Don't Touch Poison

Chapter 01. A True Loves Hard Drive

   “Hey, what’s up?” I said as I reached the room.
   “I think it’s this room, close the door.” Matt said in a hushed tone. I noticed he had his mask on now and his hood up. I realized he was standing over me, covering me from something. I peeked around his shoulder and saw a camera in the corner of the room. I put my mask on and my hood up as well.

   “Can it hear what we’re saying?” I whispered as I closed the door.

   “I’m not sure, but it’s the only camera I’ve seen in the house. We can’t smash it, so let's hope this hidden room has the control center for the cameras so we can delete this footage. Did you see any in those other rooms?” Matt asked.

   “No, I haven’t seen any other than a few outside,” I said, “does anything else make this room different?”

   He nodded and motioned for me to follow him. He walked over to the bookcase in the bedroom and grabbed one side, and pulled on it. It did not slide out of place, but instead slid a few inches and then jolted back into position. It had to be on some kind of track, like a sliding door.

   “How’d you even figure that out?” I whispered.

   “Cmon, who has a random book case in their bedroom?” Matt answered.

   “Rich people, I don't know,” I said sarcastically, “have you tried pulling a book to see if it opens like in the movies?”

   “Yes, you can rest assured that every book has been pulled.” He scoffed.

   “Ok, well there has to be some kind of remote or button somewhere.” I scanned the room.

   “Oh, you dont think?” Matt mocked me.

   “Ha ha, very funny Matt.” I whispered. I checked inside pillow cases, under the desk, under the mattress, everywhere. I just couldn’t find anything. We spent about 7 minutes searching until I noticed that the carpet in the corner of the room slightly lifted up. 

   “Rookie mistake.” I whispered under my breath as I made my way over to the corner of the bedroom. I lifted up the carpet to reveal a small remote sitting there. I picked it up and dangled it in the air to show Matt who was already standing over me.

   “Good eye.” He smiled with his eyes.
   “Thanks.” I stood up and walked past him. I pressed the button at the top of the remote and the carpet next to the book shelf lifted up to reveal a sliding track. I pressed it again and the book case opened. Matt motioned for formation.

   We both took our places at the sides of the opening and he drew his gun. I, however, did not have one with me. Only one was required for this mission. So, instead, I reached for the knife in my back pocket, my hand hovering over it.

   “1, 2, 3.” Matt mouthed and then dove into the room pointing his gun in the air. He was silent and then said, “It’s clear,” He then took one hand off his gun and put it to his ear, towards the earpiece that lined the outside of his ear and wove its way inside. The same as mine. I heard a click in mine as he pressed down and then his voice echoed, “Concealed location located in master bedroom, 2nd floor, 2nd door on the left.” 

   I made my way into the room and saw a desk with 3 monitors and a keyboard sitting on it. Upon further inspection, I noticed a bookshelf lined the back wall of the room. We knew that there was a secret room in this house and already had assigned things to look for. I was looking for a hidden hard drive. Matt walked toward the desk as I went straight for the shelves. 

   I ran my hand along the books, noticing the shelf was full of guides to home security. I crouched down and scanned the bottom shelf, which was full of the same genre. Every shelf was lined with books of the same genre. I stood up and stepped back.