There was no way anybody was going to fall for these disguises. Absolutely no way at all. They looked completely preposterous, with their army green jumpsuits, caps and the most obvious fake moustaches Maphira had ever seen.

Certain they wouldn’t last five seconds inside the building, Maphira pushed on, Vai beside her. They entered with their trolley first, filled with everything you’d need to complete a normal window tinting job. Vai gave Maphira a wink as they went through the automatic doors, apparently completely convinced the disguises would work.

They approached the reception desk of the towering building, Maphira taking the lead. She prepared to speak with the most masculine voice she could manage because, apparently, people wouldn’t believe that two women could come to do some glass tinting.

“Hey, my buddy and I are here to do some frosted window tinting for the company. Could you direct us to the elevator?”

The receptionist eyed Maphira closely. “And what company would that be, sir?”

“Uhh…” Maphira started.

“That’s classified,” Vai said. “On a need-to-know basis only. You’ll mind your own business, please, or I’ll be reporting you to the top dog.”

The woman nodded. “Oh, of course, sirs. My apologies. The elevator is just down there. I do need to see some identification, though. We don’t just let any commercial window tinting business based around Melbourne work on our windows.”

“Of course,” Maphira said, pulling out her fake ID. She passed it to the woman, who took a closer look.

A long moment passed, and Maphira just knew they were about to have security called on them. But then, the receptionist passed the card back and waved them toward a nearby corridor.”

When they were out of earshot, Maphira leaned toward Vai. “Did that seriously work? We’re in, just like that?”

Vai laughed. “Getting rusty after a few years off the job?” she asked, lightly punching Maphira’s shoulder. “People tend to mind their own business. Too much effort for her to do anything, so she’s not going to look into us that much, even if there are a couple of red flags.”

Maphira swallowed, looking back at the receptionist. “I hope you’re right.”