“Which panel was it?” Chris asks as he drags a chair over.
“This one,” I say, pointing to the spot in the ceiling that Future-Adam poked at.
Chris steps onto the chair and nudges the panel loose. He peeks his head inside and then turns back to us. “Looks good. Zoe, you ready?”
She’s biting her nails again, staring up at the dark space over Chris’s head. “I guess.”
“You can do this,” I say.
Adam pats Zoe on the arm. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right here if anything happens.”
“Okay.” She looks up at the ceiling and then takes a deep breath. “Ready.”
She climbs onto the chair with Chris, and he lifts her into the crawl space in the ceiling. Her neon-green kneepads flash as she pulls her legs inside, and then she vanishes in the darkness. There’s a long bout of coughing, but then I see a bright beam from her flashlight. Her blue-haired head pokes out again. “Ugh, it’s really nasty up here.”
“You won’t be up there long,” Chris says, hopping off the chair.
“You know where to go?” I ask Zoe.
She waves the map she and I made in her sketchbook. “Got it. I’ll let you know when I’m over the lab.”
After she takes off, Adam hands Chris the jammer. We each check our supplies again, and then Chris heads to the door. “All right, let’s go.”
He and Trent step outside, but I turn back to Adam. “Will you be okay here?”
“I’ll be fine.” He kisses me quickly, but I can see the worry in his eyes. “Be careful.”
“I will,” I say and then join the others in the hallway. I hate leaving Adam behind, but he’s much safer staying in the office than with us. Besides, his presence there will make Zoe feel better, even if she doesn’t actually need him.
“So you and Adam, huh?” Chris asks as we head to the elevator.
“Guess so.” I haven’t exactly been hiding whatever this is with Adam, but that doesn’t mean I want to talk to these guys about it either. Things are still a bit too new and uncertain, and I’m not about to try to explain it, especially not to Chris of all people.
“Doesn’t seem like your type.”
“He’s not, but…” I shrug, hoping he drops it.
“Just keep your eyes open. Something doesn’t add up about him.”
A dash of doubt trickles back in, but I shove it away. Yes, we still don’t know why Adam is the only one not “purged” by Dr. Kapur and Aether Corp, but maybe we’ll find out once we get into the lab and find the old files.
“Enough girl talk,” Trent says as the elevator opens and we step inside.
We snap on thin surgical masks and yank on latex gloves. From a plastic bag, I remove two of the chloroform rags and hand one to Chris, while Trent grabs a caramel-colored smoke bomb from his backpack.
As the elevator nears the lobby, I press my back against the side wall. My heart pounds, adrenaline making me jumpy. I’m tempted to get the gun out, but I have to hope that Adam’s magic rags will work. Chris checks the jammer one last time and then shoves it back in his jacket. Trent flicks his lighter on and off.
The door opens with a loud ping. Trent lights up the smoke bomb, then tosses it into the lobby. We rush forward after it, following the trail of smoke rapidly billowing out, which oddly smells of burnt sugar. I dart behind the front desk with Trent at my side. Together we grab the guard there, who’s just getting up, and hold him while I shove the wet rag over his mouth. He struggles against us, but we manage to keep him still long enough for the chemicals to take effect. His body sags to the floor as he passes out.
Through the smoke, the hazy figure of Chris fights the second guard. Trent joins him, and they bring the guy down. I’m breathing hard through my mask, my eyes watering from the smoke, but I say a silent thanks to Adam for giving us a way to take out the guards without actually hurting them.
We drag both limp bodies behind the desk and then survey the empty, smoke-filled lobby. The guards are each wearing two flexis, just as Lynne said they would—one for their personal use, and one with the Aether logo on it to control the security systems here. Chris rips off one of the Aether flexis and puts it on himself, while Trent and I spread through the screen of smoke, keeping watch.