Chapter 10 - the mother behind the green wall
Mara had counted every turn since Dario moved her.
Six steps from the chair to the corridor.
Twenty-three steps to the metal staircase.
Two flights downward.
A right turn.
The sound of water.
Then a long journey in the back of a vehicle.
Dario believed fear had made her passive.
In reality, Mara was building a map.
She had removed a pin from the hem of her blouse and used it to loosen the fastening around her hands. She kept them positioned behind her back so the men would not notice.
The vehicle stopped.
A door opened.
Cold air entered, carrying the smell of disinfectant and old concrete.
Mara was taken into a room with green metal walls. Medical supply labels covered several crates. One bore the name St. Agnes.
Dario secured her to another chair.
The Spider stood near the door.
“What happens when Vincent brings the drive?” he asked.
Dario checked his phone.
“We verify the ledger and remove Reyes.”
Mara kept her expression blank.
“And the girl?”
Dario did not answer.
The Spider looked uncomfortable.
“She’s a child.”
“She’s a witness.”
“That wasn’t the original agreement.”
“The agreement changed.”
Mara studied him.
The Spider had participated in her abduction, but his hesitation offered an opening.
“What is your name?” she asked.
He ignored her.
“Your real name.”
“Be quiet.”
“Dario will sacrifice you after the exchange. Julian will sacrifice Dario. Whoever is above Julian will sacrifice him.”
Dario turned toward her.
“You talk too much.”
“That’s why you haven’t killed me. You still need to know who else received the files.”
“No one received them.”
“You sound confident.”
“We watched every network connected to the foundation.”
Mara smiled faintly.
“I never said I sent them through the foundation.”
Dario approached.
“Where did you send them?”
“I copied everything to an account that releases automatically if I don’t enter a password by midnight.”
It was a lie, but Dario looked at his watch.
11:08 p.m.
The Spider stepped away from the door.
“You said we had all night.”
Dario ignored him and called someone.
“Mara claims there’s a timed release.”
A voice answered too quietly for Mara to hear.
Dario’s face changed.
“We’ll move her.”
He ended the call.
Mara looked toward the nearest green wall.
There were no bolts along its edges. It was the side of a freight container, not a permanent room.
They were inside a larger structure.
A train horn sounded in the distance.
Then three bells.
Not church bells.
Railway crossing bells.
Mara understood.
They had never taken her to St. Agnes Shelter.
They had taken her beneath the abandoned St. Agnes medical depot beside the freight tracks.
The foundation had purchased the depot eight months earlier.
Dario unlocked her chair.
Mara let the loosened fastening fall from her wrists.
She grabbed the metal chair and pushed it between Dario and the door. The action did not injure him, but it blocked his path long enough for her to reach the control panel outside.
She pulled the fire alarm.
Sirens erupted.
Sprinklers activated above the storage floor.
Workers shouted beyond the containers.
Mara ran through rows of medical crates, leaving wet handprints on every corner she passed.
The Spider caught up with her near a loading ramp.
Instead of grabbing her, he pointed toward a narrow stairwell.
“Go.”
Mara stared at him.
“Why are you helping me?”
“My name is Elias,” he said. “I never agreed to a child.”
Dario appeared at the far end of the aisle.
Elias pushed Mara through the stairwell door and locked it behind her.
“Tell Vincent the Spider crew isn’t working for Julian,” he said through the metal. “Julian only receives orders.”
“From whom?”
Elias looked toward Dario.
“The Architect.”
Dario reached him.
The door shook.
Mara climbed the stairs and emerged onto the depot roof.
Below, black vehicles surrounded the building.
For one hopeful second, she thought Vincent had found her.
Then the doors opened.
Men wearing Moretti security uniforms stepped out.
At their center was Marco.
“Mara Reyes!” he called. “We’re here to rescue you.”
Mara almost ran toward him.
May you like
Then she noticed the lion symbol on the vehicles.
Each lion had only one eye.
