Red Roses

Chapter Twelve : Lets Do it !

I was a little impatient as we took the subway towards the train station from which we got to the department store. From there it was just a 5 minute walk and then we were already there.
That evening the wind picked up and I was glad that we had dressed a little warmer. Except Mike, but he didn't wear anything heavy, even in the winter. He was someone who didn't really adapt to the weather but rather to the temperatures. Even when it rained he wore short clothes and only carried an umbrella.

As always, there was a lot going on in the forecourt of the department store. Just like last time, there were about a hundred people there, all standing in groups. A large part of it was from a bus company that the two booths had parked directly in the taxi parking lot. This led to the two bus drivers getting into an argument with the people from the taxi company and carrying it out in front of all the other passengers.
It was easy for the five of us to get into the department store. Because there was no security standing in front of the doors. Luckily - I thought - maybe the security company had a break and didn't have to work. The five of us walked together through the large entrance hall and saw Ava standing in one of the corners. Instead of her red cape and her white t-shirt, she is wearing green camouflage pants and a black leather jacket.
When she discovered us she was very happy. She said she wasn't sure if we actually showed up or if we wanted to back out at the last moment.

We took the elevator to the lowest floor to the IT areas. There was also the room with the screens. Everything was on the same floor as the rest. For me it was still a different feeling because we were doing something that wasn't legal. Although it still calmed me down because we had done something like that before. "Very well we would have," said Daniel and looked around. We stood in a long and wide hallway which was right next to the room where all the food that wasn't sold the day before was collected.
Bright and dazzling light shone down from the ceiling at regular intervals, illuminating about 70% of the floor. A silver metal door blocked our way to a room with the inscription - Unauthorized entry prohibited / accessible only to staff.

Wait a minute, I've been waiting for this exact moment..." Ava continued and fished out a bunch of keys with countless keys out of her small women's bag. After a short time she unlocked the door and before we could look inside, the announcement came again from the small ceiling loudspeaker." Dear customers, the department store thanks you for your purchase and informs you that we will close at 8:30 p.m. Please go to the exits! Please make sure that you have not forgotten anything and make sure that you have taken all valuables with you from the changing room. Goodbye and see you soon."

We entered the room and looked around. In the room there was a large table with a black chair leaning against it. There was also a huge screen that was spread almost over the entire wall. It was connected to two other screens which were slightly smaller than the middle one. Everything was turned off, only a blue light was turned on and glowed on the bottom of the screen. Otherwise there was a cupboard on the wall that was open. There were several folders in different colors and labels.
While I took care of all the folders, the rest took care of the screens and started looking for hard drives and saving them. It couldn't be that the police found no evidence of the break-in. If so, we would have to find them before the police did. "Guys, I found something." Leon said and held something up in the air. It was a small hard drive that was in a drawer under the floor. "Perfect, that should be our destination," Ava replied and looked at the map. I saw something written on an adhesive tape on the back and recognized the term "surveillance".

"Is that all?" asked Daniel. Leon looked at the clock. I also looked at the clock and saw that it was only 8:50 p.m. " Yes, that's all. But we first have to check whether they are the right ones," said Ava. "Ok then let's see," Leon replied. He took a cable from the drawer which he then connected to the screen. The screen went dark for a moment but then an image appeared. A page opened showing ten camera angles. You could also click on each individual recording using the mouse button to take a closer look.
After a short time Mike found the spot where we could be seen. He pressed edit and he had already deleted the part. "Was that all?" I asked him. He nodded.

Even though we weren't sure whether it had really been deleted and that we hadn't forgotten something, Mike put the hard drive back in the drawer.
Then we went out again and before we were out in the hallway I saw something flashing on the switchboard again. "Oh shit" I said to the rest. "What's wrong?" asked Mike. Then he saw the flashing too. "Guys, we have visitors." Ava, who was the last to come out of the room, was just about to reconnect the room when Daniel told her. She immediately opened the door again and we all jumped into the room. As quietly as possible, Ava locked the door and turned on the light switch. It was getting dark. I stood right next to Mike and Daniel, to the right of the door. A small sliver of light shone into the room. We all stopped and I heard the elevator open and quiet footsteps coming towards us.
I felt a bit strange, but at the same time I was very tense. What if someone discovered us? What if someone discovered us in the room? Suddenly I saw individual shadows standing directly in front of the door. There was a dull knock once or twice and then it was quiet again. I looked down at the ground. Apparently the man was still standing outside the door listening. We paused and didn't say a word. Then something moved and I heard footsteps moving away again. "These damn mice!" I heard a deep man's voice. This came from security. "I'll show you," he said and his steps became quieter and quieter. I heard a quiet hum and heard the elevator open.
"Finally," said Leon and opened the door. "Luckily he didn't see us," Ava added. Then she locked the door and we went back to the elevators. We took the elevators back up to the ground floor. When we got to the top, we made sure that no one was there and that no one was watching us.