CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: SECRETS IN THE BASEMENT
"I found it," Mayday told the others in a quiet but firm voice. Scarlett and Vorona were neck deep in books but dropped what they were doing to head towards Mayday. Jinx was on the other side of the library on top of a bookshelf; she quickly hopped down and did the same.
"Look here," Mayday said, holding a motion detector in her hand. "There's just enough of a draft coming from behind this book case to set this off. You were right, Vorona… he wanted to meet in the library because this is where the secret passage to his office is. And it's right behind this bookcase."
After a quick inspection of the book shelf, Jinx and Vorona determined that it was on a set of inconspicuous rollers which would allow part of it to push backwards with one smooth motion. The two women pushed it back four feet before it stopped, revealing a small pathway leading to a flight of stairs down into the darkness… and most likely, to the basement. "For as long as I've been in this mansion, I never realized this was here," Vorona said whimsically – Scarlett wasn't sure if she was more intrigued with the secret design or if she was a little perturbed since she had overlooked the secret passage the entire time she had been at the mansion.
At the bottom of the stairs, after taking a few twists and turns through a long underground hallway, Vorona led them to just outside Dr. Walker's study. "This must be Dr. Walker's personal office…his study. I have found he often comes down here, but had never been able to find where the secret entrance to it was. I'd been looking for this room for quite a while, even before you three came. After all, I still have my original primary mission my countrymen have sent me on. And by helping you, I might just be able to kill two bears with one stone."
Mayday looked confused for a moment… until Scarlett mouthed birds, not bears to her. When Vorona wasn't looking, of course. A light bulb over Maydays head turned on and her confusion turned into a subtle smile, realizing what Vorona was trying to say.
"We have to be quick; I've been able to install a loop in the cameras throughout the mansion; a little flirting with the security guards in the control room can work wonders. Just because I couldn't find his secret room doesn't mean that I wasn't able to manipulate the cameras." Vorona pulled out a small remote with a couple push-buttons and a one-inch antenna.
"Anyway, it will appear that the halls and rooms are empty on film while we actually are here, simply with a flick of this button. You know the movie Speed?" Vorona said, referencing the Hollywood movie. "It's just like that."
Scarlett recognized the device. It looked almost like the same make and model as what she remembered on one of her past missions…well, not really a mission – Breaker had used something like this on a previous mission before she had joined the team.
Vorona pushed one of the buttons on the control and immediately a green light came on. "Now we are good to enter his office."
If Scarlett recalled correctly, the device had just sent a signal to the cameras, forcing them to play a pre-recorded video of an empty office on a continuous loop.
Very resourceful, Scarlett thought. And has a grasp on American Hollywood movies. I'm impressed.
"Ah, Keanu fan, are we?" Jinx asked Vorona, winking. As if in deep thought, Jinx added, "I don't blame you. There's something about him; maybe it's his butt."
Vorona shrugged, smiling. Mimicking Dennis Hopper, she quoted in her best American accent, "You tell that wildcat behind the wheel not to slow down or even he won't get a chance to bleed to death…"
Mayday laughed. "You like your movies, don't you?"
"Ah, yes, I do. Especially American movies," Vorona said sounding very chipper. "Actually though, I prefer Jude Law from Enemy at the Gates over Keanu. I have thing for snipers, you see."
Russian sniper, too, wasn't he? Dangerous girl. But my kind of style, Scarlett thought to herself.
The four women continued to scour the office, searching for anything that they could find that might help them locate Dr. Bennett and how far along the EMP program was… how close the bomb was to completion. Vorona walked over to one of the paintings in the room – a painting of a lone cherry blossom tree. Delicately feeling around the painting, she checked it to see if it was hiding anything behind it… and to make sure it wasn't trapped.
"We definitely owe you one, Vorona. We won't forget this," Mayday reassured her.
"Oh, those trees are so pretty," Jinx said, still mission focused and searching for secret compartments on the table, although she did come off as if she was distracted. "I remember this one time in Japan, there was this one cherry blossom tree that Snake-Eyes always did his meditation by; after these last few years, I understand why; the scene was just so… so serene."
