Slow and Speedy Win the Fight

85. Passage

Haresa

The fabric wasn't uncomfortable. Far from it. But the style of the costume itself...

My fingers tugged at the fabric as I looked over Sheldon's shoulder. It was too tight. I was too aware of my body and I didn't like that feeling at all.

"You caught what I said?" Sheldon asked.

I blinked and tried to fill in the gaps of what he possibly could've said. "They messed up and left evidence of their existence."

"Exactly but I also said that this seemed like it was used to the home of a button or a lever."

"So, they have a trap door somewhere here?"

"Most likely."

My eyes swept the area and nothing stuck out to me immediately. Sheldon seemed to be having the same issue as me as his once-over only made him grab his hair in frustration.

"Haresa." His eyes were sharp as he stared into my eyes.

My throat closed up. "Sheldon?"

"Is it possible for you to use your super hearing to identify any abnormalities in the airflow?" He asked. "I remember you did this technique before."

"I'm not exactly at my best state right now," my voice cracked. I tugged at the collar of my costume.

Sheldon's face twisted in confusion as he stared at me. "So, you can't use your powers?"

Another tug. "I can use them, I just don't know how well."

His eyes fixated on my fidgeting and his lips parted slightly. "Do you need to change?"

"Into what?"

"Less shitty clothes."

"I didn't bring a change of clothes."

"Then you can just abandon the mission. I'm very good at working alone so I can surely find the passageway by myself."

"No!" I cleared my throat. "I just need some prep time and I can do it."

He looked skeptical for a moment but whatever concern he had disappeared quickly. "Just do it quickly. Who knows how much time we have."

Air shakily entered my nostrils and I ran my hands through my hair. My eyes closed and my ears began to pick up on every sound in the room. Sheldon's breathing, my heartbeat, Sheldon's feet shifting, the air entering from the entrance and a rat running through the walls.

I did this before without issues. I could do it, I could do it, I could do it.

The mouse squeaked.

My hands slapped over my ears and my eyes flew open as I gasped for air. My face burned in humiliation and I expected Sheldon to judge me harshly the moment I looked back at him. Instead, he just frowned and looked almost sorry for me.

"You should go home and get some rest. Tell that agency of yours that your costume screws with your job performance," Sheldon said. His bag was now open as he sifted through his stuff probably to create a solution to our situation.

"I didn't listen for very long but I have a good guess."

My feet dragged against the ground to double-check if my estimates were off by a few metres. Every scrape sounded the same. Each response from the tiles was dull and flat that came to abrupt stops when my foot no longer touched them. I touched another tile and it let out a hollow ring that lasted a second longer than the other tiles but it was a second too long. I lifted my head to meet Sheldon's eyes and gave a nod.

"I'll get started on the tile. It may take a few minutes," Sheldon said as he took out an assortment of tools.

"Minutes?" I felt sweat coat my neck. A minute was starting to feel like an hour. I thought he was in more of a rush.

"Yes, unless you have any better ideas—"

My foot slammed into the tile and the floor shattered open to reveal the hidden passage. A concrete staircase descended underneath the old store and I could pick up on the faint whir of machinery and light mechanical beeps.

"What the—" Sheldon stopped himself and took a deep breath. "You know how impulsive that was?"

"Let's do this quickly. The faster we're done, the faster I can get this costume off," I said.

"What if you set off any alarms?"

"Then we better be fast." I straightened my back and lifted my chin. "It's not like I have super speed."

His head was thrown back like he was slapped. "You do—"

"Yes, that's the point," I said. "This will be easy."

"I could've done a cleaner job with my tools," he grumbled.

"Oh, get over it. We're in and we need to get out as fast as we can." I opened my arms toward him and raised an eyebrow. "Do you need a ride?"

Sheldon straightened his back and walked past me while he pushed my hands away. "Absolutely not."

He slowly descended into the passageway and shoved his tools back into his bag as he did so. I sighed before I tugged on my costume again and followed.

I hope I didn't have to fight in this thing.