Page 20 of The Labyrinth
He swore under his breath.“Goddamn it.You’re so fucking stubborn.”
She held his gaze, waiting to see his decision.Finally, he sighed.
“Fine,” he muttered, releasing her arm.“But I lead.”
“Deal.”
Marching off, he practically stomped his way back to the building.Marion couldn’t help the little smile that broke through, and her gaze dropped to his ass.She felt no shame ogling his butt because the denim showed off his powerful glutes.They emerged from the trees but stayed in the shadows as they assessed.
“It doesn’t look like anyone is here,” he said.
“I want to know what’s in this building.”She took a few steps away to see if there was a better angle.“I know there has to be a clue in there on Peter’s whereabouts.”
“What if there isn’t?”
“Then I’ll go back to the Cultural Center and demand answers.”
“Yeah, like a Komodo dragon is going to be intimidated by a human who weighs next to nothing.”
“I have a mighty roar.”
He grinned.“Okay, Nancy Drew, follow me.”
They made their way from the shadows, across the field.The back of the building, however, showed some life.A large tractor-trailer had its back doors wide open, and one man pushed a very large container down the ramp, while two others guided containers into the building.Suddenly, a scream came from inside one, and Marion felt her world tilt.
“There’s a person inside that box,” she whispered needlessly.
“Yeah, I gathered that from the scream.”
“We have to get inside.”
“We’ll wait until they finish unloading.”
She was glad he didn’t argue with her.They waited, watching.Marion counted fifteen containers being moved from the truck and when the last one was delivered, the driver closed the back doors and climbed into the cab.Moments later, the truck left.
“Okay, come on,” Deacon said in a low voice.
They carefully and silently as possible snuck around the side.There was a safety door marked EXIT and when he turned the knob, it opened, granting them a way inside.He made his way up the stairs, and she followed him, being careful not to make unnecessary noise.He tried to open a door on the second level, but it was locked.She really hoped it wasn’t one of those situations where all the locks automatically engaged.Deacon continued, and the next door opened.He placed a finger on his lips, indicating her to be quiet.Like that was something she was going to forget.
They were in some hallway with windows that allowed them to look down onto the warehouse floor.All the sealed barrels were lined up, and off to the side were a bunch of empty ones.
“What are they going to do with them?”she asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.“I’ve never seen this before, but I don’t think I like this.”
“We have to get closer.”
“All right,” he agreed, holding out his hand.“Come on.”
She slid her hand into his and he led them farther down the hallway.They passed elevators, but didn’t want to use them in case the sound brought curious workers.Instead, they used the internal stairwell and made their way carefully back down.Deacon opened the door and glanced around, making sure no one saw before he eased onto the warehouse floor.They used equipment to shield themselves to watch what was going on.
One container was opened, and a person immediately stood up.Men, women, teenagers.One by one, they lined them up and the way they all swayed gave the impression they were stoned.Or drunk.Or roofied.They were directed to step into body bags, and the three workers tied the bag at the top before they were lifted onto hooks.Once all the hooks were full, the conveyer they were attached to moved and the people disappeared into the building.
“We need to get the fuck out of here,” Deacon whispered.
“No, we need to help those people—”
“Marion, look at me.”She did just that, focusing on his face.“This is a processing plant.”
