The black car had tinted windows. Its seats were made of leather, and the engine was remarkably quiet. Lug, the lone passenger in the back, watched the two men in front of him, the same men he'd seen a few hours earlier.
As promised, they had come to pick him up an hour after his call, a meeting of brief exchanges and heavy silence.
Out the window, Lug saw the road stretch away from the valley, stirring a pang of nostalgia in his chest. It reminded him of the first time he arrived at the cemetery, a bundle of nerves, unsure of what awaited him. Now, he found himself in the same place, his mind brimming with questions.
His body still ached, but the pain had significantly subsided, allowing him to move and potentially defend himself.
"You don't need to worry. We mean you no harm," the driver said, his voice pulling Lug back to the present.
"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Agent Sebastian and this is Agent Marne," Sebastian added.
Sebastian was the taller of the two, with short, black hair and pale skin that contrasted with his dark eyes. He was clean-shaven with an unremarkable yet imposing presence.
Beside him, Marne was shorter, more robust, his chestnut hair brushing his ears and a tan that spoke of time spent outdoors. He was quieter, letting Sebastian do the talking.
"We're part of the security team at North Laboratory. We're heading to one of its offshoots," Sebastian continued. Lug said nothing, turning his attention back to the window, letting the silence return.
An hour later, they arrived at what looked like an unassuming small hangar, hardly the impressive building Lug had imagined.
The structure, no more than 16 feet high, was made of wooden planks, their burgundy paint faded by time and weather. Two large wooden doors were secured by a hefty padlock, the only barrier to the air seeping through the cracks. Despite its modest exterior, an almost inaudible hum of ventilation echoed from within.
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Looking around, Lug could only see rocks and trees. Yet, on closer inspection, he found hidden cameras nestled discreetly among the foliage, a silent testament to the surveillance at play.
Inside the hangar, the facade of a farmer's storage was played to perfection. Straw covered the ground, an abandoned tractor husk was pushed to one side, and large metal canisters, presumably filled with pesticides, were scattered around.
The only incongruity were the ventilation ducts tucked away in the corners of the hangar and the air currents that seemed to originate from the back of the compact space, a mere distance of ten yards.
At the back, Sebastian pressed a worn-out red button on a wooden pole, triggering a mechanical noise. Suddenly, a hidden metallic panel on the ground lifted to reveal a descending ramp into a spacious underground corridor.
They walked through a sturdy metal door, different from the one in the hangar, which opened at a wave to a camera above it, revealing a vast room bathed in bright white light.
What looked like a mundane shed on the surface, belied a structure that reminded Lug of an iceberg. The vast room was perhaps 30 or 40 yards in length and 15 yards in width, filled with a variety of vehicles – armored carriers, dirt bikes, transport vans – all parked neatly. A few men bustled around, busy with repairs.
Lug was taken aback. What he was seeing here was apparently just an offshoot of one of their many labs. As time continued to pass, and as he saw more, his awareness of the vast power of this potential adversary only grew.
"Captain is waiting for you in the main hall," a man dressed in military attire, an assault rifle slung over his shoulder, informed Sebastian. With a nod of acknowledgment, Sebastian led Lug deeper into the facility while Marne broke off to converse with a man in the garage.
Sebastian and Lug walked through another corridor, ending up in front of another door. Sebastian gestured for Lug to enter. The door closed behind him, making Lug reflexively turn around.
"Lug, pleased to meet you!" a voice echoed from behind him.
A man in a black turtleneck, tall and thin, with round glasses and slicked-back hair, greeted Lug.
He was the center of attention in a large room filled with people reviewing documents on tables and filing cabinets.
"Come, join me," the man invited.
Lug, feeling suddenly out of place, approached cautiously.
"I am Sferi, captain of this offshoot of the North Laboratory, one of four laboratories in our organization. You must be feeling rather lost, so let me enlighten you about why you're here." His grin was wide, and Lug couldn't help but feel a shiver at the man's high-pitched voice.
Despite the unease, he listened intently, aware that this could shed light on the larger picture he found himself a part of.