Riley smiled grimly. “If only it was that easy, Firebrand,” he said, and pushed the door open.
My eyes widened. The Vault wasn’t a bank safe or a single room with boxes of documents and filing cabinets lining the walls. It was a massive, sprawling warehouse with a ceiling that soared into darkness and dozens upon dozens of aisles spread out like an enormous maze. Boxes, chests, pallets, even a few safes were crammed together on the shelves, stacked atop each other with no space between them. Ladders were scattered through the corridors, leading up to walkways where even more shelves waited, laden with crates and containers.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Riley asked as I stared around the huge chamber. Between all the aisles and crates and shadows, I couldn’t even see the other side. “Welcome to one of Talon’s greatest treasure hoards,” Riley went on. “Like I said, the organization has been collecting secrets, dirty laundry and blackmail material for a long time.”
“Jeez,” I muttered, shaking my head as I continued to look around. Talk about a needle in a haystack, in a field of haystacks, on a planet made of haystacks. “How the hell are we going to find anything in this mess?” I wondered. “It’ll take us forever.”
“And this is why you need me,” Wes broke in, with an annoyed glance at Riley. “Though some obnoxious lizards tend to forget that without me, you blighters’d be up shit creek without a paddle. Remember that, next time you’re yelling at me to stick my head out in the middle of a bullet storm.” Riley rolled his eyes but didn’t comment, and Wes continued in a smug voice, “If you didn’t have me, finding anything in the Vault would be damn near impossible. Thankfully, Talon has caught on to the wonders of modern technology. There’ll be a master list of everything and where it’s stored in the main computer. We just have to find it before Talon gets here and all hell breaks loose again.”
“The office is this way,” Riley said, motioning us forward along the outer wall. “Be careful, though. Those guards aren’t the only ones down here. There are at least a couple human flunkies who work in the Vault, organizing the shelves and storing new evidence.”
“Who is in charge of this place?” Garret asked. Riley shook his head.
“Don’t know. Never met him—he was always ‘too busy’ to see me in person. The few times I came here, a guard would call for one of his assistants, and they would take care of whatever I brought in. I never made it past the office, really. In here.”
He turned down a hallway and ducked into a small room with a desk, a couple filing cabinets and a computer.
“Strange that there are no guards here,” Garret mused, as Wes instantly plopped into the computer chair and jiggled the screen to life. “If this is where Talon stores all its blackmail and secret evidence, I would think it would be better protected.”
“Not many people know about this place, even in the organization,” Riley answered. “The only reason I know about it is because I was a Basilisk. Remember, the Vault isn’t supposed to exist—it’s masquerading as a normal library. Too many armed guards going in and out can attract unwanted attention, from humans and from St. George. Talon’s first priority is secrecy at all costs.” He crossed his arms. “Besides, this wasn’t exactly a cakewalk to get into. If we didn’t have a fire-breathing dragon and a superelite hacker with us, we wouldn’t have gotten past the elevator.”
“Still.” Garret looked out the door, his expression troubled. “This seems too easy. I feel like we’re missing something.” His eyes narrowed. “Where are the people that are supposed to work here? They must have heard the gunshots.”
“I don’t know,” Riley said impatiently. “But we can either chase humans around a giant-ass warehouse, or we can get what we came here for and get out before Talon arrives. Take your pick. Wes?” He looked at the other human, busily clacking away at the keyboard. “How’s it coming?”
“Hold your bloody horses,” Wes muttered, not looking up from the screen. “It’s not like I have a lot to go on...aha. There we go.”
“Did you find anything?” I asked.
A few more taps with the keyboard, and Wes breathed out slowly. “Bloody hell, what didn’t I find? Someone has been a very, very bad Patriarch.”
I felt Garret go perfectly still beside me. Riley didn’t notice as he leaned in, peering over Wes’s shoulder. “What do we have?”
“Bank statements, photographs, bloody recordings, you name it.” Wes shook his head. “Enough dirt to blackmail him for the rest of his life, and possibly his successor’s life. According to these dates...” He squinted at the screen. “This has been going on for more than a year.”
