Page 49 of In The Trenches (Owens Protective Services)

He sat up at the mention of these men, his attention laser-focused on me. “They walked in through the basement,” he repeated.

I nodded, glancing at the security guard. “Yes, I found it odd. Four of them broke off in another direction, but one of them got on the elevator with me.”

“And you didn’t think to report this?” he snapped.

I swallowed hard, fighting the panic rising in me. This wasn’t my fault, I had to remind myself. “I was going to, but the power went out while we were in the elevator.”

“But why didn’t you call from downstairs?”

“Because five men were walking toward me,” I laughed incredulously. “I was alone in the basement with five men who were all twice my size. My only thought was getting away from them.”

“I’m sorry,” he immediately apologized. “You’re right. What happened after that?”

“Like I said, the power went out and the elevator stopped. We were stuck for…I don’t know how long. The man that came on the elevator with me was able to keep me calm. Then the other men showed up and got us out through the top of the elevator. We had stopped just shy of the third floor.”

“And they pried the doors open and got you out?”

“Yes.”

“What happened after that?”

I fidgeted as I considered how much to tell him. For some reason, I felt loyal to Seth, despite the fact that he was part of this gang of men. “I got the feeling that they were there to do something bad,” I said slowly. “I was going to go down the stairwell by myself to leave, but they insisted I go with them. I didn’t really feel I had a choice in the matter.”

“Where did they take you?”

“Outside one of the research labs. Um…5B, I think.”

Something darkened in his eyes for a moment before he nodded. “Anywhere else?”

“Yes, we went further down the hall to an office. There was no name on it, so I assumed it was empty.”

He shifted in his chair, staring out the window for a moment. I couldn’t tell if he was angry with me or not, but something in him had definitely changed. “Did they say anything about why they were here?”

“Yes, they said they were from the Chicago office to collect something. They had badges with them. They looked so real, but I had this bad feeling.”

His jaw clenched hard as he stared down at his desk. He looked like he was seriously trying to rein in his anger.

“I’m so sorry, but I didn’t know if what they were saying was real. I had no idea if there was even a Chicago branch.” I was silent for a minute, waiting for him to speak. When he didn’t, I continued. “I hope nothing bad happened.”

He finally looked up at me, a tight smile on his face. “It’s fine. I’m sure anyone would have thought it real given the situation you were in. I appreciate you coming forward with this information. Now we can do a security sweep and see if anything was taken.”

I nodded, not sure what else to do. “Would you like me to come into work tonight?”

He glanced up, lost in thought for a moment as he stared at me. “No, without the power on, there’s no point.”

“Do…do I still have a job?”

“Of course.” It sounded sincere, but I had the feeling he was very angry with me. Then again, maybe I just found it hard to trust anyone. “Did you drive?”

“No, I walked.”

“Let me have a driver take you home.”

“I think it would be faster to walk. Traffic is backed up outside.”

He gave a polite nod as he walked around his desk, gripping me lightly by the elbow. He steered me to the door, opening it for me. “I’m not sure how long it will take to get the power back on. Why don’t you assume that until the power’s on, it’s best just to stay home. Do we have your phone number on file?”

“I…I don’t have a phone,” I admitted weakly. I didn’t want to admit that I couldn’t afford to just take off for an extended amount of time. That wasn’t his problem, and they were probably losing money every day the power was out, but I also couldn’t afford to be proud right now. “If anything comes up that I can help with, I’d be glad for the work.”

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