Jin'en parked at the mansion's back entrance, killed the engine, and stayed in the car.
Porsette didn't move either.
The list still lay open on her lap, her finger pressed against the half-line annotation that read "Mandrake file opened." She hadn't let go.
"Brother."
"Yeah."
"Their investigation into you isn't like the one into our sister." Porsette folded the paper, her voice level. "Her file says 'confirmed.' Yours says 'opened.' That means they've only just started looking. They haven't found anything yet."
"I know."
"So what are you going to do?"
Jin'en leaned back in his seat, his right hand resting on the steering wheel, his palm perfectly clean. He thought for ten seconds or so.
"If they're investigating me, someone has to handle it. Whoever handles it has to read the material, write notes, and pass it up.
"Someone tampered with the crates in the alley behind the logistics storefront. They know things are missing. Next, someone will come inventory what's left."
"You mean they'll send someone back to go through the crates."
"Right. Tonight or tomorrow." Jin'en pushed open the car door. "Go back and tell Broken Rainbow not to sleep too soundly tonight."
Porsette got out after him, and the two entered through the concealed door in the side corridor.
The corridor's wall lamps had already been dimmed. Broken Rainbow's door was closed, but light showed beneath it.
Jin'en knocked twice.
The door opened. Broken Rainbow leaned against the frame, still in her work pants, winding a braided cord around her fingers.
Her green eyes swept over Jin'en, then Porsette behind him, and she stepped aside.
"More trouble?"
"Prism is investigating me." Jin'en stood in the doorway without entering. "They've opened a file, but haven't found anything yet. Someone might come inventory the crates behind the logistics storefront tonight."
Broken Rainbow wound the cord back around her wrist and tilted her head.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Stake out the alley tonight. Don't make a move. See who comes," Jin'en said.
"If someone comes to search the crates, note their appearance and which way they leave. Don't follow too closely. Prism's people are alert."
"What about you?"
"I'll work the loading-bay lead. That old building Daffodil is watching has a regularly scheduled van tomorrow morning.
"I need to intercept whoever's handling this before Prism's people fill out the 'Mandrake file.'"
Broken Rainbow looked at him for two seconds.
"You're going to the old building alone?"
"Just to look first. I won't go in."
Broken Rainbow didn't press him. She nodded and shut the door.
Jin'en stood in the corridor for a beat, then turned toward his room.
Porsette followed half a step behind him without speaking. Only when they reached his door did she speak.
"Brother, I'm coming with you tonight."
"No."
"Not to the old building. I'll stake out the alley behind the logistics storefront with our sister." Porsette's voice was steady, leaving no room for negotiation. "I've saved that alley's coordinates. If Prism's people come and she makes a move, I can open a door behind them."
Jin'en looked down at her.
This girl had broken down the words "I can help" and laid them out before him, just as she had every time before.
"You listen to Broken Rainbow," he said.
"Only move when she tells you to."
"Okay."
At eleven that night, the three split into two groups.
Broken Rainbow took Porsette out through the concealed side-corridor door, following the gravel path around the back hill toward the Bridge District.
Jin'en drove alone to the old building on the border between the Miguel District and the Bridge District.
The roller shutter at the old building's rear entrance was down all the way, with no light showing through the gap.
Jin'en parked at a corner one street away, switched off the lights, and stayed inside. He spread his Spatial Perception for a sweep-three life signs inside, one on the first floor and two on the second, all near the rear entrance, none moving.
He narrowed his perception, circled from the front of the old building to the fire escape at its side, and edged along the wall to a spot beneath a second-floor window.
The window was closed, its curtains not quite drawn, leaving a finger-width gap. Jin'en crouched beneath the sill without looking inside, scanning only with his perception.
Of the two life signs upstairs, one was seated and the other moving.
The moving one was shifting things. The scrape of cardboard boxes carried through the wall.
The seated one remained still. After about two minutes, the person spoke.
"Hold back the Mandrake page for now."
The voice was low and indistinct through the window, but Jin'en's ears caught the key words.
He held his breath and kept listening.
The other person's voice sounded, more muffled. "Until when?"
"Until Daffodil's side is cleaned up. Mandrake's file can't go up in the same batch as Poinsettia's. That would make it easy for someone to follow the trail. Send them separately. Take the slow route."
"And the man himself? What's the use of just opening a file if we don't get a clear picture of Mandrake himself?"
