The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [167]
‘I can visualise the “quick in”, but how do you think you’re going to get out, quick or otherwise?’
‘Walk, I imagine. Or maybe run.’
‘No way, Jarrod!’ Annadusa pushed back her chair and shook her head. ‘It’s too dangerous. The worm will spot you the moment you tap into the system. Besides, you can’t just stroll up to the gates of ASSIST and ask for a guided tour.’
Jarrod raised his eyebrows as he slipped a rubber band over the tube of blueprints with a snap. ‘Watch me.’
An hour later, Jarrod ran the fibre-optic thread up the manhole and angled it towards the security checkpoint as a brown delivery truck arrived.
‘This one will do,’ he said. ‘You ready?’
‘Always,’ Kreshkali smiled. ‘You?’
‘Not quite. I can’t see his face.’ He continued peering into the eyepiece, adjusting the knobs forward and back.
‘You’ll see plenty of it in a moment.’
Jarrod turned to her. The spiky blonde hair was gone. It was grey and matted, tangled strands obscuring her face. She stooped her shoulders. Her eyes were vague. Her skin looked yellow and cracked; open sores covered blue-veined arms. She scratched her head and smiled through missing teeth.
‘Sacred demons, Kali! That’s one hell of a glamour.’
‘Just keep your eye on the truck driver. You’ll get a full frontal view in a moment, I promise.’ She squeezed his hand and rushed down the sewer.
What a woman, Jarrod thought to himself as he returned to the fibre-optics. Within moments, Kreshkali appeared in front of the gate, between it and the delivery truck. She looked a hoary, bent figure, cranky and disoriented, waving a cane about and stumbling into the mud-filled potholes. It took both the driver and the security guard to remove her from blocking the way.
Perfect.
Jarrod got more than an adequate image of his target. ‘I’m ready,’ he said, turning behind him. ‘Do your thing, my lovelies.’ He winked at Rosette and her familiar before pressing his head into the eyepiece again. He sent his visual image of the delivery man to Drayco.
Got it. The temple cat purred into his mind.
Rosette didn’t respond. She sat with her familiar, propped up against the opposite sewer wall, nestled in a thick grunnie pelt, deep in meditation.
Moments later, Jarrod watched as the driver gripped his stomach. His face blanched white, and he moved off to the far side of the vehicle and retched.
‘I won’t be long.’
Jarrod was down the sewer and up the adjacent manhole, except he didn’t look like Jarrod any more. He’d morphed his Tulpa-body into the image of the driver who’d suddenly become ill.
‘You okay there?’ the security guard asked him as he appeared around the truck. ‘The old hag could have been diseased by the look of her. What was that stench?’
‘I’m all right.’ Jarrod wiped his mouth as he hopped into the driver’s seat. He leaned back, taking a nanosecond to scan the controls.
It’s a Falcon, he chuckled to himself. My favourite.
The guard opened the gate and waved him through.
Jarrod revved the engine, released the emergency brake and drove into the ASSIST stronghold.
‘Sit down, you two! The pacing’s driving me bats,’ Kreshkali growled.
Rosette ignored her and continued striding up and down the length of the studio, her fists alternately knotting and flexing. Drayco was at her side, his tail lashing with each rise and dip of his shoulderblades.
An’ Lawrence shifted in his chair. ‘Rosette,’ he called. ‘Come train?’
She looked at him like he’d just asked her to take out the garbage. ‘What time is it?’ she snapped.
‘Nearly midnight.’
She exhaled. ‘Right. Training sounds good.’ She turned to Kreshkali. ‘Come get me if you hear anything?’
‘You’ll likely hear before me.’ She nodded towards Drayco.
The two grabbed their swords and left the room, both temple cats following.
Annadusa let out a long, slow whistle. ‘That girl’s like a caged animal.’
‘That girl’s got a lot on her mind,’ Kreshkali answered. Her smile fell. ‘I doubt she’ll settle until he returns.’
‘It’s been hours. How long can