Chapter 20
Ialmost do another loop around the cotton farm just to hear Lily’s carefree laughter again, but we can’t draw attention to ourselves. The car is already flashy enough, and even with the darkness of night setting in, there’s still a chance we could be seen by the wrong people.
I’ve had Donovan trying to get a location on the Red Hitters since they shot up Dimitri’s funeral, but it’s not as easy as walking into the police station and demanding to know who all is involved.
The best way to get them is to find out where one of them lives, a difficult task in and of itself. Once we know one of their locations, we can track them until they arrive at a mutual meeting place.
As long as it’s a regular location with a consistent time and date for meetings, and there aren’t any other unrelated people meeting in the same location, it would be possible to rig the place with explosives and blow the bastards sky high.
I’m done dancing around the law and pretending I’m not a bad guy. I want them to know me, fear me, and never send anyone at me again for fear that they will be annihilated. I am the bad guy, and they’ll either respect that or be on the first train to hell the next morning.
It’ll be easier to get that sort of respect with Project G in full swing. If we can convert that precious chemical compound that Dimitri was working on into cold, hard cash, we won’t need to fear the Red Hitters any longer. Revenue will go from millions to trillions, and we can pay off every politician south of Canada to continue operations without ever being bothered again.
Police would mean nothing at that point, but that’s all hinging on finding the research Dimitri was so close to finishing. Without it, we have nothing.
I pull a large flashlight from the convertible after we park it behind an old barn half a mile down the road. Handing it to Lily, I grab a few more supplies, lock picks and a bomb detector to make sure we don’t get blown to pieces the moment we open the door to Dimitri’s shack.
“You’re going to want to stay close,” I say to Lily as we cross the road and head toward the cotton field. “I doubt there are any people out this late, but there could be wild animals. Snakes are just as dangerous as people.”
“Sometimes snakes are people,” she replies, tapping the side of her head with her finger.
I chuckle. “In this case, they’re reptiles and they tend to bite people who step on them by accident. Copperheads are common around here.”
“Yeah, I know. One got into Dimitri’s house one time and had a bunch of babies under his couch. I’ve never heard a grown man scream so high-pitched before.”
A smile. “He’s always been scared of snakes. That must’ve been terrifying for him.”
“Yes, but he dealt with them quickly. He always took care of business, no matter what. He taught me that fear wasn’t something to be controlled by. You must act regardless of fear,” she says.
“You’ve learned a lot from him and I’m thankful for that. Without his teachings, you probably wouldn’t be able to handle being a part of the Bratva,” I say as we venture down the road. We’re closer to the cotton field now. I catch hints of it in the distance as Lily’s flashlight sways with her stride.
“I’m not really sure if I can handle it, to be honest,” she says, looking up at me.
“Nonsense. You’ve gotten this far, which is how I know you’re cut out for it.”
“If you say so…”
She doesn’t sound confident, but that will come with time. She’s still new to this lifestyle, and it’s not something anyone gets used to in a few short days. Months, or possibly years, will warm her up to her new reality, and then she’ll be able to look at me with conviction in her eyes and say she belongs in the Bratva.
“Just focus on the current mission, and everything else will fall into place,” I tell her as we arrive at the cotton field.
As the satellite imagery showed, there is a little shack standing off in the distance at the middle of the field. I was expecting to have to wade through the cotton plants to reach it, but there’s a path that cuts right through the middle all the way there.
Easy enough. I just hope my all-access key works on the lock. It was fine for Dimitri’s house but I don’t know what his setup here is. He may have wanted more security.
“Quick, but no running. That draws attention,” I say to Lily as we step over the low wooden fence.
“Got it.”
We make our way down the path, hurrying through the darkness of night. Lily’s flashlight cuts through the mystery, revealing every rock and stick in the way as we make quick progress toward the shack.
It almost feels too easy, but then again, so did breaking into Dimitri’s house. From that, we got nothing more than a riddle and a slim chance of finding the research. I’m praying this will reveal something more substantial.
When we arrive at the shack, I pause for a moment, turning to Lily. “Point your flashlight at the door for a second.”
She aims the LED beam at the door, and my heart sinks. It’s just an old wooden door on rusted hinges, hardly the security measure a person would take for a secret laboratory.
“This doesn’t look right,” I mutter, grabbing the door handle and pulling on it.
It comes open without a fight, the rusty hinges making surprisingly little noise, like they’re only supposed to look rusty. In reality, they work just fine.
My breath catches in my chest when I see another door behind the wooden door, this time made of metal with a keyhole just like the one on the back door of Dimitri’s house. It should work with my universal key.
“I think this is it.” The excitement in my voice is obvious, despite my efforts to hide it.
“We found the lab?” Lily asks, peering over my shoulder as I bend down to try my key.
“As far as I know, but we’re going to need to be careful. I’m sure the keyhole isn’t rigged to explode, but we should turn on the bomb detector and keep it with us as we search the place,” I explain.
“I hope we don’t get blown up. That would be anticlimactic,” she says.
I chuckle as I stick the key in and turn it. “It wouldn’t be the worst way to go.”
There’s a little click as the key turns, indicating that it works. I pump my fist as I stand up, smiling at our first real victory. This is an important step toward uncovering the research for Project G.
The door to the lab swings open inward, and I have Lily shine her flashlight inside. At the same time, I pull out my bomb detector and turn it on, looking carefully for even the faintest readings that we could be in danger.
I don’t get so much as a blip, which tells us it’s safe to go inside. I doubt Dimitri has this place booby trapped. It wouldn’t make sense, since he comes here all the time. There might be a silent alarm, but the location alone is enough to keep people away from it.
“Okay,” I say, putting my hand on Lily’s shoulder. I feel her tremble, and I frown. “Are you good?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” she blurts. “Totally fine.”
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m excited,” she admits. “I always shake when I’m excited.”
I look her over, making sure she’s not about to lose her cool, but I can tell she’s telling the truth. Her brown eyes are wide and bright with anticipation, and even though her flashlight is bouncing around like carnival lights, her shoulders are pulled back and her stance indicates self-assuredness.
“Okay, let’s go inside, but I want you to stick close. Don’t wander off,” I warn.
“Not much room to wander,” she mutters as we step inside.
While she may be right, that doesn’t change that this situation could go from zero to one hundred in the snap of a finger.
She needs to stay close. Her life may very well depend on it.