Page 36 of Power of Shadow

I contact Alex a few days later. He swears on his mother’s grave that he didn’t contact the Jackal about my job.

Whether or not I believe him doesn’t really matter. If he’s lying, it will hurt him more than he can imagine.

I’m not sure if our paths have only crossed briefly and we’ll each go our separate ways, or if we’re heading in the same direction. However, it’s suspicious that we’ve already appeared in the same place twice. It’s like our minds are working on the same wave.

Strange.

In any case, I’m not going to spend hours thinking about that arrogant asshole. I have to take care of the job I was paid a small fortune for.

I analyzed Charles Baker’s surroundings and found a clue that I followed.

A member of the former senator’s personal security team retired some time ago. He’d worked for Baker for over five years. He never left his side, and when an attempt was made to kill the senator one day, he was the one who saved his life. Evacuated him and took him to one of the emergency safe houses.

I want to know the list of these safe places. The target may be hiding in one of them.

For the last five days I’ve been following this bodyguard. Long enough to know every dull detail of his daily routine. The guy is old, lonely, and leads a boring life.

On Friday evening, he surprises me, leaving his apartment. This isn’t usual for him because he never goes out at this time of night. He spends his evenings in front of the TV with his cat on his lap and a bottle of Corona in hand.

But today’s different. I follow him, keeping a safe distance. Despite the late hour, the heat is pouring down from the sky. The air is heavy and stuffy.

The bodyguard leads me all the way to Covina. Before I pull over to the side of the road, I turn off the car lights. Meanwhile, he pulls up in front of the warehouse.

Surprisingly, the area isn’t guarded; it’s not even fenced. The neighborhood doesn’t look dangerous, but anything can happen here.

The guy gets out of his Corolla. He’s a tall, gray-haired man. His daily Corona has done its job, and he already has a beer belly. The lack of physical activity is also clear in his body. In the pictures, he looks well built, but not so much now.

He pushes open the huge metal door just enough to slip inside, then immediately closes it behind him. There are no windows to let in light, and no one is hanging around.

Almost an hour I sit in my car before I can’t take it anymore and jump out to check what’s going on.

Sticking close to my ally, the shadows, I circle the entire area. There are several trucks at the back of the warehouse. Not a soul in sight. No doors either. The only entrance to this warehouse is the one he came in through.

The windows at the back of the building seem like the perfect solution. If I want to remain unnoticed, I have to use one of them to get inside.

So that’s what I do. Only the third window in a row opens when I pull on it.

As quietly as possible, I lift it. A toilet window. Perfect.

First, I put one leg in, then my torso, and finally my other leg.

Easy.

I’m inside.

Just a moment later I step out into the dark hallway.

There’s another door on the left. I guess it might lead to an office. So, I turn left.

With my natural grace, I walk down the hallway until it meets the open space of the hall. I press my whole body against the cool wall.

My heart’s beating faster than a church bell; adrenaline rushes through me. I take a few deep breaths, then peek around the corner.

The darkness is thick, but in the far corner of the hall there’s a slight glow. A soft light seeps from the sides of a huge machine standing in the middle. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a thing, and I have no idea what it’s for. Perhaps it has something to do with transport or car repairs, hence the trucks at the back of the warehouse. It doesn’t really matter.

Something tells me that what I’m looking for is behind this machine.

But before I take a step inside, a male voice reaches me. “Come out, come out, wherever you are, Shadow. I know you’re here somewhere. I can feel you. You’re safe with me.”