The Gemini Age: Book One

[15-2] Noble Illusions - Part Two

    It was no secret that Fountainbridge was a difficult place to drive through these days. Construction traffic and the copious amounts of debris disposal required to overhaul an entire ward left little road for private vehicles to navigate along, a fact that put most drivers off travelling through the area at all. Even Marcus knew this from the snippets of local exasperation he overheard on his travels around the city, so the sight of a fleet of identical unmarked vehicles speeding away on the road ahead of the Daedalus was more than enough to pique his curiosity. "Are we close to the place?"

    Penelope pulled the car up at the left-hand side of the road. "We're here. And I have a feeling we just missed the residents." She checked the time on the car's dashboard, her brow furrowed. There were still hours to go before sundown, when such a large convoy of vehicles had a realistic chance of passing unnoticed, so why were the facility's occupants leaving now?

    The three waited in silence until the roar of engines sank below the noise of construction work. Seatbelt already undone, Marcus left the car first and approached the building with a slight crouch despite all the windows on the front end being blocked with boards. Lloyd followed without such stealth and stepped up to the front door and tried the handle, rattling the locked door with a groan. "Who'd have thought squatters could take building security so seriously?"

    Marcus flicked a fan of sparks over Lloyd's feet. "What are you doing? They probably left guards behind!" Though if they had, they had not left anybody by the door itself, and Marcus heard no footsteps through the slight gaps in the windows either.

    Shrugging, Lloyd tried the door again and tracked an invisible line with his eyes between the entrance and a standalone console to its side. "I hope they did, because I don't think we're getting this door open from this side. This, uh, thing isn't hooked up."

    The console consisted of a flat black panel shimmering beside a small pair of LED lights. It had been disconnected at some point, yet the wiring had been spooled in the console's housing, likely at the insistence of Penelope's father. Similar protective measures preserved the door's wiring in a watertight enclosure mounted at its side, though the new occupants had left it unlocked for her to open. "I think we can fix this," Penelope smiled. "Lloyd, have you ever wired anything before?"

    Lloyd's face paled. "Should I know how to do that? I've seen wires before, I think. They're like stringy metal things, right?"

    "Right, and metal's your area of expertise. Just listen to me and we'll have everything reconnected in no time."

    The temptation to burn through the wooden barricades rose in Marcus with every second he watched his brother struggle to isolate one plain black cable from the dozen or so trailing into Penelope's hands, yet his cautious side stayed his hand. Penelope knew what she was doing, or she at least knew how to appear as if she did. 

    The more he saw of her, the less Marcus could understand why Penelope was here with them chasing Jade rather than at learning her father's business at his side. Driven, intelligent, with an appreciation of technology without compare in his experience, Penelope had all the makings of a corporate successor. Whatever kept her and her father apart, it was not professional but personal.

    "Perfect! Thank you." Penelope tapped Lloyd's shoulder with a smile, then turned to face Marcus. "Do you think you could give us a little electricity?"

    Marcus watched his brother's face flush at the slightest touch of Penelope's hand. He fought the urge to repay some of Lloyd's teasing and instead tightened his gloves, flexing his fingers ahead of the violent rush lightning always tore through them with. "How little is 'a little'?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.