[Contributor 02] - Infiltrator (2013) (21 page)

“What about my father?” she asked without thinking. She was afraid she’d revealed too much, but then she realized it was a legitimate question. The Creators didn’t want anyone knowing about the project, so it would stand to reason that they wouldn’t want her father to know what she was doing.

“He won’t be privy to the details of the project, but I will hold a meeting with him, make him aware of the situation. The precautions will be an inconvenience to the both of you, but I know you understand that they are necessary.”

“Of course, sir.” They wanted to keep an eye on her father as well. For all that Andersen had gone through the motions of proclaiming her innocence, he and the Creators harbored suspicions about her and her father. She couldn’t say if this was because of her mother’s disappearance or simply because she was Andersen’s assistant. It didn’t matter in the end. They were on Magnum’s radar, which meant she would be limited in what she could do. Remaining in the dome much longer wouldn’t be feasible.

“When will the new equipment be installed?” she asked.

“The Creators will arrange for a crew during an opportune time, so as not to draw attention to what they’re doing.”

“Yes, of course. I know my father will agree that we are at the Creators’ disposal.”

“Indeed. Here is your secure tablet. The details of your assignment are on it. We will discuss them at length at our next meeting, which I will arrange. I’ll inform you later of the time and location. You may go. Send your father to me.”

“Thank you, sir. I will.”

Dara wanted to bolt, but she forced herself to move at a normal brisk pace. The crew would descend on their apartment at any moment. They wouldn’t want to give her time to clean it out, now that she knew they were on their way. Whatever it took, she would have to get rid of all incriminating evidence immediately.

“How did it go? What did—” Joshua asked as soon as Dara stepped through the door. Her face must have been frantic, because his eyes went wide.

“I don’t have time to explain. The Authorities could be here any minute. We have to get rid of it all. Now.”

He didn’t need further clarification. They both hurried to the concealed cupboard, her father frantically emptying it while she stuffed everything into a bag. Racing around the apartment, they cleared it of everything that might be considered the least bit incriminating.

“What do we do with it?” he asked.

Sick with worry, she pushed a trembling hand through her hair. “Take it to Letizia, then you have to go straight to Andersen’s apartment to meet with him. If they come and I’m not here—”

“You’re right.” Dropping a kiss on her cheek, he fled the apartment.

Not ten minutes later, the Authorities arrived. She had splashed cold water on her face in the hopes that it would drive some of the red away, bring her skin back to a more normal tone. Inside, she was screaming. What if she and her father had forgotten something? What if all of this was a trap? What if Andersen had informed on her?

“Good evening,” she said, her voice calm as she opened the door to the Authorities. “Please, come in. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you, Contributor Morrow,” the stony-faced male Authority said. “My colleagues and I will work as quickly as possible, so as not to inconvenience you. We know you have important business to attend to.”

“Thank you. Please let me know if you need anything.”

“We will.”

It made Dara’s skin crawl to watch the Authorities swarming around the apartment, pulling up couch cushions, planting devices behind wall hangings. Their presence was a gross violation of her privacy, and it wouldn’t end when they left. Every last thing she and her father said would be subject to Creator scrutiny. If they forgot, if they slipped even once, it would be the end. They would both disappear somewhere into the depths of the dome, never to be seen again.

Thinking about it threatened her composure, so she forced her mind elsewhere. She didn’t know where to go while they were working, and she felt horribly exposed sitting while they milled around her, installing listening devices and security triggers. Over an hour later, Joshua still hadn’t returned, and she knew he must be lying low until the Authorities left. His being out wouldn’t strike anyone as unusual, she told herself as she pretended to study the secure tablet Andersen had given her.

When they finally left, she felt a glimmer of relief, but that was all it was: a glimmer. There would be no real relief in this apartment, not anymore. From the moment she’d decided to help the Free Thinkers, she’d known she was in danger, but she’d kept her fears in check by reminding herself that she had the unsecured tablet, enabling her to contact Mal at the drop of a hat. She no longer had any such comfort. Any messages the Free Thinkers received from her would come third-hand, and if her cover was blown, she would have to try to find Letizia to ask her to get the warning to Mal. Dara’s chances of evading capture, which had always been far smaller than she liked to think about, were now all but nonexistent. It was only a matter of time before she was found out, before she disappeared.

