The Four Mafia Men and Their Prize by M C

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41 Secret Passage

Aurora POV

The small cramped cemented space was pitch black once the hidden panel was sealed once again. The only illumination was from the small torch in my hand, pointed straight at the support pillar of spiral staircase that had no support banister and many large cobwebs littered the empty spaces.

I could still hear whistles and shouts of my name but they were distant, muffled by the thick concrete walls. Knowing that I couldn’t actually escape this hell hole right now, I decided to just explore and curiously began to ascend the stairs to the upper level. Holding onto the cold damp wall for support, I took each step gently for fear I would trip and fall. I climbed for three spirals until I came to a landing platform and there was a small unfinished hallway of sorts. It was just large enough for one person to fit through.

The stairs continued upwards but I was curious as to this hallway so I decided to explore it. I followed the path and it turned into a single hallway to the left. I followed it for a few moments until I came to a dead end and saw a large new wooden panel sat in front of me.

The wood was unfinished and full of dust. Cobwebs were heavy around the edges. A small wooden handle much like the one downstairs jutted out, no doubt to help the panel close. Almost level with my height was a small wooden flap like a micro speakeasy door. I cautiously tiptoed over to the door and listened closely for any noise. I could hear faint noises and my breath caught. Even though curiosity constantly got me in trouble, I couldn’t help the temptation.

I gently lifted the flap, careful to keep my flashlight low to the ground. A small light peeked through a small drilled hole no larger than a quarter. Peering through the hole with my right eye, I tried to get a good look around.

It was the room. The large office that I was brought to all the time. I could see the outline of books around the edges of the hole and realized I was looking through the corner bookshelf I was able to stifle my gasp at the sight. Jason and Ben were in the office. I could see Ben on his computer, typing away ferociously and his face looked so stern like he was constipated and needed to desperately use the restroom. Jason was pacing and on the phone, screaming in a foreign language. He had a slight Irish accent when he got all flustered. It made me want to giggle. “FIND HER” was the last thing I heard Jason scream before a crash sounded close to the panel. My breath certainly hitched but I luckily

didn’t scream.

“Did you find anything?” Jason had asked Ben..

“No. I can’t find her on any of our cameras. Last footage I found of her, she was stomping over to the forest line. She was definitely crying.” Ben was sad, a look of concern covered his face.

“I swear that girl gives us more trouble than our worst enemies.” Jason said exhaustingly.

said matter–of–factly. Jason took a

more to himself and it made me scrunch my face in disgust. Ew. They may be dastardly magnificent and beautiful specimens on the male population but looks are not

to the far wall near the bookshelf. His eyes trained on the wall and I

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41 Secret Passage

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My heart started to race faster. He had a curious look on his

before they both quickly exited out of the room. A soft click of the door was the final sound. A sigh of relief left my body and I only then did I realize I had been holding my breath. A few tears began to run down my face. I have always tried to keep a brave face

me, I notice there was a small wooden button on the far–left side of the panel. Only thing missing was a neon “push me” sign. I pushed it and there was a small click and the door moved a small amount. Years of

until there was a large enough gap for me to slip by, taking one last look around the door, making sure the coast was clear. I stepped out of the hidden panel and closed the door behind me gently,

me now.

of tiredness flooded through my body and my legs somehow managed to trudge me over to the very comfortable leather sofa that my gluteus maximus was already great acquaintances with. My body

upon.

Charlie POV

headed back to the strategy room. We searched every inch of this mansion and the guards searched the property. She was no where to

came to find us when they got a message from one of Ben’s hackers who said they were delivering new footage at the front

was

the forest line, right where we lost sight of Aurora. We watched the choppy footage with bated breath. You could make out Aurora’s figure slumped behind the big Magnolia tree; she shaking for a few minutes before calming down. The next set of images had her sneaking along the tree line and she passed the

here! We knew it. We marched up to the office and called our most trusted men to meet

door ahead of us and stops in his tracks. Ben, Kai, and I almost all bumped into each other but quickly looked at what stopped our fearless leader. On the sofa was our princess. She was fast asleep, her eyes closed but they were puffy and red from crying. Her chest

the back and placed it gently on her body, kissing her forehead before returning to his laptop. We all follow suit, each approaching her gently, like a sleeping lioness in her den,

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