Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 39

"Oh, thank God," I cried. I ran downstairs to Alex and threw my arms around him. He felt like a teddy bear, and I squeezed with all my strength. I hadn't felt so safe in anyone's arms in years. "How'd you get past security?"

"Asked if I could use the bathroom, then slipped by when the phone rang. We need to get out of here."

"What about Taye?" I asked. "We need to find him. Did you get ahold of Phillip?"

"Phillip's in the hospital."

"What?" I pushed back on Alex's chest. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"He was shot this afternoon," explained Alex. "He's in a medically induced coma. But, Luna, we have to go. I followed Thor here from the hospital. I think he was trying to finish the job with Phillip. You're not safe here. We need to get somewhere safe and come up with a plan."

"I'm not leaving Taye to these psychos."

"We have to."

"No, we don't. You do realize that I built this place, right? This whole building was my idea."

Alex looked at me, even more confused than ever.

"Come with me," I said, motioning toward the women's bathroom.

Alex hesitated but gave in. It was late; almost everyone had gone home. The bathroom was incredibly clean, like the day the building first opened. Evidently not many women worked in the basement. I went to the last stall—the handicap stall—and ushered Alex in. I followed close behind, locking the door behind us.

"Is this some kind of sisterhood of the traveling toilet thing?"

I laughed and flushed the toilet ten times in rapid succession.

"Was something supposed to happen?" he asked.

"No, but it would've been cool right?"

Alex laughed with his whole belly. I got him good. I unlocked the stall and went to the closet door. I pushed aside some cleaning supplies and pressed gently on the back wall. It clicked open, revealing a dark passageway dimly lit by sparsely placed LEDs.

"I tried to get them to pay for an entrance coded by toilet flush, but I had to settle for this instead."

I led Alex through a maze of passageways. Occasionally, there were small rectangular openings, and Alex stuck his head near one to peer through.

"Cool, huh?" I said.

"Creepy," he said.

Every few yards, we were forks in the passageways. I knew where we were going though. We took a few sets of tight stairs.

"What is this?" asked Alex.

"When I was a kid, my parents took me to Italy. I hated the food, but when we visited Florence, I was smitten by the Palazzo Vecchio. We took a tour of the secret passages that went through the place. I always wondered why more modern buildings don't have these."

"So you built them yourself?"

"Yup. It's been my little secret, too. You're the first person I've told about it."

"Don't you think the janitors have found them by now?"

I shrugged. "If they have, they've done a good job keeping it secret."

Almost all the tunnels ended in women's bathrooms. All but one. We arrived at the door that opened on to my office closet. Though, it wasn't my closet anymore.

I pulled the door handle to engage the lock, but when I pushed, it wouldn't budge.

"Thor must have put his stuff in here already," I explained, as I shoved again at the door.

Alex squeezed his way past me. "Excuse me," he chuckled. He pushed the door, too, but it only budged a couple of inches. "Jesus, what does he have stuck in here?"

Alex felt his way around the opening of the door. He could just barely get his hand through. He caught hold of something and pulled it through the doorway. Even in the dim light of the cramped hallway I could clearly see what it was. I screamed. I didn't care if anyone heard me. Maybe it was better that they did. I just kept screaming. It was Taye's limp and bloody hand.