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The music softly playing as a background theme to their capture was slowly driving Ethan Fairchild crazy.
It has to be Glenn Miller or something equally annoying. It was the type of music where you listened to one song every now and then. Not the same song over and over.
Ethan’s father had played similar music in his office and work and home. They were not memories he wanted to relive. Bring Franklin Fairchild’s son didn’t have quite as many perks as everyone thought.
The lights in the room were fairly dim as well. It seemed Ezekiel, resident mad man, enjoyed playing with their senses as well as their emotions.
“I’ve had quite enough of this bull,” Ethan said. “We’ve already tested that door.” He indicated the sliding door which was the entrance to the room. “It’s made of metal approximately 3 to 5 inches thick. So needless to say, we’re not exiting in that direction.”
“Octavia didn’t have much luck with Zeller either,” Steven added. “One of his goons threw her back into the room while you were checking out the passageway. She’s lucky she only has a bruised ego. Maybe a bruised rib.”
“All the more reason why we need to get the hell out of Dodge.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Octavia purred, holding a hand to her side. She hated admitting that one of Zeller’s men had gotten the jump on her. Not only was it professionally embarrassing, it was a downright rude way to treat guests.
“Are you sure you’re all right, little one?”
Octavia seemed startled by Steven Webb’s familiar tone. But she didn’t completely dislike it either.
“Fine,” she whispered. “Wonderful. As soon as we get out of here, I’ll be fantastic.”
***
Ethan wasn’t too surprised when earlier he’d discovered a secret passageway located behind the bookcase at the far end of the room.
“Look at this, Sullivan,” Ethan said. “Might be our first lucky break. I went a few hundred feet and it looks as if the passage goes around the entire perimeter of the house.”
“I don’t know,” Bobbie said surveying the opening cautiously. “Seems a pretty obvious choice. Could be a trap.”
The group stared at him pointedly.
“It’s not like we’re staring at a lot of options here. I’ll take all the advantages I can get.”
“You’re not going alone, are you?” Bobbie asked, looking around the room for someone to join the Legacy’s most heroic spy guy.
“I’ll be his second. The faster we can get out of Grandma’s house, the better.” Steven stepped up behind Ethan. He was all muscle, so he’d make a good backup. Better than Bobbie ever would be. He was the sort of man who could put the hurt on bad guys.
Ethan stared back into the room where Gia was lying prone on the sofa. She hadn’t moved in over an hour. That was some monster migraine. Not that he was complaining or anything.
“Keep an eye on Gia for me. She’s not exactly been acting like herself,” Ethan asked Bobbie.
Bobbie’s eyes grew wide. “Me? Why me?”
“Have Octavia help you if she gets difficult.” Steven suggested. “She’s a good ally to have on your side during times of trouble. I’ve found that out first hand.”
“Why can’t she just do it?” Bobbie asked defensively. He seriously didn’t want Gia pounding on his head. But he wasn’t sure who scared him more -- Octavia or Gia.
“You give Octavia the order and see if she complies,” Ethan said with a sly smile.
“That’s okay,” Bobbie said reconsidering. “I’ll do it. Maybe that will give Octavia time to find her own way out.”
Ethan and Steven chuckled. They knew Octavia has a mind of her own. Before either could disappear down the dark tunnel the lights in the room flickered. Once. Twice. Then complete darkness surrounded them.
There was no screaming since all were used to stressful situations. They could, however, hear a faint hissing sound coming from inside the walls near the door. It was reminiscent of radiator pings and grunts. But everyone here knew that a sound like that wouldn’t bring heat. It would bring death.
Gas suddenly spit from the walls in harsh streams. Zeller was sparing no expense to kill them all. The people nearest the door began choking.
Gia sprang to consciousness once the lights extinguished. Her heart racing a hundred beats a minute.
“What in the hell is that?” Gia managed to say through coughing fits.
“Gas. Stay close to the ground,” Bobbie suggested. “The air near the floor should be easier to breathe.”
Ethan took charge and made a split second decision to extract the group through the dark tunnel.
“Everyone. This way. Quickly!” No one questioned him. They merely acted groping their way to Ethan’s position. Many bodies slipped past him, but he lost count during the commotion. He hoped everyone was following Steven who had taken the lead. Ethan was bringing up the rear.
Sounds of coughs and gags filled the narrow passageway. The only good thing was that the gas release was restricted to just the room where they had been imprisoned.
Ethan felt along the wall searching for something to guide him along. His hand brushed across a wire jutting away from the wall. Suddenly, lights danced before his eyes. Strange mechanical patterns embedded in the lights swam in his vision.
“What in the hell is that?” he whispered trying to decipher the strange secret language. A headache rippled across his brain momentarily and he winced. Before he could bring a hand to his head, it was gone. “What in the hell is going on?”
“Are you injured, darling?” Octavia’s husky Russian accent filled the dark void. As she pressed against him, checking for wounds, Ethan’s hand disengaged from the wire. His connection to the strange code was gone.
Ethan brushed her hands away from him. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“Nothing?” Steven said skeptically?
“Whatever it was, it’s gone. Let’s just keep going. I want to find a way out of his haunted mansion. And the sooner the better.”
“I’m with you,” Bobbie replied.
The group moved forward as a cohesive mass hoping that what lie ahead of them was better than what was in the room they’d just exited.
***
The gas filtered out of the room. Irish Quinn checked the levels before opening the outer door. He wasn’t threatened by what may lie in wait. If they were still in the room, they were dead by now.
The door opened with a pressurized hiss of air.
He scanned the room and found only one body.
“We’ve got one,” Irish said depressing the wireless mic at his ear. “She’s on the list.”
He picked up the woman. Her reddish hair fell over his arm as he cradled her. Her face turned to the side revealing her identity.
It was Gia Doyle. And she was dead.
***
Ezekiel watched the festivities from a hidden room inside the mansion. He had cameras all over. Each room was spied on from many angles.
He clapped his hands together in victory as he chanted.
“Nine little spies, tired of the wait. One gets gassed and then there was eight.”
Irish shook his head. He knew his boss was a little crazy. But at least the kook paid well. That’s all he really cared about.
Ezekiel seemed almost lucid when he asked Irish to fetch the candle image of Gia sitting on the table inside the room. He snatched the redheaded candle statue leaving the rest behind. He stuffed it inside Gia’s shirt as he carried her.
Within a few minutes he made his way into the underground sanctuary where Ezekiel had set up his makeshift morgue. Concrete slabs carved with gargoyle figurines into the side made almost perfect gurneys for the bodies. He placed Gia into the one marked with her name.
He depressed a button which brought up a plastic circular lid that encased the slab like a coffin. Air rushed into the chamber where her body laid frosting the plastic.
He walked toward the door and looked back into the room. Two bodies so far. He could see the hulking man inside the tomb next to Gia. He had been the first to die. All he knew about the man was his name.
Rudy Kent.
Why his boss was collecting dead bodies was more than he wanted to contemplate. He turned off the lights and exited the room.
Next time:
An old flame joins Jared as he and Alison find their way into the Zeller mansion searching for shelter from the cold. They think they are saved, but are they?
What is going on in the underground sanctuary and who will be the next Legacy spy to be put “on ice”? THE
LEGACY HAS MANY REASONS
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