+++++ Please note: this is the sequel to my other story Acquisition; I suggest you read that first before continuing. Thanks for reading! +++++
***
Her heart pounded with excitement as the adrenalin ran through her body. They were inside at last.
Once they had timed the intervals the regular security patrols it had proven much easier than anticipated to slip through the guarded perimeter that surrounded this place. After that, a short, heart-pounding dash across open ground had taken them to the wall of the house and then in through the small window beyond the neatly raked gravel path that seemed to crunch like thunder beneath their feet. Mercifully, the alarm system had been nothing special and it was child's play to bypass it and then clamber through the opening.
The two black clad figures huddled in the inky blackness of the room until it became clear that they were alone. One of them used a small torch to probe the darkness and reveal a series of shelves neatly stacked with cardboard boxes and tins. According to the plans they had studied, this small room had originally been designed as a larder area for the kitchen and its use hadn't been changed in the hundred odd years since the overly elaborate faux-Gothic mansion had been built.
Both figures breathed more easily. The initial jolt of adrenalin was beginning to fade slightly as they took stock of their surroundings.
"Well that was easy," Adrienne muttered under her breath, slightly disappointed at the rather lackadaisical security. Not a laser beam or pressure sensor in sight. Just a simple house-alarm to bypass. Hardly the stuff James Bond movies were made of. The niggling doubt resurfaced again in her mind. What if they were wrong? What if this was just the house of a rather reclusive millionaire who guarded her privacy? She knew that her job was on the line. It would be back to reporting the crappy stories about the cuddly new arrivals in the zoo and endless traffic reports if she messed this one up.
"Don't kid yourself,' Keyshia retorted quickly. She had her own reasons and concerns about this whole operation and her companion. It was dangerous doing something like this with a rookie. Moreover,a rookie who she distrusted completely. But their paths had crossed when they had been researching Ms. Gloria Abernathy and her extravagant lifestyle. A discreet patron of the arts with a massive fortune and equally massive political connections; the whole set up appeared too good to be true.
Keyshia's involvement had begun with the untimely death of her mentor and best friend Chloe. Chloe had been like a big sister to her. She'd worked her way out of the ghetto and gotten a decent job for herself and she had tried to reach out to Keyshia. But Keyshia had always stubbornly refused to go straight. This life was what she knew. She'd paid her dues hustling for small pieces of the action but she had moved up to breaking into the houses of rich people and keeping the proceeds for herself. She had managed to become an independent thief and free from the mob rackets that unconnected people like her usually ran up against. Breaking and entering was her life and she was happy with it. It was a hell of a lot safer than getting shot for a measly twenty bucks by some macho clerk with a shotgun behind the counter .
Chloe had died over two years ago in a car accident, or so the report went. It just didn't feel right. The bizarre drunken midnight drive Chloe was supposed to have taken didn't make sense. That was not Chloe. Yet, as far as her family and the authorities were concerned, the issue was closed and they had moved on. Without anything tangible to go on, Keyshia was just left with a vague sense of disquiet about Chloe's demise.
At that point she had met Adrienne Cooper, the brash, up and coming news talent, clawing her way up the celebrity ladder. Opinionated, confident, sure of her own potential greatness, blonde and ambitious the young reporter sniffed a story that might catapult her into a higher orbit.
But right now they were both still huddled in this darkened storeroom. Adrienne had the small digital camcorder in her hand now, readying the controls to record low light video.
"Don't you point that at me," Keyshia snarled, "I don't wanna see my face on the evening news, bitch."
"Relax," Adrienne mollified her erstwhile companion. It was proving more difficult than usual to use her manipulative charms to get what she wanted from her companion in crime.
Slowly the two intruders made their way to the closed door. Holding her breath in anticipation, Keyshia slowly turned the handle and gently opened the door. She cautiously peered around the open door and scanned the scene before proceeding into the room. They were in the deserted kitchen now. A variety of stainless steel commercial cooking implements and gadgets graced expensive Italian marble worktops and equally pricey ovens. Everything had been spotlessly cleaned and put away for the night.
In the corner farthest from them a stairway led downwards. Keyshia nodded to Adrienne and the two women crept forward and proceeded with caution down the dimly lit stairwell and into a different world.
Whereas the house above ground retained its original character and features, the basement was a completely new construction of smooth white walls, tiled floors and strip lighting shining down from the ceiling. They found themselves in the middle of a long, brightly lit corridor.
"Well what now?" Adrienne asked.
"You go one way, I go the other. We keep in touch with the radio," Keyshia decided; glad to be rid of Adrienne for a while.
"Ok, I guess," Adrienne agreed. "I'll take left I suppose."
"Perfect," Keyshia murmured. "Remember to keep out of sight," she warned, before she began to proceed down along the right hand corridor.
* * *
Adrienne cautiously crept down the deserted corridor. Luckily it was night and so far there didn't seem to be anybody around. She had sneaked a peek into a couple of rooms but all she'd seen so far was what looked like stored computer parts and more boxes which she hadn't bothered to investigate. So far it was looking as if this was going to be a complete washout. She hadn't even used her camera once. It was still in the pocket of her combat trousers.
All this time and effort for nothing.
Suddenly a door in front of her slid open. Adrienne gasped in shock before instinctively pressing herself against the inside wall of the featureless corridor. The corridor curved at this point so it provided some level of concealment, providing whoever it was didn't decide to walk in her direction. Heart racing, the frightened reporter prayed for a miracle.
A figure stepped out of the open doorway and into the corridor. Even in her terrified state, Adrienne worked hard to stifle an audible gasp. The woman was like something out of a fetish catalogue. She was in her thirties, average height and build with a pale round face and brown eyes topped with long red hair tied back. However her unremarkable physical appearance was more than compensated by her attire; she was dressed in some sort of tight bodysuit made of a shiny white material, long black thigh boots and gloves. Around the redhead's neck was a very uncomfortable looking, rigid black collar with the number 9 embossed upon the front.
The shiny woman paused in mid stride. Adrienne was shaking now. Daring not to breathe, Adrienne closed her eyes.
