Page 87 of Wild Oblivion

"I've lost sight of you," Jack said, his voice breaking up.

With a flesh-colored wireless earbud in my ear, the goons hadn't noticed yet. With any luck, they wouldn't. Hopefully, I will be able to update Jack on our location at the first opportunity.

We drove a few blocks, and the driver made a few erratic turns, then doubled around, making sure we weren’t followed. We finally pulled into the lot of an old red-brick warehouse with graffiti all over the loading dock. The lot was surrounded by a chain-link fence. The warehouse may have been old, but the fence was new and shiny. Topped with razor wire, it was designed to keep undesirables out. And there were plenty of those wandering the streets around here.

The old building had been renovated. The windows had all been replaced, and new doors and locks kept the warehouse secure.

The driver pulled up to the loading dock, and the goon in back pulled open the cargo door. It rumbled, the sound echoing off neighboring buildings.

I climbed out and helped Henrik. Once he was on his feet, the doorman climbed out of the vehicle, pulled the cargo door shut, and jogged across the lot to the fence. He pulled it closed and padlocked it.

The driver had hopped out of the vehicle and kept a watch on us with his pistol at the ready. He nodded toward the steps, and I helped Henrik climb them. There was no handrail, nothing to steady himself but the cane JD had given him. I held onto his arm while clasping the fragmentation grenade.

With the excitement and adrenaline, Henrik was a little winded by the time we made it to the top of the loading dock.

"Keep moving," the driver said, his pistol at my back.

He was taller and skinnier than the goon who had been with us in the cargo area. By the lack of wrinkles around their eyes, I put them in their mid-20s to early 30s. Both had brown eyes and American accents.

The driver marched us into the warehouse.

The interior looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Gadgets and gizmos, transformers and wires. There were cryogenic tanks, rectifiers and capacitors, generators, displays, and gauges. It was a mix of new and old technology.Perhaps secrets from a bygone era mixed with the latest cutting-edge silicon. Klaus had clearly spent some time and effort building this warehouse out under the radar.

The focal piece of the room was a central mount with towers on either side, coiled with superconductors, wires, and heat sinks.

The room felt dangerous and alive. The hum of high-powered equipment filled the space.

Klaus stood near the towers, holding onto Giselle with a pistol to her head. She was still bound at the wrists, and duct tape covered her full lips. Her eyes were drenched with panic and tears, her mascara smudged, her hair ratty.

"We have a slight situation," the driver said, shouting across the cavernous room to him.

"I see that," Klaus replied.

I smiled and brandished the grenade. "This is just to keep everybody honest. I give you what you want, you give me what I want, and we all walk away happy.”

"Some of us are not walking away from this."

"That's too bad.”

"Some of us are going on a journey.”

I’d believe it when I saw it.

"As you can see, Giselle is unharmed,” Klaus said. “Let’s see the crystal.”

I hesitated for a moment and shared a look with Henrik.

He nodded.

I pulled the glowing blue stone from my pocket and displayed it.

Klaus’s eyes filled with awe and wonder. It was hard not to be impressed by it. I had never seen anything quite like it, except maybe the jewel we found on La Perdida. But this was different. I figured it contained some bioluminescent element.

The other goon had entered the warehouse by this point in time. The two of them stood behind me, their weapons drawn and ready.

"Let Giselle go," I said.

"Set the Vrilkristall on the table and slide it down to me," Klaus demanded.