The Gadgeteer

Chapter 27

ARABETH NEEDED THREE experts, including Graham. He, more than any of them, understood what was going on, what he was helping fight. He would do the miniature transmitter, with the biggest challenge being its size.

"It can't be bigger than a nickel, smaller if you can," she said, redrawing how she imagined it on a scrap of newsprint.

"That's going to be difficult given the time constraints," Graham replied.

"I have every faith in you, Graham. If anyone can do this, it's you. I'll be back tomorrow to see. Will you be here, still?" She looked around at the strange accommodations he'd chosen, not trusting his safety at home. A remote barn, actively used for its intended purpose, he'd cleared out the equipment room and restocked it to continue his work.

"If I don't burn the place down, it should be ready in two days."

"I need five of them, if you can." It seemed that everyone saw this war coming except her. That was irritating.

He nodded, his usual upbeat attitude dampened by circumstance. Just today, he seemed a little less crazy - a little less himself.

"We'll end this war threat. They may try to start in our city, but their calculations are off if they think we're easy targets, easy pawns," she said.

"I know." Graham sighed. "Bring a decanter of sherry when you come back out, would you?" He smiled weakly and turned away.

The next expert was Adam, for the magnetic but insulated case. It had to stick in hidden places, but not impede the signal.

"I'm not sure that is possible, but I've been playing with a new alloy that may work. It's not field-tested." He was a young, ambitious maker, with talent unlike any she'd seen when it came to alloy manipulation and metallurgy.

For the third part, she approached Amber. Ideally, she would have tasked Graham with this, but time constraints made it impossible. Amber was her second choice. When designing the remote listening device, there were a few concerns. In fact, Amber may have the hardest part. Fortunately, she was clever and liked a puzzle.

The signal had to be detectable through metal, through heavily mineralized stone, and through other people. It had to be able to be manually tuned to different frequencies, so that devices didn't interfere with each other. She had Marble's collar and receiver in her satchel still, and used that to demonstrate, although Marble's frequency was always the same one.

"I can do it. I've been toying with something similar," the woman said.

"I love working with specialists." Arabeth laughed. "But I need it in two days. Is that something you can do?"

"I'm sure I can." Her lightly furrowed brow was concentration not worry. "It'll cost you more to rush it, but I know you're good for it."

"Nice. I'll be back to see if there's anything you need tomorrow, okay?" Arabeth said.

Amber nodded and walked away, already thinking the design through.

Outside, Arabeth saw the cab driver talking to a young teen. He slipped them a coin before they took off running. Turning, he gave a slight bow.

"Where to now, ma'am?" His expression was a little odd, but she wrote it off as related to the conversation he'd just had.

She smiled. "Call me Arabeth, please. Next stop is the main police precinct, if you're still on the clock."

He nodded and held the door for her. She passed him the next payment and climbed in.

*****

Melanie shuffled through a stack of papers on a desk two rows back, but turned to see who had entered. Spotting Arabeth, she quickly motioned for her to duck down. Taking Melanie's hint, she crouched down and moved to hide in the corner away from the door next to the coat rack Marble liked to hang out behind. Leaning back against the wall, she waited for an explanation.