Page 54 of Grizzly Sleuth
“I doubt he’s still in the area.”
“Not many places he could go.”
“I can think of one location he would want to find. I assume the convoy is watching for anyone following?” Levy asked.
“There is no one trailing. I also had them scour the inside and underside of the truck to ensure he didn’t hitch a ride.”
Good thing Idris had chosen a different mode of transport.
“Tell them to keep their guard up.”
“I will, but there’s no way he can follow.”
The helicopter landed, and the engine noise diminished as the pilot began shutting it down.
“Lab sweet lab,” Levy sang. “I’d better get ready for our guests. I assume your previous accommodations will suit?”
“Yes. I won’t be staying long, as I’ve matters I must attend.”
“Such as organizing our grand reveal to the oligarchs.”
“Among other things. We can discuss that in the morning.”
As their voices faded, Idris remained planted in his hiding spot, conscious that crew might be coming aboard to unload anytime. Before he forgot, he checked the phone.
Signal! Yes! Before he could press Resend on his message, someone climbed into the chopper, yapping in Russian to someone who replied in kind.
Oh shit. He had company. Rather than stuff the phone into his pocket, Idris tapped Send and slid the cell behind the webbing on the wall. Wouldn’t want it to get damaged if it came down to a fight. He crouched and waited.
A scuff of something sliding and a grunt indicated they’d grabbed one of the crates. How long did he have before they found him? Idris slid from his nook and eyed the back of the chopper. Nowhere to go there. Maybe he could duck into the cockpit until they finished.
Clomp.Clomp. Idris ducked as the Russians returned, still yapping. Another crate got removed.
No way to exit via the open door, and getting to the cockpit might get him noticed. He glanced around, and his gaze fell on the floor. More specifically the hatch set within it. Quickly, he undid the clasps and swung it open, dropping through quickly while drawing it shut just before those men returned for their next load.
He crouched under the whirly bird, hidden in shadow for the moment, but still conscious of the fact that there was enough illumination on the landing pad that someone might spot him.
The Russian pair went in and out a few more times, stacking an industrial dolly. Once full, they engaged its electric motor and steered it toward a concrete building and a garage-style roll-up door.
They entered with the goods, and the lights illuminating the yard went out. Idris waited several minutes before emerging from hiding. He glanced around the dark tarmac painted with a bullseye that glowed faintly. His nose twitched at the many smells, too many for him to sift. The concrete building of several stories appeared more prison than lab, with small narrow windows with metal bars over them and a door flanked by a screen. He wouldn’t be getting in easily or unnoticed. Then again, his half-baked plan didn’t have him needing to get inside the lab. He intended to lie in wait down the road a bit and, when the convoy arrived, cause some kind of commotion, like felling a tree, which would require them stopping to move it. Or maybe his bear paws could dig a trench.
The how he’d figure out once he’d surveilled the terrain. The main point being, while those accompanying the truck dealt with whatever halted them, he’d be freeing Svetlana and Yuri from their prisons—leaving them to flee on foot in the inhospitable area they found themselves in.
Not a great plan, but surely better than what awaited them inside the concrete compound.
Idris headed for the chain-link fence topped in barbed wire, twelve feet high and giving off a hum that screamed,Do not touch me unless you want to sizzle like bacon.
Hmm, that might make getting to the other side a tad tricky.
The area suddenly illuminated with the force of a thousand suns, and he couldn’t help but squint.
Had he tripped a motion sensor?
“Well. Well. Look who decided to give himself up.”
Uh-oh. Idris pivoted to see Dr. Levy had emerged from the building, flanked by a pair of soldiers. Only two? Easy peasy.
“I can see you calculating your odds,” Levy shouted before Idris could reply—or attack. “You might want to take a peek above you.”
