A Dying Legacy

Chapter 2

"Here we go again..." I muttered, slowing down to a stop as I finally reached the territory line. I had done this what seemed like a million times; and like every other time, I had my fake ID ready before the guard even tapped on my window. I plastered on my best fake smile and rolled the window down. "How are you this morning?" I cringed internally, hating the sound of my fake peppy voice.

The guard looked me up and down, disapproval of what he could see through the car window clear on his face. You're no looker yourself I thought, spying the curly rat tail that fell over his shoulder as he leaned into the window. "ID?" he requested, palm already out waiting expectantly. I tried not to scowl at his audacity, leaning his other arm against the side of Mio Bambina.

"Here you go!" My 'chipper' voice said, handing it right over to him. Like always, I held my breath as he examined the piece of plastic, hoping he didn't suspect it as a fake.

The other guard didn't bother asking questions, his eyes going staight to roaming my SUV. I saw him go for the handle of the back door and unlocked it before he had to ask and make a scene.

"For what reason are you passing through our territory today?" Rat tail brought my attention back to him as my back door popped open for the other to take a gander. My toes curled in anticipation. I've done this a million and one times, but repetition did nothing to curb my nerves; it was just giving them one more opportunity to see through the facade.

"On my way home. I was helping a friend settle in to her new home in Virginia." I lied, showing my sleeve as if to show that I had been painting walls.

While rat tail took a moment, eying me as if that would make me crumble, I could feel thumps against my back. The other one patted the back of the front seats, like he was trying to feel out a lump that shouldn't be there. "Gus!" Rat tail shouted and the thumping stopped. "Stop wasting time." He shrugged his head to the side, signalling him to get out of the car. "Carry on, Miss." There was another thump. This time as rat tail patted the side of my door before he finally took his dirty limbs off of it.

I didn't have many possessions, so maybe that was why I was a little protective of the ones I did have. Maybe that's why I wanted to cut the rat tail right off of his head for touching Mio Bambina...but I didn't have time to indulge in such fantasies. With places to be, I gunned it as soon as I was clear from their line of sigh. I had 2 hours left to finish 3 hours of driving.

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I knew I was near my destination as the thick forest hills thinned out. I lowered the window, letting the breeze muss my messy bun as I inhaled the familiar scent of salt. Then I saw it, the tease of Atlantic Ocean through the cracks in the thin treeline bordering the highway. Two more miles down the road, and the trees came to a momentary stop at a tall barbed wire fence. To a mere passerby, the shipyard junkyard that laid just beyond it was not the view they were driving this scenic route for. If only they knew what it truly held inside.

As always, I drove another two miles passed the fence before doubling back. Nico and I were extra protective of our safe haven/operations base; and extra cautious when approaching. I didn't drive directly back to the fence from the highway, pulling off onto a small dirt path of the highway half a mile away. My AWD SUV quickly disappeared from the highway vantage point, finding the small trail between the trees that went straight to the junkyard. From the outside, all anyone saw were old rusted shipping containers as far as the eye could see.

The entrance I pulled up to was far back enough to keep me and my vehicle hidden from view. I parked my SUV and hopped out of the driver's seat. Overgrown weeds and shrubs tangled around the coils, adding to the abandoned facade. Vines crawled up the metal fencing, perfectly hiding the handprint scanner that sealed the gate shut. I pressed my hand to the cool digital screen. With a beep and a click, my fingerprints were confirmed and the gate slid open. Jumping back in my SUV, I drove it into the base.