The unwounded guard charged at me, swinging wildly, eyes bulging. I ducked easily and punched him in the face, my knuckles exploding from the contact. He never knew what hit him when Iris slipped behind and stuck the injection at the back of his neck. He folded like raw, boneless chicken.

“Done,” Iris said. Her breathing had picked up, and there was a sheen of sweat on her face, but her expression gave nothing away.

I got my handholds and had to dig around for my knives, rolling a guard over to retrieve one of them. My pulse was racing, and my hand tremored when I tucked the knives away.

“Security inside doesn’t suspect a thing. They’ve never had a break-in before,” Lingyi said into our earpieces. “They’re waiting for the guards to bring you two back trussed like pigs. Time to disappear.”

“I’m already out,” Victor replied in our earpieces. “You guys were pros.”

I imagined him making his way down a dark, narrow street. I would bet money he had a nice dress shirt and cuff links on. Even for a break-in.

Iris nodded once at me, as if she were sealing a deal with a business partner, then turned and dashed into the night. I took a twisting alleyway on the opposite side. We’d see each other again at headquarters.

“You did good,” Iris said into my earpiece. “I think those guards were out of practice.” I could hear her smug confidence.

“You’re a machine,” I replied to Iris, breathless, because I was sprinting at full speed.

Lingyi’s familiar chuckle came from across the ether. “That’s why I love her.”

CHΔPTER THIRTEEN

We met at headquarters two days later to debrief. On my way there, I grabbed five orders of scallion pancakes and fried dough wrapped in sesame flatbread for my friends from one of the stands on the street, smiling when the mei girl gave me a free hot soy milk for the large order.

Lingyi met me at the door, ecstatic and glowing, and assured us that Doppelganger had insinuated itself completely into Jin Corp’s security system. She had spent much of the last forty-eight hours glued to her MacFold, studying Jin Corp’s layout and inner workings—devising the best way to infiltrate and blow up the building.

“The easiest way is to trigger the fire alarm,” Lingyi said. We were eating in the sitting area as she brainstormed aloud. “Jin Corp has a tight protocol set in place. All employees must evacuate the building within ten minutes, then are allowed to return ten minutes after. That gives us twenty minutes.”

“I would suggest detonating the bombs within three minutes after the building has cleared,” Victor said, which led to a long discussion on the logistics of where the bombs should be placed and how many were needed.