Lingyi had written Doppelganger, a program that, instead of breaking into Jin Corp’s security system, would mimic itself as part of the system. We don’t try and trample through the impossible doors they’ve built, she had explained in easy terms for us nonhackers. We wedge into the frame and then slither our way in.

Nine minutes later, according to my Vox, the blinking lights on the server suddenly all began to flash yellow.

“Uh. Boss . . . ,” I said.

“I see it. I know,” she replied. I could hear rapid and soft clicking as she worked on her keyboard. “Hold on.”

Sweat dampened my forehead and the back of my neck, despite the chill air whirling around me. Iris appeared from nowhere like a phantom by my side. Neither of us spoke. The yellow lights blinked five times in rapid succession, then all turned a solid glowing blue again. The green door icon on the Palm swung open, and a small female cartoon with Lingyi’s purple hair pranced out, then proceeded to do a jerky, triumphant jig.

“We’re in!” Lingyi said.

And when we get in, we make ourselves look exactly like the rest. We make the system think we’ve been there all along. Then Lingyi waved both her hands with a flourish, as if she were doing a magic trick.

“You did it!” I exclaimed. Iris and I bumped fists in celebration.

Lingyi’s laughter carried through so clearly, it was as if she were in the data center with us. “Not without your help.” Her elation was palpable. “Now get the hell out of there!”

“Right, boss,” I said. Tucking my Palm away, I waited as Iris checked the vicinity with her goggles, then nodded, and we quickly left the data center and were back in the stairwell within minutes. Again, Iris led the way. When we pushed through the exit door, the air felt damp and warm compared to the dry, cold air within the citadel.

“Can you cut the lights for us again, boss?” Iris asked.

“I’m good to go,” Victor said from the generator building.

We waited near the wall, careful not to trigger the blue sensors. Aircars wreathed in neon zipped in the far horizon, headed toward the high-rise districts, where the parties were just beginning at this hour for the yous.

Lingyi cursed again. “The power company’s shut me out. They must have rebooted the system after the initial blackout I forced.” She was typing faster than she was speaking. “It’d take a few hours for me to hack in again. I’ve got access to the citadel’s security system through our Doppelganger program, but activating a shutdown of the sensors will give me away. You’re just going to have to risk triggering their alarms. If we’re lucky, it’ll still work out.”

“Crap,” I said.