The Apprentice’s race monitoring headquarters had been set up among a maze of plastic sheets hanging from support beams overhead, and that was all enclosed by floor-to-ceiling panels of gold and silver metal. Jasper dropped into the middle of the maze from the brand-new hole in the ceiling and made her way toward the section of wall Aymes had passed through the day before. She tossed aside her coat, slid on a pair of sunglasses, and picked up a hard hat left on the floor.
The rectangular patch of wall shimmered silver, and Aymes stepped through. He froze. “Who are you?”
“I’m here to make sure repairs are going smoothly,” Jasper said.
Aymes frowned. “Repairs have been delayed.”
“What I meant was that I’m here to make sure everything’s ready for when they do happen.” Jasper folded her arms. “And what are you doing here?”
“I’m, uh, from the mall. To check in. No one else is supposed to be here for a few more days.”
“Right, of course. Except for the surprise inspection. To make sure no one is coming in. Which is what I’m here for.”
“Why are you wearing sunglasses?” Aymes’s eyes narrowed. “It’s dark in here.”
“I have an eye disorder. My eyes are…radioactive. If I took my glasses off, you’d die. Instantly. Why do you have a backpack if you work for the mall?”
“It has all of my…mall employee…supplies.”
“Jasper, I’m out,” Thea said. “You can leave.”
Jasper clapped her hands together. “Well, everything looks to be in order,” she said. “So, I’m going now.”
“Wait, how’d you even get in?” Aymes asked. “I locked—um, we mall staff locked it up to keep nosy civilians out.”
“My team was ordered to put a hole in the roof. To knock out an old pipe. I’ll throw a tarp over it on the way out.”
Aymes didn’t have anything further comments, to Jasper’s relief. After leaving him by the entrance, she found a ladder just tall enough to let her climb out of the store. As promised, she threw a tarp over the hole, then walked to the other end of the roof, where Thea worked on her laptop.
“Well?” Jasper asked.
Thea pointed to the screen. “Here. Ringmaster sent a message to the Apprentice, telling him he knows the target is in Sagev. Last night, the Apprentice replied saying that he found the target and asked what to do next. Aymes is probably here now to see Ringmaster’s reply. The last message came in this morning, saying he has a task for Aymes to do during the race.”
“Target, eh?” Jasper sat down next to Thea. “Is the target named anywhere?”
“Nope.”
Of course not. It was never that easy.