Page 43 of Cooper

“Jesus fucking Christ.” He lowers the gun and shakes his head, saying something in Limaji to the poor maid, who’s now hyperventilating.

“What are you doing here, Ryan?” Casey asks as she joins in soothing the maid.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, grimacing. “I saw an elevator and got on it. I thought I was going down to find Joe but somehow wound up here…” I pause. “Where is…here?”

Erik chuckles. “This is what is formally called the Royal Apartment.”

“Also known as our home,” Casey adds, bending to help gather the discarded linens.

“Oh hell. I’m so fucking sorry.” I start to back away. “I was bored and thought I’d start learning my way around. I apologize. Truly.” I look at the maid. “How do you say I’m sorry in Limaji?”

“Zignomi,” Erik replies. “But she speaks a little English.”

“Zignomi,” I tell the woman, who looks about forty. I put my hand on my heart. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Is okay.” She manages a shaky smile.

“My name’s Ryan. I’m Natalia’s friend.”

She nods, murmuring something I don’t understand but she seems calmer now.

“Well, since you’re here, and I was just about to go back to work, let’s walk together.” He hands Casey the gun and she seems to know what to do with it, taking it as she walks away.

“You and Natalia need to come for dinner,” she says over her shoulder.

“You ready to learn where the correct elevator is?” he asks.

“Yes, sir. And I truly do apologize.”

He waves a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I pulled a gun on you, but Lita screamed ‘intruder,’ and after all the attacks, we tend to react quickly.”

“Of course. Understandable.”

I still feel like an idiot, but he doesn’t seem upset.

“So, there’s a direct elevator from the floor most of the Protectors live on to our apartment so they can get to us quickly. It’s not marked for obvious reasons, but we’ll go back to your floor and start over so you can see the difference.” He pushes the same button, and we wind up back where we started.

We step out, and he points. “That’s the elevator that will take you to the security offices and pretty much anywhere else you want to go. Our elevator has no distinct markings, but you’ll know you’re in the wrong elevator because there’s only the one button.”

“Got it.” I make a note of which side of the hallway the other elevator is on. Coming from Natalia’s room, it’s on the left, and I’m left-handed, so that should be easy to remember. I hope.

We get into the correct elevator and as expected, there are a bunch of options. He points. “Basement, which you should avoid. If you go there, you won’t like it.”

I grimace. “Dungeon?”

“Dungeon. Interrogation rooms. Jail cells.”

“Noted.”

“Garage.” He points. “And then the regular numbers. This the ground floor, we call it zero here. That will take you to the main kitchens, one of the indoor pools, the gym, stuff like that.”

“Is there a map?”

“There is.” He pushes the button with the number two on it. “If you’re looking for Joe or even me, this is where you’ll go.”

“I feel like an idiot.”

He laughs. “No big deal. Other than poor Lita.”

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