My eyes widened. The Vault wasn’t a bank safe or a single room with boxes of documents and filing cabinets lining the walls. It was a massive, sprawling warehouse with a ceiling that soared into darkness and dozens upon dozens of aisles spread out like an enormous maze. Boxes, chests, pallets, even a few safes were crammed together on the shelves, stacked atop each other with no space between them. Ladders were scattered through the corridors, leading up to walkways where even more shelves waited, laden with crates and containers.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Riley asked as I stared around the huge chamber. Between all the aisles and crates and shadows, I couldn’t even see the other side. “Welcome to one of Talon’s greatest treasure hoards,” Riley went on. “Like I said, the organization has been collecting secrets, dirty laundry and blackmail material for a long time.”
“Jeez,” I muttered, shaking my head as I continued to look around. Talk about a needle in a haystack, in a field of haystacks, on a planet made of haystacks. “How the hell are we going to find anything in this mess?” I wondered. “It’ll take us forever.”
“And this is why you need me,” Wes broke in, with an annoyed glance at Riley. “Though some obnoxious lizards tend to forget that without me, you blighters’d be up shit creek without a paddle. Remember that, next time you’re yelling at me to stick my head out in the middle of a bullet storm.” Riley rolled his eyes but didn’t comment, and Wes continued in a smug voice, “If you didn’t have me, finding anything in the Vault would be damn near impossible. Thankfully, Talon has caught on to the wonders of modern technology. There’ll be a master list of everything and where it’s stored in the main computer. We just have to find it before Talon gets here and all hell breaks loose again.”
“The office is this way,” Riley said, motioning us forward along the outer wall. “Be careful, though. Those guards aren’t the only ones down here. There are at least a couple human flunkies who work in the Vault, organizing the shelves and storing new evidence.”
“Who is in charge of this place?” Garret asked. Riley shook his head.
“Don’t know. Never met him—he was always ‘too busy’ to see me in person. The few times I came here, a guard would call for one of his assistants, and they would take care of whatever I brought in. I never made it past the office, really. In here.”
He turned down a hallway and ducked into a small room with a desk, a couple filing cabinets and a computer.
“Strange that there are no guards here,” Garret mused, as Wes instantly plopped into the computer chair and jiggled the screen to life. “If this is where Talon stores all its blackmail and secret evidence, I would think it would be better protected.”
“Not many people know about this place, even in the organization,” Riley answered. “The only reason I know about it is because I was a Basilisk. Remember, the Vault isn’t supposed to exist—it’s masquerading as a normal library. Too many armed guards going in and out can attract unwanted attention, from humans and from St. George. Talon’s first priority is secrecy at all costs.” He crossed his arms. “Besides, this wasn’t exactly a cakewalk to get into. If we didn’t have a fire-breathing dragon and a superelite hacker with us, we wouldn’t have gotten past the elevator.”
“Still.” Garret looked out the door, his expression troubled. “This seems too easy. I feel like we’re missing something.” His eyes narrowed. “Where are the people that are supposed to work here? They must have heard the gunshots.”
“I don’t know,” Riley said impatiently. “But we can either chase humans around a giant-ass warehouse, or we can get what we came here for and get out before Talon arrives. Take your pick. Wes?” He looked at the other human, busily clacking away at the keyboard. “How’s it coming?”
“Hold your bloody horses,” Wes muttered, not looking up from the screen. “It’s not like I have a lot to go on...aha. There we go.”
“Did you find anything?” I asked.
A few more taps with the keyboard, and Wes breathed out slowly. “Bloody hell, what didn’t I find? Someone has been a very, very bad Patriarch.”
I felt Garret go perfectly still beside me. Riley didn’t notice as he leaned in, peering over Wes’s shoulder. “What do we have?”
“Bank statements, photographs, bloody recordings, you name it.” Wes shook his head. “Enough dirt to blackmail him for the rest of his life, and possibly his successor’s life. According to these dates...” He squinted at the screen. “This has been going on for more than a year.”
