Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,106

right now," Jin responded.

At his words, Kira headed in his direction.

Finn's large body was easy to spot even with the number of people between them. It was only when there was a brief lull in the crowd that Kira saw what Jin meant.

Odin bent over the monitors, making last-minute adjustments to her board.

Kira's pace sped up as she made a beeline for him.

Odin’s eyes narrowed as he looked up.

His features were more feminine than the last time she'd seen him. Gone was the shadow along his jawline.

Kira's gaze moved to his ear, catching the twinkle of a green stone.

Odin had assumed the female persona again.

Kira was a little surprised. While the hacker rarely stayed the same gender for long, Odin typically tried to stay consistent during a mission.

It made it so much easier to slip through the nets of law enforcement when they were looking for one gender while Odin became the other.

The transformation was so thorough that even scanning Odin’s DNA wouldn’t expose the deception.

It was a useful talent, but only if no one ever suspected. It made Odin as slippery as an eel and was one of the reasons Kira had so much trouble tracking the changeling that first time.

Finn watched Odin with suspicion, likely picking up the same change Kira had but not knowing what it meant.

"If you kill me, everyone will see. The Haldeel will arrest you, and you'll lose this race,” Odin said as soon as she arrived.

"Do you think I give a shit about this race?"

"Probably not, but you might change your mind after what I tell you."

Kira narrowed her eyes at Odin. "I'm waiting."

"The Tsavitee have something planned for the race. I want to know what, and the only way to learn that is by competing."

Finn glanced at Kira. "We should inform Graydon."

"And say what? Hello sir, this person wanted by half the universe says they think the Tsavitee are here and plotting?” Scorn filled Odin’s expression. “Do you think they'd believe that?"

Finn's jaw flexed. "It will be our fault if something goes wrong."

"It's more likely you'll scare them off. Then what? It could be years before we draw them out again," Odin argued.

Finn ignored Odin, his eyes never leaving Kira’s.

She gave him a sharp nod. "Do it. Inform Graydon."

Odin made a rude sound. "What happened to 'at all costs'?"

"I made a promise,” Kira said, reaching for patience. “Also, it will only benefit us in the long run to have Graydon in our corner.”

"They could be monitoring our communications," Odin said sulkily as Finn touched his arm to open a channel.

A humorless smile came from Finn. "Not these."

"Being cocky will only lead to destruction,” Odin said.

Jin snickered. "Oh ho, someone gets a little touchy when they're overruled."

Odin regarded the drone with a flat stare. "Careful Tin Can, or we'll revisit exactly how touchy I can be."

Jin spun toward Kira. "Why is this menace here? We already know we can't trust her."

"Odin is here because she has a unique set of skills that no one else can replicate,” Kira forced herself to say.

"And also because you need someone with a pulse to act as the controller since the officials won't recognize a pile of nuts and bolts as advanced enough to trust with someone's safety," Odin added in a chipper voice.

"Shows what you know. I don't have a single nut or bolt in my body. I'm way too advanced for that," Jin sniffed.

While the two were arguing, Finn moved closed. "Graydon said that without more concrete information, the race officials won't delay the semifinals."

"Told you," Odin sang.

"He will, however, deploy his oshota to keep an eye on the crowd," Finn finished in a cool voice.

"It's already done," Kira warned when it looked like Odin was going to argue. "And don't think we're not going to have a conversation about Elena later."

Odin's mouth snapped closed. "Fine. Do you want to know about your competitors?"

Kira made a gesture to continue. Data scrolled across Kira’s optics. Names were attached to photos, along with their finish times during the qualifying races, and their preferred tactics.

Kira scanned the files quickly, sorting them into those who might present a threat and the non-threats. Unlike last time, there were quite a few strong contenders.

"Most of the field aren't much better than trash," Odin said. "Their skills are mediocre, but they could be annoying if they banded together."

And because of Kira’s actions in the last race she was probably first on their list to target.

"From the information I gathered, these three will