Isaura (18 page)

Sighing, I replaced all but Adelaide's birth record back
into the folders and put them back in the filing cabinet. I shoved her birth
record into my pocket. It was a long shot to find her parents but I had their
names. Maybe I could find out what happened to them.

I stretched out on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. The
tiles were white with black specks, two feet wide by two feet long, spaced
perfectly apart. What was up there? Duct work? A ventilation system? A moment
later one of the tiles slid open and Joshua came down with a grin. “That was
easy,” he laughed, repositioning the tile as it had been, untouched.

I sat up, smiling wider. “I knew you'd come.”

“I wasn't sending you back into this place without me. Not
that I doubt your abilities,” he added. “Just no sense in trusting the enemy
completely.” He was right. How could we blindly trust the people who had
betrayed us?

“I found something,” I told him, pulling out the folded
piece of paper handing it to Joshua.

“What's this?” he asked reading it over.

“Adelaide's birth record. I'm hoping we can find her
biological parents.” They were out there, somewhere. At least I had to believe
they were still alive. Joshua handed it back to me and I slid it back into my
pocket. “Are you ready for tomorrow?” I asked knowing I was anything but ready.
Nervous more accurately explained how I felt. If it didn't work and Isaura had
the bracelet on, she could easily toss me back to 2225. It was a risk worth
taking.

Joshua grabbed a seat with me on the couch as he pulled the
blanket up and over us. “Not really.” At least he was being honest. “I'm just
glad no one but you knows I'm here.”

“Me, too,” I admitted. It gave me butterflies to know that
even if Cabal wasn't to be trusted, Joshua had my back.

Joshua shifted on the couch, leaning against me with an
eager smile. “So I was thinking. Do you remember when we first came to Shadow
and snuck out that night, searched the town, and wanted to see what was going
on?”

“I remember trying to look for a way to escape.” We
remembered things differently. “What about it?” I raised a curious eyebrow at
him.

“How about we sneak through the ducts and explore this
place. It's after hours. No one’s in their office. Maybe we can uncover some
useful information to take with us to Spade.”

“Maybe.” I considered the plan. It wasn't without risk. If
we got caught, there'd be no chance of taking out Isaura tomorrow. Isaura was
the more important goal, but if the place was pretty much dead, why not see what
was around? “As long as we're careful.” I didn't want to even think about what
would happen if we were caught.

Joshua gave me an eager smile. “I'm not worried. Why? Are
you?” We shifted the sofa to make it easier to climb up into the duct.
Thankfully the metal frame was secure and we weren't exceptionally loud as we
moved through the tight space, inching our way across what would be the
hallway. Joshua slid open the corner of the tile, glancing first to make sure
no one was inside and second that the door was closed. Once he deemed it safe
he moved down into the room. “You're not coming?”

“How are we going to get out if I do?” I made a valid point.
We'd moved the furniture in one room. If we did that in all of them, someone
would notice.

“Okay, but you're searching the next office,” he insisted,
rummaging through the drawers. “Nothing worthwhile here.”

After a few minutes Joshua climbed back up the duct, with my
help and we headed towards another office. “Maybe we should try another floor?”
I suggested.

“Nope. If there's anything it's on this one,” Joshua
insisted. “The rest of the floors are filled with test subjects and labs. The
important people with their own offices are stationed on the third floor.”

How had he gathered so much information in the short time he
was back in Torv?
How did you run into Hunter when you came back?
I
hadn't ever asked the question before, though it hadn't particularly bothered
me until now.

“Actually he found us,” Joshua answered.
He knew of the
facility and assumed we'd object to it. Hunter didn't know who else to trust,
but assumed he could trust his brother, Gavin, and us from Spade. It wasn't
such a far leap when the new government turned us away.

“What?” I'd asked, surprised.

Keep your voice down. There are guards out in the halls
.
That was why he'd chosen to communicate telepathically with me.

Sorry
, I answered, letting him continue.
You were
saying the government turned you away?
Why hadn't he told me sooner?

