She peered past the left and right sides of the intersection that held the access point, and confirmed no patrols were incoming.
Horatio joined her and positioned himself beneath the access point. He clasped two polycarbonate hands together, forming a makeshift step. She took it, and the robot hoisted her upward, toward the device hanging from the ceiling.
She slid the dongle into the matching female connector on the access point. Blue lights began to flash upon the smaller device.
Rhea had done something similar before in city hall, installing a cyberintrusion payload into a comm node to track down Veil. However, the networks of most buildings in the parliamentary district were isolated from one another, which made sense, considering city hall was technically owned by Aradne, while the United Settlements government claimed Parliament Building. Thus, to get the data she needed it was necessary to install another payload here.
She nervously glanced down either flank of the intersection. Rhea knew more robots would be sent to investigate—three machines rebooting at the same time in the same area would be flagged by the AI for investigation, especially considering Will was blocking the closest camera with his goofy face.
So far, the intersection remained clear. She gazed at the three robots that accompanied the party: still another twenty seconds before they reactivated.
She returned her attention to the dongle above her. The lights remained blue.
Come on, she urged it.
Ten seconds remaining.
Five.
Come on!
The device turned green and she instantly removed it. She leaped down, slid the dongle back into her arm, and raced back to the other robots with Horatio. The nano machines sealed the compartment in her bicep.
Will stepped away from the camera as the robots reactivated. The machines glanced around, seeming confused. The two that carried rifles lowered them.
Renaldo, ordinarily so dark-skinned, appeared extremely pale in that moment.
The stamp of heavy feet announced the imminent arrival of more machines. Turning toward the access point, Rhea watched as several combat robots rounded the bend.
The two closest robots must have received orders to scan everyone again, because they ordered the group members against the wall and proceeded to search them once more.
Meanwhile, the other robots gathered beneath the wireless access point. One stood on the back of another and disconnected the device from the ceiling. Obviously they intended to investigate it for tampering.
DragonHunter… are we good?
We are, he replied. The robots won’t find anything. The self-propagating code already deleted itself from the source access point. It’s hiding in a random comm node nearby. The next time Khrusos sends a communication, he’s mine.
Khrusos never made public appearances anymore, well, not in-person ones, anyway. Holographic appearances were his preferred method these days. Some said he didn’t live in Aradne at all, but some other city or settlement, maybe even a fortified compound somewhere in the Outlands. Either way, the Parliament Building was the hub of the United Settlements, so all meetings, orders and so forth that Khrusos issued would have to be routed through the data center here. DragonHunter claimed he would be able to figure out Khrusos’ ID based on the contents and headers of the data passing through the mail and message servers. Once the hacker had the ID, it wouldn’t take much to suss out the President’s location.
At least that was the theory.
“You may step away from the wall,” one of the escorting robots announced.
Rhea was relieved—the machines hadn’t detected the hidden compartments in her biceps.
She turned around in time to watch the other patrol march away; one of the robots carried the disconnected access point with it.
Renaldo was sweating buckets, and he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “Well that was fun. But can we continue the tour now?”
The guide robot happily obliged and led the party forward. It began droning on about the history behind some painting hanging in the hallway. Rhea tuned out its monotonous voice.
They passed the intersection, and the hallway began to widen. The ceiling became arched once more. She passed an interesting room, which was filled with various small curios—statues, bottles, tapestries. The guide robot was saying something about how that room contained all the items given as gifts to the President from other world leaders over the years.
The sight triggered a memory.
She stood inside that very room, or one similar to it, surrounded by bottles, gem-encrusted chalices, and other gifts. The familiar hologram of the white-robed man floated before her, the tassel of that red belt dangling from his waist, and the golden medallion hanging from his neck.
“I have a new task for you, Dagger,” the man said.
“What must I do?” she asked.
“The leader of Chile is arriving a day early. Handle him.”
And then the memory was gone.
Rhea blinked. She stood in the hallway once more, and continued walking, leaving the room behind.
Handle him. And there was that name, Dagger, again.
Rhea wasn’t sure what to make of it. But one thing was certain: when she found Khrusos, she was going to make him tell her everything.
They entered a wide, columned atrium whose glass walls exposed the right side to the buildings beyond. Benches set between the pillars allowed visitors to take a seat and admire the well-manicured lawn of the park just outside. Rhea wondered who would actually use these benches, considering the public wasn’t allowed anywhere near the building or the park. Probably visiting dignitaries and their retinue.
The guide crossed the room, leading the group across an aisle that led between the pillars. Rhea checked her overhead map: the tour was almost over, judging from the proximity to the exit. That was good, because she was eager to get out of here and go home, before the security forces decided to arrest her after all.
A robot was tending to a potted flowering plant that hung from a pillar beside her. The machine accidentally snipped away one of the flowers, a beautiful, purple tulip, and Rhea paused as she walked by, bending over to scoop it up.
She heard a loud
