Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ROC
It turns out, Skinny Egg knows exactly where I can find the Gutter Snakes and by the time the sun is touching the ocean’s horizon line, we’re circling the old dock warehouse.
The plan is simple: Asha and Wendy will go to the front door and knock and pretend to be lost.
Smee and I will sneak in through a side entrance.
Vane, Kas, Bash and Winnie will circle the place watching for any escapees.
Now, Smee and I are crouched behind a stack of empty crates in the lot on the east side of the warehouse. It gives us a clear view of the unmarked front entrance, where Asha and Wendy are currently approaching, along with the back entrance, where we plan to enter.
I originally wanted to smash my way inside and start tearing off limbs, but Smee pointed out that the Snakes could be holding my Captain at gunpoint and any smash and grab could risk his life.
So now I sit out here crouching behind refuse like a thief.
“When we get in,” I tell Smee, “you should step aside. I will be tearing limbs from bodies.”
She shifts slightly so she can peer around the corner of a crate. “Do you not know how to be discreet?”
“Subtlety has never been my strong suit.”
Wendy and Asha are at the front door. Wendy reaches out with her fist and knocks.
They wait.
As a Jabberwocky, I had heightened senses and while the Darkland Dark Shadow has dulled some of the Jabberwocky elements, my senses were not one of them.
Inside the warehouse, I can hear shuffling of feet on stone and mumbling between several Gutter Snakes. They can’t seem to decide who should answer the door.
Asha knocks a second time and Wendy calls out, “Hello? I’m looking for Mr. Killips?”
Finally, several locks on the front door are clunked open and someone peeks out.
I don’t wait for Smee. Staying low, I hurry around the crates and to the back door. Smee is quick on my heels, a lock-picking set already in her hand.
“I don’t need that, Smee,” I tell her and turn the doorknob. Inside, the locks give easily. “Perks of having a shadow older than the dawn of time.”
She rolls her eyes and then I shove inside.