I nod.
“Tomorrow. Meet me and we’ll go.”
With that, Johnny leaves.
I can’t help myself. The hope I have is…
Terrifying.
The next day, in the afternoon, Johnny and I set out like we’re going for a run. We don’t go together, because being seen as an alliance is going to get us fuckin’killed.
But I follow him, slowly, as he jogs around the compound.
When he gets to a sheer wall, without any windows, he runs over and slaps a sweaty hand on it.
Gross.
I hesitate, then a few minutes later, I follow.
The wall doesn’t have any discernible places where it’s clear that I can get into it. For a second, I think that Johnny has been fucking with me.
Then my fingers find the slightest dent.
I follow it, outlining a square on the side of the building. Cautiously, I push, and to my surprise the door clicks open.
Huh.
It’s not big. It looks like the door to a crawl space, maybe four foot square. Still, it's exactly as Johnny said, and the guards are changing as we speak.
Time to crawl.
I get on my hands and knees and push. Inside, there’s a mess of dripping, chlorine-scented wires. Once or twice, I feel the brush of spiderwebs over my skin, or the feeling of too many legs on my arm.
Being bitten by something in the Brazilian jungle is not how I want to die.
But it’s worth it to get to Marisol.
Eventually the crawl space opens up slightly, making room for bigger pool maintenance items. I’m not a fuckin’ pool boy, so I don’t know exactly what all of this shit is.
I do, however, know that Marisol is worth wading through this garbage for.
When I can stand, I see another door. This one has a handle and everything, which is a good sign. I press against it, listening to the room beyond.
There’s nothing. Silence. I look down at my watch, noting the time.
Johnny said that she swims at three. It’s two fifteen.
Fuck.
I have forty five minutes to wait it out.
I slide down, putting my back to the door. Idly, I wonder if there’s any kind of locker room out there. I could do with a shower, and if no one is going to be in here for a while…
Cautiously, I crack the door, just slightly.
There’s no one in the room.
It’s huge, containing what must be at least an Olympic-sized pool. There’s sunlight coming in from bright windows up overhead, and it plays on the still water. You can hear a light sound, the pumps running probably, but nothing that would give any indication that there are other human beings nearby.