JANINE NEEDED TO THINK fast. And she struggled not to let the feeling of chills show when she saw the figure who had put her hand on her shoulder, with a certain pressure. That inspector must be the bad one.
"I..." Janine got up from the floor. "I forgot to get my kit and I came by here. Just for that..."
"Show me the kit."
"Here." Janine raised her hand.
"Come with me."
Going around the bed, Janine followed the inspector. She turned the key in the lock, closing the dorm.
"You should go outside and get some sun and fresh air. Since you're done with lunch."
"Yes, ma'am," Janine just nodded, following the same path as the woman.
...****************...
DISCRETELY, JANINE WENT to look for Valquiria - who was sitting in the stands. The place where the girls sunbathed was similar to a football stadium. Instead of grass, the floor was concrete and soft. The grandstand too, with four steps so they could sit down. Some of them were scattered around. And it was open air, allowing the sun and wind to circulate around. Behind the stands, there is a high, thick wall of 15 meters - in addition to the electric fence - that kept away any hope of escaping the complex. Janine looked there, feeling resignation arriving, beside her colleague.
"You took a while," Valquiria commented. "What were you doing besides getting the kit?"
Janine turned discreetly, facing Valquiria. Whispered:
"In my room there is a ventilation duct. And I went to take a look to see if it would fit me. It's wide and I'm sure I can go through it."
"But did you try to do that?" Valquiria frowned.
"No, right?!" Janine shrugged. "It wasn't going to work. I only had time to close the duct and pretend I was looking for the kit."
"Did the inspector arrive just in time?"
"She did."
"Girl..." Valquiria raised her eyebrows in perplexity. "By half a second, she didn't catch you."
"It was by half a second."
"You almost went to solitary."
There was a moment of silence. The afternoon there was strangely pleasant.
"What are you going to do?"
"I want to explore that duct to see the possibility of escaping from here. How far it goes."
"I think you'd better be careful," Valquiria warned, although she spoke softly. "Because you just got here. It's better not to cause trouble. If you want to do something, you have to be careful."
"Have you tried to do anything?" Janine was intrigued. "Has anyone tried to do anything?"
"Not now, no way."
Janine noticed that Valquiria was resigned. And it wasn't a recent resignation.
"How long have you been here?"
"I don't know, about eight months. We're incommunicado. You don't know what day it is or what time it is exactly. I just know that break is about to be over. Thirty minutes to go, as that big screen over there shows."
Janine looked in the direction Valquiria indicated. She saw a big screen that counted down the break time. A digital big screen.
"And why doesn't anyone else do anything?" Janine frowned, whispering incisively.
"This gang here is very powerful, girl. How many people may have died just trying to rescue us? Anyway... I don't want to have to think about that."
"When was the last time someone escaped or something?"
"Girl, how curious are you?" Valquiria chuckled. "I almost suspect you're a cop, but your eyes don't deny the horror of being here."
Another moment of silence. Valquiria swung her legs, letting the wind blow in her face.
"It's a long story. When I get the chance, I'll tell you just what I know," she promised. "Our time is limited. Soon we have to get back to work."
Janine allowed herself to lean back in the stands, thoughtful. She didn't want to allow herself to be resigned to the fact that she was living in prison. Maybe Valquiria had given up chasing freedom, but she promised herself she wouldn't get to that point. She promised she would resist. First, she would have to study the terrain where she had parachuted in. Then, she would create an escape plan with her allies - the ones who wanted to get out of there. And denounce the whole mafia.
...****************...
PEDRO HENRIQUE FINISHED packing his carry-on bag. The clock read 8:30 PM. He would only spend four days in Barcelona, enough time to collect something at the airport or find out who was the last driver who took Janine and where to. He checked his passport, ID and everything else. He would only take a carry-on bag and his backpack. Carmem watched her son from the ajar door.
"Do you really need to travel to Barcelona, Pedro?"
"I'll need to, Mom," Pedro Henrique let out a breath as he left his suitcase in the corner of the room. "It's for work. I need to find a lead, however small."
"This disappearance is more complicated than you imagined, huh..." Carmem sat down on the side of his bed.
"It is," Pedro Henrique sat down too. He took Carmem's hand. "It's only going to be a four-day trip. I'll be back soon... I can't leave too much stuff piling up here."
"You'll have to call me or your father when you get there."
"Of course I will, Dona Carmem." Pedro gave a half smile.
"Be careful."
"Don't worry," Pedro nodded.
...****************...
ARON DROVE HIS CAR through the streets of Flamengo. He had already passed through Catete and even took a walk in Santa Teresa. He was on his way to Laranjeiras, towards Cosme Velho. As he drove at 50km, his left arm was resting, with a lit cigarette between his fingers. Every now and then he took a drag. Now, he was heading for Gago Coutinho - the street where Hugo lived. His intention was to wait for him.
He parked his car there, turning it off. He watched from afar the condominium - with a classic look - where the boy lived. Picking up his cell phone, he opened Instagram in order to stalk. He couldn't open Hugo's profile, because it was locked and he had removed him from his followers. Hugo has a habit of removing fake followers. And Aron had indeed made a fake profile to monitor the boy.
...****************...
HUGO WAS SAVING THE SURVEYS he had done on the flash drive, so that when he returned from vacation he could get into the case and study everything more calmly. Cesar had shown him the copy of the Police Report that was registered at the police station in Sao Paulo. Based on the reports, he separated similar cases that were closed for lack of evidence - which followed the same pattern: the girl traveled and did not give any news after arriving in another country. When he made sure that everything was saved, he turned off the computer. The flash drive was in his backpack pocket.
"I thought you had left," Cesar said, passing by him.
"I'm going now." Hugo grabbed his backpack, putting it on his shoulder. "I've already left everything ready for the case I'm going to get into as soon as I get back from vacation."
"Did you find a lot or a little similar?"
"Some," Hugo frowned. "It's all saved, nice and tidy, guarded..."
They were now walking down the hall.
"...and I can't wait for the day of the trip," Hugo continued. "I want to clear my head and go back to Sao Paulo good as new. This case is going to be... busted."
"It will."
"Has the guy gone to Spain yet?"
"He's going tomorrow."
...****************...
IT WAS ALL DARK. Another day of slave labor at the complex was completed. Janine had been in bed since midnight. She waited a while before standing up and testing the ventilation duct. From the bed she went to the floor very carefully, feeling the bars of the duct. With luck, she managed to remove them in the dark.
Slowly, she put her head in and then her own trunk. She put her left hand in front, and gave a slight push to go forward. She decided that the best way to get through there without making noise is to crawl. After being completely inside the duct, she began: left, right, and crawl; left, right, and crawl; left, right, and crawl...
When she limited herself to looking back, she saw that she was far from the room. Just ahead, she saw a crack similar to the one in her room. She began to hear voices too - two, to be exact. Until she managed to look from the side of the crack, to avoid being seen.
It looked like an office. Two male voices. Janine frowned to understand the dialogue...
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