Page 37 of Owned By the Bratva

Walking up to the top floor, I scanned the keycard. The door clicked open, and I peeked into the hallway. The floor seemed vacant of all life. There were no lights and no sound. Moving down the hall, I saw a board up ahead, it read ‘Restricted Access.’

This was it; I was very sure and moved quickly. Scanning the card, it opened the door, and I felt relieved that the keycard she swiped worked on this door. Pushing it open softly, I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I didn’t dare turn on a light as it may attract attention should someone enter the floor.

Taking out my flashlight, I scanned the room. There were four long tables with burners, glass jars of some sort, papers, and what looked like bottles of chemicals. Moving carefully around them, I saw a smaller table to the back with files stacked on it, a filing cabinet, and what looked like a cold room with a glass door.

Putting my face up against the freezing door, I tried to see inside, but the place was filled with white smoke or rather steam, I thought. Looking at the files, I noticed that each had some abbreviation on the cover. Most of the papers inside held formulas and notes in shorthand.

Pulling at the filing cabinet drawers, I found they were locked. Searching the long tables, I found a thin piece of steel similar to a nail file. With this, I was able to unlock the cabinet. The top drawer held more notes in short hand, but the second and third drawer gave me what I wanted.

This was the jackpot; the files contained all the notes on bioweapons and experiments the lab was doing. Additionally, it also held contact information and details of their sales. I noticed most of the sales were with other Bratva groups.

After putting all the files in the briefcase that I found under the table, I called Mila. “Right, I have put the computer on. What do you need me to do so you can get access?”

Mila gave me instructions which I followed to the letter. Once she told me she was in I could leave. Mila would wipe out their systems from her side, and my part was over. Once I was back on ground zero, I found a bathroom and handed the briefcase to Piotr who was waiting outside.

He would ensure it got where it had to go, so, I headed back to the party to find Cindy and get out. I walked through the crowds of almost drunk lab technicians and professors as some tacky song played. Many of the people were hanging on each other. Some slurred their words as others jumped up and down in little circles, singing along.

Trying my best to drown out the noise and focus on the faces, a couple of young men barely able to stand bumped into me. I had to push back with force to keep from stumbling onto a table to my right. Two of the young men laughed as the group moved the other way.

Cindy was nowhere to be seen. I did another sweep, walking down the other side of the room hoping I had only missed her. My heart started racing as I got to the other end with no luck. She wasn’t in the room.

Bringing out my phone, I dialed Mila. “Hey, can you trace Cindy? You said she had a tracker on, right?” My voice sounded a bit high-pitched as fear crept up my spine. I headed back to the stairwell. I needed some quiet so I could hear Mila.

“It’s off, Leon, I can’t track her, sorry.”

As Mila’s words echoed through my mind, I felt my body filling with ice. This was what I was afraid of, but no one would listen. My heart slammed at my ribs. It felt like my lungs were being crushed as I took deep, slow breaths. I needed to stay calm; going into panic mode would not help anyone.

“Leon, Leon, you still there?” I heard Mila calling through the phone. I was staring at it as if it was something from another world.

Placing it to my ear, I spoke softly. “I’m here.”

“You want us to come over?” Mila asked with worry in her voice.

“No, I’ll find her,” I replied and hung up. After taking a couple of deep breaths, I pulled myself together and went on the hunt.

Chapter 21 - Cindy

After leaving Leon in the stairway, I got a drink at the bar and searched for Kiera. Passing some of the lab personnel I knew, I had to stop twice for a bit of small talk. Moving toward the other side of the party, I spotted her. I was sure Leon was wrong about Kiera, but I decided to keep my eye on her just in case.

She was talking to a couple of the professors from the upper-level offices. I had no idea what type of research they did. Another man joined them, one I had never seen before. He leaned closer to Kiera and seemed to be whispering to her.

Her eyes widened as he spoke, and she looked concerned suddenly. After saying something to the two scientists, she walked out the back door with the stranger. I decided to follow, hoping that Leon hadn’t been caught.

Opening the back door as quietly as possible without looking conspicuous, I peeked around the door. It felt like my heart was beating in my throat. I swallowed hard, feeling sure that I could be heard for miles. It looked like a parking garage, but there were no cars.

Treading in, I silently closed the door behind me. Moving slowly, trying to stay hidden, I noticed flashing lights toward the left. There were two rapid blue ones and then a long red glow. I froze in place, hiding behind a large pillar. Once the lights stopped, the area went dark again.

In the distance, I heard voices, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Sticking my head around the side of the pillar, I saw what looked like large trash bins not too far ahead. Taking a deep breath, I stayed low as I moved forward.

My heart was now pounding not only in my throat but it was also vibrating through my entire body. My ears clogged like when you entered certain areas and you had to open your mouth to clear them. I sat with my back against the bin and breathed in softly with my mouth wide open.

Once I felt sure my legs would hold my weight, I turned and slowly looked over the top of the bin. I placed my hands over my mouth to prevent the scream that was pushing up inside me from escaping. Swinging around, I sat back down. Had my eyes deceived me?

My mind was sweeping left and right in panic mode, trying to make sense of what my eyes saw. Kiera was not the woman I thought she was. Leon was right about her.

Turning on shaky legs, I slowly rose and took another look. There she was, the woman I idolized; she stood before three life-sized tanks filled with blue liquid. Each held a human being with tubes running in all directions.

To the left was an operation table of sorts. On it lay another person and the man whom I had seen for the first time this evening was injecting a bright red liquid through a tube into the person’s arm. Kiera stood with her back to me reading a chart of some form.

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