Joshua’s face seemed to reflect her thoughts when he returned. She had horrible memories of the period after her mother’s disappearance, when they’d had to watch everything they said in case the Creators were listening. She closed her eyes, weary at the thought of carrying on in the stiff, unnatural way they’d carried on then.

“I had a most productive meeting with Head of Engineering Andersen. And you?” her father asked, his voice sounding strained to her ears.

“I did, thank you. I’m not at liberty to discuss the details with you, though.”

“Of course. I understand. I’m so proud that you’ve proved yourself worthy of the head of engineering’s trust. You’re exactly the Contributor your mother and I hoped you’d be.”

Was it risky to talk about Leona like that? Then again, what her father was saying sounded like the words the Creators might expect to hear from a Contributor with a daughter in her position. Joshua was playing his part well, acting as the Creators would expect.

“Thank you, Dad. I’ve longed to prove my worth to Magnum, and I’ll work my hardest to ensure I’m deserving of Head of Engineering Andersen’s trust.”

“I know you will.”

“Did you have a pleasant evening after your meeting?” Dara asked, shifting the conversation not just because she thought she might give into the urge to tear Andersen apart if she talked about him any longer, but also because she wanted to provide her father with an alibi. Her story must match his, should someone ask her where he’d gone after his meeting.

“I did. I took a nice walk in the park, where I ran into Stephen, giving me a chance to discuss an accounting project with him.”

Fear made her fingers numb, but her father seemed relaxed enough, which told her his getting rid of the bag must have gone off without incident. That was good. His unremarkable evening out was good too, his alibi easy to verify.

“That was a stroke of luck. I know you’ve been trying to carve out some time with him.”

“I have. He’s been very busy helping to resolve the mess left behind as a result of the incident.”

“Let’s not talk about that,” she snapped. Her father started, and she felt guilty. She hadn’t meant to snap at him, but being reminded of what had become of Jasmine Shah hit a little too close to home for comfort. Fortunately, her reaction could be readily mistaken for righteous indignation at the mention of a woman who had tried to sabotage Magnum, so Dara didn’t have to worry too much about having betrayed her feelings.

“It’s a time I’d sooner forget too,” Joshua replied, searching his daughter’s face.

“I should get to bed. I want to be fresh for tomorrow, ready to help Head of Engineering Andersen with whatever he needs.”

“That’s wise. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of whatever needs to be done around here.”

With a slight nod, she said, “Are you sure? I promised to pick up the supplies we need.”

“I am. This project takes priority over everything else.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

“It’s no problem, sweetheart. Nothing should prevent you from devoting your complete focus to this project.”

“Nothing will.”

The days became a blur. Dara was rarely out of Andersen’s sight, and when she was, she was under the thumb of the Authorities. The devices they’d installed were well concealed, but even so she was painfully aware of them. Every moment spent in her apartment made her feel the weight of those unseen eyes, every word spoken made her think of the unseen ears.

Yet the lockdown was also a good sign, if not for her personally, then for the Free Thinkers. It meant Andersen’s plan was being put into action, and they hadn’t been wasting their time in trying to uncover more about it. There was no way of reaching out to them to find out what else they’d uncovered. It was more important than ever that she be seen only with the people she’d be expected to be seen with, and leaving the dome was out of the question. Any prolonged absence on her part would be grounds for questioning, and it was a risk she couldn’t take, however much she longed to see Raj again and extract more promises that he would protect her father and mother.

Andersen finally gave her an excuse to see Letizia, which made Dara want to kiss him, however much she loathed him. He needed data for another, unrelated project. Regardless of how important his secret project was, he still had to keep up the appearance of carrying on with business as usual. His clandestine work weighed so heavily on Dara’s mind that it surprised her that everyone else was oblivious to it, and a part of her had to admire Magnum for its ability to conceal things from its own Contributors.

