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“Excuse me?” the kid said, sliding his thumb over Gage’s bracelet.
“A place like this doesn’t drag clients out of bed and stand highly trained employees in line for nothing,” Gage said quietly, but articulating his words so the kid would know he was serious.
The boy opened his mouth and closed it again.
“Apologies,” Oberon said.
Though his voice was the right timbre and seemed to float in the air at the usual distance above Gage’s head, it seemed thin, almost flat.
“Oberon,” Naomi said happily.
“There has been what some might consider a sophisticated attempt to hack into the Center’s system,” Oberon said in his flat voice. “Fortunately, given my security, it was rudimentary and easy to shut down. But out of an abundance of caution, we are updating all security codes, and I am analyzing and running every segment in the Center, many of them at once. This is why my voice may not have its full dynamic range, and why I sent Dr. Pan to speak with you earlier. However, you may rest assured that as long as I’m online, the Center is completely safe.”
“Understood,” Gage said. “I’ll let you get back to it.”
“Thank you, sir,” Oberon said.
Gage set his jaw and let the kid keep swiping and tapping his bracelet.
“It really is normal to change the codes,” Naomi said quietly to Gage. “They reprogram our bracelets at work all the time.”
Gage nodded, afraid that if he spoke, he might not be able to stop.
The young man finished his work in silence.
“You’re good,” he said at last.
“Thanks,” Gage said brusquely.
Naomi gave the boy a little wave, then grabbed Gage’s arm and they headed out.
Gage clenched his jaw and tried to hide the depth of his concern. Who would try to hack a fertility clinic, and why?
He pulled her into a little nook in the foyer of the building and swiped at his comms, trying to see if there was any lag.
Employees moved through the open space, in line to have their bracelets updated by the small army of security personnel at desks just like the Vystian’s.
“You okay?” she asked him.
“Something’s not right,” he said, scanning the lobby, trying to figure out what had his senses tingling.
Great Rings, but he missed Athena.
As if in response to his thought, there was a commotion by the doors to the foyer. Something was moving quickly through the space, causing people to react with surprise.
A familiar cloudy gray body bounded toward Gage, tail swinging back and forth with excitement.
“She missed you,” Naomi said.
But Gage knew better. Athena would never leave her post without a reason. Something had brought her inside.
Athena turned to Naomi, acknowledging her existence for the first time since growling at her in the café, what felt like a hundred years ago.
“It’s very nice to see you, Athena,” Naomi said politely.
Athena studied her for a moment, as if considering, then erupted in a cacophony of barking.
“Oh, no,” Naomi sighed.
