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By the time the camera turned again, they were standing safely below it, leaning against the sliding door. The moon provided just enough light to keep them from being in total darkness. Chris put his ear against the cold glass, but he couldn’t hear a thing. Next to him, Ethan did the same.
“I don’t hear anything,” Ethan whispered. “What if it’s soundproof glass?”
“One way to find out,” Jay said and carefully pulled the door. It slid smoothly like Oscar had promised it would. Chris could now hear the distant sound of classical music.
“Let’s go inside,” Jay said. “I remember seeing a staircase leading downstairs when I was snooping around. Ant’s room will likely be locked, but it’s worth checking before we start raising hell. You’ve got the gun?”
“Yes.”
Jay held Chris’s gaze. “Last resort.”
“I know.”
Jay pulled the door wide enough for them to slip into the warmth of the house. The music was louder now, and Chris could just barely hear Tobias’s voice from the living room, but he couldn’t tell if the other voice belonged to Dima or Oscar.
Jay slid the door shut, and the three of them walked deeper into the house. The music got louder with every step they took. Chris’s heart raced, his eyes darting to every shadowy corner, half-expecting Dima to jump them.
“Here,” Jay said as they reached a short hallway. “Should be down there.”
The walls were completely bare, as though Tobias didn’t want to attract attention to this section of the house. They walked quietly toward the stairs and peered inside into complete darkness. Jay took out his phone and turned on the flashlight. “Careful where you step.”
Chris counted ten stairs on his way down. At the bottom, there was only one door made of metal, seemingly unrelated to the rest of the house. Chris could just barely hear the music from upstairs, but he could no longer hear the sound of conversation. That made him edgy.
Jay whispered to Chris, “Get the gun out.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Dima might be inside.”
With his hand anything but steady, he pulled the gun from his waistband. It felt heavier than before.
Ethan went to put his ear against the door. After a minute, he said, “I don’t hear anything. Ant? Are you there?” His body stiffened. “I think I hear something, like a moan.”
Chris put his ear against the cold metal. “Ant?” He could hear it too, the faint sound of choked moans. “I think he’s drugged, maybe gagged.”
Ethan ran his hands over the door. “How do we open this thing?”
“There’s a panel next to you.” Jay aimed the flashlight. “It needs fingerprints. Don’t mess with it.”
“Dammit, he’s right there.” Ethan took a deep breath with his forehead resting on the metal door.
“At least we know where he is,” Jay said. “Now we need to take down Dima.”
“I haven’t heard his voice from the living room,” Chris said. “He could be upstairs.”
“Okay. Let me try to take him down before you start waving that gun.”
“He’s dangerous,” Chris said, worried Jay and Ethan didn’t fully comprehend what Dima was capable of.
“Yeah, I’m no slouch either. Just make sure to have my back.”
Once on the ground floor again, they crept closer to the living room to get to the staircase. Both the sounds of music and conversation got stronger until Chris could clearly hear Tobias and Oscar arguing.
“I don’t hear Dima,” Chris whispered.
“Maybe we don’t need him,” Ethan said. “Let’s make Tobias open the basement door.”
Jay shook his head. “We need to do it right, or we could end up with a bullet in our back when we try to leave.”
