Page 103 of I Married Kayog
“I’m sorry, Kayog,” Maeve said with a deflated expression. “The data we need is right there, but I cannot access their servers without being discovered. The only way to tap into it requires a scrambling device placed directly on one of their physical servers or computers. Their security protocols are way too high to remotely hack into them.”
“Do you know where those servers are located?” I asked, stopping mid-stride to stare at her on the giant screen.
“They’re in a highly secure location. No one can break in. It would have to be an inside job, and we don’t have any double agents there—at least as far as I know,” Maeve said carefully.
“Understood. But do you know their exact location?” I insisted, slightly irritated.
“Yes, but—”
“Then send me the coordinates and the device you need installed. I’ll take care of it,” I said, interrupting her.
She blinked and stared at me as if I’d gone off the deep end.
“Kayog…” Tedrick said in a reasonable tone.
“Don’t Kayog me,” I replied sternly. “You knew my position from the start about what I would do if we failed to keep Malaya safe. That evidence is within reach. I can make it happen, and you know it.”
“Kayog,” Maeve said, unnerved, “no cloaking device will be able to fool their systems.”
“Do not worry about that, Maeve. My husband can get in and out without being discovered. We just need to know where those servers are located and what steps he must follow to place your device,” Linsea said in a gentle but firm tone.
My heart soared for my mate. It had been years since I last took part in an infiltration mission. Back then, it helped me cope with the loss of our daughter. That trying to save her now led me back to that path seemed fitting, even if only for one last time.
Maeve glanced at Tedrick on the vidscreen. He was pursing his lips, eyes cast down as he assessed the situation. While he knew of my psionic disruption abilities, very few other people were aware of it. Although Maeve belonged to the high-ranking inner circle Tedrick had been building, she wasn’t apprised of the full spectrum of my powers. Completing this mission would require it.
I had no qualms with it. Not only did I trust her with my life, but I also had the honor of pairing her with her Edocit mate, Helio.
“Even if we wanted to let you handle it, your presence will raise suspicions,” Tedrick argued.
“Not if he conveniently happens to be accompanying his ambassador wife on one of her business trips,” Linsea countered. “We’ve been sitting on the Damira project for a while. One of their main investors has his offices in that building. It wouldn’t be the first time Kayog tagged along during one of his downtimes between candidate interview fairs. No one will question him being there.”
“Fair,” Tedrick conceded. “But the UPO has no interest in participating in that project.”
Linsea shrugged. “Not every negotiation results in an agreement. I often have follow-up meetings to see if potential partners have changed their positions in a way that is more amenable to us.”
Tedrick snorted. “Did I tell you that I like how ruthless you can be behind that sweet and gentle exterior?”
“One does not exclude the other,” I said, glancing affectionately at my mate. “She’s exactly everything she needs to be whenever it’s needed. That’s why my Linsea is the best ambassador you have.”
She puffed out her chest and winked at me.
“Why do I somehow feel like I just stepped into the secrets of the gods?” Maeve asked, her eyes flicking between each one of us.
“Because you have,” I said with a mysterious smile.
Two days later, we walked into the secured headquarters of one of the many companies Wuras used as front for his shady businesses. No one questioned our presence. In fact, quite a few actually decided to strike conversations with me, either hoping I could give their love life a nudge, or to tell me about an acquaintance that could use my services.
Saying that I was restless would have been quite an understatement. After many back and forths, I finally decided to complete my task right before dinner, when the staff would be less likely to be roaming corridors as they enjoyed their limited break. Being caught wandering through the secured sections of the facility late at night would be harder to justify.
Invoking my empathic abilities, I spread my senses far and wide, cataloging every person whose consciousness I could touch within the building. To think, before Linsea entered my life and completely turned it around, this would have been impossible to do with such calculated precision. Simply standing here would have had me writhing on the floor in agony. Instead, I casually walked towards the staff elevator, targeting every person that would likely cross my path with a medium, steady stream of psionic disruption.
I entered the elevator and placed the snitch Maeve sent to me on the control panel. While she could provide instructions through my earpiece, and I could speak to her, we agreed to keep communications to a minimum to avoid the signal getting picked up.
As soon as I activated the snitch, a red light on it blinked until it turned blue. The cabin immediately started moving to the lowest floor where the security control room was located. Before the doors opened, I reassessed the people that I could detect nearby on that floor and stopped my disruption on those who were no longer likely to run into me.
Thankfully, I could only sense three people, one of them with their brain waves dimmed in a way that indicated a solid wall separated us. Not wanting to take chances, I send a small dose to them with just enough psionic waves that they would enter a state where they were daydreaming or appearing to be. Once I released them, they would just resume whatever they had been up to prior to that disruption.
I removed the snitch from the control panel seconds before stepping out of the elevator. I breathed a sigh of relief when the door opened on an empty hallway. The two people I was picking up were walking in a connecting corridor to my right. Lucky for me, my destination lay straight ahead. I strolled casually through the pristine white corridor with only a handful of doors scattered down its length, aside from another connecting hallway halfway down. Two cameras on the ceiling made certain no one could come and go without being detected.
