Her determination to go with him didn’t prevent her from lifting her gaze to the overcast sky and murmuring a silent prayer as she slid out of the rental.
Please, Lord Jesus, keep us safe in Your care!
She cautiously rounded the dirt pile.A tug on her arm stopped her.She glanced back at Micah’s grim features.
“If we’re doing this, you need to stay behind me.And you need to follow orders.”
“Okay.”She swallowed an argument.He was the expert.He pulled his weapon from its holster and stepped in front of her.She frowned, realizing she wouldn’t be able to see much while being stuck behind his broad back.
Micah moved stealthily around the dirt pile toward the next pile of gravel.She stayed close behind him, wishing she could see the SUV that had drawn his attention.After a few minutes, Micah paused behind the gravel pile, which gave her a chance to see the SUV parked near the back of the building.
He glanced at her, then went on the move.He walked quickly, with his upper torso bent over to minimize his height.She didn’t have to worry, as she was almost six inches shorter than he was.
This time, there was nothing to hide their approach.The open space between the last of the construction piles to the SUV and the building beyond made her feel incredibly vulnerable.She swallowed her concern.Micah had warned her.Besides, he must have gotten this close before to see the license plate.
When Bryn realized she was holding her breath, she forced herself to exhale and to breathe normally.The staccato beat of her heart made it difficult.Not for the first time, she wondered how Micah had done this sort of thing while being stationed in Afghanistan.
She’d never have survived.
Micah angled away from the SUV toward the side of the building.While there weren’t windows or doors, the basic structure was complete.Once they reached the wall, Micah stopped and turned to look at her.
“Okay?”he asked in a low whisper.
She nodded and thought to herself,So far, so good.
“We’re going to head to the wall near the opening where the doorway should be,” he said softly.“If the area beyond is clear, we’ll go inside.”
“Sounds good.”She tried to whisper as quietly as he did.“I’m with you.”
He gave a curt nod and proceeded to cross the last bit of open space heading toward the side of the wall.The ground was uneven, littered with rocks and clumps of dirt and the occasional leftover pockets of snow.She focused on not tripping and falling on her face as she followed his lead.
The building was so big she was convinced the owner of the SUV could be just about anywhere inside.What if they didn’t find anyone?Maybe the SUV had been left there on purpose, and the owner had been driven away by someone else?
No, that didn’t make sense.Not when the data center was out in the middle of nowhere.Easier to meet up somewhere else to switch cars.She shoved aside her whirling thoughts, focusing on the present.Even if nobody was inside, she thought it was possible they could find something useful.
The fact that the SUV was there at all, especially parked in the back where it couldn’t be seen from the road, indicated there was something off about the place.
Micah stopped so abruptly she nearly walked into him.Placing her hand on his back, she steadied herself.He quickly peeked around the corner, then took a longer look at the area behind the opening.
A minute later, he glanced back at her.He lifted his hand and pointed at the opening.She guessed he was telling her they were going in.
She nodded in understanding and followed him around the corner of the opening.As they crossed the threshold, she was glad to see the floor of the building was concrete.Yet even with the solid footing, the floor was littered with various construction debris—a few bent nails, the occasional length of wood, and a couple of Styrofoam cups that had been left by the workers.Not a lot of stuff, but enough that they had to step carefully to avoid being heard.
The walls themselves were covered with drywall that wasn’t quite finished.The space they’d entered was large and mostly empty.But she could tell there were sections walled off on the opposite side.It made sense that there would likely be office areas along the front of the building.
Micah’s head swiveled from side to side as he swiftly made his way diagonally across the room to the wall along the left side.She quickly joined him, pressing her back against the drywall while realizing that if anyone stepped out from those office areas, they would have easily been seen.
With the wide-open space they were in, there was nowhere to hide.
Swallowing hard, she reminded herself that it was her idea to tag along.So far, there was no sign of anyone else being there.
Micah edged along the wall, then stopped.She huddled beside him, wondering what had caught his attention.
He lifted his hand and gestured to the area around the corner.They were still several feet away from the presumed office space.She peeked around the corner and caught her breath when she saw there was a sheet of plywood stretched over two sawhorses.Sitting on the plywood was a sheet of paper that appeared to be a blueprint of the building.The curled edges on either side of the blueprint were held in place by a square chunk of wood on one side and a box of nails on the other.
She wondered why it wasn’t set up in the office area but figured the construction guys had kept the document out there for easy access.She was interested to see what the blueprints showed but didn’t move from her spot beside Micah.
He also eyed the blueprint with interest, then turned his attention to the offices beyond.He waited a beat, then took several steps forward for a closer look.She followed, hoping she’d be able to see it too.
