Page 29 of Beast: Part Two

“I’m guessing the same thing we are.”

He looks at me for a moment as if he’s mulling over my words.

“You might be right. He’s trying to keep you guys from finding those names.”

Which is even more an incentive to find them. Corbyn doesn’t seem like the person to care if we just find the names. There has to be a reason he’s trying to keep them from us other than us trying to get the ones that signed to withdraw their signatures.

“We need to find that document,” I say letting my inner thoughts out.

We both make our way back into the living room where we find the others. Priest kicks a box lying on the floor. It flies into the wall making a loud thud.

“Fuck,” he shouts running a hand through his hair. “This was our best shot at figuring out who signed that order.”

“We will figure something out, Priest,” Hawk says. “Besides, we already know Corbyn signed it. Let’s just focus on him.”

I fully agreed with Hawk. Although, I thought this plan to reach out to the others to get the excommunication order dealt with was the smarter and less violent plan, I was always still going after Corbyn.

Priest shakes his head but doesn’t say anything. I don’t think he likes the idea of going after Corbyn. For some reason, Priest is being hesitant. It isn’t like him. He’s always taught us to go after the source and not be afraid of any enemy. So why the change and hesitancy now?

“This is a bust, let’s just go,” he says before turning and heading to the door.

“Wait,” Hawk stops him.

We all turn to look at Hawk. His head is tilted to the side as he stares blankly.

“Take three steps back, Priest.”

Priest looks confused but follows his commands. The moment he takes his second step, the floorboards make acreaking sound. I press on the floor beneath me, and it doesn’t make that sound.

“Do you hear that?” Hawk asks. “The floor is different there.”

Priest immediately gets on his knees. He presses around the seams of the hardwood floor. As soon as he presses on one particular spot, we realize there is a slight gap between one wood panel and the other.

“Anyone got their knife?” Priest asks.

I take mine out of my leg holster and hand it to him. He uses the tip of the knife to wedge between the seams. It takes only a minute for the floorboard to pop up. Priest hands the knife back to me before lifting the wood panel. Underneath the floor is a lock box. He pulls it out and carries it over to the kitchen counter. He looks over the key lock thoroughly.

“Hand me that knife back,” he says holding out his hand toward me.

I take my knife back out and place it in his hand. He sticks the tip of the knife in the lock before reaching into his suit coat and pulling out a long skinny tool. I’ve seen Priest break into many locks, it’s how I learned to do it. It’s a trait he learned from his father.

He fiddles with the skinny tool for a few seconds before a soft click is heard. He hands my knife back before opening the box. The first thing we spot are pictures. The first few Priest flips through are of a young Pope and some older hard faced looking woman.

“That’s his mom,” Priest explains passing the pictures around.

“I’m hoping she had a lovely personality,” Maksim says as he grimaces.

“No,” Priest replies. “That bitch was as ugly inside as she was outside.”

The next picture Priest comes to has him going rigid. He flips through the next few without showing us.

“What is it?” I ask noticing his change.

“That muthafucker,” he growls, stuffing the photos in his front suit pocket. “He had cameras hidden in Fem’s home bathroom.”

He didn’t have to explain anything else. We did not want to see those pictures. Albany was like a sister to us. It pisses me off that someone had invaded her privacy. If Pope wasn’t already dead, this would have made me pay him a visit.

The next thing Priest pulls out of the box were three black notebooks and a hard drive.

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