Looting the 13th Floor 2, page 12
part #2 of Looting the 13th Floor Series
“Be safe on your return journey,” Cleo said with a stoic nod. “Beware of those who may wish to loot you.”
“Uhhhhh,” the young guy said. “You… you’re welcome? Or, thank you?”
I snorted with laughter as Cleo shut the door, and Kali brought the pizza over to the sofa.
“Food time,” the nymph giggled as she opened the box and placed it on the table.
We each grabbed a slice, and I was grateful to be refueling after a day of banshee slaying.
“I was thinking,” I said. “Why don’t we camp for our next trip? I have a tent, so we can stay overnight.”
“Camp,” Cleo repeated slowly. “Hmm, yes. That could work, but I may not recommend sleeping on the ground. The trees are safer.”
“Let’s take a chance on the ground,” I chuckled. “I’m not sure my balance is good enough to sleep on a branch.”
“This is so exciting,” Kali said. “I wonder what we’ll find inside the houses!”
“Hopefully shitloads of treasure,” I snorted.
“Maybe more trophy girls,” Kali added with a worried pout. “Will you help them, Liam? If we find more like me?”
“Of course,” I said. “I told you I would free any imprisoned girls we came across. I meant it.”
The nymph smiled at me as she bit into her pizza slice, and she studied the crust carefully as if she couldn’t get over how it was made.
“We need to start thinking about our route,” I continued. “There should be multiple paths that we can use to get to the rock face where we come in and out of Hollowfell.”
“What do you mean?” Cleo asked as she nibbled on the corner of her pizza slice. “It is at the top of the hill, it cannot move.”
“I mean our scents and tracks could be around,” I said. “We can’t risk anyone figuring out there’s a hidden door in the rocks. Especially with these werewolves out hunting. They could set up a stakeout right where we come and go from, and that would fuck up everything for us. I think we should take different routes every time we climb the hill to throw them off, and we can switch it up each day.”
“That makes sense.” Cleo nodded. “This would make our scents not as strong on that one pathway.”
“Exactly,” I said. “We’ve made the Earth side of the portal safer, so let’s do the same for the Hollowfell side.”
We ate our pizza as we examined the various potions we had, and some of the labels were too worn for Kali to make out. My eyes began to feel heavy as I finished up my third slice, and I stood up to make my way into the shower.
I stepped into the steaming water as my body started to feel tired, and I was already over the shitty water pressure. That new bathroom couldn’t come soon enough.
The banshee blood ran off my body as I scrubbed myself clean with shower gel. I couldn’t stop yawning as I climbed out of the tub and into a towel, and I came into the living room to find Kali already tucked into her blanket. Her pink curls stuck out over the throw as her blue eyes fluttered barely open.
“Goodnight,” the nymph said sleepily. “Thank you for everything, Liam.”
“Night.” I smiled. “Sweet dreams.”
I went into the bedroom to find Cleo had tucked herself under the covers as well, and her ears twitched happily at the sight of me.
“Hey,” I said as I dried off. “Ready for a new heist tomorrow?”
“Yes,” the cat-girl mumbled sleepily. “I cannot wait for another looting mission with you, Liam.”
I climbed in beside her, and Cleo snuggled up close as my eyes began to close. Her soft hair fell over my chest as she clung to me, and my mind drifted off to our locked doorway to the thirteenth floor.
The magical portal was finally all ours. Endless hoards of treasure waited for us, and I felt like the luckiest guy in the world as I fell into a deep sleep.
The sunlight shone in through the gaps in my curtains to wake me up the next morning. I mumbled as I opened my eyes and found that Cleo had already left the bedroom. It only took a moment for me to pull on some fresh clothes, and I went into the living room to find my Hollowfell beauties perched on the sofa.
The monster girls were dressed in their second set of sportswear, and they were busy packing our potion collection carefully into the rucksack.
“Good morning!” Kali said brightly. “We’re getting all packed for our heist!”
