Julian stumbled half-dressed out of the bedroom, still pulling a shirt over his head. Marcos was over at the elevator entrance, riveted to the display.

"Who's here? More of your old friends?" Julian asked.

Marcos growled. "If it weren't for your 'friend' we wouldn't be in this mess. I asked in the van if you kids had any electronics and she lied to us. Someone put the pieces together and used her phone to track us here.

"But yes Julian, it's Blackmountain out there. One of their vans pulled up half an hour ago." Marcos pointed on the display. "They haven't tried explosives yet, but it's only a matter of time before they give up on trying to finesse it."

An exterior camera showed two burly guys attempting to pick the lock. An effort doomed to failure given that the door was a fake.

"Once they blow a hole open there won't be any fighting them; they'll just smoke us out," said Marcos.

"Why not let them in?" Julian asked.

"Are you still drunk? I just told you, they'll kill us."

"No, let them in the elevator. Didn't you say it has some sort of magic kill gas thing?"

"It's an encapsulated neuro– Yes, it has some magic kill gas thing. You're right, that could buy us some time."

Marcos hit a button and the door slid open, to the surprise of the two men outside. They regarded the elevator skeptically. A microphone relayed their conversation down to Marcos and Julian.

"You pick that thing?"

"Maybe? I thought I felt it turn before the whole door slid away. Wasn't expecting an elevator though. Hold it open while I take a look."

The lock picker entered the elevator while the other blocked the door with his foot. "Yeah, it's an elevator. Looks like four floors. Any idea which one he went to?"

"No, all we got was the location trace that tracked him to this alley. After that it went dark."

"Think it's a trap?"

"I'm not riding it up. Wouldn't put it past Marcos to try to waste us when the door opens. Let's cut a hole in the top and send a drone up the shaft."

The other man nodded and went back to the van for equipment. He came back with a cutter and handed it in to the man inside the elevator, then stood clear in the alley.

"Well that sucks," said Marcos, "I was hoping we could get both of them. If this guy cuts a hole in the top all he'll find is a ceiling. Those buttons are dummies, there's no shaft going up. Guess I have to kill him now before he figures it out."

Marcos used the controls to snap the door shut on the man still in the elevator, then dispensed the gas. The man jerked twice and collapsed to the ground.

"Alright, that probably bought us a little time - the other one's going to be cautious with the elevator now. He'll probably just demo it, but he'll go slow and he still thinks we're upstairs somewhere. But sooner or later he's going to figure it out, and we'll still be stuck down here."

"What, there's no back door in your safe house? I didn't go to spy camp or whatever, but I thought rule #1 was always have an exit strategy."

Marcos looked at his feet. "There's an exit, it's expensive though."

"What, like a toll booth? I'll cover you Dad."

"I don't think you have that kind of scratch Julian. It's not a simple toll booth; it's a blind exit. Only the builder knows where it goes. As long as it stays secret no one can sneak in the back. Open that door, and the knowledge is out in the world. Makes the safe house a lot less safe. The owners have to be compensated for the loss of value."

"How much are we talking?" Julian asked.

Marcos named a number. Julian whistled. "I could buy a new safe house for that."

"That's the idea" Marcos replied.

"Can we just pop it and skip town?"

Marcos shook his head. "Gotta pay to open it. Try to force it and it releases more magic gas."

"Okay. So we spend all of your money, or we head upstairs and try our luck at the door. What do you think our odds are of getting past that guy?"

"For me or for you? I know how these guys work, there are at least two more posted at the end of the alley, maybe a sniper somewhere above. With what I've got on me, I can get out. You and Nadeja wouldn't make it."

"Aha. I see how it is." Julian scowled. "So how much would you say I'm worth to you, Dad?" He spat the word.

"It's not that. If you knew the things I'd done to earn that money..." Marcos paced across the floor.

"You can't take it with you."

"I need to make sure I've thought through every option before I throw my life savings away. This has already been a monumentally expensive week."

Nadeja had walked up behind them. "I'll split it with you."

"Did you miss the part where I told Julian how much this costs? You don't have that kind of money."

"I guess you should know my full name. Nadeja Cuprik. I can pay."

"As in Cuprik Biotech? Your parents just let you just walk around in the slums? Aren't you worried about kidnappers?"

"My parents trust me. I wasn't worried about kidnappers, not until Julian showed up." Nadeja gave him a playful shoulder punch, though a bit more forceful than necessary.

"Plus we have ransom insurance. Unfortunately not the kind that covers breaking safe-houses though. So I'll pay my half, you can pay for Julian."

Marcos sighed. "Fine. At least I won't leave in debt. You all go to the end of the hall and start the exit process. I'm going to set up a few surprises for our Blackmountain friends. Do not come back this way. You will die. Understood?"

"Yep," said Julian. Nadeja nodded.

"Good. Here's your phone." Marcos handed it to Nadeja. "Once we leave here it needs to stay off. Otherwise we'll be back in the same boat, minus the luxury safe house."

Julian led them down the hall. At the end was a small handle he hadn't noticed before, marked "In Case of Emergency" in seven different languages. Julian pulled it, revealing a small display. On it was a crypto address, a QR code, and a display showing an astronomically high number.

"Sorry papa, you're gonna need those pill pushers to work overtime," Nadeja murmured.

She pushed Julian out of the way and did something with her phone. The very large number reduced by half. She turned her phone back off.

Marcos hurried up the hall. He looked at the screen and nodded approvingly. "Okay, here goes." Marcos cleared the rest of the balance and the screen refreshed to show a green checkmark.

The wall folded inward to a dimly lit tunnel. Marcos had a brief flashback to the death march in Myanmar, shook it off.

"Well, let's see where this goes."