The Shadow Of Identity Behind The Mirror Of Reality

CHAPTER #14

(Keira’s POV)
Are you nervous?” Lia whispered.

“No, not really.”

Maybe I was a little nervous. We were all on our way to a warehouse a few kilometers from headquarters—supposedly locked and untouched.

Rowen had detected some unknown movement there. I still didn’t understand why he was turning this into a personal mission and dragging the entire team along. I joined this team to work for the company, not get involved in whatever this was.

My body jerked forward as the car came to a sudden halt.

“Okay guys, here it is,” Rowen began. “Henry and Lia, stay here and monitor the CCTV cameras. Daniel, I need you to get up on the building opposite the warehouse and check for any hurdles. Keira, you’re with me. We’re going in.”

I’m going in. Shit.

Everyone started moving—typing at keyboards, checking weapons, gathering what they needed. I stepped out of the van, the warm evening breeze brushing against my skin.

“Your shoelace is untied,” Rowen said, pointing toward my foot.

I gave him a short nod and crouched down to tie it.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I’m not sure about that,” I said, hesitating.

The air inside the warehouse was thick with dust and disuse. Each step stirred up old dirt, the crunch beneath our boots echoing in the vast emptiness. Rowen took the lead, flashlight beam sweeping across crates and file cabinets rusting in place.

“This place looks like it’s been abandoned for years,” I said into my mic.

“You’d think,” Henry replied. “But someone accessed a terminal in there just three hours ago. Check for any file storage—paper or digital.”

“Copy that,” Rowen said, already pulling open a cabinet. “Keira, start on the far end.”

I moved toward a row of metal drawers near the back wall. Everything smelled like metal and mildew. My gloves scraped across the handles as I opened one after another—most of them empty. A few loose files, yellowed and fragile, sat untouched at the bottom of one drawer.

“Found something,” I said. “Might be old company records. It looks like it has missing pages.”

“Bag ‘em anyway,” Lia replied.

For the next thirty minutes, we combed the warehouse, checking for signs of  disturbed storage. I kept my mic on, listening to Daniel call out structural notes and Lia cracking jokes to keep things light.

“Whoever organized this filing system was a monster,” I muttered.

Then—Daniel’s voice cut through, sharp and serious.

“Two men. The entrance. Heading toward the warehouse. I need you out now.”

Rowen snapped up from the desk he was checking.

“You sure?”

“Positive,” Daniel replied. “Armed. Moving fast.”

Rowen looked at me. “Time to go.”

Rowen scanned the space quickly, eyes sharp. “There’s no way out the back—doors are rusted shut.”

“What?” I hissed, my heart starting to race.

He pointed upward. “There’s a window up there. Might be a way out.”

I followed his gaze—it was near the ceiling, way too high to reach without a ladder or a miracle.