Oh, please. "I remember this one time…"at band camp, maybe… Scarlett mocked her with sarcastic words screaming aloud in her mind, yet biting down on her lip to keep those words from escaping. Get over your little girl crush, Jinx. She wanted to slap her back to reality with an open hand, but forced herself to take a bit more of a… gentle approach. She was a nice girl, after all, as far as Scarlett could tell; she just seemed to have her head in the clouds. And in Snake-Eyes pants. "Hey, maybe we should focus on the task at hand," she vocalized bluntly, trying to bring her back to reality.
Jinx smiled. "Sorry," she said unconcerned, shrugging. She continued to inspect the table.
"Anyone else notice Dr. Walker seems to have a thing for Japan?" Mayday stated as she looked through the antique wardrobe.
Vorona pulled at the painting, which opened up like a hinge, revealing a large iron safe behind it. She cursed very sharply in Russian, drawing the attention of the other three ladies.
"I do not know the combination. I was led to believe his safe was a key lock – one that I could pick. He must have swapped out safes… or locks. But this… I suggest we look around this room for clues in case I cannot get this open. This is our only chance, and the clock is ticking."
"Hey Vorona, give me a shot at this," Mayday said, reaching far underneath her evening dress.
Scarlett was a bit… surprised… yes, surprised, that Mayday had hiked her dress up so far and reached between her legs.
Mayday pulled out a small tool pouch. Quite un-lady like, Scarlett thought… but, very resourceful. Still, who was she to talk? She had a small firearm tucked away a bit higher than she would have liked… actually very high, up her leg. And even so, this was a professional mission and – fortunately – no males were around to witness it anyway.
"How on earth did you fit that under there?" Jinx said, asking the obvious question. Mayday smiled, avoiding a response and tilting her head to the side. And surprisingly, Scarlett noticed… Mayday wasn't even blushing.
Mayday put on a set of earphones, the kind that were designed by the government, for the government, and only the government. She told the other girls to keep it down while she bent down and listened intently to the safe. Mayday slowly turned the knob, back and forth, listening as hard as she could in order to find the contact points.
Jinx, Scarlett, and Vorona were all starting to feel nervous; that helpless feeling of doing nothing was creeping into their minds. Jinx and Scarlett decided to make themselves useful and continue looking around the room while Mayday worked at the safe.
Meanwhile, Mayday cautiously…very, very carefully, continued trying to find the right combination. Every once in a while, the others would hear her let out a murmured "Got it…", or more often, a frustrated "No!"
But eventually, after a long several minutes and much persistence, they all heard Mayday let out a triumphant but stifled "Yes!" The safe was opened.
"Nice work, Paige!" Jinx told her. "Not bad, Mayday," Scarlett told her with a subtle smile on her face.
"Very well done, my little safecracker! Just like Charlize Theron in The Italian Job. Well, anyway, we still have to be as quick as a flush; we need to find out where Dr. Bennett is and get out of here. Help me sort through these," Vorona told them, taking out the documents that were in the safe.
"Um, I think you mean flash, Vorona? Quick as a flash?" Jinx corrected.
Vorona smiled, shrugging it off with a simple laugh. "Confusing American English. Never understood your language very well."
"I suspect some of these documents will help me perform my own mission for Mother Russia. I apologize, but I will leave these other documents to you, until I finish up."
While Vorona rummaged through some of the other unrelated files in the safe, the other three women analyzed the files applicable to their mission as if they were putting together a large thousand-plus piece jigsaw puzzle. Documents, pictures, and files were strewn about the coffee table and spread across the main desk; the four ladies dissected them as quickly as they could, knowing time was not on their side. But, they had to be thorough. Being an undercover operative sometimes meant being not only just observant, but also swift – and knowing exactly what to look for.
While Vorona rifled through the files for her own mission on, Scarlett, Mayday, and Jinx hit the jackpot. Not only did they have more than enough evidence to incriminate Dr. Walker, but they also had the new location of the science team working on their top-secret project.
A place called Walker Innovations, a couple hundred miles away, in the small city of Urbak.