Page 46 of The Honeymoon Hack
“Everything’s connected to The Grotto, though,” Sandy-Sarah added. “The spa, gym, even the movie theater. Makes navigation easier once you figure that out.”
“What about the non-personal areas?”
“Depends on what you mean,” Jake said, his car finally staying on the track for more than thirty seconds. “The server rooms all branch off from one main hallway after security, plus there’s the power plant past The Bridge, and the backup storage facilities behind The Pacific.”
Sandy-Sarah nodded. “Bridge staff need escorts and solid reasons to visit any of those areas. Green and yellow badges have limited access.”
“It’s all so mysterious,” I continued. “When I got the recruiting message, I tried researching Mnemis online. Couldn’t even figure out where it was located.”
Sandy-Sarah and Mr. Glasses exchanged a pleased look.
“That’s the point,” Ken said with obvious pride. “Most of us participate in misinformation campaigns online. We post fake job listings, create false social media profiles—it makes it nearly impossible for anyone to get accurate intel about this place.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I hear it started during the construction phase as a security measure, then it became the modus operandi.” Ken shrugged. “Plus, it’s fun fueling some of the online conspiracy threads.”
“Aliens.” Sandy-Sarah gave me an overdramatic nod. “That’s what we’ve got inside here.”
“Don’t forget all the Area 51 research.” Jake’s car spun out on the screen again, and he tossed the controller onto the table between all the chairs. “I hate this game.”
As their race finished with Ken taking first place, Sandy-Sarah turned to me. “Want to give it a go?”
“I’ll try,” I said, setting down my wrap and accepting a controller.
As I selected my vehicle, Claire appeared beside our gaming area. “Room for one more? I could use a race or two to unwind.”
“Of course,” Ken said. “Brie’s just joining for her first race, so go easy on the noob.”
“No promises,” Claire said, settling into an empty chair and grabbing a spare controller. “You certainly flew through your training modules today, Brie. No questions?”
“No.” I selected a mid-range car while she spoke, trying to appear unfamiliar with the game setup. “The customer management system is similar to my last job, despite how different the work is.”
“Oh? How so?” Claire asked as someone picked the track—Monaco, naturally.
“At Redoubt, we mostly did reactive support,” I said, which was true for our cover story. “Here, it seems more proactive. More systematic monitoring.”
The race started, and I deliberately took the first few corners cautiously, staying in the middle of the pack while Claire immediately shot to the front with Ken.
“That makes sense,” Claire said as her car navigated a tricky chicane with ease. “Redoubt’s smaller scale, right? Different infrastructure challenges.”
“Exactly.” The way she asked seemed casual, but something about her tone made me tense. Just like this morning. “The scale here is impressive. Much more complex systems to manage.”
“I imagine the learning curve will be steep,” she continued, overtaking Ken on an inside line. “Are you finding the protocols intuitive? Or do you think you might need some additional mentoring to get up to speed?”
The subtle condescension in that last comment irritated me. “I think I’ll manage,” I said, my tone sharper than necessary. I took the next corner more aggressively than I’d planned, using the racing line I knew would be optimal. My car shot past two others.
“Nicely done,” Jake commented. “You sure you haven’t played this before?”
“Beginner’s luck, I suppose,” Claire said smoothly. “Though I have to say, for someone from a smaller operation, you’re adapting remarkably quickly to our… complexity.”
The way she said ‘smaller operation’ made my jaw tighten. Why? Redoubt was a cover story, so calling it small shouldn’t have bothered me.
Muscle memory kicked in, and I shifted out of a corner, passing a few more AI cars. I started catching up to Ken. Without thinking, I used a technique Will had taught me—late braking into a hairpin turn, then cutting across the track to block the racing line behind me. It worked perfectly, putting me ahead of Ken.
“Damn, Brie,” Sarah said. “Where’d that come from?”
Reality crashed back. I was supposed to be mediocre at this. I jerked the controller hard and crashed spectacularly into a barrier.
