Chapter 6 6

The Koch Headquarters Atrium was a glass cathedral dedicated to capitalism. Tonight, it was transformed into a gala space, filled with white roses, champagne towers, and people who spent more on shoes than most people earned in a year.

Aislinn entered through the service elevators in the back. She wasn't dressed for the party. She was wearing a blue jumpsuit slightly too large for her, a face mask, and a cap with the logo of the building's cleaning service.

She pushed a cart filled with cleaning supplies. Her heart was beating a steady rhythm of adrenaline.

Earlier that day, she had dealt with Deann Padilla, the newly appointed Head of Design for the acquired studio. Deann was a shark with lipstick-ruthless, untalented, and cruel. She had ordered Aislinn to fetch coffee for the entire team, explicitly forbidding her from attending the gala setup.

Aislinn had fetched the coffee. She had also added a generous dose of a natural laxative herb she grew on her balcony to Deann's soy latte. Deann was currently indisposed in the third-floor restroom and would be for the foreseeable future.

Aislinn pushed her cart into the hallway behind the main stage. She could hear the murmur of the crowd and the drone of the auctioneer.

"...and sold! To Mr. Eric Koch for two million dollars."

Applause rippled.

Aislinn peeked through the velvet curtains. Eric stood near the front, looking bored. Clinging to his arm was Janine. The emerald necklace was around her neck, blazing green under the spotlights.

Janine whispered something in Eric's ear. He pulled away slightly, checking his watch.

"I need to powder my nose," Janine announced loudly, ensuring the photographers heard her.

She detached herself from Eric and headed toward the private VIP restrooms in the back corridor.

Aislinn moved.

She parked her cart in front of the men's room to block it and slipped into the women's restroom just as the door was closing behind Janine.

Janine was at the mirror, applying another layer of lip gloss. She saw Aislinn's reflection-a cleaner in a mask-and dismissed her instantly.

"Don't clean in here while I'm using it," Janine snapped. "Wait outside."

Aislinn locked the main door. Click.

Then she hung a "Out of Order" sign on the handle.

She turned to Janine. "We need to talk."

Janine spun around. "Excuse me? Do you know who I am?"

Aislinn pulled out her phone. She hit play on a file she had spent the afternoon synthesizing using AI voice modulation software.

Janine's voice filled the tiled room: "God, Eric is such a bore. And his fans are disgusting little pigs. I just need the press for the movie, then I'm dumping him."

Janine's face went white. "That's... that's fake! I never said that!"

"It sounds real enough for TMZ," Aislinn said, disguising her voice to be deeper, rougher. "Take off the necklace."

"What? No! This is robbery!"

"It's a trade. The necklace for the recording."

Janine clutched the emerald. "Eric gave this to me!"

"We both know that's a lie," Aislinn stepped closer. "He doesn't even like you. Give it to me."

Janine lunged. She wasn't a fighter, but she had long nails. She swiped at Aislinn's face, trying to rip off the mask.

Aislinn caught her wrist in mid-air. With a swift, fluid motion she had learned from Master Hancock, she twisted Janine's arm behind her back and pinned her against the marble vanity. It wasn't brute force; it was leverage.

" Ow! My arm! You're breaking my arm!"

"The necklace," Aislinn ordered.

Janine, sobbing with pain and fear, reached up with her free hand and unclasped the locket. It slid onto the counter.

Aislinn released her and grabbed the jewelry. She shoved it deep into her pocket.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Fists pounded on the door.

"Janine? Are you in there?" It was Eric. His voice was low and dangerous. "Open this door."

Aislinn froze. There was no back exit.

"Help! Eric! Help me!" Janine screamed. "She's got a knife! She's crazy!"

Aislinn looked around frantically. The only way out was the window. They were on the 20th floor.

She ran to the window and unlatched it. The wind howled outside. Below, the city lights looked like distant stars.

But ten feet to the right, swinging slightly in the wind, was a window washer's rig. It had been left there for the night shift.

"Janine, move away from the door!" Eric shouted. A heavy thud followed-he was kicking it in.

Aislinn climbed onto the sill. She didn't look down. She looked at the rig.

Jump.

She launched herself into the void.

For a second, she was flying. Then her hands caught the metal railing of the rig. The impact wrenched her shoulders, but she held on. She swung wildly, her feet scrambling for purchase on the metal grate.

Inside the bathroom, the door splintered open. Eric burst in, security guards behind him.

He saw Janine huddled on the floor. He saw the open window.

He ran to the ledge and looked out.

He saw a figure in a blue jumpsuit rappelling down the side of the building using the rig's emergency cables, moving with the speed and agility of a special forces operative.

The figure paused, looked up for a split second-masked, unidentifiable-and then vanished onto a lower terrace.

Eric gripped the windowsill, his knuckles white.

"Who the hell is that?" he whispered.

The movement. The fearlessness. It reminded him of the Mustang driver. It reminded him of the woman in the penthouse.

"She stole my necklace!" Janine wailed. "The one you gave me!"

Eric turned to look at her. His eyes were cold. "I didn't give you a necklace, Janine. And whoever that was... she just earned my respect."

Aislinn reached the terrace, stripped off the jumpsuit to reveal a black cocktail dress underneath, and merged into the crowd leaving a nearby theater.

Her hand closed around the locket in her pocket. It was warm.

She was safe. But she knew Eric had seen her. The net was tightening.