Free Nexus: Ziva Payvan Book 2 by EJ Fisch Page B

anger and embarrassment settle over her once her mind cleared. It wasn’t often that she found herself as completely helpless as she had been a moment before, and it was humiliating. Dasaro had taken her totally by surprise, as her attention had been focused on the data pad. She stooped down and gathered the device up.
    “He thinks we know where Ziva is,” Zinni said, feeling rather emboldened. She placed a hand on her hip, straightening her shoulders.
    Skeet regarded her without taking his eyes off the captain. “Is that it?” he muttered. “Well, we don’t.”
    Dasaro took a step closer to the two of them. “Fine,” he said, “but know this. We will get to the bottom of this, and if we find out you’ve been helping her, it will be the end of the line for both of you.” He glared at them a final time. “Now get out of here. That’s an order.”

-19-
    Palace of the Royal General
    Haphor, Haphez
     
    The estate of Njo Jaroon loomed ahead, swathed in the silver light of the only two Haphezian moons that had managed to peek out from behind the dense, dark clouds. Ziva glanced up at what she could see of the sky through the thicket in which she was concealed. A strong wind somewhere high above kept the clouds gliding steadily across the black void beyond, causing the moons to blink in and out like lights someone was switching on and off. She shivered against a chilly breeze that carried through the damp bushes and drew a deep breath, watching the little cloud of steam diminish in front of her as she exhaled.
    She was sitting cross-legged at the base of the wall surrounding Jaroon’s mansion and yard, identical to the one she had allegedly climbed over to enter Tachi’s palace just down the road. Directly behind her on the other side of the wall was a thoroughfare that cut straight through the Royal City, the private community in the center of Haphor in which all the dignitaries and their families lived. She had left the relay station at dusk, and it had taken her well into the night to reach her current location due to a massive boost in security. Aircraft patrolled the night sky with spotlights and there were nearly twice as many guards as normal on duty. The process of infiltrating the Royal City had been painfully slow, but now here she sat, well-hidden in the shadows.
    Ziva slowly let out another breath, letting her eyes follow a member of the Royal Guard who was coming around the corner of the house and making his way across the yard. He was dressed in full uniform and toted a rifle as well as a service pistol, just like every other guard who had passed by in the half hour she’d been watching. Like the others, he also carried a small spotlight that bathed the grass in bright blue light as he walked. Ziva watched until he disappeared around the side of the mansion, then focused her attention on the corner from which he had come, counting under her breath.
    The next guard in the rotation appeared precisely twenty-two seconds later, flawlessly following the pattern Ziva had been observing. If being the stepdaughter of the Royal General – however estranged – had any perks, it was that she had come to understand almost perfectly the security systems at all the palaces. Even with the boost in numbers, there was still a distinct pattern she’d been able to pick up on in just a short time.
    From her vantage point, Ziva peered up to the three balconies jutting out over the back patio, supported by several large columns. Each belonged to an apartment-style bedroom within; the one on the far right was her half-brother Jaril’s, and the one in the middle had once belonged to her but was now used for who-knew-what. The room on the left, the one nearest to her, was the one she had her eye on.
    Wincing against the pain in her side, Ziva slowly began to move through the bushes toward the edge of the grass, working every part of her body centimeter by centimeter so as not to disturb the foliage. It took her a good ten