Chapter 25
25
M arco shut his truck off and waited for a beat. He knew Jace wouldn't set them up. He trusted his friend completely, but his training had taught him to be cautious. Watch everything. Overlook nothing. Be prepared.
Jace stepped from his vehicle and nodded toward them, then turned and strode to the front door of the cabin.
Marco turned to Theresa. "You ready?"
She took a deep breath and blew it out. "Yeah. I trust him."
"I do too."
She shook her head. "So why are we afraid?"
"Things are heating up. We're right to be cautious and afraid. It's what will save us if we need it. It's why we're here."
"Right."
She nodded and gripped her backpack with both hands. "Okay."
She opened her door, and he opened his at the same time. He strode around the front of the truck and met her there. He kept his hand at the small of her back as they marched toward the door to the cabin, where Jace waited for them.
He stepped back as they neared to let them in. Once inside they stood staring at the place in wonder. Theresa whispered, "Holy shit."
Jace chuckled.
Marco shook his head. "I didn't expect this."
Jace chuckled. "I told you it was like no other."
"You did, but holy shit, I didn't think it was like this. I expected rustic and primitive."
Jace nodded. "I get that. I was surprised the first time I came here too. Let me show you around."
He glanced Theresa's way and caught her eye. She grinned and began to follow Jace into the cabin.
Jace started their tour. "So, obviously this is the living room. The fireplace is gas. Feel free to use it. You simply turn it on here..." He showed them a switch near the left side of the fireplace and flipped it on. Flames appeared and the room instantly took on a different feel.
"The kitchen is this way." He moved toward the left of the front door. "This is all new. New appliances, gas stove, you have everything here you'll need. Pots and pans, etc. Dishes are in the cabinets. Wes said to make yourself at home."
Theresa finally spoke. "We didn't bring food. I didn't think of that."
Jace shook his head. "I took care of it. Margo shopped for you when I told her what we were doing. I have it in the truck. I'll bring it in after I show you around."
Theresa took a deep breath. "Thank you and please thank Margo for us."
Jace grinned. "I will. We're happy to help you. And we're sorry you're going through this."
Theresa swallowed and he worried she'd start crying. The stress was immeasurable at this point.
Jace continued. "Now, this way..." He walked toward the back of the cabin. "Are the bedrooms. There are three here and two bathrooms. One in the primary bedroom and one between the other two bedrooms."
The place was gorgeous. Marco couldn't believe this was tucked back into the woods along the water, yet so close to town. What a little gem.
Theresa set her backpack down inside the primary bedroom and followed Jace back out to the living room.
Jace turned to look at both of them. "Let me show you the security system. You'll love this."
He strode to a desk in the corner of the living room and opened the top drawer with a key. He held the key up, "This is the key to the desk. The other keys belong to the front door and there's one to a shed outside. But you need to unlock the top drawer to access the security system." He reached under the top of the desk, with the drawer open, and pushed a button. A computer screen rose up from the desk. Marco chuckled. "This is amazing."
Jace grinned. "Just wait, I haven't even shown you the cool stuff."
He pulled a mouse from the desk drawer and shook it to wake up the system. He also pulled a notebook from the top drawer. "This is the password. The notebook is to stay in the drawer until you need it and then put it back immediately. There are six cameras outside. Up the driveway and around the perimeter."
The computer came to life, and six squares appeared on the computer screen. "Here are your views from the camera. You can see all around the property beginning when we turned onto Hidden Oasis. There are cameras inside here..." He pointed to the corners above the door and across the living room in the upper corner. "There are also cameras in the kitchen, pointing to the back door. There are no cameras in the bedrooms or the bathrooms. And open disclosure, Wes has access to the cameras coming up the driveway. He knows when someone is here. He doesn't look at the cameras inside here, though. Only if something were to happen. He wanted you to know that."
Jace nodded and turned to Theresa. She smiled in return.
Jace continued. "Keep this up. It'll chime if someone comes up the driveway. You can look and see who it is. There are locks on the doors and windows. The windows are bulletproof glass, the doors are reinforced steel. There's also a safe room if you need it. Once the door to the safe room is opened, Wes will get a warning and he'll send police here immediately. I'll show you that next."
Marco nodded. "Okay. This feels a bit like Fort Knox."
Jace laughed. "That's exactly what I called it the first time I came out here."
Theresa finally found her voice. "Why did he build this?"
Jace shook his head. "He enjoys it. He has the knowhow and he loves tinkering. And he felt if his family ever needed anything like this, in the event of some type of catastrophe, they'd have a place to hide."
Theresa nodded and Marco grinned at her. He could see some of the tension leaving her shoulders and her face. It was less stern than it had been previously.
Jace finished off his tour. "Here's the Wi-Fi password." He pointed to the notebook then put it back into the drawer and closed it. "And follow me to the safe room."
Marco took Theresa's hand, and they followed Jace through the kitchen to a door at the back. It was a basement door. They descended the stairs and lights flickered on. "No one sneaking up on anyone down here. The lights will come on at the movement."
Theresa chuckled. "Wow."
Jace stopped them at another doorway. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped a couple of times then held the phone to his ear. "Wes, we're opening the safe room. I just wanted to give you a heads-up."
Jace listened a minute then hung up the call. He tapped a number into the electronic keypad that appeared after he waved his hand in front of it. He typed in the number. "The code is in the notebook in the desk drawer. Memorize it."
Marco responded. "Will do."
The door opened and they stepped into another amazing room with bunks on the walls, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a sitting area. "There's food down here, MREs. Water bottles under the bottom bunk. You can live down here for two months if need be."
Theresa chuckled. "Oh, my gawd. This is unreal."