"All I heard was sothing about sedatives wearing off..."
Leslie’s words rang in my ears over and over.
"Sedatives?"
The ntion of sedatives only confird my suspicions. The woman at the diner all those years ago was correct; they’re secretly involved in human trafficking here. It had to be.
My head spun to see which direction Karl and the other man went. I had to follow them. If I could get a single glance inside, I would be able to get all of the evidence I needed to finish off this family finally.
Leslie took a step forward, looking at with concern, but I knew that if I didn’t take this opportunity, I wasn’t sure if I would ever get another one.
"Excuse for a mont, Leslie. I’ll be right back," I said, giving her one final glance before running off into the hallway.
If I really do find sothing here, I can show Leslie. She would have to understand why I’m doing all of this.
My mind raced as I sprinted down the hallway, trying to follow the two n. At the end of the hallway was a crossroads. A hallway leading left, and another one leading right.
Fuck. Which one did they take?"
I was surprised that I couldn’t catch up to an intoxicated man who couldn’t even walk on his own.
Wait. That’s it. I must have missed a door or path along the way. There’s no way they would have made it all the way here without seeing them.
I retraced my steps, looking for any hidden doors or pathways that I could have missed. It took until I was almost back at Leslie’s booth when I discovered a slightly oddly placed painting on the wall in the hallway.
It was very large, large enough to hide a door behind it. There were large statues on both sides, shielding it from view when walking from an angle.
I carefully observed the painting, looking for anything that resembled a handle or button. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that the naplate beside the painting resembled a pushplate.
The only reason I recognized it was because when the pocket doors in my office were installed, there was an option to have a similar pushplate unlock device.
I quickly pressed my hand against the plate and heard a small clicking sound before one side of the large painting pushed open ever so slightly.
After pulling on the open end of the painting, it swung open like a door, revealing a smaller path that went downwards.
There must be another entrance down. They would have a hard ti transporting ’goods’ if this were the only entrance.
I quickened my steps, going farther down the dimly lit path. It spiraled down for a good while with no signs of stopping. It took a few minutes before I heard the sounds of footsteps in front of .
"Sir, watch your step. We’re almost there."
I recognized the voice as the man from earlier. I lightened my steps and continued forward to follow them down.
The man had so difficulty supporting Karl, who was constantly wobbling from side to side. They moved at a snail’s pace, which clearly flustered the man.
"Sir, we need to hurry. Can you walk faster?" he urged, doing his best to pull Karl forward.
A few minutes later, the small pathway opened up into a large room that resembled a storage room. It was filled with crates, furniture, tables, and a lot of random items that would normally be found in a theater or event space.
I kept myself hidden, moving from cover to cover, while looking around to find anything out of the ordinary in this room.
Karl and the man holding him continued to walk through the room until they reached the back wall.
Is there another hidden door?
I watched them closely, trying to see exactly where they were going, but instead of another door, they opened a hidden hatch in the ground.
Even farther down?
The hatch blended in with the stone floor perfectly. If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I would not have been able to find it. The man placed Karl to lean against the wall while he bent over and picked up a large loose tile, uncovering a hidden ladder.
Once the path was opened, the man looked at Karl, frowning.
He most likely isn’t sure how he’s going to get Karl down the ladder.
I observed them further, hiding behind a large crate. The man walked around the hatch entrance a few tis before looking at Karl, who was close to falling over already, and frowned.
"Sir, will you be able to go down on your own? Sir!" he said, shaking Karl a few tis.
"Huh? Whaat?" Karl slurred, fading in and out of consciousness.
Seeing Karl in this intoxicated state was the first ti I was proud of myself for getting soone so drunk. Things would have gone much differently if Karl were currently sober.
After trying to coax him to climb down a few tis, the man finally gave up and began to attempt to drag Karl down the ladder. His movents were clumsy and strained, treating Karl more like a sack of potatoes than a human.
Amidst the chaos, I could hear a faint sound of voices coming from below. They were so soft that at first I thought that I had misheard, but after hearing it again, I knew that there were others down below.
The man began to panic even more, almost dropping Karl in the process. After almost ten minutes of struggling, he finally managed to get both of them down into the hatch.
I was worried that he would cover up the hatch, but thankfully, he left it open. I waited a few monts before stealthily walking over and peering down.
The drop down wasn’t too bad, only just enough that I would need a step up to get out of it. After listening closely to make sure the man and Karl weren’t right below , I carefully climbed down the ladder.
As soon as I entered, I felt my blood boiling. On either side of the hallway was a dungeon-like jail cell with iron bars. The few rooms just at the base of the hatch were empty, but I could hear mumbled voices farther ahead.
I crept through another set of doors where there were more empty cells. But I could begin to make out the sounds of groaning people up ahead.
Adrenaline kicked in as I increased my pace. One look was all I needed to confirm my suspicions.
Up ahead, the man pulled Karl into another room, closing the door behind them. I took the opportunity to move further up and check if I could find anything.
I walked past the room with Karl and down the hall where more jail cells were located, but this ti, my entire body turned cold. Dozens of people were piled into the jail cells. They were mostly won, and the majority of them seed like they were in a deep sleep.
The few that were awake looked like they were in a haze, looking around, unsure of where they were. But even through their haze, they still had a look of deep fear.
I quickly bent over to the first cell, tapping the half-awake man in front of .
"Hey, wake up!" I whispered, trying to get the man’s attention.
He looked at , but his eyes were empty. The sedative that they were given must have been very strong.
I moved to the next cell and did the sa to a woman, but she was still too sedated to even react to my shakes.
The farther down I went, the angrier I beca. There were at least a dozen cells filled with people. The fact that they were here confird my suspicion. The Moresis were indeed in the human trafficking business.
So much for your virtuous and upstanding reputation! You’re nothing but scum!
My hands began to shake as I thought of the woman’s words from the diner. If her words were correct, then my mother was once locked in one of these cells, treated like an animal!
I need to get these people out of here!
Before moving on, I took a few photos of the jail cells and the condition of all of the people inside. If anything, I at least needed to provide enough evidence for the police to investigate further.
After snapping a few photos, I knelt in front of another jail cell, hoping to wake up another man. My ti here was short, and I knew that I needed to head back soon in order to avoid being caught.
"Hey! Wake up! Wake up!!" I hissed, trying to get the man’s attention without being too loud. Just as the man turned to face , I saw a look of horror on his face, just as I felt sothing stab in the back of my shoulder.
"Fuck. How did he get here? I’ll have to ask the boss what to do with him."
The man who carried Karl here mumbled nervously. In a matter of seconds, I felt my body stiffen and my eyelids get heavy.
He stabbed with sothing! It must be the sedative!
I bit my tongue as hard as I could to keep myself awake, but the sedative was too strong. The mont my eyes closed, everything around went black.
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