Undercover ✔️

Chapter 31

Audrey's brain was working hard and fast trying to gain as much information as she could, while still playing the wimpy rich girl part. Charlotte had stopped crying but sat as close to Audrey as possible, holding her hands.

Audrey had tracked the vans route off the estate, down the main road and onto the freeway. They had turned right which meant they were heading towards the city. She lost track of where they were when they didn't go into the city but around it.

She did this while still listening to the men talking, her Russian rusty but picking up what she could. They hadn't said anything of importance except at the beginning of the ride, when one of them made a phone call saying they had the girl and explaining what happened with Audrey.

Audrey had quickly averted her eyes when the man on the phone looked back at her, pausing before answering a question. She waited for him to keep talking, wanting to know if their boss thought it worth the trouble or not. Eventually he hung up the phone and Audrey relaxed knowing he wasn't going to stop the car and give her a bullet to the head.

The car eventually slowed and Audrey felt it hit a bump before coming to a stop. In that instant she knew two things, they were still somewhere civilized because the roads were paved and it was possibly a driveway. The man who had been watching them in the back put two bags over their heads and Audrey felt Charlotte tense up, she squeezed Charlotte's hand to reassure her.

Audrey was then pulled away from Charlotte by two pairs of rough hands and half carried half walked somewhere. Audrey forced herself to take in as much as she could, filling her ears with any sound that would help tell her where she was. She purposely tripped herself and broke free of the hands holding her. She fell and hit the ground hard with her hands. She smiled underneath her bag as she felt the hard but smooth pavement. She knew then they had to be somewhere in a neighborhood, knowing any work yard or industrial area would have pebbly gravel or cement rather than the smooth ground she had landed on.

She was quickly picked up by the men again and someone told them off for letting her break free. They were moving again and Audrey made a mental map of the building. They went up two steps across a tile floor to the right where the tile turned to wood that squeaked frequently then down a flight of wooden stairs.

Audrey realized it was the basement and this was confirmed when the bag was pulled off her head. The ceiling was low and the there was cleaning supplies and old furniture in a corner. Charlotte was standing confused in the middle of the room and Audrey moved to stand by her, taking her hand.

A burly man stood on the staircase and said in a gruff voice, "Don't try anything."

Both of them nodded and the man walked up the stairs and shut the door. Audrey waited for the click of the lock and heard it, along with a dead bolt sliding into place. Charlotte broke down into tears then and Audrey pulled her over to the wall where they sat down.

"I'm so sorry, Audrey." Charlotte cried.

Audrey felt Charlotte's pain and fear of what was to happen and let that bring tears to her eyes, knowing if she was red and puffy it would make her role all the more convincing. Audrey's eyes filled with tears as she looked around the room, trying to spot any video cameras or recording devices. She found one in the far left corner, it's small red light giving itself away. Charlotte looked over at her, her own tears slowly starting to stop.

"Oh Audrey, you're scared too." She said, seeing her face.

Audrey moved slightly, angling her body so her back was to the video camera. She smiled at Charlotte.

"No, Lottie, I'm not. We both need to be brave now. Can you do that for me?" Audrey said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Charlotte nodded. Audrey took Charlotte's wrist, covering the bracelet with her hand.