"Hey Trey! Trey?"
Liam shouted loudly but he didn't receive an answer. He opened the door, returning to the flat. Staring at Trey's back he suddenly slammed the door shut, causing a loud rumble to run through the building.
But strangely Trey didn't seem to notice anything as if the sound didn't exist in his world.
Liam found the situation somewhat eerie but at the same time he was amazed by the item's power.
He tried to make a few more sounds, and waved his hand before Trey's eyes but the young man didn't notice anything. Only when Liam touched him did Trey look to the side in confusion, but he still couldn't find Liam.
After getting a good idea about the workings of his shadow cloak, Liam hid in another flat, patiently waiting for the cooldown to run out. He could only hope that Trey wouldn't get anxious in the meantime seeing no movement at the warehouse.
A boring hour went by slowly before Liam was confident enough to leave the building. He followed his preplanned path, approaching the warehouse form the side.
Liam walked in the shadows of the surrounding buildings until he got close to the warehouse. Taking a deep breath, he activated his shadow cloak.
Suddenly Liam darted forwards. A simple metal door was in front of him, guarded by two tattooed gangsters leaning against the wall in boredom.
Liam reached for the door as his heart suddenly skipped a beat. One of the gangsters turned his head towards him, looking him right in the eyes.
"Hey, Bill, how many hours do we have left?"
"Two…"
The first gangster growled, spitting on the floor. Liam let out a huge breath of relief and opened the door. The two gangsters didn't seem to notice at all.
Only when the door had long been shut did one of the gangsters turn to the other:
"Did something happen just now?"
"Must've been the wind…"
"You're probably right…"
At this point Liam was already in the warehouse, scanning it quickly. To his surprise there were actually people working here, moving large crates, packing some cargo. The large space looked rather busy without any wall to divide it, certainly not a place where the pastor would be hidden.
Knowing that time was tight Liam didn't stay long, running towards some stairs not far away. The people he brushed past ignored him completely even when he overtook them on the stairs.
The lower floor was dominated by a busy, spacious area as well, with several rooms lining the sides. Liam directly entered the first door, finding himself in a break room with a small kitchen and a few chairs.
Just as he was about to leave, a small blinking light in the corner of his vision attracted his attention. He was immediately shocked.
Only 30 seconds left?! Did time pass so quickly?
Liam turned around, frantically scanning the room. Knowing there wasn't much time left he hastily pulled a chair below a vent. He pulled on the grating, thanking all the gods he knew as it moved, and dove into the ventilation shaft.
Enduring the dusty air, Liam laid down and stopped moving. A few seconds later the timer hit zero and his anxious wait began.
Time ticked by while Liam only listened to the sound of the workers outside. Suddenly his body stiffened as the door opened with a bang. Footsteps and three voices could be heard.
"Finally, I can grab a coffee and a smoke! This game is killing me!"
"Yeah right. I thought we would have some peaceful days, but now we are forced to train?!"
"Back then I didn't agree when they made us train martial arts, and now I don't agree with playing this stupid game. I tell you guys, if I have to perform one more double slash, I'm bashing someone's head in."
"Ok ok, guys, tone it down. Don't let someone hear you!"
"Whatever."
After that the voices fell silent and only the sound of a coffee machine could be heard. Suddenly Liam noticed a few more steps coming closer. A noise came from the chair close to the vent and the smell of a cigarette wafted to his nose.
Liam scrunched his face, but he didn't dare to move even a tiny bit. Luckily, he was soon distracted from his plight when the gangsters continued talking:
"By the way, did the boss say anything about that bigmouth?"
"Nope. She's too focused on the game. Yesterday she spent the whole day buying information and planning for the future. It's insane!"
"So, what should we do? That bigmouth is still locked in the storage. Should we let him go?"
"Just wait for the boss and make sure he doesn't starve to death."
"Hmpf. Look at us, feeding the homeless. We are basically good Samaritans at this point."
Dirty laughter sounded through the room, followed by the door opening and closing.
Liam breathed shallowly, soon noticing that the smell in the air was gone.
That's it! The person they talked about has to be the pastor!
Liam grew excited but he didn't dare to move yet. Glancing at the cooldown timer there were still about 15 minutes left.
Waiting patiently, Liam was under high pressure until the cooldown finally hit zero. Knowing that no one was in the room, Liam took the risk to get out of the vent first.
Back on solid ground the young man sighed in relief, patting the dust off his clothes before activating his shadow cloak.
The door to the break room opened without anyone caring as Liam hastily ran along the wall. A frown appeared on his face as he checked the next room, finding shelves filled with all kinds of parts for machinery.
He let his eyes roam the storage room, but didn't find the pastor. Continuing quickly, he opened the next door and felt his stomach sink. Various boxes were stacked in this room.
Do they have multiple storage rooms? Then how am I supposed to know where the pastor is…
Liam had no choice but to continue. He peeked into the other rooms, checking the one by one. With each look his confidence decreased as he found too many places which could be called storage.
Some of them were extremely spacious. Even if Liam entered those, he might only find the pastor with a stroke of luck.
However, when the timer began blinking his effort still weren't rewarded with success. Thinking quickly, he backtracked, entering one of the largest storages.
Liam choose this place because he could just hide in a corner if someone entered, and the many shelves should be enough to cover his body.
However, after he walked some distance from the door, his body suddenly froze. He looked in disbelief at a shelf not far away.
This can't be…
Liam hastily approached the shelf and picked up a rubbery thing kept in a small box. His body trembled when he stretched it carefully and found a lifelike, familiar face.
Memories of the day he was kidnapped involuntarily came to his mind.
A mask? Could it be that these people were wearing masks that day? Are they from the same gang?
Liam turned the mask in his hand and his doubts slowly subsided. He was sure that this was indeed the face of the man he had fought that day.
Suddenly his eyes narrowed as he spotted something at the back of the mask.
CCM? Is this some kind of code?
Not able to figure it out he shook his head, contemplating how to proceed from here.
With such evidence in my hands, I might be able to get the army to move… If they clear this warehouse the pastor should be safe as well.
Liam pondered over it, gauging the risk. But he eventually figured that there was no harm in trying. Taking out his phone he took a few pictures before sending them to the leading officer and to Mr. Gardner.
Liam waited with bated breath until he finally received an answer.
On my way…
Liam felt a pressure lifted from his shoulders, which he didn't notice so far. After a life where everyone tried to curry favor with him, it was not until this day that he really understood the power of connections.
Knowing that help was on the way, Liam looked for a comfortable spot and waited. It didn't take long until Liam faintly noticed the sound coming from outside becoming frantic.
Suddenly a loud bang rang through the storage room as the door was pushed open. Liam's heart skipped a beat while he hid between the shelves.
Urgent footsteps echoed in the room, coming closer. They were accompanied by some other noises which Liam could hardly match with anything.
Liam peeked around the corner, noticing a man carrying a large box enter the row of shelves where those masks were placed.
Suddenly a frantic voice could be heard, making Liam flinch:
"F*ck what's going on?! Why are there only seven masks here?"