“Morning,” I said. “Awesome, I’ll just grab the camping stuff.”
I found the tent and rolled-up sleeping bags stuffed in the back corner of my closet, and I had to blow chunks of dust off them as I carried them back out into the bedroom. The tent had its own bag with a thick strap, and the sleeping bags fit inside my rucksack.
I also had a whole unused pack of camping gear that had been collecting dust for a long time. There were chunky fire sticks along with a lighter, and even one of those portable stoves, but I figured cooking hot food would be a bit of an unnecessary luxury seeing as we could just bring packed snacks.
“There’s lots of supplies,” I called as I took what I needed. “But I might need a hand carrying all this.”
“We can help,” Cleo replied as she strolled in and picked up the tent. “This is not too heavy for me.”
“I have two water bottles in the kitchen,” I said. “We can swing by a store to get some food supplies, too. Maybe protein bars and stuff that’s wrapped up and durable.”
Then I took out an extra pouch of magazines that was still under my bed. It seemed pointless to keep them in my apartment when I would only need them in Hollowfell.
We made sure everything was packed as I swung the heavy bag over my shoulder, and we headed out into the warm morning air. I had all of the camping gear in my rucksack, and Cleo held the tent proudly strapped to her back.
There was a food store on the way where we stocked up on wrapped protein bars, chips, dried fruit, and some more water bottles. It all just fit inside my rucksack, and Cleo stuffed some of the snacks into the tent bag. I bought us bagels and coffee on our walk to fuel us as we discussed the route we would take when we got to Hollowfell.
Cleo’s detailed knowledge of the land was going to be a lifesaver as we navigated our next heist. Her days prowling the woods had been lonely, but they had given her life-saving tips that we would need.
But I felt pretty damn prepared for whatever we came up against.
I had become a looting expert lately, and my confidence with navigating heists had become so much stronger. We had our cloaks and guns waiting for us by the portal, but our posters could be up for a long time, and I wanted to make sure we had our best chance at sneaking around unnoticed. Especially with such important families leading the search.
I thought about other ways we might be able to disguise ourselves. I could order some costume facial hair online, and maybe some contact lenses for the girls. It wouldn’t be great up close, but I reckoned it would do the trick with keeping people’s gazes off us.
We finished up our breakfast outside the office building before we went inside, and I tried not to whack anyone with my rucksack as we headed through the bustling turnstiles. Cleo was as careful as she could be with her tent bag, and she clutched it tightly against her chest as she walked.
“Morning,” I said to Stan as we passed by the desk. “Still working away?”
“For now,” the security guard said. “But retirement is right around the corner! I’ve got some trainees kicking about today to get a feel for the job.”
I tightened the grip on my bag straps as I glanced around for the huge guy who had filled in for Stan before. He had been hell-bent on searching everyone in the lobby, and we had only just gotten away before he’d been able to find illegal guns in my pack. That was an incident I did not want to repeat.
“Don’t worry,” Stan said as he studied my face. “That huge asshole isn’t coming back. He was way too wound up for a corporate office gig.”
“He was,” I sighed as I relaxed. “Any idea who you want to replace you?”
“Not yet.” Stan shrugged. “It’s all young guys with not much experience that we’ve got in today. Oh, speak of the devil.”
I followed his gaze to see a guy in his thirties come through the turnstiles with two coffee cups in his hands. He was wide set and tall, and he had a cheery face under a mop of brown curls.
“Here you go,” he said as he placed one of the cups on the desk. “Extra-strong latte for the man himself.”
“Thanks,” Stan said as he grabbed the coffee. “Liam, this is Joe. Potential candidate for the job, and a coffee delivery just bumped up his chances. Not being an asshole is also a big point in his favor.”
“Nice,” I said as I shook the guy’s hand. “This is Cleo and Kali, I’m training them up for an IT gig upstairs.”
“Good to meet you.” Joe nodded. “Hopefully I’ll be seeing you around regularly. This is a great location for my apartment, and I get to learn from the best.”
