Our car came to a stop, and we immediately got out. The other cars were now here too, so we drew our weapons and started toward a one-story house that was surrounded by greenery and thick trees. The sun was about to set, the sky getting darker. The house seemed to be abandoned.

The windows and doors were all closed and dark, and grass and weeds were growing haphazardly around it. There was a stone path that led to the door, so even if someone had been here recently, we wouldn’t have known. The good thing was that there weren’t any neighbors for miles around here, so there wasn’t anyone who might call the cops.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Brent asked, his weapon raised. We were a little behind the men who were advancing toward the front door.

“That’s what the map says.” I truly hoped nobody had moved the product in the meantime. Brent rushed forward, and I glanced at James, who was calmly walking beside me. A couple of men stayed near the cars, in case our enemy somehow found us here.

Brent was the first one at the door and he kicked it in, and I wondered if maybe we’d gotten this all wrong. My men spilled inside, and as James and I inched toward the door after them, I couldn’t hear any gunshots. No guards, no protection. What the hell? One of the men was checking the place for explosives, but he didn’t say anything, so I assumed he hadn’t detected any.

“Arianna!” Brent waved at me from the door, which meant that it was safe for me to go inside and that they’d actually found something. James and I hurried for the door, and I holstered my gun.

“The house is empty, but there’s something in the basement,” Brent said as we went toward a small door that led to a stairway. We descended and ended up in a small hallway with a large metal door at the end of it. One of my men was inspecting it closely.

“Can you open the door?” I asked as I approached.

“It’s locked,” Brent said. “We need to make sure it’s not rigged with an explosive, although we haven’t detected anything so far.”

I saw a metal box next to the door and opened it. A screen with a fingerprint and retina scanner was inside it.

“Looks like something you might be able to open.” I turned to James.

A frown line creased his brow. “I can try.”

“I don’t see anything suspicious,” the man who’d been inspecting the door said and took a few steps back.