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Nadia took a deep breath. In ballet, Nadia was always taught that you check your nerves at the wings. Nerves served you up to a certain point; they made you practice hard, got you back up after a fall, convinced you to work your feet until they bled so that by the time you got onto that stage, you knew every move, every beat without question.
But when you got to the wings, when the audience was right there and it was time to perform, the nerves no longer served you. You either knew what you were doing on stage, or you didn’t. Put them aside, get out there, and do what you came to do.
Nadia was going to do what she came here to do.
She marched right up to the front desk—and to VERA. It was long past the end of the normal workday, pushing eleven p.m. But like most work-whenever tech offices, there were still a few people wandering in and out of the lobby, and from the outside Shay still reported lights on in the upper floors. People were still here, coding away.
Not for long.
“VERA,” Nadia said, as authoritatively as she could. “We’re here to see—”
“Core hours are ten a.m. to four p.m.,” VERA cut her off. “Please come back tomorrow.”
“We’re here to see Margaret Hoff. And we need to see her now.”
“Very good,” t
he VERA responded. Nadia looked at her two friends smugly. It just took the right attitude, sometimes. “Core hours are ten a.m. to four p.m. Please come back tomorrow.”
Okay, maybe it wasn’t all about attitude.
Nadia stepped back with surprise as Ying grabbed the gold brick off the table, a mirror image of earlier in the evening, and held it right up against her mouth.
“Listen, you little mind-bending monster,” she hissed, “you get us to Margaret right now, or I’m going to do to you what I did to your little gold friend. Is that what you want?”
Nadia loved Ying because she was the Black Widow of their group, and the Black Widow was Nadia’s favorite Super Hero. Well, one of Nadia’s favorite Super Heroes. Specifically because she was good in moments just like this.
There was silence.
“Core hours are ten a.m. to four p.m.,” VERA finally repeated.
Ying let out a strangled yell and slammed the thing back down on the glass counter, sending hairline fractures out across its surface like a map of Ying’s frustration.
“Okay, no big deal.” Nadia put her hands on Ying’s shoulders. She could see Priya had gone somewhere else in her mind for a second; probably introducing herself to all the different plants in the room. “I texted Margaret, I know she’s here. I’ll just give her a call, and—”
“Nadia?” Margaret rushed out of the elevators. She looked just as she had earlier, except she’d traded her maroon hoodie for a navy one. Her hair was pulled back in a rushed pony, strands of chestnut brown escaping around her face. Exactly what you’d expect. She looked like Nadia’s friend. Like someone who just wanted to help. She hurried over to the girls. “And Priya! And…”
“You don’t need to know,” said Ying.
Margaret stared at her for a minute before shaking her head and turning back to Nadia. “Are you all right? I thought you were doing better after I left, but your text made me nervous—what’s going on?”
Nadia grabbed both of Margaret’s hands in hers. Her nails were perfect, a manicured greige. Nothing to see here. Don’t look any closer. “It’s an emergency. Can we come upstairs?”
“Of course, of course.” Margaret tugged Nadia toward the elevator. “Don’t worry about checking in with VERA, you’re with me and it’s after office hours.”
“We’ve heard,” Ying said dryly.
Margaret waved her pass over the scanner in the elevator and hit the top button. The four of them were whisked up and up and up, and Nadia talked quickly.
“While I was working on VERA, I discovered something in her code.” Nadia stared straight at the elevator doors while she talked. She couldn’t stand to see Margaret’s face. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to know if this was VERA or if it was Margaret. “A subliminal messaging system. Designed to take control of users’ minds. I think it was responsible for what happened at Times Square.”
The elevator slid to a halt and the doors opened. Margaret didn’t say anything; she just exited and held the elevator open for the rest of the girls to step out.
Nadia finally looked at Margaret as they ascended the spiral staircase into the planetarium. Her friend’s usual confident, calm demeanor had vanished. She looked worried. Not just worried—scared.
“Okay,” said Margaret, more to herself than anyone else. “Okay. Malicious code is something we can handle. Stay here; I’m going to get some portable workstations. Are you okay to give this a go?” she asked Nadia. “I don’t want to call anyone else down here in case…”
“…they’re responsible for the code,” Nadia finished Margaret’s sentence. “Go. We’re ready to work.”
