Page 103 of Enthraller

“Here’s one. Tell me how well it works.” She closed her eyes, and lifted her chin a little, and before his eyes he saw the thin silver of the nanos crawl over her face, changing its shape, the curve of her lips, the angle of her brows, and then switch back to her normal skin tone.

She looked completely different.

“That’s . . .” he shook his head. “I wouldn’t have known it was you.”

“See? Tricks,” she said.

She blew him a kiss and then moved around the corner, the hover pallets following behind her.

He crouched back down, watching as she was swallowed by the shadows as she walked toward the building, but when she got as far as the loading ramp a light switched on.

She lifted a hand to shield her eyes, and kept going up the ramp.

The door opened before she reached it, and Opek stepped out, the laz back in his hand. “Who are you?”

“I got an order to deliver this stuff.” Wren lifted her comms unit, checked it. “You aren’t expecting it?” She looked at the laz as if just noticing it. “Whoa. That real? I’ve never seen one outside of the Protection Unit.”

“Oh.” He looked at the weapon and slid it into a pocket. “Sorry. With the attacks on the city and everything, we’ve been a little jumpy.”

Wren nodded, but she took a step back, as if she was freaked out.

“Who’s the sender?” Opek asked, waving at the delivery and then edging forward to have a look at what was on the pallet.

“Salisas, says here.” She said nothing more, and when he didn’t respond, she stepped back. “Look, if the address is wrong, I’ll just take it back and we can sort it out later.”

“I am expecting something,” Opek said slowly. “Can I check what’s in one of the bags to make sure it’s the right thing?”

She played the uncertain delivery drone perfectly, moving nervously, checking her comms unit again. “Only if you can close it up again like it was.”

He must have nodded, because Ed saw him crouch down beside a pallet and Wren said nothing.

He stood suddenly. “All’s in order. This was the delivery I was waiting for. When did Salisas bring it in to you?”

Wren checked her comms unit again. “Two days ago, but we were affected by the attack on the hover port the other day, and everything got backed up. We’re working through the backlog now. That’s why I’m delivering so late.” She looked around. “So who’s going to unload? This is a self-unload order.”

“I need to check, just a moment.” Opek backed away and disappeared into the building.

Wren turned around to face the street, and he thought she might have sent him a wink.

Opek returned and Wren slowly turned to face him.

“I need to use these hover pallets to transport the delivery to another location.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no.” She shook her head. “I’ve got to get back with these, make another delivery.”

This was not in the plan. Ed realized now they hadn’t even considered how the ore was going to be transported after they delivered it.

That was a big mistake.

“I’ll have to insist.” Opek smiled but his hand went to his pocket and he drew out the laz again, holding it by his side. “I’m alone, and the delay has caused major issues. This shipment needs to be delivered elsewhere as soon as possible.”

“Elsewhere?” Wren asked.

“The far end of the hover port,” he said.

Ed almost couldn’t believe it, but these people had been brazen from the beginning, taking chances, going further than anyone would have guessed.

For the Caruso to land at the hover port, even if it was at the far end of the facility, away from the trouble they had caused near the buildings, was staggering.

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