“But only the truly bad guys, and only for the very best reasons.”
“I don’t dispute that. And I don’t think Stevie would, either. Which is why she’d love to put you face-to-face with Vlad Korkil.”
“I wouldn’t mind that, either.”
Kendra glanced around, looking for anyone who might resemble Korkil or one of his men. “You know . . . Stevie is going to grow up to be quite a woman.”
“She already is.”
“True. But in many ways, she’s still an awkward teenager. Did you see the way she blushed and stuttered when Brice introduced himself? But when the subject turned to her work, she took total control. It’s like she became a different person. You can see her becoming a captain of industry in just a few years.”
“I can definitely see it,” he said solemnly.
“You’re being very condescending. You’re trying to keep me from being on edge, aren’t you?” She was still looking around the stadium. “But when this is all over, I want to do something for her.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. I have to think about it. Something to give her a push in the right direction.”
Lynch pulled her aside. “You have a good heart, Kendra Michaels.” He turned toward a vendor and purchased three sets of logo hats and sunglasses. He gave one set to Kendra.
“And is this gift because I have a good heart?” she asked ruefully.
“Not in the slightest. It’s to cut down on the risk of Korkil spotting us before we can spot him.”
“Good thinking. Who’s the third set for?”
Lynch pointed down the concourse, where Stevie was holding her tablet computer in front of her, waving it in different directions as she tried to contact Archie. “Make her wear these and see if you can get her to be a little less conspicuous.”
Kendra was trying to smile. “Remind her that there are at least two men and maybe a robot here who might want to kill her?”
“Exactly. I’ll catch up with the two of you later.”
Jessie and Brice walked through the large backstage area while a band played for the crowd. “This is incredible,” she said. “In the last ten minutes, I’ve seen more stars than I’ve seen before in my entire life. And I’ve seen a lot.”
Brice chuckled. “Your detective agency has probably worked for a lot of them. I’ll bet you know their deepest and darkest secrets.”
“A few.”
He glanced around. “So . . . We’re looking for a robot. How dangerous is it?”
“It could be very dangerous. We don’t know how they’re planning to use it. It could be disguised somehow. If it was wearing a hoodie with sunglasses and a breath mask, you’d never know it was a machine.”
Brice pointed to the left. “Does it look anything like one of those?”
Jessie almost gasped when she saw what he was pointing at. There were six sleek, glossy black robots being readied for their onstage appearance. They shared Archie’s impressive sense of balance, but their design was nowhere near as sleek as Stevie’s. “What are they doing here?”
“They just dance, mostly. I’ve seen them at trade shows.”
The robots were getting a lot of attention from police and security services, probably due to Lynch’s tip. “Archie would fit right in here,” she whispered. “People wouldn’t even give him a second look.” She motioned to Brice. “Come on, let’s keep looking.”
“Come on, Stevie.” Kendra was pulling the young girl down an out-of-the-way corridor next to the restrooms. “You might have better luck down here locating Archie’s Bluetooth signal. We’ve got to try.”
Stevie shook her head. “It’s not working there. There’s somuch interference from the TV cameras, the A/V equipment, not to mention eighty thousand cell phones . . . Even if there was a Bluetooth signal to tap, I might have to be right next to Archie to make contact.”
A chime sounded from Stevie’s backpack.
Then another.
