She probably should have carried something in a pocket to serve as a distraction. But it was too late for that.

“Take off the hat, please.”

She removed it, turning it so the interior was plainly visible. Which might discourage a closer examination. Meanwhile, she tried to look bored. The guard handed the scanner to one of his partners and held out his hand for the cap. Hutch gave it to him. He saw the chip, removed it and shook his head. Idiot. His contempt was visible.

•  •  •

Ken was a few meters away, surrendering his commlink. He wasn’t being very cooperative, and one of the security guys shoved him against the wall. They opened his baggage, began sorting through everything, and removed his notebook. “We’ll get this back to you, sir,” the guard said.

“Please. There’s several months’ work in there.”

“We’ll have it for you shortly.”

“What’s your name, please?” Ken asked.

The guard laughed. “Louis.”

They took everybody’s commlinks and notebooks. And a couple of Wally’s electronic devices that Hutch didn’t even recognize.

•  •  •

“This way.” Beth, Ken, Wally, Derek, and Hutch followed their escorts to a stock room with a few plastic chairs. “Make yourselves comfortable,” said the sergeant. They left and closed the door. The lock clicked. There was a second door at the other end of the room, but it was locked too.

“What could we do anyway?” asked Beth. “Escape?”

“I’m sorry they found the chip,” said Derek. “I was thinking about asking you to make a copy for me, but I figured trying to get two of them through would just reduce our chances. If they caught either of us, they’d just intensify the search.”

“Well,” said Wally, “in the end—”

He was probably going to say something about the transmission to Hutch’s mom. But Hutch broke in. “We’ll be okay,” she said, shaking her head to signal that Zhang was probably listening.

“They can’t keep us quiet,” said Ken. “I’m going to tell the world what these sons of bitches are doing.”

Derek lowered himself into one of the chairs. “I’m sorry you guys got caught up in all this.”

The room grew quiet. There wasn’t much to talk about. And everybody had gotten the message that somebody was probably listening. Eventually, two of the guards came back in. They returned the equipment they’d taken, other than Hutch’s chip, thanked them for their cooperation, and left without saying anything more.

A few minutes later, the guy who’d searched Hutch entered. “Captain Hutchins?” he said. “Please come with me.”

She followed him down a corridor. They took an elevator up two levels, made a couple of turns, and entered an office where a young woman in a dark blue suit was studying a computer display. “Thanks, Ed,” she said. “Captain Hutchins, please have a seat. The director will see you shortly.”