Disclaimer: I case you havn't seen it before (its in bold on the top of every chapter, honestly, i don't know how people miss it) I don't own.
"If only we could get access to the lab computers." Trader was complaining over dinner. "Hamish has the perfect program to run."
Something clicked in Cadel's mind, something that had been buried in the barrage of information he had received when he had first come to the genius squad.
"Wait, you said there was a drainage opening? Next to the building?" he asked, setting down a fork of pasta.
"Yes." Cliff responded.
"How big is the opening?"
"Only two feet across. We looked at that when we were first scoping out the building." Cliff shook his head. "It's too narrow for someone with gear to get through, and almost five hundred feet away, way to far for someone to hold their breath. And there's a steel grate over the opening."
"But that can be cut." Cadel said, thinking. "What comes out, sewage?"
"No. We think it's waste water from the labs. There may be some chemicals in the mix, though."
He nodded. Then he looked directly at Trader. "I know someone who might be able to get in." Trader looked hesitant. "She can keep her mouth shut. She's also a brilliant geneticist."
"Define 'brilliant'."
"As a senior in high school she grafted wings onto the class snake."
"And did this person go to the Axis Institute?"
"Yeah, but not for the reasons you might think. And I can't tell you what, so don't ask."
"Can't or won't?"
"Can't. She specifically asked me not to tell anyone." Cadel wiped his palms on his pants. After a second Trader beamed.
"Well aren't you resourceful. Alright. You go ahead and ask your friend if she's willing to do something like that."
After dinner Cadel sent Anna an e-mail.
Anna, how long can you hold your breath?
He got a reply an hour later.
Around 20 min, give or take. Why?
He told her why. The reply was instantaneous.
Sweet. So, when do I get to start?
Amidst the confusion of Sonja moving in there was a knock at the door. Cadel paused at the top of the steps as Trader pulled it open.
"Hi. I'm Annabelle. Cadel said you guys needed me."
Trader looked her over and Cadel saw his eyes settle on the plastic cage Anna was carrying. The corn snake inside looked back to him lazily.
"Ah, you must be the swimmer he recommended. Come on in, Annabelle, wasn't it?"
"Call me Anna." She stepped inside just as Saul started coming down the steps above Cadel. He knew what kind of questions would be raised if Saul found out about Anna.
"Anna, quick. Hide the snake and grab a box." He called quietly.
Anna pushed the carrier into Traders hands and grabbed one of the cardboard boxes sitting next to the door. She followed Cadel as he darted down the steps and around the corner, fussing with something in the box just as Saul came down the steps. To his relief Saul didn't look at her twice. Trader had managed to make himself scarce with the snake.
Cadel led her down the hall and into Sonja's room. Judith was in there, arranging Sonja's clothes with her. Luckily, no one else was in the room.
"Sonja, this is Anna. Anna, Sonja." Sonja turned her wheelchair to face them.
"Hello Sonja." Anna said cheerfully. She set the box down on a side table. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Hopefully-some-of-it-was-good." Sonja tapped out.
"Oh, don't worry, it was." Anna began to pull things out of the box. "So are you moving in? Where do you want these?"
Anna helped Sonja unpack, staying out of people's way until Trader managed to finally get them out the door.
Cadel wheeled Sonja into the kitchen, where Cliff was standing over the stove. Anna was seated at the table with Flitter, the snake, wrapped around her forearms. She was holding the bat wings open to show him. She was in the middle of a word that probably had around twenty letters in it when he entered. He guessed she was explaining Flitter's genetics to Cliff.
Sonja let out a shriek at the sight of the snake and her hands went everywhere. Cadel had to scramble to hold them steady so she could type out a message.
"What-did-you-do-to-it?" The box's monotone made an odd contrast with her appearance.
"Spliced his DNA with a bat when he was still an egg." Anna frowned slightly.
"Why?!" Sonja's screech had brought everyone not in the War Room running. They pulled up short when they saw Anna sitting at the table.
