He swished his hand through the opening tothe dining room, and we walked through.
“Ah, Amber,” Alexander said as I made my wayto my seat. “I’m afraid you missed the end of the meal. Of course,there is still dessert.”
I leaned back and said, “I’m sure it will belovely, but I’m not sure it would be a good idea to eat anythingfor the next little while.” I lowered my voice so that only hecould hear, “I’m so sorry for disrupting your dinner. I’m terriblyembarrassed.”
“Don’t be. Sometimes trying new thingscauses upset stomachs.” He smiled at me, genuinely, it seemed. Thena flicker of something like suspicion flooded his eyes.
Dessert came and went with me sipping only aglass of water. The creamy cake was definitely something I wouldnormally have devoured. I waited patiently for my chance to escape.I couldn’t wait to examine the drive, sure that it would containthe last bit of information we needed to complete the mission. Itwould be too soon if I never saw Jericho again. And I wouldn’t mindsaying my last goodbye to Viktor, either.
“Will you be needing us any longer, Uncle?”One of the two cousins said.
Alexander glanced at me and then said,“Actually, I do have a little matter I could use your assistancewith.”
I got a very bad feeling, and I scraped offmy tracker mole, flicking it onto the pants of the guy sitting nextto me, just in case they were about to search me or something. Icovertly lifted my boot to relieve it of the drive I’d put inthere, placing it in a lip of wood beneath the table where I sat.Blood pounded in my ears as the cousin who had spoken leaned downfor the brigadier to whisper in his ear. In my peripheral vision, Isaw the cousin’s eyes flick to me and then to Viktor. This was notgood.
The guy moved toward Viktor as Alexanderspoke. “Amber, my dear,” his voice was syrupy. “I have somethingdownstairs I think you might find interesting.”
Viktor’s eyes flew wide, and he pressed hishands on the table to stand, but his cousin put his hands on hisshoulders, holding him down. “But Uncle,” he said, his voice movingfrom loud to quiet as he spoke. “I thought you had business toattend to.”
He knew I’d been in his office. He was goingto do something terrible to me.
I forced myself to keep fear from my voice.“I should really get going. I know you’re a busy man, and I’d hateto take up any more of your time.”
“I’ve got a couple minutes to spare for mynewest star.”
Alexander stood and nodded at me.
I stood, too. I looked at Viktor, whose facehad turned a pasty white color. “Are you coming?” I asked him.
He stroked his chin. “Nah, it’s nothing Ihaven’t already seen.” He licked his lips and held tight shoulders.He was totally freaked.
My stomach felt rock hard, and every nervein my body was on high alert. I had to be ready for anything. Wewalked through a different wide hallway off to the left of thedining area. After going through the kitchen, Alexander turned andtook some stairs down to the basement. Someone was following us. Myheart thudded in anticipation.
At the bottom step, he punched in a code onthe keypad on the wall, and the door slid open to a dark space.“Please excuse the smell, Amber,” he said, as he stepped to theside to let me pass. “It’s something we haven’t been able to getrid of.” The room was small and dank. It smelled of mold andsomething metallic.
I nodded and walked through the door, everysense I had telling me this was a place touched by evil. A prayerwelled up in my heart asking God to keep me safe and help me find away out of whatever was going to happen without me blowing mycover.
Warm hands urged me forward. I turnedaround, “You wanted to show me this room made of cement?” It waseasy for a trained eye to recognize a wall that moved; slightscrapes rushed along its almost smooth surface. The metal door we’dentered shut with a slight clang. I could see no way out. I couldtake them both out, but then I’d be compromised, and I had no ideawhat the code was to open the exit door back up. I couldn’t actnow. I could only hope he wasn’t planning on executing me.
“Okay, Alexander, you’re making me scared,now. Are you kidnapping me?”
He smiled a wicked smile. “No, my dear. No.There is something beyond this wall I want you to see…But first,Nikolai needs to search you. I’m sure you won’t object.”
The cousin, Nikolai, then searched mesoundly, even removing my boots and checking for movable heels andall. I said a silent prayer of gratitude for the warning I’d feltearlier.
Nikolai shook his head, and Alexander tiltedhis to the side and narrowed his eyes at me, like he was thinking.Then he straightened up and pushed a code into the keypad on theopposite wall.
It slid open slowly, revealing anothercement room. This room was large, and my eyes immediately fell upona young boy tied to a chair in the middle of the room. The chairsat over a drain in the floor, and the boy’s head lolled forwardbut then popped up at the sound of us entering the room. I gaspedand covered my mouth with my hand. Hank.
Chapter 24
He had obviously been crying, and seeing uscaused him to yell out around the gag in his mouth and try to getto us, pleading for us to listen to him.
“Oh, my gosh!” I squealed. “What happened tohim?” I moved forward as if they’d let me free him even though Iknew they wouldn’t. What was he doing here? His smiling, friendlyface from lunch flashed before my eyes.
Arms held me back.
“This boy,” Alexander said, “is asnitch.”
I shook my head. “No!”
“It’s true. He was caught tonight trying tosend information to the FBI.”
“I know him,” I said. “He goes to my school.He’s a good person. A great person.”
“Yes. It is a shame to
