Chapter Twenty-Six
Sky
My hands stung as I climbed down the knotted rope into the still, silent halls of Foxy’s basement. After all, that sort of physical exertion wasn’t exactly what I was used to. When I dropped to the dull green tile floor, I was stunned by how easy it was to sneak into the building.
From memory, I made my way through the barely lit corridors silently, forcing myself to breathe as I sneaked past the security desk where the guard snored heavily. I paused in front of the elevator, weighing the risk of drawing attention to myself against the benefit of completing my task more quickly. Deciding against it, I trotted to the stairway at the end of the hall and began to make my way up to the next level.
When I reached the community break room, it was unsurprisingly empty. The original plan was for me to place the sleep-inducing drug directly into the pot, but the pot was soaking in a sink full of water, so that wasn’t going to work. Ditto for lacing the coffee grounds, there would be no way to control the dispersal. Frustrated, I stared around the room in search of another option.
Nothing.
Groaning under my breath, I turned back to the coffee cabinet and reached for the package of filters. Removing one, I pulled the vial from my pocket and carefully applied drop after drop to the bottom of the paper. When I’d reached the number that Rafe had given me – thirty-two – I shoved the vial back in my hidden pocket and carefully lifted the damp filter by the top to carry it to the microwave.
Gritting my teeth when it began to hum, I shifted nervously as I waited for the paper to dry, carefully turning the microwave off before the time ran out to avoid the cheerful ding that would alert anyone nearby of my presence.
“Did you hear that?”
“Somebody must be in early. Let’s take a look.”
Faint voices from down the hall made me jump and I rushed to tuck the treated filter back into the cupboard, shoving the rest out of sight in the trash can. I ducked out of sight into the supply cabinet and closed the door as the voices got louder.
The voices were just outside my hiding place now. Holding my breath, I ever so carefully twisted the lock on the closet knob. Just in time, too, as it jerked under my hand when someone outside tried to open it.
“Well, it’s locked up tight. Nobody here.”
I didn’t dare breathe until the voices moved off and faded away.
Once I was relatively certain that I was alone again, I slipped out of the closet and worked my way back down the hall to the stairs. When I got to the security desk, it was empty. I relaxed a little when I realized that the voices I’d heard had probably been the night guard being relieved by one of the daytime security people.
When I got to the break in the corridor, I hesitated.
If I turned right, I would be almost to the vent and the rope that would lead me to freedom. I turned to the left and took two steps down the hall that led to the cages holding Alexi and the other prisoners before I thought better of it. All it would take would be one miss step, running into one person who knew I shouldn’t be there, and I’d be endangering the entire mission.
Turning around, I ran back to the vent and began my climb up to safety.
