Chapter Thirty-Four
Coming back to Alabaster Isle is a ballsy move.
Landing on top of it? Now, that might just be the worst decision in history.
But what other choice do we have? We’re in a helicopter, and there’s only one place to land a helicopter on this island.
At least according to Tauren’s pilot friend, who’s flying us out here.
He’s insisting on doing this right, and I remembered hearing that the Warden had a helipad on the roof of his mansion.
So that’s where we’ll be landing.
For all we know, we could be ambushed the second we touch down. Our only plan, if that happens, is to talk our way out of it.
Yea, I know. Bringing a tongue to a gunfight sounds tres smart…
Then again, this ain’t no regular tongue.
Based on how we left things, I feel confident that The Ivory won’t just kill us the second we land. But we’ve also been gone for weeks, so who knows what kinds of shambles this place is in now.
Lachlan the helicopter pilot circles the island a few times before he feels comfortable enough to land. We don’t see anyone waiting for us on the roof with guns, which is a good sign. But that doesn’t mean they’re not on their way, or staying hidden.
Once we touch down, we have exactly two goddamn seconds to hustle our asses out of the helicopter and get inside the mansion, at which point we need to find the panic room.
Lex said he saw something when he was hacking into the prison servers…
A connecting network that read Ivory Mans.
Panic. He’s just guessing this means there’s a panic room in the mansion, and that’s where he can potentially take control of any security systems they have. Maybe cut the power.
And hopefully find his computer The Ivory confiscated.
We’re working on straight long-shots right now, but it’s better than nothing. I wish we weren’t going into this shit completely blind, but it’s the nature of the beast. None of us have been inside the mansion before, so we don’t really know what to expect.
We would’ve liked to land on the prison, but at this point that’d be like landing on top of a box-fort. It’s not in a position to have anything heavy touching it.
Seeing it from above is staggering. Even more so after being gone for so long.
The night of the storm started to feel like a faint hallucination, after all the trauma—the prison splitting in half with me inside it, escape and fireworks and almost drowning then fearing that I’d lost the love of my life…
It was by far the most fucked up night of my life.
And I’ve had no shortage of fucked up nights.
It barely felt real, especially after weeks in paradise. And yet seeing the state of the prison reminds us that it definitely was.
The bird goes down in slow motion, Lex and I squeezing each other’s hands numb the closer we get. As soon as we’re on the roof, we nod at Lachlan and jump out.
He’s supposed to wait for us as long as it’s safe for him to do so; lock the doors and duck down out of sight. But we all agreed that the second he feels threatened even slightly, he’ll bounce, and we’ll be on our own.
No hard feelings. We get it.
Lex and I take cover, checking that the coast is clear before we run for the only door we see. Unfortunately, it’s locked.
“Great,” I sigh. “Now what?”
“Hang on, lemme think…” Lex stares off into space.
I love watching his brain work, but right now I’m seriously freaked out that someone’s going to run up on us with guns. Sure enough, that’s more or less exactly what happens.
The door whips open, right in front of us. And we just freeze, standing still and staring at a guy, who’s staring back at us.
Like a T-Rex… He can’t see us if we don’t move.
I’ve never seen this man before, but he has a vaguely familiar face. I can’t put my finger on it…
He glances at the helicopter, then back at us, gaze narrowed. “You’re not the Governor…”
I gape at him, completely baffled. “Uh… no. We’re not…?”
He continues to stare at us for another few heavy freaking moments, and my heart is jumping up into my throat.
I don’t think this is one of the Warden’s men. For one, he’s not killing or capturing us. Also, he seems to have a different kind of accent. Maybe German, or… Russian?
Before I can think on it too hard, he spins and storms back inside without a word. Lex and I share a look, following him slowly into the mansion. Inside the door is just a staircase that goes down, and we listen to him stomping down it before we do the same, much slower.
“Who the hell was that?” I whisper to Lex.
“I don’t know. Why’d he ask us if we were the governor?” His forehead lines.
“I don’t know,” I mumble as we reach the top floor. “This is already weird as shi—”
Lex slaps his hand over my mouth, shoving me around a corner just in time, as two large men come storming up the stairs. Right past us.
As soon as the coast is clear, I peek after them. “That’s one of the Warden’s personal security guys. I recognize him.” When I’m sure they’re fully out of sight and earshot, I slap my hand over my heart. “Fuck… What a rush!”
“Yea, we’re not in the clear yet,” Lex reminds me, taking my hand and pulling me along.
“Hey, I like to celebrate the little victories.”
“Ren,” he scolds. “Be quiet.”
“Sure, sorry.”
The floor we’re on looks pretty huge and… Ivory. This has to be his floor, and I don’t think it’s the best idea to snoop in his stuff. Though I’m sure he probably has awesome shit, and I’m curious as hell.
Still, we don’t have long until those dudes come back. We gotta move.
“Let’s take the back stairs,” Lex says, leading the way back to the small staircase we came from. But instead of going up, we go farther down.
This place is weird. And fascinating. Beautiful and creepy, just like The Ivory himself.
The steep, winding staircase brings us into this odd corridor, and we just start trying doors. Quietly and slowly, of course, in case more large guys are waiting behind any of them.
Voices can be heard from somewhere in the distance, but not close enough for us to worry. Yet.
And then we hear a helicopter.
“Shit,” Lex grunts. “He’s leaving…”
“It’ll be fine.” I chew my lower lip. “Maybe he’ll come back…”
“Yea, I won’t hold my breath.”
We somehow end up in another hallway, and then, finally, we catch a lucky freaking break.
“Yes!” Lex cheers quietly. “Panic room, baby.”
I beam with pride. “Fuck yea. Let’s do this, Lex Luthor.”
It takes my man all of ten seconds to find a kill switch. He shoots me a mischievous look, and I smirk.
Lex pulls the lever with a clunk. And everything goes dead.
All but the lights in the room were standing in. But everything outside of it has gone dark.
“Oh, man… He’s gonna be so mad,” I laugh.
“Okay, spread out and help me look.” Lex starts rifling through drawers.
Seconds are feeling like weighted minutes while we look for the thing. And I’m briefly worried that we won’t be able to locate it.
“Babe, we might have to work with what we’ve got here,” I mumble anxiously. “What if The Ivory heads this way…”
“Just give me a second…” Lex is opening everything, ransacking the room.
I don’t enjoy discouraging him, but I just don’t see how we can be sure his device is even in here.
“It’s a panic room, though,” I shiver from nerves and adrenaline. Shouting in the distance has me cringing. “Power’s out means come here. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but I really think we should—”
“Just hang on! I know it’s here, I just know it…”
“How??” I rasp, frustrated and freaking out just a tad, which I hate.
I think I hear voices…
“Baby, please—”
“Ha!” Lex gasps, turning to hold up his fucking computer. Beaming like the precious perfect morsel he is. “I fucking told you I’d find it.”
Chuckling out of relief, I purse my lips. “You’re a genius, baby. We all know that.” Lex is shimmying, instantly glued to his device. “Now what?”
“Oh, you just wait, sweet flame…”
A familiar voice cuts into his determination. “W-what…”
Lex and I jump and turn toward the doorway.
Byron…
Holy, oh my God…
It’s… Byron!
I guess I hadn’t allowed myself to process how much I missed him, how worried I’ve been about him. It’s easy to push things out of your mind when you’re deliriously happy and in love, but those vacant places inside are still there. Empty spots in the shape of whatever, or whoever, is missing.
But finally, we’re back together.
All my holes are being filled by my friends right now.
Seriously, though. No more doubt, or worry, or fear.
We made the right call.
Watch out, Warden. The Pen Boys are coming for ya.