Bi-polar personality much? Troop thought, watching Stevey drop the empty thermos onto the ground and stagger towards his shack.
“Perhaps we should go.” Chelsa dusted some dirt off her pants.
“Alright,” Troop said. “But I want to ask Stevey one more question. I have a feeling something important happened at the last lab Stevey worked at.”
He left the others collapsing the tent and extinguishing the fire.
“Stevey!” Troop called out to the man’s back.
Stevey paused at the doorway. “Yeah?”
“What was the last place you worked at?”
“New Genes Lab. Now can Stevey take a nap?”
“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”
Troop helped clean up their mess and looked up New Genes Lab on his electro-slate; it was located in Klisbury, East Region, which wasn’t too far away from here. If they could catch an air-train to Klisbury, they would be able to find the lab today. He voiced this idea out loud.
“How much are the train tickets though?” Chelsa said.
“A bit over forty points per person. We have enough points to purchase tickets for everyone, but there is considerable risk for using the public transportation.”
“I’ll run the risk,” Kristi said. “Is everyone okay with that?” No one answered. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She proceeded to buy tickets via her electro-slate.
Troop wondered if he would regret suggesting that they take the air-train.
chapter thirty-four
Chelsa’s electro-slate announced she had an instafication. They were on the air-train bound for Klisbury. Their segment of the train was unoccupied, save Chelsa, Troop, Finn, Ghost and Kristi.
Chelsa let out a groan as she read her instafication. “It’s Zala. She wants another update. She also says that if I don’t turn over you guys to her people within three days, the government will start an aggressive search.”
“If everything goes according to plan, all of this will be over in three days,” Troop said.
“What are you referring to when you say ‘all of this’?” Finn asked, tickling Ghost with the end of one of his crutches.
“Completing the case and hopefully falling off the government’s radar.”
Kristi barely concealed her sound of amusement with a cough. “Do you seriously believe we will finish both the Disappearance Case and Individualism Case in three days?”
“Miracles do happen,” Troop said.
“And pigs fly.”
There was a soft knock on the compartment window. Someone slid open the door and poked her head inside.
“Do you mind if my fiancé and I sit here?” the woman asked. “The other compartments are either full or too noisy for me.”
“Sure.” Troop gestured to the seven empty seats left.
“Thanks.”
The woman, who looked to be in her late twenties scooted into the seat across from Kristi; a man followed her. Both of them took out an electro-slate and started typing away.
The woman’s toes tapped in time to the music that was being softly played over the speakers. Kristi guessed they were college graduates from the looks of their age and dress.
“The guy looks vaguely familiar,” Troop whispered into her ear. His breath tickled the nape of her neck, provoking goose bumps.
“Where do you think you’ve seen him before?”
“I don’t know. Give me a second and I’ll think of it.”
Finn overheard heard them whispering and offered his thoughts. “Maybe he’s a member of the Revealers and you saw him at Verus Real Estate.”
“Maybe,” Troop said.
Kristi pulled away from Troop and studied the man. The guy did seem old enough to hold a job as an assistant at Verus Real Estate. He had dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes and a quirk to his mouth as if he was skeptical of everything. The guy lifted his head up and Kristi hastily looked away, not wanting to appear like a creeper.
She leaned her head against the window and watched the outside world fly by. The countryside gave way to small towns, which gave way to cities. At long last, the air-train slowed down and eventually pulled into a station with a smooth halt.
“All passengers bound for Klisbury should depart now,” an automated voice announced through the speakers located in the train compartment.
They got off the train, keeping their heads down and struggling not to get separated from each other while being swept along with the crowd getting off the air train. Klisbury reminded Kristi of her hometown; it was smaller than Oppidum, but still a respectable sized city.
“What do you say we do next?” Finn asked.
“Dr. Hanson sent me a list of Revealer addresses in Klisbury,” Kristi said. “I think we should first find a safe house. He recommended staying at the Filches while we’re here.”
They emerged out of the train station and regrouped themselves. The crowd thinned out once outside and they were able to find a secluded spot to talk without being overheard by any curious ears.
“Who are the Filches?” Chelsa asked.
“A couple that lives only ten blocks from the train-station. They have been part of the Revealers for over ten years and have offered to let us stay at their place while we’re in Klisbury,” Kristi said, remembering the information Dr. Hanson had sent her while she was on the train.
“The Filches.” Troop obtained a thoughtful expression. “That name sounds recognizable. I believe they’re a pair of talented hackers that often help my mom get undisclosed information for her cases.”
“We’ll probably find their talents handy then,” Finn said. “Let’s start walking.”
The Filches lived at a modest brick apartment in an older section of Klisbury. The building seemed weatherworn and tired, but overall had a neat appearance. Jane Filch welcomed her last minute visitors without even batting an eye to the leopard that accompanied them.
The room they were in upon entering the Filches’ home was comfortably furnished with two sofas, a plush rug and a couple cots folded up in the corner. It seemed so normal for two supposedly rebel hackers. There were no walls covered with monitors or desks buried beneath mountains of electronic hardware; there were no visible sensors or cameras.
“Thanks for taking us in,” Finn said.
“No problem. My husband, Nick, will be back soon. He has to wrap up some work at his office,” Jane said.
“Is there anything we should know?” Chelsa asked.
“Not much except curfew at Klisbury is nine in the evening to five in the morning sharp. If you need anything, just let me know.”
It was a bit before six, so there was a decent amount of time to spend.
“I’m going to take a look at New Genes Lab,” Kristi said. “Does anyone want to come?”
“I will.” Troop stood up. “It’ll be good to take a look at the lab before breaking in. When do we plan on entering the lab anyways?”
“The sooner the better. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow.”
“I think only Troop and you should go scout out the lab,” Chelsa said. “The more people you have the more attention you’re going to attract.”
Jane, who had left the room moments ago, stuck her head back in.
“Sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. If you’re planning on breaking into New Genes Lab, you might find these handy.” She held out two small containers filled with a liquid. “They’re contact-cams. Newly developed Revealer gadgets that allow you to secretly video tape everything you see.”
“So they’re basically like contact lens cameras?” Kristi clarified.
“Right on. If you wear them while checking out New Genes Lab, you can record a lot of visual information you would normally forget. They can make a huge difference between a successful break-in and a failure.” Jane pressed a case into Troop and Kristi’s hand each.