“I suppose I do.” Nyssa buttoned the dozen black buttons, but the wool coat failed to warm her. Must be my fading adrenaline.
“We need someone to recover the files from the main computer.” Albriet crossed her legs and set her hands on her knee. “It may no longer be functional, so repairs may be necessary. We will provide you with memory wheels and all the tools you will need.”
“I have my own tool kit, though I don't have any lockpicks …” Nyssa bit her tongue. “I haven’t said yes yet.”
Albriet smirked. “No, but what options do you have?”
“Are you going to pull a gun on me? Threaten to have me killed or arrested like your competitor?” Nyssa scowled.
“No, we can both see how that worked out for him.” Albriet waved a dismissive hand.
Nyssa glanced back out the window. A row of sickly looking trees lined a neighborhood of large but rundown houses with overgrown gardens and shuttered up windows.
“The police think you did it. They're looking for you even as we speak,” Albriet said. “Also, even if they believe you, they can't protect you. I meant what I said about my competitor. He will hunt you relentlessly. For now he wants you alive, but if you prove too stubborn, he’ll kill you rather than risk you telling what you know about him, however little that might be. He has committed murders for far less.”
Nyssa’s stomach clenched. That she believed. He’d killed Mr. C with a smile.
“I can offer you a way out, an escape, a new beginning.” Albriet reached under the seat and pulled out a black case with silver filigree edges.
“I don’t want a new beginning. I have … I have a good life.”
“You had a good life. That’s gone now.” The latches on the case clicked open. Albriet removed a small leather case from the larger one. She exhibited a gleaming set of lockpicks. “The best money can buy.” She smiled. “You’ll be doing a good deed, preventing a brilliant man’s legacy from dying with him, recovering valuable information that technically belongs to my client. Nothing illegal, nothing immoral even. Just good, honest work. In turn, we will get you a ticket to anywhere in the world.”
Nyssa shivered and stared out at the gray sky above the trees and city skyline. Someplace warm and sunny where it rarely rains.
“And if I say no?”
“I let you out in front of the police station. You can take your chances with them, I suppose, but they probably already have your face on a wanted poster.”
“Not the first time.” Nyssa snorted. She took the lockpicks from Albriet and traced them with her fingers. Nice set. Well made, better than anything she’d worked with during her “professional” days. Not that there was anything professional about a preteen desperate not to starve.
Is there anything to go back to? Mr. C was the only one who really cared about me. Without him, this might be my best chance.
Nyssa cleared her throat. “All right. I’ll do it. How do we get to this mansion?”
Albriet slid back a panel on the seat and flipped a silver switch. The brakes squeaked as the carriage came to a halt. “We’re already there.”
Chapter Three
Nyssa glanced to her right. An ivy-choked brick wall blocked the view from the window.
“The gate is around the corner.” Albriet flipped another switch, and the door swung open. She handed Nyssa a slip of paper. “This is the address where you’ll be able to find me after your venture.” She then passed her a small box. “Memory wheels. Enough to download the main files. We’re also interested in any information you can discover about the security system. If we knew what was preventing our agents from completing their missions, we might be able to disable it.”
Nyssa tucked everything into her satchel. “And if I change my mind?”
“Nothing I can do to stop that, but as I said, you’ll be on your own, and your options are limited.” Albriet patted her lips as if muffling a yawn. “Besides, I know your sort. You want to know why. Once you start scraping away at the puzzle of that house, you won’t be able to stop until you’ve excavated its last secret.”
Nyssa grimaced. Possibly true, but she didn’t like the fact that Albriet had discerned that after a mere half hour in her presence. She slipped out of the carriage and glanced into the driver’s cab, intending to thank him for the ride. The compartment was empty except for a series of gears and levers. Nyssa blinked. Albriet winked as the door shut between them and the carriage jerked away.
Exhaling, Nyssa paced along the wall. An empty field with a few overgrown paths and lopsided benches lay across the street. An abandoned park? The area had obviously once been a nicer neighborhood. Turrets of houses stuck over the edge of walls, though most had faded paint and missing shingles. Moss covered the once stately street lamps which stood frozen like guards along both sides of the avenue.
“So what lies behind this wall?” Nyssa touched the bricks. She could easily scale it here. A dozen or so possible footholds presented to her trained eye. Still, she’d like a look before she made her final decision. She followed the sidewalk around a corner and stopped in front of a towering iron gate. Behind the bars, a brick path stretched towards the largest house Nyssa had ever seen. The entirety of Clockwork Row would fit comfortably in the front lawn, and the house itself was five stories of black windows, balconies, and towers. She leaned against the gate and nearly toppled over when it swung open.
Steadying herself, she examined the gate. Someone had cut the chain, and not recently either, for rust had crept into the marks left by the tools. She supposed it made sense. Albriet had said others had attempted this; though trying to enter by the front was an amateur mistake. Nyssa eased the
