Vatican Files: A Technothriller by M.A. Rothman

Author:M.A. Rothman [Rothman, M.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Primordial Press
Published: 2024-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Ten

Alicia crouched in front of Luca’s door, casting glances down the dimly lit hallway as Tony kept watch. Beside her, Bagel sat with his tail twitching spasmodically.

She inserted the flat metal pick into the lock, twisted it slightly, the same way she’d turn a key. With her other hand, she inserted a long, thin pick with a slight upward bend on its end and felt for the pins in the tumbler. She proceeded just as she’d practiced countless times, feeling for one of the pins in the lock. As she maintained upward pressure with her pick, she slowly scraped forward until she heard a satisfying click.

The sound was the first sign of success and helped Alicia focus on what she was doing. The two picks were soon extensions of her fingers. It was almost like when she worked on solving puzzles or deciphering a tough math problem—everything else faded away and it was just her and the object of her attention.

Maintaining pressure with one of the clips, Alicia searched for the second pin, found it, and pressed it into position. Again, she was rewarded with a click. She repeated the process four more times, and when she heard the final click, the mechanism rotated, and the lock disengaged.

The apartment door swung open and Bagel strode inside like he owned the place.

Alicia’s senses heightened as she entered the dark apartment, inhaling the mingled scents of body odor, cologne, and the mustiness of the building’s aged walls.

Tony walked into the apartment, shutting the door behind him. “I can’t see crap in here.” His eyes were wide open as he swiveled his gaze and whispered, “Where’s the light switch in this place?”

Ever since she’d recovered from a false cancer diagnosis, her senses had improved beyond anything she could have imagined possible. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but it was no more than a few months since a new world had opened up to her. New scents, new sights, and new sounds… and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she patted Tony on the shoulder and whispered, “Wait here.”

Alicia cautiously advanced into the apartment, her eyes swiftly adapting to distinguish the various shades of gray in the compact fifteen-by-ten-foot living room. Approaching a rolltop desk, she turned the knob on a gooseneck lamp, casting a warm glow throughout the space.

Tony approached as Alicia rifled through the desk Luca had mentioned in their “discussion.” Beside a vintage beige pushbutton phone lay a notepad, its pages scrawled with notes detailing her and Tony’s arrival, including age, weight, hair color, and style.

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