The Lies I Believed

Secret Room

It didn't take them long to silently agree to his stupid plan. They began running in different directions towards the stairs. Yeah, no. I barely trust the rotting boards on this floor. Aaron waited until he could hear them stomping on the upper floors before dragging me off to God knows where.

"In here." He shoved me into a room and locked it behind us. I didn't say a word as he began rummaging around in a closet. He turned back to me in a matter of seconds, with two backpacks in each hand.

"Put this one on. We're going far from here, before they even notice what's wrong," he said. "You slow down once and we're done for. Follow me."

I put on the backpack and watched as he moved a chair behind a desk and got on his hands and knees. He noticed I hadn't moved and whisper-yelled for me to hurry up. I scrambled over to him as fast as I could. He had opened a trapdoor underneath the desk. Unnoticeable until you're the one sitting at the desk.

"We have about five minutes before calvary comes barging in. I want you to grab as much as you can. Don't stop to look at anything or your son dies after you're left on the side of the road."

I didn't ask any questions. I only glanced down the dark, gaping hole and sighed. I really hate not knowing what I'm getting myself into. Aaron saw me hesitate and pulled out a flashlight in a flash. I snatched it from him and flicked it on. The hole brightened up and I mentally facepalmed myself for being so slow.

"Go now. We haven't got much time. They could already be coming."

I began climbing down the cold ladder, only stopping to take a breather. Why was it this far? When I finally got to the bottom, I could see rows upon rows of stacked up files.

"This way. I came here a couple of days ago and marked which ones I needed. Don't forget one. If anyone finds this place, I don't want them to know what I took." Aaron pushed me as he began walking ahead of me.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"A secret hotel base for some agents. We'd come here for meetings and store our most important recordings here."

"Doesn't seem like a safe place."

"From outside, yes. You have to have been in the small circle we trusted. Otherwise, you were blindly following orders that didn't make sense."

I didn't ask anymore questions as Aaron stopped in front of a small stack and took off his backpack. I did the same.

"All of these. Some of them have recorders taped to the inside, so be careful," he ordered.

"Got it."

We packed in silence until we heard the sound of a gun going off. I almost panicked, nearly dropping a file with a recorder. I caught it just in time, shoving into the backpack. That was fairly quick. I was able to put in a few more files before putting the backpack on again and waited for Aaron.

"I won't put it past them to search everywhere after apprehending those guys. I don't want to stick around for any longer."

Without another word, Aaron began running through the stacks of files. I followed along closely, thankful I never gave up running five miles almost every morning. I wasn't at all expecting the piles to end suddenly and lead into a series of tunnels. I could hear people above us and knew there was going to be a huge fight if we got caught.

"Up here. We need to hurry or they'll know there's another way out of here."

Okay, he really needs to make up his mind. Who is he working for? Who's on our side? Is calvary really coming? I can only guess that he's made too many enemies. I don't want to get caught up in his mess.

Too late. My conscience snapped. You were in trouble when he knocked you out.

I couldn't help but pray that we made it out just fine. I don't need someone calling the cops when I never return to the party. Hayden will definitely feel the guilt when he can't explain what's happened to me. Asher will surely try to kill him. I can't have that.

The sound of a door being hit resonated throughout the tunnel. Footsteps echoed right after. Aaron and I stopped dead in our tracks and listened. I don't know how far we are from freedom, but stopping now won't help us escape.

"Stop!" someone yelled. "I'll shoot you, if you move another inch. Even if you make it out that window, more agents are waiting for you."

I couldn't tell if I was just panicking, but that really sounded like Sha'Kera. If she is here, then that means Aaron doesn't work for the NYIA. It also means that if they catch me with him, Jackson could easily deny being on my side and I'll be his enemy once again. I worked way too hard to get him to trust me again. A gun was fired twice not too long after that.

"Go!" I hissed. I can't get caught by them.

Aaron didn't waste any more time. The tunnel split into three ways. He didn't hesitate and went left. That means he knows this leads away from the trouble. I could hear men yelling all around us. If they decide to come down here, we had better be near his car.

"Hey, up here. Hurry before they discover the trapdoor." Aaron ushered me in front of him.

There was another ladder in front of us. I grabbed it and shuddered from how cold it was. Aaron seemed to change his mind and shoved me out of the way. I didn't complain. No way was I going first anyway.

"Quickly, Danni. We have no time to waste."

"Hey, everyone get down here. If someone came through here, they can't be very far."

I didn't have to be told twice. I scrambled up the ladder after Aaron. After what seemed like an eternity, we burst through a poorly covered opening to the surface. Aaron helped me out and we ran like crazy. I didn't know where we were headed, but Aaron seemed to have everything under control. He pulled out his car keys and I could hear the car start up not even a few feet away.

When it came into view, I sped up to jump into the passenger seat. Aaron hopped into the driver's seat and didn't waste any time peeling away from the scene. We burst out of the spotty forests onto the road in front of the building. He didn't slow down, even when it looked like we might head into a ditch.

We didn't say much to each other until Aaron merged into traffic again. I finally relaxed in my seat and sighed. This wasn't exactly how I had my night planned out. I asked Aaron for his phone to check the time. It was ten after eight. That went a lot quicker than I thought. I may have missed Vincent cutting the cake. That's a bit depressing, but I can just say I went out to get him another present.

It didn't seem like long when Aaron pulled up to the hotel again. He allowed me to keep the bookbag and made me promise to keep it safe until I left town. He would be back for it before the week was up. I'll have to leave it with Hayden. He'd fare better with it anyway. I can't keep anything from Asher.

"I have your number. If you don't answer when I call, say goodbye to your son," he warned.

"Got it." I watched him drive off before walking back to Hayden's car. Well, at least I'm back here. All I have to do is pick up the pastries and I can head back home. No one would think I just finished running from some people.

I immediately turned on the AC and powered my phone back on. Surprisingly, there were no missed calls or texts from anyone. I texted Hayden that everything went well and I would be heading back home with the turnovers and drinks in no time. He texted back almost immediately, saying Vincent was waiting for me to get back to cut his cake and open presents. Well, I guess I'll have to hurry.