Page 96 of Wild Oblivion

I looked across the lot and spotted a nondescript white van that could have belonged to a cleaning company.Or it could have belonged to criminals disguised as a cleaning company.

I began to wonder if this guard wasn't on the take. How much could he possibly make working the gate? A six-figure deposit into his crypto account might be pretty persuasive. After all, he'd have plausible deniability.They were just the cleaning crew.They had the proper ID. ID that could have easily been stolen or forged.

"Exigent circumstances," I said, moving past him, ducking under the candy cane lever arm.

"Hey! You can't go in there.”

"Try and stop me,” I shouted back.

I had no probable cause. Nothing to establish exigent circumstances other than a hunch. It certainly wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. But I didn’t want to take the risk of pure, unadulterated Oblivium falling into the wrong hands.

JD and I hustled to the main entrance and pushed into the lobby. The atrium was spacious, with a lounge area that had comfortable leather chairs and sofas. There were coffee tables with magazines, a counter with a coffee maker, snacks, and a mini fridge with bottles of water.

Like any high-security facility, there was a walk-through metal detector and a conveyor X-ray scanner.

I flashed my badge at the security guard behind the desk. "Where's the cleaning crew?"

He was on the phone, presumably with the gate guard. “Yeah, I'll take care of this," he said, then he addressed us as he hung up. "Uh, I don’t know.” Then he added, "You need to sign in."

"Have you noticed anything unusual?”

He shook his head. "Unusual, like what?”

"Like a robbery in progress."

"A robbery?"

"Where's Dr. Foster's lab?”

The guard hesitated for a moment. "I'm supposed to call a supervisor in situations like this. Can I see your badge again?"

I displayed it as I approached the counter.

He surveyed it carefully.

The nameplate on his chest read D. Dugan. "You really think there's a robbery in progress?"

"Did the cleaning crew look familiar to you?”

He shrugged. "I can't say I really paid attention. It's always different people." He picked up the phone and dialed an extension. "I'm calling Dr. Foster.”

I kept my head on a swivel.

The place was quiet. I didn't see any unusual activity. There was no sign of the cleaning crew. They could have been anywhere.

Maybe I was wrong.

Maybe this was just a calm Sunday at DRI.

The phone rang several times. "She's not picking up. Not unusual." Dugan paused. Before I could say anything else, he said, "I'll take you to the lab.“

He stood up, walked around the desk, then hurried to the main entrance and locked it up. He spun around and walked past us in a hurry. "Come with me."

We followed him across the lobby, and he motioned to a hallway that led to our right. "It's all the way down the hall, last door to the left. You’ll need a key card for access.” He handed it to me. “I’ve got a bum ankle, so I don’t move too fast these days, but I’ll be right behind you.”

I took the key card from him, and JD and I started down the hallway. We drew our pistols and kept them in a low ready position as we moved with caution.

Dugan followed and kept up with us. He drew his weapon as well.