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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN a warm summer breeze
⋆*✧･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:
GETTING INTO THE FEDERAL building was surprisingly simple. Most of the FBI agents must have been too preoccupied with the prisoner upstairs—and Nadine knew for a fact now that Vanya was indeed here, given an overheard conversation from said agents about a Commie who refused to speak—as they didn't give any of the intruders a second look as they made their way to the elevator. Well, it was either that or the fact that the four of them were moving with a purpose. Nadine had figured out a long time ago that as long as you pretended you belonged somewhere, others wouldn't bother you.
This was one such case. The four of them acted like they'd just been called into work, striding into the elevator with an air of professionalism. Never mind that they were in civilian clothes, or that none of the agents had seen them before. They weren't given a second look as the doors closed behind them.
As the elevator whirred, beginning to carry them up, up, up, Allison murmured, "I hope we find Vanya in time."
It was tempting to console her, tell her that of course, they would, but that wasn't being realistic. Besides, Nadine had never been a "glass-half-full" person, anyway. She wasn't here because she knew they would win. She was here because even if they lost, doing nothing would have been worse.
They hadn't quite made it to their destination when the elevator lights flickered. Nadine only had time to blink before the lift itself rattled under her feet—not enough to knock her over, but enough to make her seriously question the elevator's structural soundness.
"What's happening?" she asked. If anyone had an answer, though, they didn't have time to give it. The elevator halted, the doors slid open, and a great force shoved everyone against the wall. Static electricity raced up her back, and the hairs on her arms stood on end. Her body seemed to be pushing in on itself, skin caving in. Her eyes were pushed back into her skull.
It was like Vanya's life-sucking beam of energy, except instead of being inside her, the power flowed around her. Nadine gasped, trying to get her bearings. That was when she finally noticed the elevator's exterior.
All along the hallway, dead bodies lay, the walls smeared with their blood. Wind whistled past, a hurricane indoors. It was all coming from the door near the end of the corridor, where pale blue light emanated. Nadine knew it was the source as surely as she knew her own name.
Vanya. It had begun. She was being set off.
With a tremendous strain, Allison forced herself out of the elevator, seeking solace behind the front desk. Nadine was quick to follow, walking as if through quicksand, or in a dream. When she fell beside Allison, sucking in air, she found the pressure here was only a little better.
