"I'll go do it," Mia says. "You can stay here."
"Alright." Terry kicks up his feet and starts playing a random game on his phone. "Don't take too long."
With a shaky breath, Mia gets up and walks to Linda's office. Her hand lingers on the knob for a moment before she turns it. The small room is just as dark as the rest of the office. Mia releases a long breath and looks around the wall for a light switch. There's only a single switch next to the door. She flips it on. The office brightens with light. The rest of the office, however, remains dark.
It is kind of silly to assume that all of the lights would be within Linda's office. They're all probably closer to the entrance of the building. At least Mia knows the power works.
Mia is about to leave the office when she sees another door within the office. It's resting behind her boss's chair. That's weird, Mia thinks, I swear that there used to be a painting here.
The more she thinks about it, the more she remembers the picture that once was hanging where the door now is. It's a tall image of a waterfall that leads to a body of water. Within the water is a woman, swimming with a variety of wild animals. Mia has never understood the picture, but she always thought it was pretty. The office looks different without it.
Linda mysteriously disappearing makes sense now. She could have slipped through the door without Mia and Terry never noticing.
What is Linda hiding? Is it so necessary to hide whatever it is behind a painting? Not only does that seem tedious, but also pointless if she doesn't put the painting back in front of the door after she goes into it.
Mia usually doesn't like to fiddle through other people's business, but after being brave enough to venture through the dark office, she decides to drain her courage dry before it's gone. She carefully creaks the door open. A dim light illuminates a long stairway. Mia slowly closes the door behind her. Oh God, Mia thinks, what am I doing?
She cautiously makes her way down the stairs, trying to make her footsteps as quiet as possible. The awkward, wooden steps make that difficult, though. It takes her forever to get down silently.
A scream is faintly heard from upstairs. Mia looks back up at where she just came from. Terry is probably freaking out about something silly like a mouse. She's gone too far to turn around. She'll help him after.
Mia looks around in the room that she's in. It's a small area with large boxes stacked everywhere. In the center is a series of tables with jars filled with different powders and liquids.
Linda is in the center examining a jar. Mia ducks behind a pile of boxes. She looks at the large letters written on each package. It says "FRAGILE" with "for the Malice" written under it.
The Malice? That's an infamous super villain who terrorizes cities. Other boxes are for other evil people, some merely villains and others linked with the government and corporations. Mia peaks back at the random jars. Are they filled with something illegal? Something that these people shouldn't have their hands on?
Linda walks past. Mia stays pinned next to the boxes. What should she do? She can remain hidden and find someone to investigate or she can confront Linda herself. No matter what she's doing, Linda is still Mia's boss. She will be reasonable and explain what is going on.
Or maybe she won't. Maybe it is better if she doesn't know that Mia's there. What if she loses her job? Mia likes working at the office. She doesn't want to risk being fired.
Linda walks past her again. Mia sucks in a breath. It's now or never...
Remain Hidden ... Chapter 34
Confront Linda ... Chapter 35