"He's been active in the Bridge District lately, moving together with Poinsettia.
"Pin down the coordinates on Poinsettia's side first, and Mandrake will expose himself along with her. No need to investigate him separately."
Crouched beneath the windowsill, Jin'en chewed over those words one by one and swallowed them down.
Prism's strategy was simple: rather than investigate him directly, they would do it through Porsette.
Wherever Porsette was, he would be.
Learning the pattern of Porsette's coordinates meant learning his movements.
He slowly retreated down the fire escape and returned to his car.
Before starting the engine, he sent Broken Rainbow a brief message: Head back.
Then he leaned back in the driver's seat and waited.
About ten minutes later, his phone vibrated.
Broken Rainbow's reply was just as brief: They're here.
Jin'en pocketed his phone, started the engine, and drove toward the Bridge District.
When he reached the cross street outside the alley behind the logistics storefront, Broken Rainbow and Porsette were crouched behind a low wall diagonally opposite the alley entrance.
Seeing his car approach, Broken Rainbow didn't turn her head, merely lifting her chin toward the alley.
Jin'en killed the engine, got out, and moved close to the low wall.
"Two people," Broken Rainbow said quietly. "They went in five minutes ago. The back door wasn't locked. They pushed it straight open. One's searching the crates in the compartment, and one's keeping watch halfway down the alley."
"Has the lookout moved?"
"No, but he keeps looking toward the alley entrance. He turned his head when your headlights swept past."
Jin'en spread his Spatial Perception. There were two life signs in the alley, one in the compartment by the back door, the other against the wall halfway down.
The one in the compartment was crouching, searching the crates in a hurry.
"The one searching the crates is looking for something," Porsette said softly beside him. "He's rushing. He's not taking inventory. He's looking for one particular thing."
Jin'en glanced at her.
"You're sure?"
"There's no order to how he's searching. If he were taking inventory, he'd take things out one by one, look at them, then put them back. He's rummaging, tossing each thing aside after checking it."
Jin'en turned his gaze back and thought for two seconds.
"Broken Rainbow, circle around from the other end of the alley and block the lookout. Don't attack. Just block him."
Broken Rainbow nodded and slipped out from behind the low wall in a crouch.
"Porsette, once Broken Rainbow is in position, teleport in through the back entrance. Open a door behind the one searching the crates in the compartment. Make some noise so he turns around, then get out."
"Okay."
"Don't stop once you're out. Teleport straight back to the alley entrance."
Porsette stepped forward. Broken Rainbow's figure had already disappeared around the corner at the alley's other end.
About half a minute later, a faint thud came from the lookout's direction halfway down the alley, followed by the sound of Broken Rainbow's footsteps closing in.
Porsette vanished from behind the low wall.
Jin'en leaned against the wall, counting the seconds.
Five seconds.
The sound of a crate being knocked over came from the compartment by the back door, followed by hurried footsteps as someone ran for the doorway.
Eight seconds.
Porsette appeared at the alley entrance, holding a manila envelope thinner than the last one.
"Got it."
"What about the one who ran?"
"He rushed out the back door and ran toward the other end of the alley." Porsette caught her breath. "Our sister has the lookout blocked."
Jin'en walked into the alley. Broken Rainbow stood halfway down it, one hand pressing on the lookout's shoulder. The man crouched facing the wall, not daring to move. The back door stood open, and the crates inside the compartment had been rummaged into a mess, but their contents were still there.
"Which way did the other one run?" Jin'en asked.
"North. Out of the alley and onto the cross street," Broken Rainbow said.
Jin'en didn't give chase.
He went into the compartment by the back door and looked at the searched crates, then crouched to sift through the papers scattered on the floor. He found what he wanted: a handwritten note in the same handwriting as the annotations on the list. It read, "Mandrake. Area of activity: Bridge District. Moves with Poinsettia. Separate file creation deferred. Process jointly once Poinsettia's coordinates are confirmed."
Jin'en pocketed the note.
When he came out, Broken Rainbow still had her hand on the lookout.
The man crouched on the ground, his jacket cuffs worn pale.
"Who sent you?" Jin'en crouched down.
The man didn't raise his head. His voice was muffled. "The one in charge of the goods."
"The one surnamed Zhu?"
"Yeah."
"Where is he?"
