Heroic Measures (continued)

The warehouse looked different in the daylight, Walter realized. Even the narrow alleyway seemed ordinary. It contents lacked any mystery in the filtered light of day. The entire block of buildings looked rather drab and disused. A layer of dust covered nearly everything, lending further proof to the claims of the two investigation teams that had both reported that the area did not appear to have been significantly disturbed for quite a while.

Walter had not been back since the night of the original incident. Most of what he recalled of the area came from his memories of that night. The surroundings pretty much matched what he remembered, but a few of the details were off.

Probably because I was here at night . . . and it has been a while.

“Let’s use the side door,” Red suggested.

Walter nodded in agreement. They might as well use the door we he supposedly saw something.

“Right here,” Walter said as they reached the small concrete pad outside that led to the door.

The door was as he had remembered it. The windows remained opaque even in the daylight, providing no more clues to its interior than the night he had witnessed the mysterious glow.

“This is the place?” Red asked, looking around the area.

Walter nodded. Vivian squinted toward the sky, studying the ledges and rooftops.

“Nothing on the rooftops?”

Walter shook his head. “Nothing they could find.”

Vivian frowned, looked at the door, and then again at the sky.

“I’ll take a look,” she said.

She shrugged out of her jacket, handed it to Walter, and let her wings unfold.

“I’ll be right back,” she told Walter with a wink, and launched herself skyward.

“I think we should stay together—“ Walter said, trailing off she disappeared as a silhouette on the rooftop across from them.

“She’ll be fine,” Red said. “Help me with the door.”

Walter pulled on the handle, despite knowing full well that it would probably be locked. As a result, he was not surprised when it did not budge. He studied it then, wondering if they should try to force it open.

“Walter?”

He looked up at the sound of Red’s voice.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Walter replied. “Why?”

“You seem . . . distracted.”

Walter gave his friend a questioning look. Red reached over and plucked a device from one of the compartments on Walter’s equipment belt. Walter looked down at it with a puzzled expression, and then accepted it with chagrin.

“I’m just . . . worried about Vivian.” He glanced quickly toward the rooftops.

“Uh huh.”

There was something in Red’s expression that was both serious and teasing. Whatever he might have been thinking, though, he kept to himself for the moment.

Walter placed the small device over the door’s keyhole and pressed the button on its face. He waited while it clicked and whirred softly, doing its work to reset the tumblers to unlock the door. It would also detect if an alarm system was active. Walter would have been surprised if that indicator had lit up. This place once claimed to have a security system—the sticker on the door said so—but Walter doubted that it had been activated in a very long time.

A loud click sounded from the device and green light glowed on its face. Red gave Walter a thumb’s up and popped the device free. He switched it off and handed it back to Walter. Walter looked it over and then returned it to its place on his belt.

Red reached down and pulled on the handle. It turned freely now.

“See?” he told Walter with a grin. “Better living through technology.”

“If you’re a cat burglar . . .” Walter murmured.

“No cats here,” Red replied, surprising Walter that he had heard. “Just a bird.”

He started to push open the door. Both of the young men froze at a sudden noise that was not the expected sound of un-lubricated metals rubbing together. They each turned, smoothly moving into a combat posture, to face the figure standing there.

#

Vivian stared back at them, wide-eyed and blinking.

“You’re not happy to see me?” she asked with an almost deadpan impishness. It only a moment before she lost control and giggled. “I just thought I’d drop in.”

Walter glared at her. “Vivian . . .”

“What did you find?” Red asked coolly, moving stiffly back into a more casual stance.

“Nothing,” Vivian replied. “Well,” she added quickly, “Not nothing: just air conditioners, lots of gravel, and the occasional dead rodent. Nothing that looked out of place.”

Red nodded, seeming unsurprised by her report. “We’d better check inside then.”

He opened the door further. This time this heard the expected screech of rusted hinges and moved inside with Red in the lead. Walter followed immediately behind him. Vivian took one last look at the rooftop of the building opposite them before entering.