Captivate (Manipulate, Book 2)

Chapter 42

Claire had worked intently throughout the very long night, but she decided at a certain point that she had to lie down and close her eyes for a moment. She was almost certain that it was past morning, but the unrelieved darkness baffled time. That was half of the point, Claire was sure. The darkness cut off the prisoner from the rest of the world, even the knowledge of what the rest of the world might be doing.

She’d eventually managed to get the access plate off the wall, which was tricky to do without destroying or disconnecting the sensitive electronics behind it. After feeling around in the palm-sized hole, she said a devout prayer of thanks that this lock seemed very similar to the ones at Faal’s estate.

Next it was a matter of trying various combinations of magnets to fool the lock into opening. Unfortunately the combinations weren’t of an on/off variety. The access plate would respond to the pressure of a Merith hand and a short sequence of digit flexations. Claire used four magnet strips to mimic four fingers, and got out four pins to mimic a Merith’s claws.

Each magnet needed to be held a slight distance from the plate. She didn’t have to exactly mimic the Merith’s fingers, but rather the electrical resonance of the hand. The magnets were a lot more reactive than a hand would be, so she had to find the right distance.

That was the most time consuming part, and Claire nearly gave up. It was then that she lay down and closed her eyes. She rested, but when she felt on the edge of sleep she made herself get back at it. If she fell asleep in this dark she might sleep for hours.

She began again with the magnets and was legitimately shocked when the plate hummed its readiness.

She wanted to squeal with triumph, but she froze instead. If she moved any of the magnets, the plate would turn off. She might be able to mimic this exact position again, but she might not. Now came the tricky part. She held the magnets fanned out with one hand. She couldn’t hold all four pins easily, so instead she picked up one pin and tapped it over each magnet in turn.

The door didn’t open. That was okay. She tapped it backward, mentally numbering in her head: 4, 3, 2, 1. On her hand it would be: pinky, ring, pointer, thumb.

Nope.

Claire hoped this was only a four digit combination. The ones at Faal’s estate were only four motions. She assumed it was because the real trick was pretending to be a Merith, not knowing a code.

Claire blinked her eyes and forced herself to think methodically. It would not take very long to try each combination, and if it proved to be more than four she could reevaluate.

She found the correct combination at 4, 1, 3, 2. The access plate hummed again, at last, and the door slid open.

The light momentarily blinded Claire, but she surged to her feet. She only had moments before one of Faal’s guys realized her door was open. She’d put several picks in her pocket for just this moment, and she quickly got them out and put them between her fingers like she’d once been taught to do with her keys.

Her eyes were watering but she could see. She went back the way they’d brought her onto the ship, and sure enough, one of Faal’s soldiers popped into the passageway just in front of her.

Claire punched him, but instead of aiming instinctively for his eye (as she remembered Kitteh’s advice), she aimed for his lower throat. Whether because he was slightly surprised or because he had instruction not to hurt her, Claire actually landed the punch.

The picks were pushed back and two pierced her hand – searing pain! – but one punched through his skin with a satisfying pressure.

The Merith reeled back with a yelp, probably more surprised than anything. He clutched awkwardly at the tiny piece of metal coming out of his neck and Claire dashed past him.