Van Terra

Chapter Ten ~ Let's Split Up, Gang!

As the window closed behind Grace, she surveyed the small room the team had landed in. It was filled with black filing cabinets and illuminated only by a red exit sign.

Jasper leaned over Thea's shoulder to study the map on her screen. "I don't think we'll run into anyone," Jasper said. "But keep it quiet just in case. Thea, lead the way."

The five crossed a narrow hallway and passed through a few more rooms. Thea guided them to the back of an office, where she pointed to the ceiling. "Room above us. Map says there's a vent we can access."

"Sweet." Jasper hopped onto a desk and lifted one of the ceiling tiles.

The team climbed into the space between floors, through a metal grate, and into a dark room filled with the humming of electronics and the soft glow of lights on machines. Thea led them to the corner where a large printer waited. Five badges sat in a tray sticking out from the side.

"Learn your fake names," Jasper said as she grabbed the badges and handed them out. "In case anyone talks to you."

The idea of interacting with anyone was nerve-racking. Grace accepted her badge and examined it. Next to her photo was the name Wren Starwright. Jasper pinned her own badge to her shirt, displaying the name Seth Galax.

"Seth?" Thea questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"It's short for Sethany." Jasper started toward the door. "My backstory is that I—"

"Do we really need backstories?" Holly interrupted. "We aren't going to be here that long."

"What are you going to do if someone corners you by the water cooler and asks about your childhood pets, huh?"

"I'll make something up."

"Not all of us are good at coming up with lies on the spot," Jasper said. She opened the door and led the way into the hall. "Jax, where did you grow up?"

"Huh?" Jax asked. "Oh, um, Blue District. No, wait, Gold."

"Jax does fine under cover," Holly said. "And no one's going to interrogate us about our lives."

Jasper shrugged. "I'm just saying everyone should keep some ideas in the back of their mind."

All of this conversation only served to make Grace more nervous. She started mentally listing middle districts she could name if asked.

"Now, keep your eyes peeled when we get into the Starchatter offices," Jasper ordered as they walked. "Look for anything that could be a way up. Our analysis—"

"My analysis," Thea corrected.

"—showed no direct vent routes. And there are galaxium panels surrounding the area. They'd take at least a week to get through with brute force, but Ringmaster must have some way of getting in and out."

Distant chatter reached them. Jasper's voice lowered. "We're almost to the main office," she said. "We should split up. Five new faces walking in at once might draw attention."

Thea lifted a hand. "I'll go in alone first and see if I can get anything interesting off the computers."

"Jax and I can scope out the offices. Get a feel for who hangs around what parts," Holly added.

"Great," Jasper said. "Angel, you're with me."

Grace nodded.

Jasper clapped her hands together. "All right, criminals and gentlethieves. It's showtime."

Thea went in, followed a minute later by Holly and Jax. Jasper gave them a few minutes more before gesturing for Grace to follow her down the hall.

The office was like a dream: surreal and strange, despite its ordinary appearance, and accompanied by a nagging sense that something bad was about to happen. Grace tried to reason her way out of her apprehension as she walked with Jasper through a lobby. They entered a maze of desks, a huge space filled with people and conversation and glowing screens and stacks of files and ringing communicators and—