particularly if he was keeping anything of value in it, such as his black market inventory. Even her lock-picking tool could have trouble.
With luck she wouldn’t need her stunner, but she wanted it handy, particularly before she got away from Roan. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use it on him. Stunners left their victims with terrible headaches, and that would be a nasty trick to play on her unsuspecting would-be husband.
After putting her hair up in her usual tight bun, she dumped the rest of her clothes back into the bag and considered what to do with it. Taking the bag would be a burden, but the skirt and blouse would make better camouflage if she had to blend in with the women here. Better to bring it along—she could always dump it later if she had to.
Equally, she considered the narrow marriage band on her wrist. The flat portion was engraved with several wavy lines running parallel to each other, and for a moment she wondered why Roan had picked that symbol. It represented Roan and the life he expected her to live as his wife, a life she could have no part of. A life she didn’t want a part of. But like the clothes, it would allow her to blend in better with the people here. With a shrug, she left it on her wrist.
Cautiously, she opened the door to the bedroom. Roan was a still figure in the bed, dimly lit by the faint glow of a single small lamp near the bed. She listened but there wasn’t any sound other than his soft breathing. She watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he was having a bad reaction to the drug, finally relaxing as it seemed he wasn’t going to have a problem. At least she wouldn’t have his death on her conscience. One curl of dark hair had fallen over his forehead, and she tucked it back. Even in a drugged sleep he was a handsome man. But he wasn’t the man for her.
She stepped away from the bed. Time to find his datastore and see if her hacking skills were up to a Gaian man’s security.
Slowly she crept through the room and to the living area, closing the door after her. One of the tools built into her lock-pick device was motion-detector checker. It read there was nothing in the room to check for movement or sound so she moved quietly into the room. Roan had a datastore set up next to the kitchen counter and a few pokes at it revealed a security screen. Still half an ear on sounds from the bedroom, she tried every trick she knew to get past it.
After a half hour she had to declare defeat. During the last six months she’d learned every encryption method the Gaians used, and whatever was running on Roan’s machine wasn’t one of them. Nothing worked, and the dart wasn’t going to keep him unconscious forever.
Whatever else happened, she needed to be out of here before he woke up. Maybe she could find a public terminal out in the main part of the bubble.
Sonja headed to the door to the outside corridor. If there were any extra security measures she needed to worry about, they would be here. Carefully she analyzed the door’s lock. There was the usual auto-deadbolt that would slam home the second someone tried to pick the lock from the outside, making opening the door virtually impossible without the unlocking key. Sonja thought of the data wand that Roan had carried and suspected she knew where he kept the key to the security on the door. She considered hunting for the wand, but she had no idea where he kept it, and with an extensive search she risked still being here when he woke.
There were other ways around even this kind of security system, and she had some of those built in to her electronic lock pick. She adjusted the tool to compensate for the auto-deadbolt and carefully used the controls on the tool to slide apart the door lock tumblers. After a few moments there was an audible click that seemed to echo in the quiet apartment, and the door slid open, revealing the corridor beyond.
For a moment, she hesitated. When he woke up, Roan would know she wasn’t the
With luck she wouldn’t need her stunner, but she wanted it handy, particularly before she got away from Roan. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use it on him. Stunners left their victims with terrible headaches, and that would be a nasty trick to play on her unsuspecting would-be husband.
After putting her hair up in her usual tight bun, she dumped the rest of her clothes back into the bag and considered what to do with it. Taking the bag would be a burden, but the skirt and blouse would make better camouflage if she had to blend in with the women here. Better to bring it along—she could always dump it later if she had to.
Equally, she considered the narrow marriage band on her wrist. The flat portion was engraved with several wavy lines running parallel to each other, and for a moment she wondered why Roan had picked that symbol. It represented Roan and the life he expected her to live as his wife, a life she could have no part of. A life she didn’t want a part of. But like the clothes, it would allow her to blend in better with the people here. With a shrug, she left it on her wrist.
Cautiously, she opened the door to the bedroom. Roan was a still figure in the bed, dimly lit by the faint glow of a single small lamp near the bed. She listened but there wasn’t any sound other than his soft breathing. She watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he was having a bad reaction to the drug, finally relaxing as it seemed he wasn’t going to have a problem. At least she wouldn’t have his death on her conscience. One curl of dark hair had fallen over his forehead, and she tucked it back. Even in a drugged sleep he was a handsome man. But he wasn’t the man for her.
She stepped away from the bed. Time to find his datastore and see if her hacking skills were up to a Gaian man’s security.
Slowly she crept through the room and to the living area, closing the door after her. One of the tools built into her lock-pick device was motion-detector checker. It read there was nothing in the room to check for movement or sound so she moved quietly into the room. Roan had a datastore set up next to the kitchen counter and a few pokes at it revealed a security screen. Still half an ear on sounds from the bedroom, she tried every trick she knew to get past it.
After a half hour she had to declare defeat. During the last six months she’d learned every encryption method the Gaians used, and whatever was running on Roan’s machine wasn’t one of them. Nothing worked, and the dart wasn’t going to keep him unconscious forever.
Whatever else happened, she needed to be out of here before he woke up. Maybe she could find a public terminal out in the main part of the bubble.
Sonja headed to the door to the outside corridor. If there were any extra security measures she needed to worry about, they would be here. Carefully she analyzed the door’s lock. There was the usual auto-deadbolt that would slam home the second someone tried to pick the lock from the outside, making opening the door virtually impossible without the unlocking key. Sonja thought of the data wand that Roan had carried and suspected she knew where he kept the key to the security on the door. She considered hunting for the wand, but she had no idea where he kept it, and with an extensive search she risked still being here when he woke.
There were other ways around even this kind of security system, and she had some of those built in to her electronic lock pick. She adjusted the tool to compensate for the auto-deadbolt and carefully used the controls on the tool to slide apart the door lock tumblers. After a few moments there was an audible click that seemed to echo in the quiet apartment, and the door slid open, revealing the corridor beyond.
For a moment, she hesitated. When he woke up, Roan would know she wasn’t the
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