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Though appearing dubious, Darcy stopped chewing for a minute before tossing her head back and prancing toward Sadie. She dropped the hat unceremoniously on the ground. Doyle snatched it and inspected the damage. Luckily, she’d only succeeded in taking a bite from the edge of the vegan leather and hadn’t actually gotten any wires or tech threaded further inside.

Doyle shoved the chewed-up apparel on his head and huffed before scanning the area once again for the gleam of metal.

The device couldn’t have disappeared. It should be obvious, and according to his readings, it ought to be within a sphere of a quarter mile. So where was it?

“I better check around the barn,” he mumbled, heading off that way.

He noticed a couple of other scattered buildings past it by a hundred yards or so. They were much smaller in size, maybe something like an outhouse. But he’d have to check there too. It was unlikely, but possible that the cloak crashed right through a roof. In fact, it seemed reasonable considering Sadie hadn’t noticed anything strange around the house, and he sure as hell wasn’t seeing it.

“When you don’t find it, stick around for lunch,” Sadie called from behind.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Doyle called back, wondering if a mule could swallow such a long piece of metal.

He forged onward, scanning with his wristband. A screeching sounded in his ear, making him wince.

“Report,” McGovern’s voice demanded.

“It’s got to be within a quarter mile now,” Doyle whispered. “Ran into some locals. Stop calling, or they might figure out I’m not who I say I am and then we’re all screwed.”

“Just hurry up. People are getting restless. They want to visit the town and I can’t just land a resort in the middle of Main Street in a hick town without a cloak.”

“Doctor Doyle,” a harsh female voice cut in.

Nicole Bennet, great.

“I’m still searching, but getting close,” Doyle reported.

“Any idea how this happened?” she asked, her own voice lowered as though she feared being overheard.

Doyle stopped walking. “None. No way the coordinates could’ve changed on their own, and I certainly didn’t do it.”

“You’re confirming we could have a saboteur,” Nicole said.

“Fuck,” Doyle said before slamming a hand over his mouth.

“You can say that again,” said Nicole. “I’m going to need you back here, ASAP, Doyle. If you don’t find it in the next hour or so, head back and mention this to no one else. The Watcher is already suspicious.”

“Acknowledged,” he said and swiped at his forehead where dust collected in his sweat, leaving a grainy, uncomfortable feeling behind.

Doyle finished searching the barn, which smelled worse than Darcy’s pen. He decided he didn’t trust the pigs, horse, or cow, and wasn’t too sure about the randomly scattered chickens either. But even after poking through the stalls, he hadn’t found the device.

So he made his way around the tiny outer shacks. The first one opened to an even fouler smell, and he reeled backward, noting it was the outhouse. Thankfully, a glance at the roof showed no holes where any flying shrapnel might have broken through, so his luck wasn’t bad enough to send him searching through literal shit. He didn’t get paid enough for that.

The second building remained stubbornly locked when he tried the door. Why couldn’t anything be easy?

Doyle heaved a sigh and checked his wrist. He had another fifteen minutes before he had to head back, so he made his way to the rear door of the house and knocked.

A moment later, Sadie opened it, wiping her hands on a rag. She’d braided her long, dark hair again so it hung over one shoulder. Doyle briefly pictured that braid to hold her head back for a deep kiss. But he cleared his throat and returned her smile instead.

“Decided on lunch?” she asked.

“No. I don’t have time, sorry,” he said.

“Then why did you knock?” She raised her eyebrows in challenge and bit her bottom lip in a way that made him weak in the knees.

“I wondered if you could unlock that shack behind the barn for me.”

Sadie straightened, the flirty expression falling off her face. He supposed it had to do with him being focused on his business and told himself that was a good thing.