Svetlana nods and disappears around the corner without the slightest bit of suspicion. I don’t waste any time racing for the door. I’m vaguely aware that, even if I manage to clear the basement, I’ll have security cameras and security guards to deal with. Probably, like, a moat filled with hungry alligators and sharks with laser beams on their forehead, too. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I pull the door open. It’s heavy and I’m weak, so it’s a struggle—but when it finally opens, I get one glorious glimpse of freedom…
Before I find myself face-to-face with a minotaur.
Well, not literally a minotaur. But he might as well be. He’s a huge, hulking security guard, big enough to block the entire staircase.
His face does not change. “Good evening, ma’am.”
What’s with the “ma’
