"Perfect Square Act III" Pt. 5

An even longer time ago, in a galaxy just as far away...

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"Oh, that sounds perfect!" Mischa chirped happily, turning to the Sergeant, "Apologies if I indicated an area that is off limits; I knew there was a good spot somewhere around that region, but having never visited before; I'm sure you can appreciate how difficult it can be to tell one place from the next on a map!" she chuckled softly, further masking the ploy with innocence.

She turned to Kelly, "I'll just get my things together then, oh - and what do you want to do with the droid - should we take the astromech back to the hotel, or... leave things as they are?" She asked, predominately as a reminder to Kelly that ADIN was currently occupying the mouse droid that continued to scurry about their feet, and query if he should be returned to the astromech body for transport or not.

"We'll take the astromech, it can be handy," Kelly knelt down to retrieve the ADIN chip from the mouse droid, which proceeded to stop dead in its tracks as its controlling AI was removed. She plugged the chip into the astromech body and it whirled to life, all this done discreetly with her body covering up her actions so that the troopers would not be aware of ADIN's true nature. When she was done, she stood up and the astromech began to follow along as the troopers led the way back to the speeder pad. "The droids'll be safe, right?" Kelly asked the Sergeant as they walked. "From what I understand, the building will be locked down at night and security will be patrolling," she answered. They reached the speeder that Mischa and the Private had arrived in, and without the droids needing to be transported, everyone was now able to board the four-seater vehicle. The two troopers took the front positions as they always had, letting Kelly, Mischa and ADIN cram into the back. The sun was already beginning to go down as they lifted off, and with the lights that were turning on and the rays reflecting off the shining windows, the city-planet gained a bright golden tint. It was not the bright neon lights on black that Coruscant at night (and Nar Shaddaa) were known for; instead, this was an elegant, regal feel as if the entire planet was some sort of fancifully decorated palace- or the topmost layer of it was, at least.

Mischa stared out at the cityscape whooshing by, seemingly glued to the beauty of the view; a drawn out, "wooow" under her breath was all she needed to complete the illusion of her fascination, "I don't think I've ever seen such a wondrous view. You don't know how lucky you two are to live here; Dromund Kaas is nothing but rain and storms!" She turned to Kelly with a cheeky smile, "Ms. Haron, if we one day have a branch here; I would be... willing to assist with it in your name!"

"Oh, I don't know if we'll be able to set up offices here anytime soon," Kelly chuckled. "But at your rate, you'll probably be a manager or director by the time we do, and you should be perfect for the position then." The ride took longer than the trip to the hotel room, and it was roughly in the opposing direction as well, being situated far from the district in which they made their temporary residence. The volume of speeders increased visibly as they neared the Senate Hall, as did the quality of these vehicles. While the passenger buses, taxis and everyday cars were still present, there were substantially more luxurious vehicles such as high-quality personal craft, luxury barges and ambassadorial transports. Their speeder mingled mostly with that of the ordinary models, following the unending stream of cars flowing through the skies. They made their landing among a busy pad filled with many taxis and rentals- an obvious sign of a popular visitor's destination. As their vehicle came to a stop the troopers stepped out, the back doors opening automatically for Mischa, Kelly and ADIN to exit as well. "Stay close to us," the Sergeant instructed the Imperials first, then her subordinate. "And do not let them out of your sights. The guards here will take care of security threats. Our job is to watch them, understood?" "Yes sir," the Private acknowledged. "I presume you'll want to go to the top?" she asked Kelly and Mischa, intending to lead the way. "I think so," Kelly said before deferring to Mischa's judgement as this was her plan, "That's where we'll get the best view, right Jana?"

Mischa gave a small and distracted nod. Under the rouse of taking in the overwhelming sights she focused on assessing the envirnment; trying to scope out potential ways to cause a distraction and lose their escort long enough to slip away and investigate the SIS agent's apartment.

As the troopers said, the area was a tourist hot spot and therefore filled with people from all varieties of planets. There were probably more aliens in this building alone than on most Imperial planets, and such a gathering of non-humans (or Sith) was a rare sight in the Empire. From massive Houks to dwarfish Ugnaughts to humans dressed in every fashion imaginable, it was not difficult for the two Imperials to simply disappear into the crowd. Of course, this would likely cause their escorts to panic and potentially lead a search if they were gone too long. However, causing some sort of incident to distract them was likely not too difficult.The amount of people meant that something small such as pickpocketing valuables or even pushing around could potentially cause an uproar with everyone accusing everyone else. There were more elaborate options available as well, especially with ADIN present; hooking the droid up with the building's security system could allow it to create a distraction that would likely stall their escorts for much longer.

