Silence. I knew full well that she could see me with the hidden camera that was trained on this narrow landing. Then came the whirring of multiple dead bolts unlocking, and the door slowly swung open. Lingyi peered from behind it, then seemed to do a double take.

I couldn’t help but smile. “What?”

“You’re late,” she said.

“Yeah. Well.” I slipped past her into our headquarters.

The door closed with a snick behind me, then the dead bolts all mechanically slipped back into place. What had looked like an old wooden door on the outside was actually a steel one, thick enough to be bulletproof. Our entire headquarters was encased in steel and could probably survive a bombing.

“Hey, Zhou.” Arun lifted his chin in greeting and rose from the deep cushion of his armchair, coming over to bump fists and throw an arm around me in a loose hug. “We’ve missed you.”

I hadn’t seen any of them for some time, keeping all communication via Vox.

Victor raised a hand from where he was slouched on a leather beanbag, long legs in dark gray trousers sprawled in front of him. Too cool to get up and greet me. “When I said make yourself scarce, I didn’t think you’d take it quite so literally.”

Lingyi caught me in a hug, squeezing me tight across my back. I had to remember to wrap my arms around her—it’d been so long since I’d been that close to anyone. “Everything’s set.” She pulled back, studying me. “It’s good to see you.”

She wandered back to her MacFold, her thick purple hair, cut in a blunt bob, swaying. She was dressed in a pale green tank top and white shorts, and I caught Victor admiring her as she perched back onto her stool. Poor wretch. What a hopeless crush.

This place had been bare except for the large glass table Lingyi sat at when I had visited once, two months ago, but had since been furnished in my friends’ eclectic tastes. Lingyi had selected the glass table and plush armchairs, the leather beanbag and modern art magnetized against the steel walls were Victor’s, and the Chinese antique tea tables and gold brocade sofa were all Arun. The only hint of Iris were the ropes and bars set into the wall and ceiling in the padded corner of our large headquarters for her to practice jumping, climbing, and acrobatics.

Victor stood, smoothing back his hair, and then adjusted the cuff links of his pale blue pin-striped shirt. “Ready when you are, boss.”