“I can’t stay long,” she told Letizia. “Thanks to the surveillance, Magnum knows every time I come and go from my apartment.”

“How are you holding up?” Letizia asked, her face stricken as she studied Dara.

“As well as can be expected.”

“You won’t have to do this for much longer, I promise. Believe me, I’ve kept Mal apprised of everything, and he’s scrambling to move as fast as he can. He reached out to some of his other contacts, requested more hackers to assist with the Magnum data mining, so he now has twice as many people working on it.”

“Has Shah given anything up?”

Rubbing her forehead, Letizia sighed. “No, not yet. She wants something in return for her information.”

Dara tensed. “What?”

“She has a friend she wants extracted.”

“Is she an idiot? She can’t seriously think that’s a possibility right now.” Fear clawed its way down her spine. They were running out of time, and Shah was asking the impossible.

“Why should she care? She’s outside of the dome, and she feels no loyalty to anything other than herself.”

“What about Javier? Doesn’t he know anything?”

“He’s told Mal everything he knows, Mal’s sure of it. In fact, Javier told Mal he wants to join up, and Mal is considering it.”

“How does he know he can trust Javier?”

“He doesn’t. But Javier isn’t like Shah. He wanted to protect his sister, and the Free Thinkers are taking care of her, without strings. Shah might have been able to help him obtain treatment for his sister, but she had a price attached. She knew about Javier’s hacking skills, and the information he gave her on Andersen wasn’t enough. She wanted him to do more digging, and he was going to do it, even though he knew it would probably result in his getting caught.”

Disgust burned the back of Dara’s throat. “She’s no better than Andersen.”

“No, she isn’t.”

“Was there anything useful in the information Javier had on Andersen?”

“A lot of it was of a personal nature, which doesn’t interest us much. Mal assigned a team to work on it, but he thinks it’s a dead end. There may be something to the other information Javier had, stuff like lists of Andersen’s associates, details about renovations and improvements made to his apartment, that sort of thing. None of it was very specific, though. Javier said he hadn’t realized how ruthless Shah was, and if he’d known about the Free Thinkers, he would have sought us and offered his help instead of working for her.”

“Maybe he’s just saying what he thinks Mal wants to hear.”

“Which is exactly what Mal thinks. I’m sorry, Dara, I really am. I can’t imagine the pressure you must be under, but Mal doesn’t want to be sloppy. He’s afraid he’ll miss something vital if he hurries.”

“We can’t afford that. I have no choice but to try to hold out as long as possible.” She dropped into a chair and closed her eyes, pressing her fingertips into her temples and rubbing vigorously.

“I’m keeping my ear to the ground. I want you to know that. I’m watching and I’m listening, and I’ll make sure Mal gets to you if you need to get out.”

“I know you’ll do everything you can.”

Letizia didn’t bother arguing with her. Despite Letizia’s fervent assurances, she and Dara both knew there was little she could do. If Andersen did start to suspect Dara, he would be anything but obvious about it, and by the time Letizia got wind of it, it would very likely be too late.

“Is there any way you can think of, any way at all, that you can keep a device?” Letizia asked.

“Believe me, if I could think of anything, I would have told you. I have no choice but to be cut off.”

“All right. Let’s do this, then. Do you know that statue near the back of the park, the one closest to the western path?”

“The one with the chip in its ear?”

“Yes. There’s a small niche in its base. Either you or your father can leave a note there if you have anything to communicate. I’ll go by and check it daily. ”

It wasn’t a very good plan, but it was all Dara had, and she clung to it. “Okay.”

Letizia gathered everything Andersen needed while Dara gave her as much information as she could remember. In all likelihood there was a tracking device on the secure tablet he’d given her, and if she were to access anything while she was in Letizia’s apartment, it would be noted in the log. Dara had worked hard to commit as much information to memory as possible, but it frustrated her not to be able to provide Letizia with copies of the files.