"Don't know. He just said to search the crates in the back alley tonight for a file page called 'Mandrake.' Take it if I found it. Report back if I didn't."
Jin'en stood and glanced at Broken Rainbow.
"Let him go."
Broken Rainbow released him. The man stood, rubbing his shoulder. Not daring to look back, he hurried toward the alley entrance.
Porsette stood at the alley entrance and stepped aside, watching him pass, turn onto the cross street, and disappear.
"Why let him go?" she asked.
"To take a message back to Zhu," Jin'en said. "Prism knows the crates have been tampered with. Next, they'll either relocate or speed things up. Either way, they'll have to send people."
"And if they send people, we can follow."
"Right."
The three withdrew from the back alley and got into the car. Jin'en took out the note, glanced at it, and tucked it back into his pocket.
"Prism wasn't planning to investigate me separately," he said. "Their plan is to locate me through you. You leave the mansion, I follow, and they record my movements."
Porsette sat in the passenger seat, her hat on her lap, saying nothing.
As the car turned onto the road halfway up the mountain, she turned to look at Jin'en.
"Brother."
"Yeah."
"Then don't go out with me anymore."
Jin'en glanced at her.
"What did you say?"
"Prism is investigating you through me. If I don't leave the mansion, or you don't follow when I go out, they can't learn your patterns."
"If I don't go with you, who will?"
"Our sister can. Daffodil is active in the Bridge District, and Prism hasn't found her, which means her routes haven't been exposed yet." Porsette's voice was level. "You stay in the mansion. She comes with me when I go out. Prism won't be able to track you down."
Jin'en didn't answer.
The car stopped outside the mansion's back entrance. He killed the engine and sat in the driver's seat, thinking for a while.
"You want me to stay in the mansion while you go out on your own."
"Yes."
"No."
"Why?"
Jin'en turned to look at her.
"If Prism can't track me down, they'll watch you directly. If you go out with only Daffodil beside you, what happens if she's lured away?"
Porsette didn't answer.
"I won't leave the mansion, but I won't let you go out alone either." Jin'en pushed open the car door. "Starting tomorrow, tell me before you go out. I'll drop you off without taking the same route as you. When you're done, I'll pick you up. If Prism wants to learn the pattern, let them. They'll learn the wrong route."
Porsette got out on the other side and followed him a few steps before suddenly speaking.
"What about you? What happens when you leave the mansion?"
"When I leave, I won't take anyone." Jin'en pushed open the concealed side-corridor door. "If they study my patterns, I'll change them. East today, west tomorrow. Detours, different cars, no fixed routes."
Porsette fell silent for two beats.
"That'll be exhausting."
"Then it'll be exhausting." Jin'en walked into the corridor. "Better than letting them fill out the file."
Broken Rainbow caught up from behind, her bare feet stepping on the wooden floor as the braided cord turned once around her fingers.
"Are you two finished?" She tilted her head at Jin'en. "If you are, there's something I need to tell you."
Jin'en stopped.
"When I cornered that lookout earlier, he had something clipped to his waist." Broken Rainbow took a small cloth bundle from her pocket and unfolded it. Inside was a triangular metal badge with a vertical line down the middle.
"Prism's mark. But the workmanship is much finer than that batch of goods from the one surnamed Zhou. There's a number on the edge."
Jin'en took it and turned it over. A line of extremely fine digits was engraved on the back.
"This number might identify someone inside Prism." Broken Rainbow wound the braided cord back around her wrist. "Not an errand runner. A full member."
Jin'en slipped the badge into his pocket.
"I'll go see Daffodil tomorrow," he said. "Prism insiders have started showing up along the Bridge District routes. That means they're shifting their focus this way. It's time to make a move on the regular shifts at the old building."
Porsette stood in the hallway, looking at him.
"Brother."
"Go ahead."
"Take me with you when you go to the old building tomorrow." Her tone was different from every time before. It lacked the flat, matter-of-fact delivery of "I can be useful," sounding more like she was confirming a judgment she had already thought through: "Prism insiders have shown up. That means the old building might be more than just a place to store goods. I've saved the coordinates of its back door. If things go wrong inside, I can open a door to let you out."
Jin'en looked at her for two seconds.
"Six tomorrow morning. The training ground," he said. "I'll teach you something."
"What?"
"How to open a door behind someone who's chasing you."