As if an angry rhino sprang to life, the diesel grumbled and shook beneath Jake and Sarah. The semi lurched forward, moving closer to the open garage door, its turn to load or unload drawing near. The bright interior of the warehouse loomed ahead, threatening to trap them on top of the tanker. Jake couldn't imagine a scenario where they dismounted the rig indoors and slipped away undiscovered. He checked again. The two guards loitered in the same location.

Air brakes engaged, and the truck slowed to a halt. Light spilled from inside the building.

An antagonizing minute ticked by as each guard lit a cigarette and stood around like they had nothing better to do. The two men jabbered between themselves. In the middle of their meaningless conversation, a shout from inside the warehouse stole their attention.

The sentries threw down their cigarettes and bolted toward the authoritative voice. Jake waited a few seconds.

Sarah clambered half over him, half beside him, using his back as a platform to push herself past him and to the ladder. Jake followed her over the edge. As soon as his feet hit the ground, the diesel roared to life, and the truck rolled forward. He wanted to complain about how she didn't wait for him to make his move, but she didn't give him a chance. She darted along the front of the warehouse and then shot into a dark alley. Once again, Jake hustled to keep up.

"I have an idea," she said.

"I was about to go down the ladder."

"I saw an opportunity and took it, Jake. I was afraid you'd lock up again."

"I didn't lock up, I just hesitated." He wagged his head. "So, what's your idea? I'm listening."

Footsteps and laughter.

Sarah peeked around the corner of the building next door. It was made of brick and mortar instead of metal, like the giant warehouse. Jake snugged up next to her, and without thinking, placed a hand on her hip. This drew a soft glance back at him, acceptance of his touch.

At their proximity, a delightful warmth rushed through Jake's body.

Sarah turned away as the same two guards, who were busted for taking a smoke break, walked through the front doors.

"My plan just got easier." And that was all she had to say. She sprinted for the entrance with Jake in tow. As the sentries disappeared down the hallway, they entered the building behind them.

To their left, a sign on a door read, LOCKER ROOM. Sarah ushered Jake inside and shared her plan with him.

He grinned mischievously. "That sounds like something I'd come up with."

"Well, good. It'll work, trust me."

When the guards' voices erupted outside the room, Jake found a hiding place as Sarah opened the door. She peered into the hallway and brushed back a wavy length of hair. As the men responded to her, she didn't have to say a word. She slunk back into the room; the guards following her.

From behind the door, Jake saw the handle of a service pistol tucked away in its holster. With the men's attention diverted, he snuck up and yanked the gun out with a quick swipe.

The guards spun around.

Jake trained the weapon on them. "You," he pointed to the other guard, "with two fingers on the grip, nowhere near the trigger. Take your gun out... and do it slowly."

The man eased the pistol from the holster and stopped. "You won't shoot us."

Jake stepped closer and aimed the barrel at his forehead. "Care to try me?"

The guard tensed, his eyes searching Jake's harsh features for the truth. After a brief hesitation, the man lowered the gun to the floor.

Sarah bent down, scooped up the weapon and pointed it at the man, her gaze hard and posture steady.

"Now," Jake said with a chuckle, "take off your clothes."

The men stared at each other and then back at Jake. "What? Why?" one of them said.

"Just your uniforms and your access cards around your neck. I don't want your skivvies."

Once the guards were down to their boxers and under shirts, Sarah opened two of the tall lockers on the far wall. She chose empty ones that didn't have a padlock. Each man backed into their respective locker, hands raised, mouths snarling threats, and the doors were closed. Jake felt confident they wouldn't be able to open the metal boxes from the inside without a knife or some other tool.

He took the larger man's black uniform, which included a ball cap, and slipped into a bathroom stall. A few minutes later, he stepped out and revealed the fit to Sarah.

"A little tight, but it'll do," she said. "Now it's my turn." She entered the private booth and latched the door.

Jake waited, the gun at his side tilted away from his body, his gaze flitting from the locker room entrance to the makeshift cells that held their prisoners. "I'd keep quiet if I were you. I'll empty this magazine with no regrets."

