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face. Then, and in the softest voice he’d ever used in his life, he let out a low, “I’m sorry.”
    The fist that held the datacell thumped against her chest in a motion of rage and disgust. He saw the moment she understood – when his hand moved slightly northward to her neckline and the cool metal of the chip slipped from his fingers and between her skin and uniform.
    “You’ll have the ability to download what you need. It’s data locked too. Meash wouldn’t be able to trace it.”
    “Are you certain?”
    “As best I know.”
    “So not certain, then?”
    “Watch it, recruit,” but he softened the blow with a half-smile. “You’re safe here. Nothing’s coming in without security knowing about it.”
    “That’s great, assuming the threat’s not already inside.”

Chapter Six
    S he walked out of that room a heck of a lot lighter than when she’d walked in. It was impossible to tell if sharing that intel with Cyprus had been the right move, but she felt it. He hated Meash Corp; she knew that much, but where did his ultimate loyalty rest? Truth or OSA?
    She took a breather against the wall and pulled herself together. Cyprus may be loyal, but she didn’t take him for stupid. She fingered the datacell on the side of her breast. By giving her this, he’d already proven himself.
    Could it really work, though? Could she get into Meash Two’s files without anyone noticing? Maybe, but she for damned sure wouldn’t do it from her own omnitablet. Putting the matter of being tracked by Meash aside, OSA’s surveillance programs were legendary. Her tablets, like most here, would be monitored. Depending on clearance levels, everything from music choices to notes from home were crosschecked, scanned and stored. Borrowing an omnitablet wasn’t happening for the same reason.
    That left her with buying one on the black market – one not coded to her prints or retinas. She’d never seen such devices, but knew they existed. She just had to get her hands on one. “Michi, do you think your uncle could pull a few strings?”
    “For?”
    “I need a day away from this. Get some drinks. Gotta unstress myself.”
    Michi jerked out of bed, feet dangling over the edge. Her wide eyes locked onto hers and she white-knuckled the edge of the bed. “Something’s going on. I can feel it. What’s this all about? ”
    “Nothing. I crave time off from being that man’s punching bag is all. Everywhere I go I see him.”
    “You sure? You can trust me. I’m not just some dumb kid.”
    “I know that, Michi.”
    “But if you go and get caught. I’ll get in trouble too.”
    “I won’t.”
    “If I can’t stop you, then I get in trouble for not turning you in. Either way, I’m screwed, Lana.”
    “I didn’t mean—”
    “So I might as well go with you,” Michi said and hopped off the bed. “Besides, I could use some off time myself.”
    *****
    P redictably, the review of video logs from today’s training sessions took twice as long as usual. His mind wandered to Lana and the hell she kept locked against her chest. Not believing her didn’t make sense – either this was legitimately happening or she believed that it was.
    He replayed the decision for not going up the OSA chain of command with this a thousand times over. Nothing got this big without inside help. No flipping way would he be able to find out where that help came from without more info from Lana. It all came down to her.
    His omnitablet blinked in alarm, but honestly, he welcomed the distraction.
    At first.
    Guards spotted two of his trainees attempting to sneak out under a retired officer’s credentials. He kept the reply short and direct. “ Let them go. Put a lock on their beamers and send it over.”
    At least one of the names wasn’t a shock: Lana. The other was her roommate, an otherwise model recruit. He dove into a green civilian tunic and slipped out down the stairs and into the night.
    The red dots on the screen put the pair heading into a