I heard faint footsteps approaching, then Torran peered into the narrow gap where I’d wedged myself. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to get this vent cover off, but I can’t get a good grip. Do you have anything flat to pry it with?”

“Move back.”

I eased away from the cover. As soon as I was clear, it popped away from the wall, held aloft by Torran’s power. Right. Telekinetic.

“Damn. That’s handy,” I murmured.

While he moved the cover aside, I knelt to peer into the exposed vent. The duct ran straight back for a handful of meters before disappearing upward, and on the floor, a pile of suitcases gleamed faintly in my helmet’s night vision.

Jackpot.

I pulled the nearest suitcase to me and opened it. A jumble of clothes slipped onto the floor.

“What is that?” Torran asked.

I looked up at him, wishing that I could see his face. “This is the disguise the kidnappers wore to enter the building.”

“How do you know?”

Suspicion filled his tone and I rolled my eyes. “Because I was here and I helped them plant it, of course.” When he didn’t respond, I sighed and said, “It’s what I would do.”

“How did they get past the cameras?”

“I don’t know.” I considered the vent. “Maybe they came in through here. Maybe they had someone as good as Kee who could override the surveillance system without leaving a trace. Kee could probably figure it out if we gave her access.”

“That’s not possible.”

Virtually nothing was impossible for Kee, but I let it go. “I’m going to pull the rest out. Let’s see if they left anything else behind.”

Torran crouched next to me and the suitcases slid toward us. As I pulled each one out, another moved to take its place so I didn’t have to crawl into the vent. “You’re useful to have around, has anyone ever told you that?”

“Once or twice,” he murmured, amusement threading his mental voice.

We moved to the clear area in the middle of the garage and opened the suitcases. They each contained a cheap suit sized for a tall, fit adult—like, for example, a soldier. Some of the cutouts in the suitcase lining made me think that they had originally contained weapons and armor. So the soldiers had snuck in, swapped into their armor, and left the disguises behind.

“Do you have someone who could examine these?” I asked, after tapping Torran’s shoulder to get his attention again. “They might have fingerprints.”

I’d been careful while opening them with my gloved hands, but the odds of pulling a usable print were still pretty low. We were clearly dealing with professionals. They knew the game as well as I did, so they would’ve wiped everything down if they’d had time.