Heritage

Heritage (Chapter 24)

Chapter 24 - Stella

Elena and I take our positions on either side of the closet door, listening intently for sounds of oncoming footsteps. She turns to me, nods once and I crack the door just a fraction of an inch. Peering my face out just a tiny bit, I glance both ways, seeing that the corridor is devoid of any life.

"We're clear," I whisper to Elena.

"Let's go, step quietly, our heels will give us away," she replies as I slowly open the door.

We step out simultaneously, taking offensive positions with our backs flat to the wall. We both hold our breaths for a moment, listening again for any sounds of approach before Elena grabs my wrist, crouching down on the tiptoes of her heels and moving like a jungle cat, slinking in on its prey, silent, fierce and quick.

She's a force to be reckoned with...good thing she's on my side here.

We reach a corner and Elena stops, quickly peers around and with my wrist still clutched in her hand, moves swiftly to the adjacent hallway.

"Ok," she whispers, coming to a stop in a shadowy corner, I know where Ethan will be. The armory is up this hall, fourth door on the left. Let's just hope one of us can hack it open. My TAPs is in my bag, back in the Grand Hall.

I silently nod and we continue our quietly crouched journey down the deserted corridor.

"Can you run on your toes, Stella?" Elena asks me, still stepping softly.

"I practiced ninjutsu, and I was a ballerina for twelve years. I think I can do this," I reply.

"I see why Leon loves you, Stella. You really are a remarkable woman. Now, on my count, we're going to run on our toes, right for the armory. Hold my wrist, if we need to hack the security code, I'll need you to look out.

Let's do it..."

"One...two...three!" Elena whispers, a tone of what seems almost like excitement in her voice.

On three, both of us deftly stand, sprinting full-out like two pirouetting ballerinas, graceful and dynamic, until we reach the armory door, instantly crouching to the ground as if the curtain dropped.

The door's keypad is lit red, telling us that the armory is securely locked-down. Elena looks up at me, takes a deep breath and begins unpinning her long auburn hair.

"Stella, as beautiful as you look, I need those hairpins," she whispers to me as I peer quickly around the nearest corner, noticing it empty.

I hastily begin pulling each pin from my curled hair, dropping them in her palm as she begins intricately sticking them around the super-thin edge of the plasma keypad.

"Just one more, and I'll have it. It's a seven-key sequence, and if I can trigger all of the correct numbers at once, it will open instantaneously," she says, as I drop the last hairpin in her opened hand.

"How do you know the code? I thought you could only get in with your TAPs..."

"I'm the one that set the code. It's me and Ethan's wedding date," she replies, smirking up at me.

I really hope she's my mother-in-law someday...

She breathes deeply, closing her eyes for a brief moment before steadying her hands and swiftly sliding the last pin into place.

We both hold our breaths, wincing as if waiting for the intruder alarm to sound, but nothing happens. Instantly the keypad lights up green and the handle clicks, unlocking it.