Gone In A Flash

Chapter Seven: Saturday (2)

Chapter Seven: Saturday (2)

As Blacker entered behind Hitch, the lights came on. They were set into the space where the floor and the wall met, and lit up the room with bright white light. The walls were like that of the corridor outside; painted a plain matte black.

At the centre of the room was a small, ornately carved pedestal with a single file lying flat on top of it.

Hitch circled it twice, and came to a stop opposite the door.

"All my instincts are telling me not to pick that up," Blacker said, staring at it suspiciously. "I think I've been watching too many late-night spy movies."

"It does seem a bit convenient," he agreed. "I don't think we should be rushing into picking it up just yet."

"Speaking of rushing in – how are we doing for time?" Blacker asked.

Hitch checked his watch. "5.51 – we should really get this done quickly." He surveyed the room. "So, we're in agreement that whatever's in that file in the centre of the room, it's not what we're looking for?"

"That was my first thought, yeah." Blacker started examining the walls, which were perfectly smooth, had no hidden compartments, and gave nothing away. "If you were LB, where would you hide the thing you wanted to hide most from everyone?"

RULE 3: People so often don't see what's right in front of their eyes.

"In plain sight," said Hitch, and headed straight for the pedestal in the centre of the room. He ignored the file placed on top of it – going as far as to actively avoid touching it. Instead, he crouched down and gripped the pedestal itself in both hands. He twisted it, first clockwise and then when that didn't work, in the opposite direction. It rotated smoothly, and after three turns he was able to pull it out of the ground altogether, revealing the hidden compartment underneath. Inside it was what looked very much like the real file.

"Nice work," Blacker said, looking impressed. "How did you know that would be there?"

"I've known LB for years, decades even," Hitch replied, pulling the file out and handing it to Blacker. "She's always had a flair for the melodramatic – she hides it well, though."

Blacker nodded, and regarded the file. It was unmarked, and looked perfectly ordinary. "If I move fast, I can get out, make a copy of everything, and put it back before 6."

"That seems like a good course of action," Hitch said, "although there's the risk that LB might notice or check before you return. Maybe we should–" He cut himself off quickly, straightening up to stare at the open doorway. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Blacker tilted his head.

They had been faint before, but they were quickly getting louder, and by extension closer. They weren't the crisp clicking of shoes on linoleum floor – they sounded more like bare feet.

Blacker and Hitch shared a quick, panicked glance. There was only one person who would be walking barefoot in Spectrum 8, and she was precisely the last person that they wanted to see at that moment.

Blacker was closest to the door, and he reacted first, heaving the door shut with a grunt. It closed with a slight hiss, and its internal workings clicked as the locking mechanisms engaged. After a few seconds, the room grew completely silent. Apparently it was effectively soundproof, since they couldn't hear LB's footsteps anymore.

"Oh, we are so screwed," Blacker whispered, eyes wide.

Hitch reviewed their options very quickly. It was possible that LB wasn't actually planning to enter Room 0, but that wasn't actually very likely. If she had been close enough for them to hear her, then she was close enough that there wasn't any other place she could have been heading. There was no place to hide in the room, and leaving certainly wasn't an option either. Based on that, he decided that he completely agreed with Blacker's sentiment.