Astro Academy: Artifact Reconnaissance (Book 1)

Chapter 7 - Robert Shew's Pocket

That evening, uhh...

Maddison was detailed. 

Look, it's not that I don't like it. 

It's just that I'm afraid I'd mess up from phase one. 

Oh yeah, there are multiple phases. 

"Robert Shew's estate is highly guarded, but he also has an assortment of tunnels throughout it," Maddison explained as she spread out the blueprints on the rooftop. 

"The tunnels aren't exactly guarded by anyone since they were Shew's personal escape routes and childhood maze." 

To have a tunnel system that goes all around your house when you were a child. 

Please. 

I'd love that. 

"Unfortunately, there isn't one direct pathway to his office. We'll have to go through a series of rooms before we can get there," Maddison showed their route. 

"Any questions?" she folded the map.

"Yeah," Orion raised a finger, "what happens if we get caught?" 

Maddison replied-

Oh, wait, Maddison's not replying yet. 

...

MADDISON'S NOT REPLYING YET.

"Pray," she finally said which did not help calm me down. 

"Pray for what?!" Orion exclaimed as Dahlia lowered the binoculars from her eyes. "Time to go." 

"N-Now?" I inquired which, on second thought, is a pretty dumb question. 

Dahlia gestured at me like she was saying, "Duh." 

How is she not the slightest bit afraid?!

Maddison, Orion, and I headed back into the building while Dahlia stayed back with her binoculars. Maddison had mentioned that this building contained one of those private tunnels. 

After sliding through that rather narrow tunnel, I was really starting to regret joining along. I mean, if all the tunnels are going to be this narrow, I'd lose my patience way earlier. 

Finally, we got through that maze that took hours to navigate-

"Five minutes," Maddison whispered as she looked at the device around her wrist. I think that's like the wristwatch that other bubbly-looking teacher had. Just with fewer holograms. "Ten minutes. Go." 

Maddison pushed open the opening and scanned their surroundings. Luckily, the coast was clear for now. 

I'm not really sure how to describe this place, but it was like some kind of fancy, high-class hallway full of pictures of various people. We even emerged from a portrait. How classical. 

Orion stayed behind in the pathway while Maddison and I continued through.

It was honestly pretty freaky, to say the least. Obviously, I've never gone on a stealth mission like this and I certainly do not play these kinds of games. The fear of failing always haunts me. 

Luckily though, I managed to remember the plan Maddison had explained. The two of us ducked behind two pillars as some guy in a suit and comms walked right past us. When he surely passed us, Maddison took out the device she had packed in our gear: some kind of shocker thing, I honestly don't know what it's called. 

Maddison threw that taser thingy at an incoming person, immediately shocking him unconscious. I opened the door to some items room and Maddison dragged the guy inside, also remembering to steal his comms unit.