Mischa smiled to herself at the degree of opportunity presenting itself, wasting no time she set about singling out a target - a male human, clearly of the aristocracy not native to Coruscant - if she had to guess, she would say he was from one of the Alderaan houses. Working through the tight crowd she timed herself impeccably to slip an extravagant coin purse from his belt as they passed by. As anticipated; it was not long before a scene broke out and - using this as a simple diversion - she dispatched ADIN to discretely disappear amid the confusion and create a more suited distraction that would allow herself and Kelly to slip away from their escorts for long enough to complete their task.

The disturbance managed not only to separate their trooper escorts from them, but also attracted the attention of the building security and several officers abandoned their posts to investigate the incident and figure out who stole the wallet. This allowed ADIN easy access to a security desk where it sliced into the security systems and initiated a lockdown that separated the troopers inside the building. Mischa could see that the two white-armoured soldiers were already speaking with the security dealing with the theft, but ADIN's beeps assured her that they could do nothing to lift the lockdown and that a long procedure will have to be done before everything will return to normal status. The two agents were outside by the speeder pad, where many people were now locked out of the building. With all the panic and confusion around them it seemed busier than ever as frustrated visitors tried to peer over one another in an attempt to determine what caused the site to close down. Several individuals from this mass of beings bumped into Mischa, one among them brushing perilously close to the pocket where the stolen wallet was kept. Even with her trained reaction, all she could catch was a blur of black hair before whoever it was disappeared back into the crowd. When Mischa next checked her pocket, she would find that the wallet was gone, replaced by two wearable earpieces.

Mischa - as taken aback as she was by this turn of events - wasted no time in discretely slipped one earpiece into place under the rouse of brushing her hair back while slipping the other to Kelly. The two could only listen as they proceeded to slip away from the crowd and make their way to the agents apartment.

Kelly gave Mischa a confused look but easily got her meaning that she was to wear the earpiece. She set it in place on her left ear, listening as well. The voice that came through the earpiece was muffled as to conceal its identity, but the words were still clearly distinguishable, "Whatever your plan is, give it up. You need to listen to me very carefully. Go right and move casually down the walkway on the side of the building. Do not approach the speeder pad. Once you're underneath the holographic parking sign, there'll be a maintenance access door in the wall there. I presume you have your droid in the system by now; note the door's identification code and get him to slice it open for you."

Mischa shared a cursory glance with Kelly as they noth heard the message. Whilst it was tactically risky, this was the game they played and she couldn't pass up an opportunity to learn more. After all; if whoever this was wanted them dead they could clearly have easily done so without luring them away. And so, she led Kelly along the instructed path to see who or what awaits...

Once they had reached the door, the voice spoke again; whoever was speaking seemed to know where they were, "When you're inside, leave the door behind you open and go down the hall. Press up on the maintenance elevator controls, but don't use it, keep going forward. Take the first left, there'll be a long ladder. Slide all the way down and get out of sight of anyone up top as soon as you can." While their instructions were being given, Kelly had relayed the identification number of the door to ADIN via a datapad and the entrance slid open before them, allowing them to slip inside. The hallway beyond was narrow and lit with a faint white glow- it looked almost Imperial, though it had the distinct bareness that identified it as an area meant only for repair or delivery personnel. The lifts were there as promised, and Kelly exchanged glances with Mischa before hitting the button and immediately heading to the left where they slid down the ladder. Once at the bottom they ducked out of view and waited a few seconds before the next set of directions came through. "Take the second left, then first right into a staircase. Go down two floors. You should be on an equipment storage level. Find yourself something of your size to wear." Following these orders, the two agents ended up in another maintenance corridor much like the one they had just left, except that within all the rooms here were assortments of machinery, tools, components and several different worker's uniforms, complete with safety masks.

Mischa quirked a brow at the instruction, but knowing time was of the essence she set aboit pulling on a work coverall jumpsuit over her corporate outfit; finishing off with a safety mask for good measure as they awaited their next instruction.