Stan rolled his eyes jokingly, and I was pleased that the new trainee had a similarly chill vibe. This would make the transition a hell of a lot less stressful if I got to know the new guard.
“Okay,” Stan said as he stood up and came out in front of the desk. “I should probably actually do my job and make sure you’ve got what it takes.”
“Sure,” Joe said. “What do you want me to do? I’ve memorized everything in the training booklet.”
“Damn training booklet,” Stan muttered. “Fuck the booklet. Security is all about using your instincts.”
“Like hunting,” Cleo said with a nod.
“Hunting?” Stan snorted. “Holy shit, girl, you hunt with those ear things on your head?”
“She takes them off to hunt,” I said quickly. “But she only hunts back in Spain anyway. Big, uh, hunting scene over there.”
“Cool,” Joe said. “The ears look super real. We should talk about anime sometime!”
“Yes,” Cleo said slowly. “I know all about that.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “Stan, we’d better leave you to it.”
“Liam can help us with training,” Stan said as he patted my shoulder. “He’s one of the only guys in this place who isn’t an asshole. Let’s give you a scenario to deal with.”
I felt a slight sense of panic rise up as I stood between the two guards, and Cleo eyed my backpack nervously. There were bullets inside as well as a bunch of magical potions. My palms started to sweat as I pretended to check the time.
“We’d better go, actually,” I said. “Roberts will–”
“This will just take a second,” Stan said. “Joe, show me how you would conduct a search. A thorough one for a real shady type of bastard.”
“Sure thing!” Joe said eagerly. “I won’t leave a stone unturned.”
My blood ran cold as the young guard stepped toward me.
Everything would come crashing down if he found what was inside my rucksack. I had to stop him.
Chapter 8
My hands felt like vises as I gripped onto my rucksack.
The monster girls looked around desperately for something to help distract the guards, and my eyes fell on the fire alarm on the wall beside them. It was one of those small boxes with breakable glass that would set a siren off throughout the whole building. Protocol was to evacuate everyone even if one of those things was pressed by accident. It was my only chance to get out of this without looking suspicious as all hell.
“Go on,” Stan sighed. “Now, Liam here is normally a great guy who helps with the computer down here from time to time. But in this scenario, we are going to say he’s the creepiest guy you’ve ever seen, and he’s just ran past you with that rucksack on.”
“Let’s do this!” Joe said eagerly. “Okay, you scary, suspicious criminal. Let’s have a look through that bag before I give you a pat down.”
“Just one second.” I smiled at the young guard. “The girls have some feminine things in here that they might want to pull out first, if that’s okay.”
“Oh,” Joe said as he turned slightly pink. “Uh, I guess so.”
I swung the bag off my back and crouched down as the girls knelt with me. They stared at me silently as I made a show of unzipping one of the pouches and reaching my hand inside. Both guards were standing right behind me, so I tried to communicate with the girls without words. I pointed to the alarm with a sly finger and imitated punching as subtly as possible.
“What?” Kali hissed desperately. “You want us to fight them?”
“No,” I mouthed. “Not the guys, the box.”
Cleo tilted her head as I tried to make my words as clear as possible on my lips. The cat-girl glanced at the box on the wall with deep confusion in her golden eyes.
“Punch the fire alarm,” I breathed. “Punch it!”
“Everything okay?” Stan asked behind me. “I’m sure Joe will cope if he sees a feminine hygiene product. He’s going to have to be able to handle whatever weird shit he sees without making a fuss.”
“Of course,” Joe said as he cleared his throat. “I’m a professional.”
“I had a guy bring in a frog once,” Stan said. “Like, a fucking live frog. Good thing I spotted his creepy ass a mile off. Who knows what the fuck he was gonna do with that thing.”
“Let’s do this,” Joe said. “I’ll make it quick so you can be on your way.”
“Right,” I said as I kept my eyes on the girls. “Awesome.”
