A Spy's Home--Book 1: Beyond the Borders.

Chapter 27

It took a couple tries, but I found the right key and heard the soft click of the door unlocking. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Rory nod telling me to push it opened. I turned the door handle, and slowly pushed it slowly pushed it open. It was dark inside, but I could see a staircase leading up. I let Rory walk in and I slowly shut the door, and the only noise it made was a soft click.

We heard footsteps above us; more than one pair of feet. "We need to hide." Rory suggested. 

I nodded in agreement and followed his silhouette through the shadows of the first floor of the Riverside Apartments building. "There would be spies down here if Martin and Mya were on this floor, so we should probably check the upper floor." I said, once we were tucked under the staircase.

When the footsteps passed to the other side of the hallway, Rory and I made our way up the stairs as quietly as we could. "Did you know him?" Rory whispered suddenly. 

The question caught me off guard, and asked, "What?" 

"Josiah, the kid, did you know him? The way you talked to him, it seemed like you did." Rory repeated.

 "No, I didn't. I just sort of connected with him. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, and he's terrified of the boss." I explained, just before we reached the second floor.

We heard footsteps coming down the hall, and hid against a wall about six steps below the second level. "Have you heard anything from Daniel or the rookie?" I heard one spy ask; the voice sounded female. 

"Nothing yet. Should we go see if something's wrong?" another spy asked; this one sounded like a middle-aged man. 

"We'll give them five more minutes to check in, but for now scan the whole building for any intruders. The girl from earlier could be bringing the police back." the female spy answered.

Two pairs of footsteps clopped down opposite directions, and I saw Rory peek over the edge. "Alright, it's clear. C'mon." Rory whispered to me. I tiptoed the rest of the way up and leaned against the wall, waiting for Rory. "Okay, I'll go down the left hallway and you go down the right. Make sure to watch for one of the spies that was just here." he told me.

With nothing more than a simple nod, I snuck my way down the right hallway, and peeked into every room. I was almost on the other side of the hall, and running out of rooms, when I heard a soft sob coming from the last room. I tried the door knob and found it was locked. I pulled out the keys Josiah had given me, and clumsily placed the first key I saw into the keyhole.

To my surprise it was the right one, and quickly opened it as soon as I heard the faint clicking sound. What I saw, however, made my heart skip a beat: a little boy curled up in a tight ball on a cot, and was sobbing in his knees. I heard him mumbling, "Mommy, Mya, Daddy....Where are you?"

"Martin?" I called, shuffling slowly into the darkened room. The boy looked at me with blood-shot, terrified eyes. 

"Mommy?" he asked, his voice cracking, which broke my heart. 

I pulled off my bandana and let it slump over my neck and right shoulder, before shaking my head. 

"No, but I'm going to get you back to her." I reassured him, kneeling next to the bed. Martin's eyes were big, and brown, and he had soft brown hair, and freckles under his eyes and over his nose.

Before he could respond, the door closed and the room was plunged into darkness. Martin screamed out in terror, and I felt a hand grab the back of my uniform collar, which pulled me up to my feet. I was just starting to process what was happening, when a fist made contact with my lower jaw and shattered my just gathered thoughts. 

TBC....