Page 88 of Girl Lost
Nothing.
Luna showed him her phone. “No service. Comms don’t work.”
“Wait, we need evidence.” He used his phone to snap photos of the facility.
She put her hand on his arm. “This doesn’t matter. We don’t know if it’s illegal to perform this type of research. We need something more concrete. We need to find Stryker and Trinity if she’s here. We have to find them before Forest...”
He didn’t need her to finish that sentence because he’d been thinking it too. “Okay, let’s go.”
They retraced their steps as quickly and quietly as possible. Corbin opened the door and an alarm blared to life.
“Intruder alert,” a computerized voice announced. “Security breach in Sector 7.”
“Run!” Corbin hissed, grabbing Luna’s hand.
30
THEY’D TRIGGERED THEALARM—a shrill,piercing sound that ricocheted off the sterilewalls, drilling into Luna’s skull. Cameras. Had to be. She’d scanned the corners and ceilings for obvious surveillance, but somewhere she’d missed something. These people were too smart for standard setups.
Corbin, his hand pressed against his side, followed close behind. “Hidden cameras?”
“You read my mind. This way.” She shoved open a heavy metal door marked “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.”
They stumbled into a narrow corridor. Red emergency lights cast long, distorted shadows, painting the walls in a grotesque dance of light and darkness.
Summer stood at the end of the hallway, her eyes wide, her body blocking their escape route. She rushed to them. “Mr. Sinclair? Mrs. Sinclair? I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What’s going on?”
Luna’s heart thundered as she made a split-second decision that went against every instinct honed over years of covert operations.
“Summer, we’re not who we said we are and he’s not sick.” Breaking cover was unthinkable, a cardinal sin in her line of work. Yethere she was, shattering the very foundation of her training. “We’re the police, and we believe a teenager named Trinity Brown and an older man named Stryker King are being held here somewhere.”
She waited, eyes locked onto Summer’s face, searching for any hint of betrayal. Luna had faced torture without breaking, endured countless dangerous situations without flinching. But this moment, this vulnerability, terrified her more than any of that.
Summer’s expression flickered through a range of emotions. Shock, confusion, and then something Luna couldn’t quite place. Was it fear? Resignation?
Summer pulled a small, white device from her pocket and pressed a series of buttons on something that looked to Luna like a toy. “Give me a sec. I’m shutting down the alarm panel.”
The shrill wail of the alarm faltered, then died, replaced by a blessed silence.
“There.” Summer pocketed the device. “That should buy us some time, but it won’t last long.” Her eyes darted to the corridor behind them. “Follow me.”
Luna’s legs moved before her mind caught up, chasing Summer’s retreating form down the sterile corridor. “What was that little thing you used?”
“Flipper Zero. It can clone key cards, disable alarms, mess with access controls. Basically, a hacker’s multitool. I got suspicious a while back, wanted a way to poke around, so I ordered one. With the right programming, I’m able to open doors my security badge doesn’t.” She shot Luna a quick grin. “Handy, right?”
Luna’s pulse hammered. “I’ll take handy over dead. Keep going.”
Summer glanced back. “What’s wrong with him? I thought he was faking the heart condition.”
“It’s a long story,” Corbin said. “One that involves some very bad people who don’t like us very much.”
“Well, if they catch you here, they won’t kill you,” Summer said. “At least, not right away.”
“What do you mean?” Luna asked.
“I’ve overheard Dr. Forest talking.” Summer’s eyes darted to the ceiling, as if searching for the invisible eyes watching them. “He says he doesn’t waste resources.”
Resources. Organs. Not people. Not lives. Just ... resources.