I slowly got to my feet as I kept gesturing to the box, but I had no idea if the girls understood what I meant. It was something that neither of them would have seen before, and I knew punching an alarm would be a completely alien concept to them.
Kali looked on the verge of tears as she danced from foot to foot and stared desperately at the wall, but I saw a glint of determination in Cleo’s face. The cat-girl nodded to me just as I turned around, and I silently hoped she understood what she had to do.
I heard Cleo’s boots stride over the marble floor behind me, and I felt numb as the young guard reached out to take my rucksack. A million thoughts raced around my mind as I scrambled for a reason to have bullets in my bag. I could say this was my uncle’s rucksack that I had just borrowed, and I could act shocked at the discovery. That would surely take the heat off me, but I knew it would make me a target for future searches.
“Big bag today,” Stan said. “What’s all that for?”
“Borrowed some camping stuff,” I said dryly. “From my uncle. He just packed this bag for me, so I hope it’s got everything I need inside for the trip. It was all a bit last minute.”
Joe crouched down to the bag and began to unbuckle the top when an ear-piercing siren rang out through the lobby. I spun around to see glass shattered on the floor around the alarm box, and Cleo innocently stood beside Kali as if she had never moved. The cat-girl shot me a sly wink as a wave of relief washed over me.
She really was perfect.
“Dammit!” Stan groaned as Joe straightened up. “Okay, Joe. New task. Evacuation time. Let’s get on the damn intercom.”
The two guards hurried over to the desk and left my rucksack unsearched on the ground. I grabbed it and swung it over my shoulders as the girls hurried over to me. Cleo looked as proud as the day she had mastered the takeout app, and I grabbed her hand to squeeze it.
“You did it!” I hissed. “Thank you!”
“I could tell you wanted me to punch the tiny box,” Cleo said. “But I didn’t know what would happen.”
“A siren,” Kali said as she covered her ears. “Urgh, it’s almost as bad as the Stormgulf one.”
“It’s the fire alarm,” I said. “Nice work, I knew I could count on my outlaw queen to get us out of that mess.”
“I am so glad she figured it out,” Kali said with a crinkle between her eyebrows. “My legs feel all tingly with nerves!”
Stan made an announcement over the building intercom for everyone to exit in a calm fashion, and the lobby started to fill up as people emerged from the stairwells.
“Come on,” I said. “We need to go outside until they give us the all-clear.”
We hurried back through the turnstiles with the camping gear on our backs as the entire building evacuated. Nobody seemed to be in much of a rush as people texted as they walked, and a couple of young guys even stopped at the vending machine. It didn’t give me much hope for what would happen in the event of an actual fire.
Everyone crowded on the sidewalk beside the office as the designated fire marshals patrolled with clipboards full of names. I sighed as Roberts emerged with a luminous vest on and his band of unbearable buddies in tow. The rest of my colleagues trailed along behind him looking as bored as everyone else.
“There you are!” Roberts said as he spotted me. “Late again, Liam!”
“I wasn’t late,” I said. “There were four minutes left until clock-in time.”
“But you didn’t clock in,” my boss said.
“Because the fire alarm went off,” I groaned. “Come on, man.”
Roberts looked like he was about to give me one of his long speeches until his eyes fell on the monster girls.
“Ladies,” he said cheerily. “So sorry you have to experience this, but it’s all part of the job. I was elected fire marshal for our floor. It’s a dangerous responsibility to be the last one out, but I knew I was up to the task.”
“It does not seem very dangerous,” Cleo said bluntly, and I held in a snort.
Roberts turned a horrible shade of red as he busied himself with checking things off his list, and he muttered under his breath as he scribbled something on his clipboard.
“What is the purpose of this?” Cleo asked quietly. “Why don’t we go inside and throw water on the fire if they think there is one?”
“The firefighters do that,” I said. “We just stand here and do nothing.”
“This makes no sense,” Cleo muttered. “Everything could be burning.”
“But it isn’t,” Kali whispered. “We were the ones that made the alarm go off, remember?”