"Whoa, who are you? Is that your snake?" Lexi blurted out. She bound around the table. "Can I touch it?"
"Everyone, this is Anna. She's Cadel's friend, the one he said could get into the labs." Trader announced with a dazzling smile directed at Anna.
"Your eyes are weird." Hamish blurted out.
"You think so?" Anna said sweetly and batted her eyelashes over her bi-colored eyes. Hamish blushed and shut his mouth. She turned to Lexi and dumped the snake in her outstretched arms. "Be careful with him." She warned. "His bite won't kill, but it will hurt."
She turned back to the adults. "I may be able to get into the labs. No promises, but show me the plans and I'll see what I can do."
Judith called up Dot with the plans and Cliff turned back to the stove. The adults sat down across the table from Anna and began to quiz her.
"So, how long can you hold your breath?" Judith asked after she had sat down.
"Long enough." Anna answered.
"You-went-to-the-Institute,-right?" Sonja asked.
"I did, for a unique reason that has a long story behind it that I really don't want to go into right now." Anna said, holding up a hand to stave off Trader, who had opened his mouth. Dot placed the laptop with the plans in front of Anna.
Cadel watched over her shoulder as Anna flipped through the diagrams. She frowned and traced a line on the screen. She tapped a spot on the screen with a fingernail.
Trader cleared his throat impatiently. Anna looked up and smiled.
"Your in luck." She tilted the screen back and turned the computer toward them. She traced a line that ran from a big communal pipeline and passed under the lab building. A small crosshatch represented a drain hole in the middle of the floor. It was fifty yards from the pipeline, which probably ran another hundred yards from the drainage opening.
"The plans say the pipes a foot an a half wide, which should be wide enough for me to get through. But there's a grate here, and here." She said, pointing at two spots on the screen. "The drain also looks wide enough, but if it's not I can fix a microphone on the grate."
"But wouldn't it get damaged?" Devin said, like that would be obvious.
Anna shook her head. "It's a standard safety feature. They have these three big tanks, possibly containing liquid nitrogen. It makes sense if the labs use a lot of tissue samples. They have to have a way to safely drain it, in case of a rupture. Since they have multiple, big tanks, the drain radius has to be big." She explained. "Unless something drastic happens, the drain will be as dry as a bone. But it looks like the sinks drain into the pipe, so there may be something in the water." She turned the computer back to her.
"Once I get in, what do you want me to do? Plant a microphone, a camera? Run a program?" Anna asked as Cliff began to dish out dinner.
"I have an infiltration program to run." Hamish blurted.
"Yes, we have a few cameras and a microphone to set up." Cliff said as he set a plate in front of Anna. She smiled and thanked him.
"I will need a few things, though." She said, studying the plans. "A pair cutters that can slice through solid bars, maybe an underwater torch. Goggles. I think I have a set of mirrors. A underwater flashlight, and I have communicators." She grinned at Cadel. Newest version. These are waterproof." He remembered the tiny earpiece she had used in his escape.
"Do you know if there are any surveillance cameras in the labs?"
"We don't know. And I think we can get you those things." Trader said. "When do you want them?"
Anna chewed a mouthful while she thought. "How soon can you have them?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow night, late. Or early the next morning. Around two in the morning, can you meet me by the drain outside the building? That will be the best time, when most guards are falling asleep."
"We'll be there." Trader said with a smile.
"Great." Anna stood and stretched. "If something happens, Cadel can get to me."
"Are you leaving?" Lexi asked. Flitter had wound his way up around her neck.
"Yeah. I have an appointment that I have to make." She made a face. "A friend chipped the paint on my boat, and I have to get it fixed." She unwound Flitter and lowered him into the carrier.
Trader got up to walk her out. The door shut, and it was a second before Cadel realized it was the back door, not the front. Trader came in and slapped him on the back.
"You have the most interesting friends." He said with a smile.
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