AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nonsense. You’ve gotten this far, which is how I know you’re cut out for it.”
“If you say so…”
She doesn’t sound confident, but that will come with time. She’s still new to this lifestyle, and it’s not something anyone gets used to in a few short days. Months, or possibly years, will warm her up to her new reality, and then she’ll be able to look at me with conviction in her eyes and say she belongs in the Bratva.
“Just focus on the current mission, and everything else will fall into place,” I tell her as we arrive at the cotton field.
As the satellite imagery showed, there is a little shack standing off in the distance at the middle of the field. I was expecting to have to wade through the cotton plants to reach it, but there’s a path that cuts right through the middle all the way there.
Easy enough. I just hope my all-access key works on the lock. It was fine for Dimitri’s house but I don’t know what his setup here is. He may have wanted more security.
“Quick, but no running. That draws attention,” I say to Lily as we step over the low wooden fence.
“Got it.”
We make our way down the path, hurrying through the darkness of night. Lily’s flashlight cuts through the mystery, revealing every rock and stick in the way as we make quick progress toward the shack.
It almost feels too easy, but then again, so did breaking into Dimitri’s house. From that, we got nothing more than a riddle and a slim chance of finding the research. I’m praying this will reveal something more substantial.
When we arrive at the shack, I pause for a moment, turning to Lily. “Point your flashlight at the door for a second.”
She aims the LED beam at the door, and my heart sinks. It’s just an old wooden door on rusted hinges, hardly the security measure a person would take for a secret laboratory.
“This doesn’t look right,” I mutter, grabbing the door handle and pulling on it.
It comes open without a fight, the rusty hinges making surprisingly little noise, like they’re only supposed to look rusty. In reality, they work just fine.
My breath catches in my chest when I see another door behind the wooden door, this time made of metal with a keyhole just like the one on the back door of Dimitri’s house. It should work with my universal key.
“I think this is it.” The excitement in my voice is obvious, despite my efforts to hide it.
“We found the lab?” Lily asks, peering over my shoulder as I bend down to try my key.
“As far as I know, but we’re going to need to be careful. I’m sure the keyhole isn’t rigged to explode, but we should turn on the bomb detector and keep it with us as we search the place,” I explain.
“I hope we don’t get blown up. That would be anticlimactic,” she says.
I chuckle as I stick the key in and turn it. “It wouldn’t be the worst way to go.”
There’s a little click as the key turns, indicating that it works. I pump my fist as I stand up, smiling at our first real victory. This is an important step toward uncovering the research for Project G.
The door to the lab swings open inward, and I have Lily shine her flashlight inside. At the same time, I pull out my bomb detector and turn it on, looking carefully for even the faintest readings that we could be in danger.
I don’t get so much as a blip, which tells us it’s safe to go inside. I doubt Dimitri has this place booby trapped. It wouldn’t make sense, since he comes here all the time. There might be a silent alarm, but the location alone is enough to keep people away from it.
“Okay,” I say, putting my hand on Lily’s shoulder. I feel her tremble, and I frown. “Are you good?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” she blurts. “Totally fine.”
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m excited,” she admits. “I always shake when I’m excited.”
I look her over, making sure she’s not about to lose her cool, but I can tell she’s telling the truth. Her brown eyes are wide and bright with anticipation, and even though her flashlight is bouncing around like carnival lights, her shoulders are pulled back and her stance indicates self-assuredness.
“Okay, let’s go inside, but I want you to stick close. Don’t wander off,” I warn.
“Not much room to wander,” she mutters as we step inside.