We turned in the vent heading further down the hallway.
They
didn't elaborate. Just told us we weren't invited to speak with the governing
body and to leave the capitol city of Torv. If we didn't, we'd be arrested for
acts of treason.

So, you decided to see what they were hiding?
Just a
short time ago we'd been invited to the city during the restructuring of the
government. Something was definitely amiss.

Well, I tried
. Joshua admitted. We turned through the
ventilation system, further along the third floor.
Gavin and I were
discussing sneaking into some of the labs, looking into what was so secretive.
We didn't expect to find much.
He paused as we shifted through another
narrow vent and stopped over a grate for me to climb down this time.
That's
when Hunter found us with a plan of his own.

It all seemed convenient, Hunter finding Joshua and Gavin
but I didn't bring it up. We'd spent enough time with Hunter since rescuing the
women that I was confident he wasn't a spy for the government. If he had been,
we'd have been dead long ago. I pushed aside the metal grate. While Joshua had
been lucky with the previous two rooms and the ceiling tiles, the grate was
heavier and louder as I shifted it, metal against metal. I grimaced pausing
momentarily to make sure the guards weren't coming. There were footsteps and
voices but they passed by the door and I shimmied my way down into the room
with a thud. I ducked behind the desk, waiting a moment as their shadows passed
again but neither guard opened the door.

I glanced up at Joshua exchanging nods before easing myself
off the floor. My fingers rummaged the top of the desk. Papers were askew but
nothing I could understand. There were equations and research but it all looked
like a foreign language to me. Sure I took math in school but this was far
beyond anything I'd ever learned. My fingers worked the desk drawer open,
grimacing with the squeak of its hinges as I fingered through the papers
inside. I paused finding several files with names I recognized, including my
own.

The office door swung open and the guard flashed his light
in my eyes. “Isaura,” he stared at me, “I apologize for barging in. I hadn't
realized you were in this late.” The guard studied my face for a moment longer
and the glamour wouldn't last forever.

“Shut it,” I commanded. I gestured towards the door.

“I'll close the door behind myself,” he assured me, shutting
it with a click in place.

How the hell did you do that?
I heard Joshua's voice
and the glamour vanished. I grabbed the files lifting them towards the ceiling
for Joshua to take while I held his arm and maneuvered myself back up into the
ventilation system. We replaced the metal grate and scooted through the vent to
the office, files in hand. “What'd you find?” Joshua asked, handing me the
files as I sat back down on the sofa. I pulled the blanket up around my legs
feeling a slight chill in the air.

“I don't know. There were several files and I was one of
them.” I flipped open my file once again, having another glance at it.

“You still didn't explain the glamour.”

Joshua had never witnessed me using a glamour before. “It
was how I managed to be Jacqueline while I was in Genesis.” Joshua had known
the plan, hadn't he?

“Right.” He smiled. “I forgot. Tomorrow when we're in the
lab, you should glamour yourself.”

I sighed, nudging Joshua. “I'm not sure someone else with
the ability couldn't see right through it. It's better if I hide and not make
myself her intended target.” Joshua had to agree with me. There was no way he
would ever want to put me in harm's way. I stretched out on the sofa, plopping
my feet onto Joshua's lap. “It's going to be a long day tomorrow,” I yawned,
letting my eyes close as I pulled the blanket up further around me.

I felt Joshua shift against the sofa and I whimpered in
protest. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel his shadow before he leant down
and dropped a soft kiss to my forehead. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Where are you going?” I murmured, reluctantly opening my
eyes as my hand reached out to catch his arm. “Stay here.” I didn't think he'd
try and sleep in the vent all night.

“You know I can't.” He kissed me again. “I want to,” Joshua
whispered and his thumb grazed my cheek as my eyes fluttered closed again.

“Please,” I whispered. I didn't want to beg but we both
needed to be on our best game tomorrow and there was no way Joshua would be if
he was awake all night. “In the morning you can go back up and hide before
Fabian comes back.” Through heavy eyes I lifted the covers for him to join me.
Joshua waited only a minute before slipping out of his shoes and sliding in
beside me on the sofa. There was hardly any room at all but I didn't care. It
was nice to know that even in such a small space, we were both comforted by
each other.

