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Suddenly, sheheard a sound, like a muffled footstep. She whirled around, pointing herflashlight and gun in the direction of the sound.
“Did you hearthat?” she whispered to the others.
Simon nodded, hisgrip on his own gun tightening. Together, they moved toward the sound,cautiously, ready for anything.
As they closed inon the source of the sound, Amber’s flashlight beam fell on a figure slippingaway into the shadows. She caught a glimpse of his face, long enough to knowthat it was Steven Boon.
“Stop!” sheshouted, raising her gun and flashlight. “FBI, freeze!”
He didn’t freeze,though, but again slipped away into the depths of the facility. Amber and Simonset off after him, but by the time they reached the spot where he’d been, hewas gone again, vanished.
“He knows thisfacility,” Amber said. “He knows all the twists and turns. It will make it easyfor him to hide. Especially in the dark.”
“And maybe hewants us to hunt him,” Francesca said. “Maybe he’s trying to draw us away from hisvictim, get us lost in the dark. He might even try to pick us off so we can’tinterfere.”
“Then we take awaythe darkness,” Simon said. He looked around until he found a light switch,trying it. Nothing happened. “He must have messed with the breakers.”
“So let’s keep alookout for any kind of breaker box,” Francesca said. “As well as for Boon and hisvictim. If we can light this place up, it will be harder for him to hide.”
Amber nodded. Theidea made sense. The three of them kept going through the R&D facility.
As she movedforward, she heard a faint rustling noise. She raised her gun, ready to fire atany moment. But it was just a rat scurrying through the shadows.
“Damn it,” shemuttered, lowering her weapon. “This place is giving me the creeps.”
Simon gave her alook. “We’re hunting a dangerous psychopath through the dark. I’d be worried ifthat didn’t give you the creeps.”
Amber gave ahumorless laugh. “I guess I was hoping for something a little… less. We’re supposedto be hunting Boon, but it feels like he’s hunting us.”
They continued to searchfor the victim, for the breaker box and for Boon, moving stealthily through theshadows. The facility was eerily quiet, save for the sound of their footstepsechoing through the halls.
“We’re never goingto find him like this,” Amber said. “He can keep ahead of us too easily. Weneed to split up.”
Simon lookeddoubtful. “That means we won’t be there to back you up.”
“I can handlemyself,” Amber said confidently. “Besides, we’ll cover more ground this way. We’llhave a better chance of finding him.”
Francesca noddedthen. “It’s the way that makes the most sense. Keep in contact. If there’s anysign of the victim, they’re the priority.”
Simon hesitated,then nodded. “Okay, but be careful. Boon is dangerous.”
Amber gave him agrim smile. “I know, but this is our best chance.”
The three of themsplit up, Amber moving through the facility alone. She kept her gun at theready, her finger tense on the trigger. Her flashlight beam swept across thewalls and floors, searching for any sign of Boon.
She moved throughthe halls, checking every room and corner. There was still no sign of him, orof the apparatus he was using to strangle his victim. Amber’s heart waspounding as she made her way through the facility, her flashlight beam dartingaround in front of her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that every second shespent doing this, the noose was slowly tightening around the victim’s neck. Shewas sure too that Boon was watching her, waiting for the opportune moment tostrike.
Amber remindedherself that she was the FBI agent here. She was trained for this, and she wasn’tgoing to let fear get the best of her. She continued to move forward, hersenses on high alert.
Suddenly, sheheard a faint noise coming from a room up ahead. She slowly approached thedoor, her heart racing. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door, hergun trained on whoever was inside.
To her relief, itwasn’t Boon. It was just a maintenance room with a breaker box. She quicklysearched through the switches until she found the one that controlled thelights in the facility. She flicked it on, and the room flooded with light.
Amber let out asigh of relief. Finally, she could see everything around her. The room was fullof old machinery and dusty equipment that had been untouched for some time. Asshe turned to leave, Amber noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
There, in the backof the room, was a door that she hadn’t noticed before in the dark. It wasslightly ajar, a thin line of light seeping through the crack. Amber hesitatedfor a moment, her instincts telling her that this was a bad idea. But then sheremembered why she was here. She couldn’t let Boon get away. She had to checkthis space, the way she’d checked the others in the facility.
Slowly, she pushedopen the door and stepped inside. There were rows of shelves there, with partsfor machines and raw materials that had probably been used in the constructionof the projects there.
