a wide silver cuff and the necklace had heavy silver links connected to a round silver medallion inlaid with turquoise. Both pieces were pretty but nothing indicated they were anything more than normal jewelry.

When I’d fled home, I’d only taken a small bag of possessions. These pieces of jewelry were two of the things in that bag. On the station I hadn’t had them on because I’d just popped over to the nearby shop to pick up an early dinner. Unfortunately, Captain Pearson had ruined that plan.

I performed the complicated left hand motion that activated my true identity chip. I held the necklace to the chip. Nothing happened, but that was expected. I turned the necklace over twice, then rotated the center of the medallion like I was opening a combination lock.

The center of the medallion sprang open, revealing a DNA tester. I clasped the necklace around my throat then pricked my thumb on the embedded needle. The medallion clicked closed and once again it appeared to be a normal necklace. Now it was authorized until I unclasped it.

I held the bracelet up to my real identity chip for a count of ten. It had less stringent security because it wouldn’t work without the necklace being authorized. I clasped the cuff around my right wrist and deactivated my real identity chip.

Now to face whatever awaited me outside. I’d delayed long enough to put on the jewelry not only because of the extra protection it would provide but also because I was hoping Loch would return if I gave him more time. He did not.

So now I was on my own. I’d try to meet him at our original house if I made it out. If he didn’t show, I’d have to find out if he got caught and by whom.

I needed to check the front. With the back door watched, it was unlikely they’d left the front open, but I didn’t have to dodge a fence in the front. I crept back through the hallway. I’d like to think that I would hear anyone who had breached the house, but highly trained men and women could be alarmingly quiet.

The front window showed a deserted street. And though I watched for five minutes, I couldn’t catch a hint of movement. Doubt crept in. Had I really seen someone on the roof in the back?

I took Loch’s cloak out of the bag and put it on over my own. It was less cumbersome to wear than to carry. I tied the bag of clothes I’d bought around my waist. Both hands needed to be free if I was going to have to fight.

I so did not want to fight.

I opened the front door and stepped out as if I was going for an afternoon stroll. Make something of that, you bastards.

Nothing moved and I finally realized what bothered me about this planet—there were no animals. No birds singing or dogs barking. It was eerily still except for the sound of the wind.

I turned left, back toward the main part of town. No one tried to stop me, but I had an itch between my shoulder blades like someone watched my progress. I took a meandering path but I couldn’t shake the tail. Whoever tracked me was good, because I couldn’t catch a hint of them, even when I doubled back on my path.