Chapter 49: In Search of Body [3]

The empty J7 chamber had given him only one certainty: whatever had been stored there had been moved recently.

And if it had been transferred after someone started tampering with the district, there was a real possibility that it was still being moved.

Eldrin turned his attention to the roads connecting the larger storage buildings.

He began watching the traffic.

At first, there seemed to be no pattern. Few Carts came and went at different intervals, some carrying crates while others were pulled by workers pushing equipment on wheeled platforms. Yet after standing there long enough, he noticed that one particular kind of movement happened far more often than he’d expected.

Night transfers.

A group of workers emerged from a large warehouse carrying equipment between them. The objects were covered with dark cloth, but their shapes suggested something heavier than ordinary supplies. They moved carefully, with two soldiers walking alongside them while another checked the route ahead.

Eldrin followed their path from across the street.

The group entered another building farther along the road.

Minutes later, another group came out from a nearby structure carrying similar equipment.

They weren’t random deliveries.

They were moving things through the district.

And they were doing most of it at night.

Eldrin watched for several more minutes.

Then he saw another transfer.

This time, there were more people involved.

Four workers pushed a low metal platform while two soldiers escorted them. Whatever rested beneath the heavy covering was large enough to require the platform, yet valuable enough that nobody allowed it to be moved unattended.

Eldrin’s thoughts snapped into place.

There.

He looked toward the building receiving the equipments.

It was farther from the main roads than the other storage facilities, protected by a wider courtyard and fewer entrances. Most importantly, the movement was one-way. Materials were being brought inside, but little came back out.

That made it different.

Perhaps this was where transferred materials were being held.

Perhaps this was the archive.

Perhaps...

Eldrin forced himself to stop guessing.

He needed to see what happened next.

So he waited.

The next hour passed slowly.

He remained in the borrowed uniform, keeping his distance from the transfer crews and pretending to belong whenever soldiers crossed his path. More than once, someone glanced at him, but the uniform and Veil were enough to make their attention slide away.

The second hour was more difficult.

The number of workers began to fall.

The stream of equipment slowed.

The larger groups disappeared into the surrounding buildings, and eventually the military district became quieter than it had been earlier.

Only a few soldiers remained around the building Eldrin had been watching.

Three.

Then four.

No more.

Eldrin studied them from the opposite side of the road.

This was his window.

He could not afford to wait until dawn.

Something inside that building had been receiving transferred materials during the night, and the timing matched too closely with everything he had learned about J7.

If his father’s remains had been moved recently, there was a chance they had passed through this place.

Eldrin’s hand tightened around the edge of his stolen coat.

He looked once toward the road the infiltrator had taken.

Eldrin turned back toward the building.

Three guards at the front.

Possibly more inside.

Unknown magical security.

A dwindling supply of mana.

And less than two hours before the first light of morning.

He felt the familiar chill of Shade spread through his body.

There was no room left for hesitation.

Whatever was inside that building, he was going to find out.

Even if he had to walk straight into the middle of it.

Eldrin stayed where the darkness along the side of the road was deepest, listening to the guards stationed outside the building.

For nearly fifteen minutes, nothing they discussed had anything to do with J7. They complained about the cold, argued over whose turn it was to take the next watch, and exchanged bits of gossip about officers in the district. Eldrin listened anyway. Even useless conversation could reveal something about how the men thought and what sort of questions they might ask.

Then one of them finally said,

"Has the interior inspection been completed?"

Eldrin’s attention sharpened.

That was enough.

He moved farther away from the wall before stepping back onto the road, giving himself enough distance that his sudden appearance would not seem suspicious. The borrowed uniform helped, but he still kept the brim of the guard’s cap low over his face. He was young enough that a closer look might raise questions, and he had no intention of giving anyone a reason to study him.

By the time he reached the two guards, his expression was calm.

"I’m here for the interior inspection."

The older of the two looked him over.

"Do you have a permit?"

"No."

The answer came without hesitation.

The guard’s expression tightened slightly.

Eldrin continued before the man could press further.

"It’s only an inspection. The senior officer sent me to take a look inside. He’ll come through in the morning."

For a moment, neither guard spoke.

Eldrin could feel the pause stretching, but he kept his posture relaxed and his gaze steady, as though there were nothing unusual about what he had just said.

The older guard glanced at his companion.

The other man gave a small shrug.

"Then let him through."

The first guard looked back at Eldrin.

"Don’t take too long."

"I won’t."

The guard moved aside.

Eldrin stepped through the entrance.

Only after the door closed behind him did he allow himself to take a deeper breath.

He had expected more resistance.

Perhaps the guards were simply tired. Whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to question his luck.

The interior of the building was darker and colder than the outside.

Shelves and storage racks filled the large chamber, with narrow paths running between them. Most of the containers carried ordinary military markings, but farther inside the room, Eldrin could see the heavier doors and reinforced sections that separated the restricted storage areas from the rest of the facility.

He had finally made it inside.

Now he had to find out where his father’s remains had been taken.