Kelly also retrieved the same style of jumpsuit which she slid over her Haron Inc. branded clothes. She complimented her disguise with not only a mask, but a welding torch as well. She activated the repair tool briefly and the hot glow at the top of the metal shaft convinced her that it would make a suitable makeshift weapon, and she clipped the rod to a toolbelt around her waist. New instructions came through a minute after they finished putting on their new clothes, "Head back up the stairs, one level. Turn right and go out the door at the end of the hallway. You should be on one of the lower floors of a tall atrium. Try to stay beneath notice but check out the levels above you. Look for a pink-skinned Twi'lek woman." The two proceeded as the voice had outlined and ended up on one of the side ledges of the central atrium. They were several floors above the bottom, but with the amount of crisscrossing walkways above them, their position was still a long way from the top. Kelly glanced up, seeing a similar transparent roof to the convention building which would have allowed light to stream down the atrium during the day, reflecting off the various transparisteel panes that made up the railings. The sun was mostly down at this hour, and there was little natural illumination. This meant that the building's lighting had toggled on, giving everything a bright white glow that allowed the agents to more clearly view the people around them. It seemed that most of the building's occupants had settled down by now. The visitors had found themselves a place to sit, lean or stand with friends, waiting impatiently with more than occasional glances at their chronometers. Workers returned to their usual schedules, some of them could be seen through the windows of their offices, others moving to and fro the building at regular pace. Among all the people, it was difficult to single out one Twi'lek, but once she was spotted it became apparent that this was the person they were searching for; not only was she the sole pink-skinned Twi'lek in view, she was visibly searching for someone as well. "If you think she notices you, disappear into the maintenance areas and try to lose her, then take the elevators there to Interior Parking Level 4" the voice sounded again. "Otherwise, go inside a public elevator and take it to the lowest level you can."

Mischa was naturally troubled by this revelation. Not only was someone apparently searching for them; but someone else was working as a supposed ally from the shadows. Without knowing the truth of either, she had no real option but to continue following the guidance of their mysterious benefactor. Watching the Twi'lek carefully, Mischa was confident that even if she spot them on the lower level that she would not make them out with their disguises and so headed for the public elevator as instructed. Whilst riding down, she dare not speak of the situation with Kelly; instead opting to maintain their disguise as a work crew and simply sharing a glance with Kelly which expressed all the caution to Kelly that she needed to.

Kelly gave a simple nod of understanding to Mischa as they rode silently down the elevator to the bottom-most floor that it could reach. The door slid open to a large open space with steel walls glimmering from the bright rows of lights that lined the ceiling. If it were only the built-in features of the area, that is the walls and pillars, this would have been a terribly dull place, perhaps even a little eerie from the sheer size. As of this moment it was anything but- a palette of colours from speeders of all shapes and sizes flooded their vision. There was little noise and no other beings here save a few maintenance droids though; this emptiness was presumably due to the lockdown as none of these speeders were allowed to leave the building.

Their mysterious benefactor appeared to be able to see them again as the directions came immediately, "Proceed forward until you see a parking area denoted with the Aurebesh letter 'Dorn.' Turn left through a doorway into a staircase. Go down. You'll see a locked door. Get your droid to open it again, but lock it behind you this time. I'll be waiting for you beyond."

Again, they followed the instructions, opening the door upon which a holographic sign read: 'UNDER CONSTRUCTION.' This time, the sight that awaited them was indeed a deserted parking level. It bore the same silver finish (on the parts of wall that were installed), but there was not a single vehicle within. Some of the space was occupied by a mess of supplies and equipment; stacks of metal plates and coils of wires were mixed with hoverlifters and ladders. Loose wires hung from areas where lights should be, and several panels of wall were missing, revealing the piping behind them.

A few lights were still active, providing a very dim illumination that allowed the agents to see around them without catching any specific details until they were much closer. It was through this lighting that they saw the humanoid shape at the other side of the lot.

The figure stood in the shadow of a pillar, but opted to wear a white shade which was an instant giveaway. Carefully approaching, Mischa and Kelly could make out the feminine outline of the being, and then the olive skin, then the black hair. She was a human with a similar build to Mischa, if not slightly taller. Her dress was a hooded white jacket with a vest over top in the style popular among many spacers. She donned a matching set of pants that was mostly the same colour, ending in a pair of boots. In a long-gloved hand she held an object, which soon became visible as the wallet Mischa had stolen earlier.

"Lose something?"

