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.
Even though they could no longer hear anything from outside, it was still fairly obvious when LB began to open the door- they could hear the locks disengaging, one by one.
HITCH: Ideas would be welcome, you know.
BLACKER: Unfortunately, I'm all out at this point.
HITCH: Isn't your job all about finding creative solutions to unorthodox problems?
BLACKER: Well, yeah, but I've never exactly had to solve a locked-room puzzle while my boss accesses said locked room – which I might mention, we're not supposed to be in! I'm more of a code-breaking guy.
The third lock beeped open, and Hitch was suddenly hit by a ridiculously stupid idea. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have even considered it, but at this point he was out of options.
He pulled up his sleeve, and began dialing LB's number into his watch.
"What are you doing," Blacker hissed, looking furiously between the door and Hitch.
There was a long pause, and for a second Hitch was worried she might not pick up, but then the line clicked, and the head of Spectrum 8's gravelly voice echoed through the room. "This better be good, Hitch. I'm really quite busy right now."
"It's kind of urgent," he said, intentionally quickening the pace of his speech. "Have you seen Lillian today?"
He could hear the frown in LB's voice. "I just came in- I haven't seen much of anyone yet. Why?"
"I think they might have gone off on their own to hunt the Count," he said, silently apologizing to Lillian as he did so. "We were discussing the situation yesterday, and they said some things… I won't bother you with the details, but from where I'm standing, it doesn't sound good."
"Does this really need my attention?" LB said, sounding irritated. "So they went off on their own – that happens a lot, if you hadn't noticed."
"Somebody sent me an anonymous tip," Hitch said. "Lillian might be the mole."
LB was silent. The door wasn't unlocking any further, which was a good sign.
"Today, of all days," she muttered eventually, voice cracking ever so slightly that he probably wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been paying attention. Hitch felt slightly guilty for lying to her, but not enough to admit to it. She cleared her throat, and her voice returned to its normal register. "Thank you for informing me. I'll check up on this immediately."
"I could be wrong," Hitch said.
"I trust your instincts," LB said curtly. Hitch felt another twinge of guilt. "I need to find Lillian now – I'll call you back later when I've got an update." The sound of LB walking briskly a few paces could be heard, and then silence as she hung up.
Blacker breathed out in amazed relief. "That was impressive."
"I'm not quite done yet," said Hitch, dialing another number as fast as he could. The line clicked, and then somebody picked up. "Hey, so, remember how you said you owed me one?" he asked without preamble.
There was a brief pause, and then Agent Lillian's sigh rattled over the connection. "Goddamnit, Hitch, it's six in the morning. What do you need?"
HITCH: Where are you right now?
LILLIAN: At home, in bed, like any sane person would be at this ungodly hour. Why, where are you?
HITCH: Somewhere I really shouldn't be.
LILLIAN: Well, I'm exceedingly proud of you. Can I go back to bed yet?
HITCH: Probably not. You know that favour I mentioned?
LILLIAN: Yeah, what is it?
HITCH: LB might have just been informed, mistakenly, that you are in fact the mole that's been passing information onto people outside of Spectrum. She also believes that at this current moment you've gone AWOL and rogue.
There was a brief pause in which Lillian proceeded to use every curse and dirty word at their disposal in English and several other languages in a very creative manner. This went on for several minutes.
LILLIAN: Hitch, what the hell? This isn't a favour, this is cruel and unusual punishment!
HITCH: Look, I really am sorry about it. I needed a diversion and it was the first thing that came to mind.
LILLIAN: Bèn tiānshēng de yī duī ròu – you know what? Next time I need to clear up the files I knock over in the archive room, remind me to never ask you for help.
HITCH: All I need is for you not to mention that I was involved in this.
LILLIAN: That's all you need? Jeez, you don't ask for much, do you?
HITCH: Lillian, please. I'll make it up to you later, but this is serious.
Lillian paused, obviously thinking something over.
LILLIAN: Do my paperwork for the next month, and I won't say a word.
HITCH: –fine.
LILLIAN: Make that two months, because I'm going to be stuck in red tape hell, even when LB figures out it isn't me that's that mole. Also, you need to pay for dinner for Jamie and me – we're going out next week, and I need it to be somewhere fancy.
HITCH: Is this really necessary?
LILLIAN: Don't give me that – you were the one who decided that betraying me to my own side was a good idea.
HITCH: Point taken. Again, I'm sorry.
LILLIAN: (resigned) Can I expect LB to come knocking at my door in the next half-hour, then?
HITCH: Less than, probably.
"Great," they said. "I should get dressed, then. Might as well look good for when I'm arrested."
"Thanks, Lillian," said Hitch. "I'll tell you the full story when everything's over."
"You'd better," said Lillian darkly, and hung up.
Blacker whistled faintly, looking awestruck. "I can honestly say that was one of the most masterful bits of deception I have ever witnessed in my life."
"We should have another hour or so before LB comes looking for me," Hitch estimated with a glance at his watch, not really registering the praise. "Can you get the file copied and back to here before then?"
"Should be able to, yeah," Blacker confirmed, tucking said file under his arm. "We can meet up afterward; look through it properly. Not in Spectrum, though," he added, looking speculative. "We don't want the wrong people walking in on us part-way through."
"That's true," Hitch allowed. "How about Ruby's house?"
Blacker looked almost startled for a moment. "Er, yeah, that works. I know where it is."
"Good, I'll see you there," Hitch said, and paused at the door, seconds before pushing it open. "Do you think LB's gone?"
"Well, let's hope so," Blacker said, almost a bit too cheerfully. "If she isn't, it would really defeat the point of everything we just did."
Hitch managed a small smile, and pulled open the door anyway. There was a small hiss of air as the locking seal disengaged.
The hallway outside was completely empty.
They had gotten away with it.