Room 571 by Nick Thacker

Author:Nick Thacker [Thacker, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Conundrum Publishing
Published: 2023-08-02T16:00:00+00:00

5

Shane had not, in fact, heard of Dom Norrieon. It sounded to him like fancy French champagne.

Weren’t all champagnes French?

No, he and Kate had once shared a bottle he could have sworn was from somewhere else.

"Shane Riley. Pay attention."

Shane snapped back to the present, noticing that Natia was holding open the door for him. He heard footsteps echoing from far below, the metal and concrete stairwell a stark contrast to the lavishly appointed hotel rooms and corridors, amplifying the sound all the way from the lower levels.

He stepped through just as she snapped her fingers in his face. He squinted, his mouth twisting into a half-scowl.

"What the hell was that for?"

"I trusted that you could protect yourself. It's the only way we get out of this – I can't do this alone. Are you sure you're up for it?" She asked.

She eased the door back into its frame, letting it close softly so as not to alert anyone to their presence and location.

"Am I up for it? You still haven't told me why I'm running for my life. And to be honest, Natia, it really does seem like you've got this on lock. I'm not sure why you need me at all."

She started up the stairs once more, but Shane wasn’t done.

"Also — you think you could go up the stairs a little slower? I get that you're some sort of super-assassin or something, but that’s still boggling my mind. Even in my days in the service, people like you just… didn't exist. Or so I thought. Chicks like you only exist in movies."

At this, she stopped completely on the top stair and turned around. She once again looked deep into Shane's eyes, as if searching for something there.

"Chick? I am no chick."

"Sorry, I –"

"And I am no assassin. I mean… technically I am, yes, but you are right – I'm not like someone from the movies.”

“What are you, then, Natia?”

“I’m a gymnast."

“A… what?"

“A gymnast. You know, floops and spurls and humps, things like that."

Shane assumed there had to be something lost in translation from her native tongue, but he rolled with it. "Right, you're... a gymnast who does floops and spurls and humps. Right. I guess that explains how you're able to run up stairs like they're not even there."

This time, she actually giggled. It was cute, girlish.

And while her figure and form were certainly in the category anyone would call strikingly beautiful, in no universe would he have described her as "girlish."

Okay, so we’re making progress on the interpersonal front, he thought. That's good news… right?

"Okay, Natia the Gymnast. You obviously have other training as well. What was it? SVR? Or are you actually from Switzerland? Some special forces group here?"

She shook her head. "Just lucky, I guess.”

"Just lucky, I guess? Natia, stop with the movie quotes –"

"We are running out of time, Shane Riley. They are going to find out that we went upstairs instead of down, where we were supposed to go."

"Where we were supposed to

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