Mischa couldn't help but quirk an impressed smile both at the stranger's confidence and ingenuity, "Cute..." she commented on the introduction as she took back the offered wallet, "...so unless you are of the disposition that just happens to wander around with two spare encrypted earpieces, and just happened to take interest in our presence up top... that means that Ms. Pink up there isn't the only one who's been following our movements; which leads one to assume that you know who we are, leaving us at a disadvantage here..." she allowed the comment to hang with anticipation of coaxing an introduction out of the stranger - even if it were one that she would naturally take to be an alias at best.

"Dr. Hanna Swan," the woman kept her hand extended, as if offering a shake. "I...don't actually know your names, but I think he does."

She nodded towards something behind the two Imperials, causing Kelly to spin around with the welding torch in her grip. When she saw who it was though, she did not release the weapon but relaxed her stance. Standing there silently was in fact a familiar face, or rather a familiar mask. Despite the helmet obscuring his visage, the agents had no doubt on the identity of this man who was clad in a full suit of armour with a cape draping down his back.

"Not too much of a disadvantage, agent," his voice was still modulated to produce a mechanical tone, but it was one they were used to hearing. "Though I do have some information you might be interested in."

"And here I was thinking the galaxy is such a big place..." Mischa smiled upon seeing the unmistakable visage of the Dark Knight, "...whilst I am not complaining at seeing a familiar face here on Coruscant I must say; I did not expect to see you again, not least so soon. This must be important for you to have drawn us here"

"It was not my initial intention to contact you either," the Knight replied. "Everyone knew you were here the moment you stepped on Coruscant with those identities- I suppose that was the point, a diversion for something big Imperial Intelligence is planning. But when I was made aware that you broke into the SIS network and were digging into these case files...I previously thought this was some Sith scheme, but if you were looking into it, the Empire may know as little about it as we do."

"An agent of the Empire killed my father," Dr. Swan joined in. "You have to know something about this."

"I'm sure you can guess who she is," said the armoured man. "A slice was registered from the Core Convention Centre, and among the documents accessed was the file concerning the death of Rion Swan: a trusted political adviser to a Corellian Councillor, found washed up on the Golden Beaches, murdered by your former Cipher Sixteen."

Mischa considered the young woman before her with sympathetic eyes; likely showing more than she felt through her Intelligence training, "I am so sorry about your father. If I had the answers to give you then rest assured that I would. Your friend here knows me better than to think I would leave questions unanswered."

She turned toDK on that note, "So that explains who your new friend here is, though I've no doubt there is quite the story as to how you two came together. I am however much more interested in who the pink Twi'lek is, I assume she is not with you..."

"Her name is Fan. She's a Molator agent," the Knight explained. "One of Shadow Guard's best, an ex-Jedi padawan reputedly trained by the Senator himself. She was the one who first found Cipher Sixteen on Coruscant. She was there when I first saw Sixteen. I don't know what her mission is but it has to do with this, or she would not be after us." "Wait...so you saw Cipher Sixteen?" Kelly asked. "The Chiss, male, blue skin, red eyes, black hair?" The masked man gave a single tip of his head and she continued, "Was he being kept prisoner?" "He had no restraints on and was there willingly, though I suspect Fan may have been keeping an eye on him," he responded. "Willingly, like going rogue willingly?" she pressed for clarification. "An Imperial agent assassinated several citizens of the Republic," Dr. Swan interjected before the Knight had a chance to answer again. "I wouldn't call that going rogue, unless this whole Shadow Guard group's gone rogue."

"Supposition will do us no good" Mischa interjected, hoping to quell any further questioning of what Sixteen was up to, "Our very presence here tells you that something does not add up somewhere along the line. The involvement of this Twi'lek suggests that something more is going on. If we are to learn more, we must understand her involvement. Now we can work together in tjis search for the truth ir we can keep skirting around each other; it is up to you" she tirned to Dr. Swan, "Rest assured; we are here to get to the bottom of this matter Doctor" she offered with a reassuring smile.

The Knight nodded as he listened to Mischa, allowing her to finish before he spoke again, "There is something else you should know. The Twi'lek is a Force-user; that is not a coincidence. The Shadow Guard has more than enough agents who are just as effective but more expendable."