As dawn broke, light seeped through the shutters past the
slits forcing my eyes open. The sound of heavy footsteps falling outside the
door didn't help either. “Joshua!” I woke him forcefully, pushing him up and
off me all at once. He slipped his shoes on and climbed back up the vent while
I moved the sofa back to its rightful place. There was a slight indentation in
the carpet from where it had been situated the last twelve or so hours. I had
to hope Fabian wouldn't notice.

Fabian used his key, taking his time jiggling the lock for
an additional moment or two of warning to me that he was coming inside. I was
relieved as it gave Joshua time to secure the ceiling tile back into place as
Fabian stepped inside the office, turned on the light and shut the door behind
him.

“Are you ready?” he asked me. Of course I wasn't ready, but
I didn't have any other option.

“Are you sure there's no one outside?” If Fabian intended to
parade me down the hall it was only a matter of seconds before someone would
see me.

“It's shift change,” Fabian answered. “We have only a few
minutes before the guards come on duty. We should go now.” He cracked the door
open, making sure all was silent as we maneuvered through the hall towards the
elevator. My stomach somersaulted and I let out a heavy breath, knowing I'd be
okay. Joshua would follow. I just hoped he'd be able to get from floor to floor
without too much trouble. Stepping into the elevator Fabian pushed the button
for the seventh floor.
The seventh floor, Josh
. I hoped he heard me and
knew where we were heading.

I'm nearly there
, he answered and I breathed a sigh
of relief.

“You'll be fine,” Fabian glanced at me. I could see it in
his eyes. Maybe the plan had been his but there was still some hesitation, some
concern that everything was riding on me getting this right. I couldn't trap
Isaura. I had to kill her. I wasn't a coldblooded murderer. Isaura was evil
though. She'd kidnapped me, would have killed me if she had the chance. She
experimented on women, held them against their will and maybe she was smart
scientifically but she had no morals. She had to be stopped.

Fabian led me down the seventh floor. It looked familiar
though I hadn't been on this floor before. All the halls with test subjects
looked the same. Fabian opened the door to the room: it was unlocked. “Janessa's
in here,” Fabian assured me as we stepped into the room. She lay on the table,
the switch had been made. She turned her head, showing me she was awake and her
eyes opened giving me a brief smile. “Not now,” he commanded. “You need to look
sedated when Isaura comes in.”

Janessa didn't answer and resumed her position. Was she
trying to meditate to keep her breathing even? Whatever she was doing, it
worked. I moved behind the door, standing in the corner of the room hoping not
to be noticed. When Isaura would enter, her back would be to me, and the door
would shield me for a few moments.

“Take this.” Fabian handed me a dagger. “Olivia.” His voice
held warning, a reminder that I had come here for a mission that needed to be
completed.

“I've got it. Piece of cake.” I smiled. “Now go, get out of
here before she sees you and it ruins everything.” I gestured for the door and
hid behind it as he headed out of the lab. Now all I had to do was wait for
Isaura.

The seconds ticked by like minutes and the minutes felt as
though hours passed. I had no idea how long I stood on my feet but with the
adrenaline coursing through my body, the sheet of sweat coating my forehead I
wouldn't last much longer. I glanced up, seeing the slightest movement above
from the ceiling as Joshua pushed aside the tile and I caught his stare.
Not
yet
. I warned him. Isaura could come in at any moment and Joshua would have
the element of surprise if he stayed put. I didn't want her to come in and see
him climbing down from the ceiling.

He repositioned the tile so it was just slightly askew,
barely noticeable at all. The handle to the door squeaked and I held my breath,
the dagger tight in both hands as I held it to my chest careful not to move,
barely breathing.

“What have we here?” Isaura's voice echoed as she stepped
into the room. She closed the door behind her and I was certain she could sense
me, knew I was there by her words. She didn't react, though. Didn't pretend to
notice me if she was aware as she stepped closer to the patient on the bed. “You
have been the most successful candidate,” Isaura beamed. “My work is almost
complete.”