Page 51 of Final Exit

Monday, 3:53 p.m.

Bailey parked in front of the building in the slot marked CEO because, why not? Therewasno CEO of EXIT Incorporated anymore. Cyprian Cardenas had died many months ago in an altercation with the so-called Equalizers. And judging by the abandoned look of the place, no one else had been here in quite some time.

Last fall’s leaves were scattered around in dried clumps. Weeds choked what had once been elaborate landscaping near the building and in medians spaced between the parking lot aisles. Cardenas had been a hard taskmaster, with meticulous high standards. Seeing the place this run-down was shocking, and final proof that EXIT’s reign was well and truly over.

“Kind of reminds me of that abandoned hotel inThe Shining.” She looked through the Mustang’s windshield at the imposing structure. “I half expect some evil twins to wave at me from one of the windows.” She shook her head. “They’ve really let the place go.”

“Nobody works here anymore,” Kade said. “And there’s no point in keeping up the landscaping when the building’s going to be razed. There are just a few more loose ends to tie up and then the construction crews will be out here.”

“Razed? Seems like a huge waste to just tear the place down. But then, it’s probably hard to find another business who’d want to locate so far out of town. It’s quite the drive out here.”

“I think it’s more a case of the government wanting to eradicate any sign that EXIT ever existed.” He popped his door open and grabbed their bags of supplies from the backseat.

“Hey, at least let me carry one of those. Your leg—”

“Is fine and I’m not letting you carry these when I’m perfectly capable.”

She shook her head and they both got out of the car. While he secured the duffel bag straps over his shoulders, she said, “You’re stubborn and ridiculous, you know. I can carry my own go bag.”

“Is that the worst you’ve got? That badass reputation isn’t looking so badass right now,” he teased, as they headed toward the building.

She let loose with a string of curses.

He grinned. “There’s my girl.”

“You wish.”

He laughed and stopped at the glass front doors, which had a thick chain across them and a heavy padlock. Plywood protected the glass, as it did all of the windows on the first floor. The upper-floor windows were left uncovered. Bailey didn’t know why anyone had bothered to board the place up, unless there really was something inside to still protect. Maybe it wasn’t as abandoned as it seemed. She couldn’t help a quick look over her shoulder. But the parking lot was just as forlorn and empty as it had been when they’d arrived.

“I guess we should get the crowbar out of the trunk to break the—” She stopped when Kade slid a key out of the lining of his wallet and fit it into the padlock.

The lock clicked open and a feeling of unease snaked up her spine. “Why do you have a key?”

He pulled the door open and stepped back for her to enter. “Because I’m the one who had the place emptied and locked up in the first place. This is where I worked when I first took on this mission.”

When she didn’t move, he said, “Having second thoughts about me now?”

“I’m having second thoughts about coming here, period. The place reminds me of the prison inThe Walking Dead.”

He chuckled and waved for her to precede him into the immense, two-story lobby. “After you.”

Lights came on as soon as they stepped inside. She whipped her gun out and whirled around, sweeping it in a circle.

“Relax. It’s just the motion sensors.” Kade moved past her toward a door on the far wall.

Feeling silly for being so skittish, she holstered her gun and followed him—which, because of his limp, wasn’t very difficult even though his legs were so much longer than hers. Even with some over-the-counter pain meds in his system, both his leg and the fresh injury in his side had to be bothering him far more than he showed. But her offer of some prescription painkillers left over from one of her old injuries was emphatically turned down, without explanation.

His magical key unlocked yet another door, and he led them down a long hallway, past a door labeled Cafeteria. At the end of the long hall, they stopped in front of a set of elevators and he pushed the Up button. She kept her hand close to her holster, in spite of his reassurances that the place was empty. Maybe there were zombies hiding in some of the abandoned offices.

“If no one comes here anymore, why are the utilities still on?” The steel doors slid open and a bell dinged. “And why is the elevator still operating?”

“Emptying the place out and preparing it for destruction takes time. I’ve been more focused on capturing Enforcers than finishing up here, which is a good thing for us.” They stepped inside and he pressed the button for the third floor. “The executive offices are still furnished and Cyprian has a couple of cushy couches we can crash on tonight. In the meantime, even though most of the computer muscle is gone, there are still a few desktops we can use. And a satellite dish on the roof. We should have Internet access. Maybe we can log into Netflix and catch up on someWalking Deadepisodes.”

She grinned. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

Halfway down the long plushly carpeted hallway, he entered the administrative assistant’s office, which was basically the reception area for Cardenas. What had been the older lady’s name who’d once worked here? Jolene? Yes, that was it. Bailey wondered what had happened to the woman. Hopefully she’d been given a generous retirement package. Hopefully all of the people who’d worked for EXIT—the ones who’d worked for the legitimate tour part of the company—had been generously taken care of. It wasn’t fair that Jolene and so many others lost their livelihoods when the clandestine side of EXIT went belly-up.

“Bailey?”

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