No reply. Good.

Sarah emerged, dressed in the other guard's uniform.

"A little loose, but it should pass the casual glance," Jake said. "Let's hope they don't study us too close."

Sarah tucked her hair up in the ball cap and loosened her shirt at the waist so her chest and hips wouldn't be so obvious. "Whatcha think?"

"I didn't see any other female guards. Just keep your head down and don't look anybody in the eye."

"Will do," she said gruffly.

Armed with the guard's service pistols and their key cards, Jake led the way this time. They exited the building through the main entrance and headed toward the warehouse. Jake slid back into the gap between the structures, trailed by Sarah, to survey the guard activity from a safe location.

"I think we should enter the front door like we own the place," he said.

"I have a better idea."

"Like what?"

"We'll use the side door." She pointed down the dark recesses of the alleyway.

Sure enough, there was a door there, halfway down the building. "Good thinking. It's probably locked, so I guess we'll see if our key cards work."

Jake hustled up to the door, waved the badge over a card reader, and turned the knob. A mechanism clicked inside the frame. He nodded at Sarah and then cracked open the passage.

No lights and no guards.

They crept inside a storage room. Oxygen and carbon dioxide tanks five feet tall filled the large space. It reminded him of a welding operation or something similar, but some canisters were labeled as liquid nitrogen.

Sarah pointed across the room to another door with light shining from the bottom. "What do you think is on the other side?"

"Don't know, but we can find out."

Jake walked over, knelt and inched the door ajar. "It's the warehouse. People are all around the trucks up front. Wait a minute, there's a large section to the back. Nobody's paying it much attention. Maybe we should check it out. I think we can make it."

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's move before we get caught."

Jake checked, left and right, and then slipped through the door, out into the open. Sarah pressed tight to his back until he gained some separation as they scurried across the concrete floor. Ahead, a little black box hung at waist level beside the door. An electronic card reader. He swiped the plastic badge and waited for the red light to turn green. It took only a second.

Once the lock unbolted, they entered and shut the door behind them.

Small lights—red, yellow, and green—in neat rows encircled the walls, making it possible to see outlines of objects in the dark. From Jake's perspective, this part of the building appeared much larger than the section where the trucks unloaded. Hundreds of frosted over glass doors lined the outer edges of the room, much like the frozen section in a grocery store. A long vat in the center of the cavernous area towered above them, surrounded by a catwalk.

Jake pounded up the stairs leading to the elevated walkway. Sarah's boots clinked behind him. Once on the grated catwalk, he paused, wishing his eyes would adjust better to the dark. Inside the vat, a liquid bubbled and foamed. Something rippled across the surface. He jumped back into Sarah. A sleek shape bulged, slithering like an anaconda in the Amazon River. It writhed and twisted, and then vanished.

"Go," he said, directing Sarah down the stairs.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but I'm not hanging around to find out." They rushed down the steps, hands on the railing to keep from falling.

Down on the main floor, he sighed in relief.

"That was creepy," Sarah said.

"It'd be nice to know what was in the vat, but we'd have to find a light switch."

"You wouldn't go back up there even if we did."

Jake eyeballed her. "I would, but carefully. There's a difference between being brave and a mindless idiot."

"Point taken."

His gaze fell upon the coolers, wonder filling his thoughts.

Before he moved, Sarah was already across the room. She started to open a door.

"Don't. It might set off an alarm."

Her hand hovered inches away from the handle. "You're probably right."

She waited for him to come over, and then she wiped her palm over the glass, removing a wide swath of frost.

Sarah stumbled backwards into Jake.

A man's bulky figure stood, no, lay at a steep incline, eyes closed and hands clasped over his stomach. The man's chest moved up and down, revealing the rhythmic inhalation of his lungs.

Jake, mind racing, paced around the room, swiping one glass door after another, each chamber occupied by hundreds of near naked men with dark hair, all appearing like they could bench press half a car.

He stopped in mid-stride.

Sarah bumped into him.

Jake looked back. Her chin dropped like she was about to say something.

Then the lights snapped on overhead.