The Fall of the Society

Chapter 26: Following a Lead

     Rain fell as she sat perched high in the oak tree. She had been staking out this location every night for the last week, watching the coming and going of hundreds of Society vehicles. An assassin that had been on her trail had given up the information when she caught him. Apparently, this site was part of a much larger trafficking operation that the Society had going, and they brought in a lot of money using illegal methods such as this. She was not entirely sure she believed the man's information as he was terrified for his life and likely just telling her what he thought she wanted to hear, but in case there was truth to his testimony she was following through on the lead.

     Thunder rumbled over head as lightning split the sky. She had been using the skills that Tripp had taught her because her own abilities would give her away in the darkness. Deciding that she needed a closer look, she slid from the tree and slinked silently through the underbrush, an occasional flash of lightning was the only source of light away from the building. She made her way toward a large garage door that could fit a truck coming and going at the same time. Her interest had finally gotten the better of her and she needed to know what was inside those trucks. Every time one had shown up, the door had opened just in time for it to pass through without slowing, and then closed immediately after it was inside. Each of the trucks looked identical, white box truck with no major markings, always clean. The only difference was their legal markings, and they were very similar as well.

     She had made her way closer to the door on two other nights, which is how she found out how the trucks differed from one another. There was a lone camera, but it was focused down the road so if she stayed out of its line of sight it would not detect her. Her suit had changed to a very dark green that caused her to blend in with her surroundings, her long red hair pulled back to keep it out of her face. Low to the ground, she crawled, coating her front in mud which dripped cleanly off her slick suit.

     A rumbling sound drew her attention to her left as a truck rolled down the road toward her and the building. The doors motor kicked on and the door moved skyward quickly to allow the vehicle to enter. Barely stopping at the top, the door shot down and slammed shut. The camera had pointed down as the vehicle pulled in, preventing Rose from slipping in unseen. Laying in the mud, under a bush, she looked around, hoping to find some other way into the building. The building was massive, laying where she was, the wall beside her disappeared into the dark, and she had only gone around the outside once, and that took her the better part of the first night she staked the place out. During her inspection, this door was the only one she found, and there were no paths heading away from the place into the forest. The only place she had not searched was the roof, and she was now contemplating how she could reach there without giving herself away.

     Looking both ways, up and down the building, she stood up while trying to remain in the shadows. The trucks were never closer together than fifteen minutes apart, so she knew she had time before the next one appeared. Putting her hands in front of her they began to glow slightly. Focusing, the flames concentrated to her palms, and she put her hands closer together in order to hide the shine. Slowly her feet began to raise off the ground, she steadied herself shakily, never having flown in this manner before. She hovered for a few minutes, gaining comfort in how she was controlling herself, finally raising quickly toward the top of the building. Flying past the ledge, her hands went out and she rolled silently onto the roof, darkness surrounding her completely. The only light up here was from the moon and it took her eyes a moment to adjust.

     Gazing over top of the roof she could see many units that likely regulated the air quality and temperature within the building. She contemplated on whether she should try and enter through one of the ducts connected to them but figured this would have to be a last-ditch effort, seeing as there was likely to be security connected to them. Moving across the roof in the dark, she made her way from air unit to unit, keeping herself in some form of cover. As she moved, she heard a slight creaking sound, followed by a slam and some talking. A man in a white overcoat and dark pants, wearing rounded glasses, a beard hanging from his chin, was standing next to a much taller, well-built man, that was clean shaven and had a headset on over his short hair. The larger man was heavily armored and was carrying a submachine gun and had a pistol holstered on his hip. Sliding herself quietly between covers, she creeped closer to the two men, hoping to hear what they were talking about while the man in the lab coat smoked his cigarette.

     Their talking faded as they turned to move back into the building. Rose shot out as they disappeared and grabbed the door handle just before it closed and latched. Waiting a few moments, listening intently, she finally pulled the door open slightly and slipped in, letting it latch quietly behind her. The stairwell was completely dark, the last bit of light disappeared when the door shut. Moving carefully, she slid her feet to the edge of the landing, and gently placed her foot on the stair below her. Stopping on the top step, she listened for any sounds that would alert her to the presence of any surveillance devices. Her ears began to ring, and she felt as though the darkness was pressing in on her. She could feel the blood forcing its way through her veins as her heart began to race and her breathing became heavy, she had never felt anxiety on this level in the past.

     Taking a risk, her hands blazed blue, illuminating the stairwell around her as well as the ceiling above. The walls were comprised of cinder blocks, with no attempt to improve the look, with metal rails for holding onto as one would descend the hard cement steps. Walking down the steps slowly, the air was stale and hot here, but began to cool as she made her way downward. Watching the corners, there had been no cameras, and since no one had come to confront her yet, she figured there was no other form of security within the stairwell. Her stomach began to churn, the entering of this building had been far too easy. There had to be something she was missing, but she did not know what.

     After descending at least two stories worth of stairs, she finally found a door. The door was solid steel, which meant there was no way for her to peer through to get a glimpse of what was awaiting her on the other side. Putting her hand on the handle, she slowly and steadily pushed down and pulled the door open slightly. Peering through she seen a dark corridor that was lined with dim orange lights, casting an eerie glow over the bare walls. She began to wonder where the two men she had followed in went as in the direction she was looking; she could see no doors or turns. Pulling the door open a bit further, she crouched low and slipped her head out just far enough to see down the right side of the hall, which mirrored the left.

     Silently she moved, nearly crawling, into the hallway, looking back and forth to ensure no one was coming toward her location. She turned left, knowing that the trucks that she was interested in were on the south side of the building and that is the direction that would lead her to them. Quietly she continued her journey down the long, straight corridor, nothing changing until she came to a large glass window on the wall to her right. The window overlooked a large open warehouse area, that had many of the box trucks backed up to loading docks along a large raised cement platform that disappeared out of sight heading north. None of the trucks were currently open, so she decided to wait, hoping that no one would stumble upon her during that time.

      A movement caught her eye as a new truck pulled into view and made its way across the large opening, finally backing into a position that would allow the truck to be unloaded. Moving in from her right in a tight formation, at least thirty heavily armed guards made their way into the area. Three men broke off and moved to each individual truck, one to each side of the rear door and one to the middle. She stood staring transfixed on the door to one of the trucks, desperate to see what was inside.