chest surged again, and she cleared her throat. “You’ve seen the little ones back home when they’re really looking forward to whatever movie you’re showing. They practically vibrate with excitement. There’s an energy to it.”
“True.” Maya squeezed Nina’s arm before pulling away. “I never got to watch movies with other kids. We had a five-foot vid wall right there in the penthouse, and I could watch any movie in the TechCorps databanks whenever I wanted. But I think the kids back home have more fun watching on the side of the warehouse than I ever did.”
“There’s one way to know for certain,” Nina suggested. “If any of these screens are still standing, that is.”
Maya’s face lit with a familiar combination of excitement and determination. “I’ll see what’s left for equipment.”
She rushed off, intent on her new task, and Nina set off to explore the building.
It was one level, except for the projection rooms and a single central office that rose high above the two-story entry, with shattered windows looking out over the musty lobby below. Nina tried to go up and look around, but the questionable structural integrity of the stairs dissuaded her.
Whatever was up there, it wasn’t worth a broken leg.
Instead, she moved on, peeking in vast screening rooms and tiny cleaning closets. She avoided the wing where the roof had collapsed, passed by the open theater where almost everyone else had congregated—and realized that she wasn’t just exploring.
She was looking for Knox.
The moment the thought formed in her mind, she rejected it, physically turning back to join the others. It didn’t matter that she had legitimate reasons for needing to talk to Knox, eminently practical ones. Her desire to see him had nothing to do with logistics. It was all about the tingle of awareness she felt in his presence, or the way a few scant points of contact between them had left her aching.
If she talked to him, she might forgive him for barking at her the previous night. And she desperately needed her anger, because the only other things left were lust and temptation.
Both were luxuries she couldn’t afford right now.
When she got back to the screening room, Dani was staring up at the projection booth, both hands on her hips. Climbing ropes dangled down the wall from the small aperture, and a quick check of the remaining people in the room told Nina exactly who was up there. “Maya and Conall found a projector, I assume?”
“Yep. Trying to get it operational now.” A frown creased Dani’s brow. “Where have you been?”
“Nowhere. Just looking around.” Nina avoided her gaze. “I wanted to set up the camp shower, but I couldn’t find a place to pump water. Looks like we’ll have to wait another night.”
“At least.” Dani snorted. “Could have had our showers last night, if you hadn’t been determined to save a few fish.”
Nina shrugged.
“Doesn’t matter anyway.” Dani brushed the issue aside, as if she herself hadn’t raised it. “With the kind of heat we’re running into? It won’t be long before the skies open up and give us all the water we could ever want, and then some.”
The storms were definitely coming. Since they were traveling, and solid, safe shelter was by no means a guarantee, the thought should have worried Nina. But all she could think of was relief—from the heat, the humidity. From the electric pressure building in the air.
She smothered a laugh. There was something building, all right, but it had nothing to do with the weather. And the culmination of it had the potential to be even more dangerous than a lightning strike.
* * *
CLASSIFIED BEHAVIOR EVALUATION
Franklin Center for Genetic Research
Subject HS-Gen16-B has successfully breached the decoy server. She seems satisfied for now to decrypt the data she acquired, but I suggest immediate Code Yellow data compartmentalization for sensitive files.
And flag HS-Gen16-B’s network activities.
Dr. Keller, March 2072
* * *
NINE
The door that led to the movie theater’s roof was on its east side. The keypad that controlled the locking mechanism was useless without electricity, so Knox opened the door the less subtle way—with a firm grip and a heave of muscle.
Metal rusted by decades of neglect groaned and gave way. Knox left the door propped against the wall and stepped out into the humid night.
Gravel had covered the roof at one point. It spread out beneath a vast array of empty solar mounts, showing the paths of a dozen scavengers who’d scaled the building over the years and absconded with those precious