Ian would probably be monitoring these passageways, but the surveillance was spottier and I knew exactly where all of the cameras were and how to avoid them. Ian had been advocating for additional security for these tunnels for years, but Father had resisted. We all assumed that he, too, wanted to be able to slip out of the House unseen.
I pulled the bottom of my cloak up and carefully stepped over the first laser tripwire. Breaking the beam would send a security alert directly to Ian. At the next intersection, I edged along the inside corner, just out of view of the camera. Avoiding security meant I took a meandering route to the hangar.
I kept one eye on the security footage on my smart glasses while also monitoring wireless communications. Because I hadn’t answered the door, the security team was debating whether or not to breach my quarters without my permission.
By the time Ian gave the order, I was nearly to the primary hangar. There was a flurry of communication as the team found they couldn’t get my door to unlock. Ian’s voice took on an annoyed tone that made me smirk, but I couldn’t gloat yet. He wasn’t the head of security for nothing, and I still had a busy hangar to cross.
My com vibrated and Ian’s contact information popped up on the glasses. He was requesting a video connection. I rolled my eyes and swiped his contact information offscreen to decline.
Unfortunately, Ian was nothing if not persistent. He tried again with a voice-only connection. I swiped that one away, too, then blocked him for five minutes. He’d try to track me with my com signal, but I’d made a few modifications that would make that more difficult. It wouldn’t fool him for long, but I just needed a few more minutes.
I performed the complicated hand gesture that activated the highly illegal secondary identity chip in my right arm. The secondary chip was a von Hasenberg specialty, allowing multiple identities to be stored on a single chip. Specific identities could be selected by a series of finger movements. It was perfect for covert work because switching identities made a trail much harder to follow. And it was untraceable—even by our own security teams.
As far as I knew, only von Hasenberg family members had these exact chips, but I would be surprised if the other Houses didn’t have something similar.
I touched my right thumb and pinky together. The primary chip in my left arm held my real identity, but scanning into the hangar as myself would let Ian know exactly where I was. Scanning in as Isabella Blanc, a high-level House von Hasenberg advisor, wouldn’t set off any alarms. At least not right away. As soon as Ian did any digging, the identity would fold, but it wasn’t meant for long-term use.
I stopped at the end of the hidden passageway. Opening the final door required a House von Hasenberg ID, complete with House seal, but it was one of the few doors that didn’t log access unless it was opened without the proper credentials. It also didn’t open from the outside, so once I left the building, I’d be stuck.
I unlocked the door with my primary identity chip and stepped out into the hidden alcove. I’d be completely exposed in the hangar, but the diplomatic seal on my false identity meant the security guard wouldn’t look too closely at me. It wasn’t unusual for a cloaked figure to be seen coming and going from the hangar—not everyone wanted to shout that they were working with one House over another.
Now I just needed to pop back up on the video surveillance somewhere that wouldn’t be too suspicious. I took a twisting path to the hangar entrance. It looked like I couldn’t make up my mind which way I wanted to go, but really it was to skirt the cameras. I came back into view as I swiped my right arm over the chip reader.
The door opened and the guard inside waved me through with a brief glance. I didn’t envy him the dressing-down he was about to receive. I advanced through the building with a purposeful stride, moving as fast as I dared. A few other people were milling around, giving me a tiny bit of cover.
I hit the exit at the same time that the security team found my suite empty. My head throbbed with splinters of agony as I tried to keep track