The Tower by Michael Cross

Author:Michael Cross [Cross, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

It’s the following night, and I’m sitting on the roof of Cherry Blossoms. It’s a cold and wet night, though thankfully it’s stopped raining. I glance at my watch and see that it’s closing in on midnight. The massage parlor’s been closed for hours now, but I needed to give the workers time to clean up and get out of there before I go in.

I could have come later, but being up here as long as I have has also given me a chance to get the rhythm and pulse of the street below. I take in everything around me, from the foot traffic, to the cars going by, to the lights in the windows of the buildings around us. Being acclimated to the ambient noises will help me better hear anybody trying to get the drop on me.

Confident the building is empty; I’m ready to go in. I could try picking the lock and going in through the back door, but I’m pretty sure that’s going to be wired, and I don’t have the time to disarm the alarm. I’ll go that route if I have to. But something I’ve found to be true is that more times than not, the skylight is usually unlocked.

Once again, I have no idea why I know that. But I just do.

Gripping the edges of the panel, I lift it up and smile as it comes open, the hinges barely making a squeak. I open it all the way up and carefully set it down, then move back around to the opening, pulling down my balaclava. I go belly first, gripping the edge of the frame and lowering myself down. I let go and drop the last couple of feet, landing with a soft thud.

Crouching down, I pause for a moment to scan my surroundings. I don’t see or hear anything unusual, so I get up and head for the hallway where Delta’s office is. I have to admit that her massage parlor is not what I expected. I was either expecting some hippy-dippy natural healing meditation place or some seedy front. Both would be effective covers for the prim, proper High Priestess.

What I found, though, was a higher-end place that’s clean, and while the girls who work here are beautiful, I don’t get the sense that anything illicit is going on. So far as I can tell, this place really is straight up massage therapy done with professionalism and class. It’s surprising, but it goes to show me that not everything is as it seems, a lesson I’ve been learning in spades ever since I woke up from my coma.

I slide my lockpick set out and go to work on the office door. I’m relatively comfortable that this door isn’t wired like the doors that lead to the outside. At least, I’m hoping it’s not. You don’t often find a wired door behind a wired door. I personally think it’s smart, but most people don’t go to the extra effort. But then I remind myself that Delta isn’t most people.

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