Page 57 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

Carefully, they started up the slope. At least it wasn’t a sheer vertical cliff like the one they’d had to scale in Mexico, where if Shinji hadn’t been attached to a safety harness he would’ve been a splattered pancake on the ground. This one, although rocky and treacherous, could still be climbed without special gear or equipment. Roux led the way between large rocky outcroppings, following a sandy trail as it wound back and forth, until they reached the top.

“Okay,” Oliver said, peering out from behind a rock. “We made it all the way without anyone falling to their deaths. Good first step; what’s next?”

Phoebe, peeking out from the other side, nodded to something ahead of them. “Probably that,” she said.

A tall barbed-wire fence rose up from the dirt and weeds about thirty yards away. Coils of razor wire ran along the top, and the fence itself was made of chain link. Beyond it, Shinji could just make out a cluster of low, flat buildings across an open gravel field.

Oliver, gazing at the metal barrier in front of them, gave a snort. “It looks so pedestrian,” he commented. “Knowing

Hightower, I was expecting something a little…more. Lasers and electrical fields, that type of thing.”

“That’s probably what they want you to think,” Roux said, eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t let down my guard, though. This is just basic stuff to keep out the normal riffraff. If you’re protecting something valuable, one of the best methods is to hide it in plain sight. A super-fancy, high-tech fence just attracts attention, and lets everyone know you’ve got something to steal.”

Oliver stared at Roux for a few seconds, then shook his head with a wry grin. “You’re quite the conniving little scoundrel, aren’t you?”

Roux shrugged. “I prefer the termopportunist.”

“So, how do we get inside?” Phoebe wondered. “If I could find a branch of suitable length, I could pole-vault over. Oh, but there don’t seem to be any trees around here. Or if I stood on Oliver’s shoulders, maybe we could boost Lucy over the top. Oh, but then we’d have to figure out how to get rid of the barbed wire. Maybe we could dig a hole big enough for Shinji or Roux to wiggle under. Yes, that might work.” She turned on them with a slightly crazed smile. “Which one of you is smaller?”

“We could do all of that,” Oliver said as Shinji and Roux eyed each other uncertainly. Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a pair of wire cutters. “But these would probably be faster.”

The snips easily cut through the wire fencing, making a hole large enough for all of them to slip through. Ducking through the crack, Shinji straightened and gazed around warily. Now that they were past the first barrier, he felt much more exposed. Like there were Hightower eyes watching them from every angle. Nervously, he glanced at the flat, open area leading up to the cluster of buildings on the other side of the lot. There weren’t a lot of places for them to hide should something unexpectedly appear.

“All right, we’re officially in,” Oliver whispered as Lucy was the final person to slip through. “Now all we have to do is find the right warehouse, get the artifact, and hightail it back the way we came. Easy, right?”

“Sure,” Roux muttered. “Also, not trip over any alarms, get spotted by any cameras, run into any security guards, or alert any motion detectors. Easy.”

“Tinker,” Lucy whispered, and held the mouse up in her hand. “Can you sense any cameras or alarms around here?”

The mouse sat up on his haunches, nose to the wind and ears twitching. For a few moments, he stayed like that, like a meerkat scanning for predators. Finally he dropped back to all fours, and Lucy gave a decisive nod.

“Tinker doesn’t detect anything. At least, not close by. I think it’s safe to move closer.”

Oliver nodded. “Okay, then,” he muttered. “Here we go. Remember what we talked about. If you see anything, don’t

yell or make any sudden moves. We don’t want to attract even more attention.”

“What about the secret signal?” Phoebe broke in. “We could still try that. I don’t think you gave the idea a fair shake when I first suggested it.”

“I told you, I still have no idea what a whippoorwill sounds like,” Oliver said. “And even if I did, I’m not going to whistle like one. We’ll have to send signals the old-fashioned way.”

“Oh well, I suppose that’s for the best. They’re not native to this area, anyway.”

“What? Then why would you suggest it?”

“Oh, please, do you think your average security guard would hear the call of a whippoorwill and think,That’s weird. I didn’t think whippoorwills were native to this area of the country?”

“I still thinkka-caw ka-cawwas fine,” Shinji added.

“Impractical,” Phoebe said immediately. “There are no crows awake and flying around in the middle of the night. Whippoorwills are nocturnal; the males specifically sing at night to defend their territory or attract mates. Though, according to folklore, hearing a whippoorwill call near your house was an ill omen and a sign of impending death.”

“Oh, right, and that’s so much better thanka-caw ka-caw.”

Oliver was tapping his parrot cane against his temples

again. “We’re wasting time,” he groaned. “Lucy, is it still all clear?”

“Yes.”

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