What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 3
Satisfied that I was prepared, I stepped out of my one bedroom apartment, and made sure to lock the door.
I nearly ran into my neighbor who was a grumpy elderly man. He made a sound of surprise, before he swore at me and made his way into his apartment. The door was promptly slammed shut.
I allowed an amused smirk to form on my face at my neighbor's behavior. Even after two years of living in the same building, that old man still hadn't gotten used to having a Seeker agent live right next door.
I stepped out of the building, and went into the parking lot. I approached my grey Sudan, and got inside. I turned the car on, and made sure that I was prepared for whatever I would face once on site.
It was then that thoughts I usually suppress snuck through my mental barrier.
I remembered my first recon mission as a Scout; I was barely past twenty. It seemed simple at first; go in, scout out the area to investigate, and then report back to HQ. The Warriors would then come in, and wipe out any Phantom threat. It was all plain and simple until I saw...
I harshly shook my head to get rid of the unwanted memories. I put the gear to drive, and drove off.
Within twenty minutes I arrived at the suspected area: Madison Square Garden was the place, as the text stated.
When I arrived, I saw another Scout agent with a data pad in his hand. I got out of my car, and walked over to him. "Agent Michaels?" I stated.
The man glanced up at me, and nodded in acknowledgement.
"What have we got?" I then asked monotonously.
"A minor disturbance," the agent replied back. "We got a call from a witness claiming to have seen glowing eyes stare back at him as he was cleaning the second floor. It's not much, but we can't take any risks."
"Agreed." I stated. "Do we have any backup?"
"A team of Warriors is expected to be here shortly."
I nodded in acceptance.
With that, the other agent and I made our way inside the dome building. As we walked in, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was being watched. Instinctively, my hand pressed against the form of my gun, always ready in case it needed to be used. I hoped that I wouldn't be placed in the situation to use it.
Chapter 2: Knocking on Death's Door
Agent Michaels and I made our way up the stairs to the second floor where the report was made. The entire building was completely dark as it hadn't been used in over a decade.
When Seeker HQ was established, the majority of the city's taxes were diverted towards Seeker interest, hence less to public funding. As a result, Madison Square Garden was soon abandoned as funds to maintain it were cut. Still, there were some private donors who were generous enough to leave a small tip in order to keep the building maintained enough that it wouldn't collapse.
I couldn't imagine what it must have been like being able to fit at least twenty thousand people inside its immense dome all at once. The intensity of when the crowd was cheering on the teams. The simple fact that it was a world without Phantoms…
I shoved the thought to the back of my mind, and focused on my task. When my partner and I arrived at the sighting's approximate location, we were greeted by the janitor's cleaning supplies that were splattered all over the floor. Whatever the guy saw, it must have really scared the shit out of him.
We stopped in front of the mess, and silently inspected it before us. The sound of a small crash brought my attention to the double doors that led into the stadium. Agent Michaels looked up as well, and then at me as we contemplated on what to do. I gestured my head towards the area of the noise, and he nodded in agreement. We aimed our guns forward, and walked as silently as possible toward the source.
We stopped just in front of the double doors, and positioned ourselves on either side. I quickly made sure that my ammo was full, and then signaled Michaels.
Expertly, he pushed the door open, the object gave an audible moan. I went inside with my pistol held out.
Immediately, my momentary partner closed the door behind us before he followed me. He made sure to guard our backs in case of an ambush.
I was briefly stunned by the actual size of the stadium. I knew that it was big, but it sure looked more enormous once seen in person. A nostalgic feeling warmed me up, and I shivered from the cool temperature difference of the vast stadium.
I shook off my distraction, and resumed my focus on the task at hand. I was pretty sure that the noise came from inside. I was a bit unnerved at the fact that if a Phantom agent was inside, they would have had the advantage of the playing field.
Agent Michaels and I carefully walked down the steep steps, all the while observing our surroundings from top to bottom. I'm really starting to hate this place, I thought.
Once we reached the bottom of the steps, Michaels looked at me. "We should split up; we'll cover more ground that way." He suggested.
"Yeah," I replied. "Be careful though, there are plenty of places for Phantoms to hide. If you suspect something, page me."
He nodded, and we switched our phone mods to Bluetooth, and put on the earphones. We then proceeded to move in opposite directions.
I was right by the ice rink when the feeling of being watched invaded