"I told you about the mission Lizbeth and I embarked on before she revealed her true colours and turned against the Order," he explained. "We were after a Mon Calamari who we thought was a rogue Jedi, but he was someone completely unknown with a power so immense it took our combined strength to vanquish him, and you've seen how powerful Lizbeth can be. This...feeling I sensed in the Mon Calamari, this corrupted Force power- I sensed the same thing in your Chiss. He was trying to hide it, but the stench was unmistakable to one who has encountered it before. I said earlier I suspected it to be a work of Sith alchemy, but if you are investigating this...whatever this is, Fan's mission may be relevant to it."

"Agreed" Mischa nodded, "Her presence in this ia no coincidence for sure. The question remains; how do we proceed from here?" She asked, most directly of the Knight having surmised that he already had a plan in motion to have revealed himself to her and Kelly already.

"Dr. Swan and I tracked Cipher Sixteen to Sullust, then a classified Republic research facility the location of which is not necessary to divulge," the Knight detailed his activities so far. "There was only one ship departing the facility that day, and I felt his presence disappear as soon as it was gone. The manifest said that the ship was headed for Coruscant, and your operations here is a good reason for him to be on this world. Even with whatever it is affecting him, I can't sense him among a trillion people. The Twi'lek could be a confirmation that we're looking in the right place."

"You were correct to emphasize on her. Fan is our best hope of understanding this," he agreed with Mischa. "But we have no advantage over her; she knows who we are, and she has the backing of the Senator and his people. If we manage to follow her she may lead us to Cipher Sixteen, but that is not an if I'm confident about. All of us together may be enough to corner and overpower her, but with her training she's not going to talk."

"What he's trying to say is that we're open to suggestions," Swan added. "As much as he hates to admit it, we're going to need your help. A little."

Mischa couldn't deny herself a small smile at the picture before her; of Dr. Swan admitting the plea for help that the Knight could not bring himself to. She turned to the Knight, "Confronting her is one thing, following is another..." she paused for a moments consideration, "...but maybe we don't need to look at either option" her eyes sparkled with the idea forming, "She is already looking for us, correct? Well... why don't we let her find us, or at least... think she has found us. We can switch our details at the hotel with a different room and lead her to it's occupants - there must be more Imperials in town for the same conference at the moment so it shouldn't be too hard - one would assume that local security would want us all herded into a manageable area."

A slight grin formed across her face as she focused back on the Knight, "Tell me... do you still keep your pet whom you introduced me to when we first met?"

"The Ysalamir lizard?" "What's an yslimir lizard?" Swan asked the Knight in turn. "You've never heard of it?" he turned to her, a slight hint of surprise in his mechanical-sounding voice. "I'm a medical doctor, not a xenobiologist," she countered. "And even a biologist can't possibly memorize every single life form in the galaxy." "Ysalamiri are small creatures known for being able to stop Force users around them from tapping into the Force," the armoured man explained. "It's not my pet, it belongs to the Senator. He often stores one in a compound on Coruscant as a security precaution." "Need me to steal it for you?" the doctor proposed. He shook his head, "Breaking into a Shadow Guard facility is a different matter from pickpocketing and shoplifting. You'll need my assistance. We'll retrieve the lizard, agent. You and your team can set up the bait, and we'll contact each other again when the trap is ready to be sprung."

"Very well" Mischa nodded, "Now, we should get back before our escort realizes we are not there. I will trust in your diligence to continue monitoring the situation and act when the time is right" she looked between Kelly and the others, making sure there was nothing else to be said before they made their return.

"Agreed," the Knight responded. "Keep the earpieces so that I may contact you again when preparations are ready on our end. I trust you know the way back." "That we do," Kelly said, looking to Mischa. "We should probably return those worker's jumpsuits to their proper places too, shouldn't we?"

"That's certainly preferable to reappearing up top wearing them" she chuckled, "Come on" she waved Kelly to follow her out, turning once more to Swan and the Knight, "We'll see you soon. Stay sharp out there" With that the two agents departed and worked their way back along the route which brought them here; first depositing the worker uniforms where they found them before sneaking back into the frustrated crowd they had left behind, making their way to blend in before order can be restored.

When the lockdown had finally lifted, their Republic military escorts rushed out of the building with rifles in hand, and found their charges almost exactly where they had been left. The Private ran over to them with a relieved expression, while the Sergeant approached more carefully, dark brown eyes scanning their environment before setting a scrutinizing gaze on the two Imperials. "Are you alright?" the Twi'lek asked. "The building security said the lockdown was fake, some kind of systems malfunction, but I hope you didn't run into any trouble did you?" "Or go wandering off," the Sergeant added.

