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‘Okay,’ she said.
Marcus gave her a long, hard look. ‘It’s okay to be nervous,’ he said, reading her mind. ‘Everyone’s nervous their first time. It’s good. Means it’s important to you.’
‘Were you nervous your first time?’ Sophia asked.
‘You kidding?’ he asked. ‘I’m nervous every single time. That thrill of adrenaline means you’re living on the edge, and it’s the only place worth living.’ He gave her a wink. ‘Now come on, let’s have some fun.’
It wasnotwhat Sophia had been expecting. For some reason, she’d thought she was going to walk in on some kind of extreme fetish club — leather, paddles, ball gags, X-frames, the works.
But it wasn’t like that, and she was glad. Right now, she needed comfort and fun. She’d felt a little weird about the idea of coming to a kinky club without her Daddy. She’d assumed that she’d just be using the place as a hideout while the raid went down.
But no, this place felt more like a kind of indoor theme park for Littles.
And the woman leading them around the place felt like the age play equivalent of Willy Wonka.
‘This is the messy playroom,’ Nanny Rae said, pointing to a door. ‘It normally looks a bit like a war zone in there. You know, a Jell-O and glitter-covered war zone.’ He eyes twinkled as she smiled.
As soon as Sophia had met Nanny Rae, she’d felt this deep sense of peace and calm wash over her. She couldn’t help but wonder what her hidden depths might be, though.
Nanny Rae pushed the door open, and Sophia heard squeals of excitement coming from inside. ‘Poke your head in if you like.’
Sophia did so and saw three Littles in the middle of what looked to be the most epic food fight in the history of food-fights.
‘Bella!’ shouted a girl whose face was almost entirely obscured by what looked like whipped cream. She had a short, bright green pixie cut, and — probably — bright blue eyes. ‘I’m coming for you, Bella!’
It almost felt like an adult soft play space — there were foamy column and waist-high, soft-touch blocks set out to create cover and hiding spots for the Littles. Thankfully, it looked like all the ‘furniture’ was wipe-clean, so there would be no permanent stains.
A Little, presumably Bella, was hiding behind a big foam block. She locked eyes with Sophia and put a finger to her lips. Sophia couldn’t help but smile. She hoped that she wouldn’t give the game away.
‘Kamikaze!’ Molly’s voice sounded out in an ululating war-cry. She ran straight toward the first Little, with a whipped cream canister in each hand. As she approached, the green-haired Little pelted her with handfuls of Jell-O and chocolate pudding. But she couldn’t stop the onslaught. Molly unloaded so much cream that the first Little ended up looking like a dessert.
Sophia was doubled up laughing at the ridiculous spectacle of it, but it was about to get even more silly. Bella rose from her hiding place, a whipped cream pie in each hand, and clapped them both over Molly’s head.
Sophia let out a little shriek of mirth, and the three girls looked over at her.
‘Hey, she’s laughing at us,’ Bella said, her mouth upturned with glee.
‘We should teach her a lesson,’ the green-haired Little added.
‘You go first, Rhona.’
Nanny Rae looked at Sophia and said, quickly: ‘We better get out of here. My dry-cleaning bill’s high enough already.’
Sophia nodded and they stepped out. Through the window, the three mischievous Littles brandished a collection of messy foods and gnashed their teeth. Sophia, feeling naughty, stuck out her tongue.
‘Don’t tease the animals!’ Rae said, smiling. ‘Come on dear, let’s find you something a little more relaxing… andcleanto do.’
*
Even up close, the warehouse didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. In fact, there were signs that read ‘New York State Logging Corp.’ There were, however, a couple of telltale indications that not all was as it seemed.
First off, there were guards — armed guards — at the front gate. The guards weren’t wearing logging uniforms. Far from it. Both of them sported the cuts and badges of the Death Division. Although they were armed, it didn’t look as though they were particularly attentive. Right now, the two of them were playing some kind of game of dice while they smoked.
Second sign that something was afoot was the mass of motorcycles parked within the compound. There was no doubting it — this wasn’t just a logging operation. Wolf wondered whether the police were aware of the lab. Probably not. This place was so remote that it was unlikely that anyone even passed by here regularly. And anyone who did pass wouldn’t think twice about it.
The Drifters were posted up high on a hill near the building. The last part of the journey had been long and tricky. The plan had been to walk the last stretch, to avoid the Deathers hearing the sounds of their engines. That meant everyone had to leave their motorcycles just off the road, camouflaged by the trees. It had been a hard trek up unsteady ground, but it had been worth it.
They’d been watching the place for half an hour or so, but it felt as though soon, unless anything changed, it would be time to move.
