Dangerous by Default

44. Janus is angry

What does it mean?

As they rushed to the elevators to retrieve Janus, Mina felt like the world was moving faster than ever before. She needed her adrenaline to shut up long enough to process everything that had transpired in the past 24 hours.

Here are the facts that are known.

One: The Eureka text. Ami was on the verge of, or may have already had, a breakthrough on one of the most controversial inventions in modern times: a womb implant that would allow anyone to experience the miracle of childbirth.

Two: Money. Dimensions is hours away from running out of funding. Pechaude had appeared out of nowhere to save the day. He's agreed to invest $150 million as lead investor, in exchange for one board seat. The money transfers tomorrow morning.

Three: Rude ass red riding hood. An intruder dressed in a velvet robe attacked Caine and I, and most likely Ami. She knows about the Goo, and to top it off our lab is trashed.

As Mina's mind swirled around what had happened, she imagined a large castle in her mind with many rooms. Each fact was placed in its own elaborate room like a large work of art. All she had to do now was arrange them in a way that made sense. She had to find the flow, it was the only way to find clarity.

Remap. Remap. Remap.

Coincidence?

If it had been a coincidence, it meant that someone had planned the events of the night. They had picked tonight based solely on their own timelines and need to attempt a break in, and not based on any knowledge of Ami's work. This would have been extremely lucky. Unbelievably lucky.

If it's not a coincidence. She furled her brows, then catching herself tense up, unfurled them. Either it was related to Ami's work specifically, the company's financial situation, or both. If the break-in and Ami's disappearance are not a coincidence - meaning they waited until this very moment to swoop in and capture her because they knew she had a breakthrough, then it would be the result of a protracted surveillance operation by a competitor, a foreign government, or someone inside. It meant that someone knew what they had been working on, and wanted it for themself.

Hell, get serious, it could be all three.

If tonight's timing was based on the end of our runway coming tomorrow, and they were serious enough to hire a creepy supervillian as a hand, it would mean this mess is far from over. They're just getting started, and they need my back against the wall.

Mina's concentration was broken by the ominous ding from the elevator doors. Her eyebrows raised once more at the figure that stepped out into the hallway. The Janus that stood before them was nothing short of concerning. Wrapped in a trench coat, the sight of her unkempt hair and bleary eyes made her indecipherable from one of the many drug dealers in the Tenderloin. Something was very off, and Janus' appearance only confirmed it.

"Where is she, where the hell is Ami?" She said Before Mina could open her mouth. The rock hard professional tone in her voice was stained with a harshness, masking what had to be fear. Janus was actually scared.

"She was supposed to meet me at my place. She.. she always sends me her eta. She's never late. Not for anything!"

"Shit. This isn't easy to say, Janus," Mina reluctantly looked into her bloodshot eyes, "But with everything that's happened tonight, we think something's happened to her."

"Show me." Janus bluntly commanded.

As they made their way to the private labs, Mina and Caine ran her through the events of the evening as best they could. Janus barely spoke, only asking brief questions about the timing of what had transpired. When Mina finished, it became hard to ignore the look of deep calculation on Janus' face. They continued to stew in silence until Mina unlocked the glass doors of the research lab.

Janus seemed to float through the space, scanning every inch with a robotic precision that reminded Mina of Artemis. What was she looking for?

"I don't see anything else of use besides the mask." Janus said as she put it in her coat pocket. "I'll have it tested, but from the looks of how this guy works I doubt we'll have anything on them. We're dealing with a pro."

"I can look into getting the security footage -"

"I don't know how much we'll get from it," Janus sighed as she pointed to the shattered camera that once surveyed the room. "The next 48 hours are going to be critical to Ami's survival. I have some sources that could be useful, but in the meantime I need you both to lay low and out of my way. Don't talk to anyone, don't go anywhere but straight home. Do you understand?"

"What about my lab? Ami and I have risked everything for this project, we can't just leave it unprotected."

"Take what you need, that goo and anything else they may be coming back for. The last thing I need is you and Caine sitting here, waiting to get attacked again." Without another word, Janus rushed out of the lab.

There was a sting in the way Janus said the word attacked. Mina could sense a feeling of doubt, as if Janus wasn't quite ready to buy their story.

She thinks we did it.