Mischa and Kelly had been found sat quietly on a bench in the corner of the courtyard. Mischa looked to the Private with a reassuring smile, "Oh, n-no we are quite alright. That was very unsettling but we are used to d-drills like that back home." she turned a confused look to the Sergeant, "We did try to find you at first if that's what you mean. But where else could we go? You are as much as local guides as anything else since we don't know where we c-could go"

"We're so sorry about that mess," the Private apologized. "Another downside of a city with a trillion inhabitants is that incidents happen all the time when people accidentally press the wrong button or cut an important wire or something." "Especially after your Empire's bombing," the Sergeant added. "Lots of repairs to be done, and lots of blackouts and technical malfunctions. Come on, let's get them back to the hotel, Private. We've had enough excitement in one day." "Are you ready to go back?" he asked them first. "We'll stick closer to you from now on, I promise."

"Thank you" Mischa rewarded the Private's chivalry with a sweet smile, "I for one have certainly had my fair share of excitement today with the conference and all, so unless Ms. Haron has any objection I would agree that we can head back now." she deferred to Kelly in case she wanted to do anything more while they were out and about.

"I think going back to the hotel is a good idea," Kelly nodded in agreement.

The Sergeant signaled for them to move out and they returned to the speeder. ADIN caught up somewhere along the way, darting around pillars of legs to follow the group. They had to wait for several other vehicles to depart first with the number of visitors leaving the tower, but they took off without further incident. It was night on this side of the planet now, but the city still glowed brightly in contrast to the darkened sky. The neon signs and beams of traffic reminded the agents of their time on Nar Shaddaa. The beauty of the planet was gone, replaced by pulses of energy that flowed uncontrollably across the ecumenopolis.

Their hotel was easier to identify in the night with the name lit up, and the landing pad was brightly illuminated, allowing their car to land safely. The troopers insisted on seeing them into the lobby and were still visible as the two Imperials stepped into the lift. Noting the angle of the cameras, Kelly blocked its view of her datapad with her body as she typed up a message.

It read: "So you think there are other Imperials in this building we could use?"

Mischa gave a single firm nod in response before taking it and kneeling down to pass it to ADIN with the added instruction 'see what you can find'

She stood and looked back to Kelly, "Well then; with day one behind us I suppose there is nothing more to do than sit back and relax for the evening"

"It's been a busy day," Kelly responded. "We could both do with some bunk time."

Upon returning to their suite, they made their preparations for the night, which included giving ADIN his usual instructions. The astromech rolled into a corner of the room to do its work silently. Kelly returned to it after taking a long bath, picking up the datachip that was ejected from the chassis upon her approach. She hopped onto the bed, ensuring an angle where the contents of the device could be seen to first send a few corporate mails before once again covering any view of screen and inserting the chip.

Kelly waited for Mischa to finish wrapping up for the night, and as soon as her partner had joined her on the bed, she slid the datapad over to her, containing the full list of hotel occupants, with the few Imperials present highlighted. A message was also attached to the bottom of the extracted information:

"Seven other visitors from the Empire also present, listed as high security guests and probably also here for the conference with same escorts. Most are staying in unrelated rooms so they may represent several different companies. ADIN identified one as a known Intelligence operative, presumably with his own mission. Solor Zad and PowerTech personnel are not in this building."

Mischa idly tapped away at the datapad, selecting a room which was the most isolated from the rest - regardless of who the occupant was - just ensuring that it was not the fellow operative as she did not want to compromise any other operations, "Now we must wait and see what interest tomorrow brings!" she smiles, clearly enjoying herself in this game of cloak and dagger.

After a restful sleep, they awoke to another of Coruscant's picturesque sunrises. Under the warm morning shine they rose from the bed and dressed. As Kelly pulled her corporate shirt over her body, she noted the vibration coming from the earpiece which she had stored within one of the garment's pockets. She took it out discreetly so the security cameras would not notice, though she purposefully bumped into Mischa and drew her attention to it as she placed the device on her ear so that Mischa knew to do the same.

Once the earpiece was on, the modulated voice of the Knight streamed through, "We have the package. Find a way to get to the unfinished tower next to the convention hall. There are no cameras installed there yet."

Without a way to speak back to him, he concluded after this short message, leaving Kelly to cast a pondering glance at Mischa as she wondered how they should get across the skybridge undetected...