Page 35 of Stars in Halo

Who, bit by bit, supplied him with details of its security framework.

Now, that information was coming to roost.

Her swiped code, Korin’s knowledge of the system, and infiltration of the security setup were paying off in spades.

However, Hanias was MIA, Katya sighed. He’d been the stooge meant to guide them through the labyrinth of corridors to their desired location and fend off any unwanted curiosity and interest in their movements.

They’d planned for him to wait outside the ballroom to lead her and her brothers to the secure room.

Unable to delay longer, she’d used the back entrance and guessed where her siblings were.

‘Fat load of good Hanias turned out to be,’ Katya complained.

Her youngest brother, K’Zito, shrugged. ‘No clue where he is, but complaining won’t get us what we want.’

‘But is the rube where we want it?’ Katya demanded, her voice throaty with urgency.

Korin checked his wrist tab. ‘System says it’s still safe and sound in the strong room.’

Katya’s jaw clenched at her words, unsatisfied with the response. ‘A strong room we’re going to have to locate on our own in this crazy labyrinth with little time on our side,’ she insisted, her tone brooking no argument. ‘We need to move. I have the code I swiped from Isabella Annan D’Ransi, the Rhesian art dealer. It’s valid for another couple of hours. We also have the hotel’s security layout from Hanias. Let’s hope it’s enough for us to go on without him. We’ve got a tight window before the platform is raised to the auction floor, so let’s hurry this along.’

The quartet took off, moving fast, taking furtive looks around them.

Xion flitted behind the foursome, soundless, unseen, like a whisper of air.

He used the shadows and his noids to mask his heat signature.

Melding into the gloom of the winding hallway, he gave chase as the ensemble ahead took a route that doubled back toward the ballroom in a maze built into the level beneath the grand space.

The network of corridors was made of dark stone interior, marred with cracks and scratches. Small inbuilt lamps flickered, casting eerie outlines and illuminating the way forward.

The dead ends and loops were frustrating, evidenced by the quartet’s curses each time they encountered one.

Xion stealthed in and out of meta mode to evade being seen by Katya’s gang as they navigated the underground labyrinth. Walls shifted and came to sudden dead ends as they charged through the twisting passageways hidden beneath the elegant chaos of the ballroom above.

Finally, they came to a stop before an incongruous doorway.

A pair of burly security guards stood on either side of the door.

The trio of fake sentries approached them.

‘How’s it going?’ one of Katya’s crew asked.

The real guards at the door aimed an irritated look at the threesome, peering at the mysterious woman behind them. ‘Do I know any of you? Haven’t seen your faces around here? Now get the fokk away. No unauthorised persons, including sec staff, are meant to be in this vicinity, especially now.’

The eldest of Katya’s mates pasted a sloppy grin on his face and kept coming. ‘Or what?’ he challenged.

The two real guards flicked glances of confusion at the incoming threesome, hands going to their belts where their firearms sat.

The trio rushed in without warning, pulling lasers from their waists.

Xion’s meta-vision made a speedy assessment. The guns were set to stun, not kill.

So he hung back.

Two of the heist crew aimed their guns at the pair of guards.

The high-pitched whine of the lasers reverberated through the corridor.

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