Chapter 320

The passages were silent, and they seemed much more familiar to me than they had before.

Leading Findlay through the shorter tunnels and then down the longest passage, I quickly found the stone wolf that opened the door to the bathroom.

I pressed the wolf’s nose, and the stone wall between the ivory columns moved inward.

“It’s a good thing you know about this way inside the complex,” Findlay whispered. “I’m grateful, Daisy.”

Doing something to help Tony was making Findlay feel much calmer. I was glad. It would take cool heads to survive this situation, especially if it was as bad as I thought.

“Let’s find those weapons,” I said. “We may need them.”

I was frightened and didn’t like the thought of handling a gun, but I was determined to help Victor and Alex in any way necessary.

We went out the bathroom door into the hallway, and Findlay looked around.

“I never used this bathroom, but I know where we are,” he said. “It’s not far from my office.”

It was my turn to follow him. The halls of the complex were eerily silent, and I tried to remember where Victor’s office was located.

Findlay led me to a large supply closet. A second after he opened the door, we heard voices coming our way and stepped inside with the boxes and shelves of office supplies.

I quietly pulled the door shut behind us, and we listened to the footsteps of several people passing our hiding spot.

“We need to move all of the product out of the complex,” a man said. “And John must be evacuated immediately, along with as many of the others as we can find. He’ll want to regroup the operations elsewhere for now.”

Knowing we were feet from senior faction members made my heart pound. I tried to keep my breathing under control and not give our presence away, but every inhalation sounded like a hurricane in my ears.

We listened to the voices and footsteps fade away. When Findlay flipped on the closet light, I was shocked to see a pistol in his hand.

“Here, Daisy, take this one,” he whispered. “You should be able to handle this pistol. It’s easy.” He showed me how to turn the gun’s safety on and off to get it ready to fire.

“Be careful, and don’t try to hit a target that’s far away,” he said after I tucked it into my waistband. “You’ve only got nine shots. Use them wisely.

“Aren’t we staying together?” I asked. “I'm going back into the passages and listening to what’s happening in Victor’s office. Then we’ll know more about what’s going on.”

He shook his head. “I’m going to the antiquities department. I’ll meet you outside Victor’s office as soon as I know Tony is safe. It’s down the next hall on the right.”

“Okay,” I said. But I wasn’t okay. I was frightened and worried about Victor and Alex. Yet, I had to face this threat if I was going to help them.

“Text me when you know anything and good luck,” I told Findlay. “I hope Tony is okay.”

“I can feel he is alive, but he’s terrified,” Findlay said.

He checked the pistol in his waistband and squared his shoulders. “Stay safe, Daisy.” He cracked the closet door and peered out before slipping into the hallway.

It was my turn to walk into danger to help the ones I love.

Leaving the supply closet would make me vulnerable for several seconds. I peeked into the hall and listened for a moment. Hearing nothing, I burst into the hall and headed for the bathroom.

Footsteps were echoing behind me when I was feet from the bathroom. I rushed inside and made sure the door closed silently.

I didn’t know what to do if they entered the bathroom. If I went into the passages before them, there was no place to hide.

Dashing into the last toilet stall, I shut the door and crouched on the toilet seat, waiting to hear if someone entered the bathroom.

I wasn’t disappointed.

The bathroom door opened, and the clicking of heels moved across the floor. I held perfectly still, barely breathing, while someone entered the stall beside mine.

It seemed like an hour had passed before the woman left the stall, washed her hands at the sink, and returned to the hallway.

I let out a sigh of relief that made my eyes cross when the door closed and the footsteps moved down the hall away from the bathroom.

Then, I moved quickly to the Ivory Columns and let myself into the passages.

I had no trouble finding the spy’s passage this time. Cassidy had been right. It gets easier to find your way around the passageways each time you enter them.

I went straight to the grate that would allow me to hear into Victor’s office and listened.

At first, I thought the grate was closed, but it wasn’t. There were no sounds on the other side of the wall. Victor’s office was silent.

I couldn’t feel his presence either. Where was he?

I had to find him.

Backtracking the way I came, I heard a large group of men coming my way from a cross passage. The sound of many footsteps and voices were just around a bend in the passage.

I ran as fast and silently as I could for the next cross passage. After rounding the corner, I crouched down, flattened myself against the granite wall, and pulled the pistol from my waistband.

My hands were shaking so severely that I doubted I would be able to hit anyone, but having the cool steel weapon in my hands made me less afraid.

The six men of the faction passed directly in front of me. Fortunately, they weren’t paying attention to anything except the heavy cardboard boxes they carried.

The boxes were exactly like the ones I found in the room filled with ancient tombs. There were definitely more than lemons in those boxes.

The men disappeared around another corner, and their footsteps faded.

I was almost to the bathroom, so I dashed fifty feet to the stone wolf that would open the passageway door.

The bathroom and the hallway to Victor’s office were empty. It was a relief. But when I got close to Victor’s door, I heard men's voices again.

“One of them is Victor,” I murmured. Then I recognized the others. It was Alex and Findlay! But were they safe, or were they captives of the faction?

Holding the gun in both hands, I peeked into his assistant’s office.

Chloe wasn’t at her desk or anywhere in the room. I got closer to Victor’s inner office and found the door ajar. I stood still and listened.

“We must find her,” Alex insisted. “I’m not leaving without her.”

What was going on? Were they looking for me?

“Findlay said Daisy is meeting him here,” Victor said. “We can’t roam the complex halls safely until every faction member is rounded up and taken into custody.”

“I sent Daisy a text, but she hasn’t answered me yet,” Findlay said. “I told her we were all safe, and she should hurry here.”

“Where is she?” Victor said. His tone told me how worried he was.

I stepped into the room. “I’m right here.”

“Daisy!” Victor cried and rushed to take me in his arms. Then he saw the pistol in my hand. “You’re armed,” he said in amazement.

I placed the pistol on his desk and stepped into his arms.

“Is Tony safe?” I asked Findlay.

“Yes,” he grinned. “He locked himself in the antiquities vault when the faction came for him. There’s no cell service there.”

I returned his smile. “I’m glad. What a horrible experience.”

“It’s almost over, my love,” Victor said as he held me tightly. “Faction members are being rounded up and arrested. Kirk Sanders is in custody, but we haven’t found John Cameron.”

“And Cassidy is missing,” Alex said. “Benson said she followed me here after you called. Her car is parked in the back parking lot, but we don’t know where she is.”

“She’s in the passageways,” I said. “There’s an entrance in the rear of the complex. It’s how Findlay and I got in.”

“There’s probably faction members in the passages!” Alex cried. “We must go after her. She came here to help me. I can’t let her be harmed.”

“Nobody except the faction and Cassidy know their way around the passages or even how to get inside them,” Victor said. “If I send in a troop of guards to wander around blindly, the faction may panic and kill her.”

“I feel so helpless,” Alex said. “Daisy, show me how to get into the passages, and I’ll look for her.”

“You’ll get lost or discovered by the faction,” Victor argued.

“Victor is right,” I said. “I’ll go after Cassidy.”