Ch. 5 - Going Somewhere

Despite the dire situation, as the trio stepped out of their apartment hotel and turned onto the Kathigitou Antoniou Keramopoulou street, neither of the women could quite ignore the genius loci magic that seemed to permeate the whole city of Thessaloniki - or at least its historical center. The Holy Church of Hagia Sophia shone with the kind of power only religious buildings possessed, and Maddie would have loved nothing better than to find a momentary respite in the historic walls, to replenish her own supply. Risa, on the other hand, wondered if there maybe was a portal between this church and its much more famous Byzantine namesake. She couldn't see a mouth of a portal on the outside (which made a lot of sense), but her senses were definitely tingling with the possibility. She will have to come back to find out, eventually.
Dwayne was frowning, head bent, focusing on his steps. One didn't have to be an empath to know he would much rather not go into that room ever again.
They crossed the empty Hagia Sophia square, went down Ermou avenue and turned right into Karolou Ntil street. As they stopped in front of the office building, they could smell the aroma of freshly grilled gyros wafting down from a nearby alley. Maddie's stomach constricted with hunger, although she had no thought or taste for food.
Tiger punched the code into the little keyboard at the door and they went up onto the second floor.
"Stand back," Lioness said, as she surveyed the seal. It was intact, just like she set it.
So far so good. She nodded to herself and started chanting the opening incantation. Once the design glowed again, she opened the door. The office space was freezing. Which was just as well, given the amount of blood and bodies. Lioness motioned for her two colleagues to enter after her. Osprey's eyes immediately turned to the spot where she discovered the exit portal the day before.
"The trace is still there," she said with obvious satisfaction, and no less obvious suspicion. "This would be way too sloppy, if it weren't on purpose. So we'll assume whoever left it meant to lure any pursuers into a rather nasty surprise of some sort."
"Can we follow it or not?" Tiger asked impatiently.
Osprey shot a dagger glare his way, but quickly turned back to examining the portal.
"I just told you. We can reopen it and fall into the trap, but that won't do any good to anyone, except the other side. Would you..."
"But there is another way," Lioness once again interrupted the other agent.
"Yes," Osprey admitted through clenched teeth, her fury once again receding into background. "If given enough time, I can probe it and find the location of the other end. Then, theoretically, I can open my own portal somewhere in the vicinity of it, and that *should* be safe and allow us to proceed after the kidnappers."
Lioness and Tiger both nodded and left her to focus.
The Sec Chief looked around at his team, guilt and grief mixing on his features. For the lack of better things to do, he started moving the bodies to the wall furthest from the door into the office, laying them neatly next to each other. The empath tried to not get underfoot, so she moved around, gently touching the furniture and floor from time to time, trying to put the pieces of the ambush puzzle together in her mind.
She found the spot where Tiger has fallen after the paralyzing dart. Half hidden between a tall filing cabinet and a desk. Next to him, she could feel an echo of Swan. Surprise, anger... and then something weird. Curiosity? No, not exactly. It was as if Swan's emotions suddenly weren't quite hers. Lioness shuddered, her fingers flying away from the spot as if she got an electric shock.
"What the..." she gasped. She squinted her eyes, as if she could tease the emotions out of thin air, but of course, her gift didn't quite work that way.
She sighed and stood up, trying to figure out where Swan could have stood as she "stepped out of cover". She touched the filing cabinet, but got nothing.
She tried to remember where Osprey found the entry portal the night before. She took a step until the it came into view. Looking over her shoulder she could see her friend working, with nothing between the two of them. She bent down once again, tracing her fingers along the floor. The echo was much fainter here, most of the emotions "caught" in the soles of Swan's shoes. But still, there was enough of that weirdness - compulsion? Yes, that must have been it.
Fear once again gripped her throat.
"Impossible!" she muttered.
"You know, you don't *have* to be here," Osprey sounded more than a little annoyed, obviously interrupted by even the quiet word. "Neither of you. As I said, this is going to take time. I'll call you when I'm ready."
"We are no contact, remember Osprey?" Tiger growled.
"Surely we need a way for the three of us to communicate, then," Lioness offered. "Why don't you stay here, and I'll go get us provisions. Unless there is a cache nearby you know of?"
"Not nearby," Tiger shook his head. "And no offence, but nothing that would help us in this."
"Could you possibly discuss this outside?" Osprey didn't quite yell.
The two other agents moved beyond the office door. Lioness shrugged, as she admitted: "I'm not really one for black ops."
Tiger snorted with a mirthless laugh, that sounded suspiciously like a name beginning with "S".
"Those were both HQ sanctioned!" she defended herself.
"...eventually," he sarcassed.
She didn't mind. Anything that lifted his mood was good in her books.
"Anyway. You were right. We need some burner phones, at least."
She nodded.
"I'll be quick, but if anything goes amiss..."
"I reckon Osprey can get us to the other end of the country in a jiffy."
"Maybe tell her to get you to me, instead?" Lioness narrowed her eyes, and her partner nodded.
"Aye, that would work, I'd say."
With that she inclined her head towards the door.
"I'll knock three times. Ask about Plato. I'll respond with Xenon."
Tiger nodded again, and went back inside. She hurried down the stairs and outside.
The streets were still more sleepy than awake. She didn't dare use her phone, but fortunately a random passer-by answered her panicked lost-tourist question and said there is a cell phone store on Egnatia, just around the corner. Lioness headed right, in the direction he indicated, and soon enough she really stood in front of a cell phone store. Unfortunately for her, said store won't open for another couple hours. She contemplated whether she could risk being away from her friends and her mission that long, when she remembered she actually saw a little hole-in-the-wall kiosk on the corner - one of those uniquely European places that carried everything and anything, and were opened practically around the clock, despite being run by a single family.
She headed back there, and lo' and behold, there were the cheapest of cheap cell phones with pre-paid cards. She picked up three, quickly made sure they will work all over Europe, named a sum for each of the cards...
...and just as she went to pay, she realized two fundamental mistakes in her logic. The first one was, she didn't have any Euros with her in Dubai. The second was that her company cards will most probably be frozen.
She hesitated for only a moment, before pulling out her personal card. Nobody will know where she is from using that - unless they are looking specifically for her. Which means it might give Thorne a pause.
Hopefully it won't give him any ideas...
She swiped the card, swiping the thoughts of her family away with it. The clerk smiled a tired smile, wished her a 'happy New Year', and handed her the bag with her purchase. She reciprocated the wish and walked out.
Just as she was about head down the main street, an alleyway on the opposite corner caught her eye. She headed down that way. One turn later she was standing in front of Katsamaka. The small restaurant looked like it has been open through the night, with a few celebrating stragglers appeasing their post-drinking munchies at the tables. Lioness ordered gyros for her and the two other agents, and finally headed back into the office, hoping to find Osprey in a better mood - or put her in one with the delicious Greek food.