Page 73 of Dark Gambit: The Play

Sofia took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry for giving you a hard time. I know it's futile, and I know that with Tom's help, Kian can get me to do anything he wants, the same way that Igor could. But I can't help fighting this. My family's safety is on the line, and so far, Igor hasn't harmed any of them. If he does, it's going to be my fault, either by failing to provide him with the information he wants, or by providing you with the information you want. As the saying goes, I'm between a rock and a hard place."

56

SOFIA

When Eleanor came down with Emmett and Leon, they had with them a stack of large printouts.

"Those are enlarged maps of Karelia." Leon spread them on the dining table with Marcel's help.

"Are the tunnel entrances near the rivers?" Eleanor asked.

She hadn't imbued her voice with compulsion, which Sofia could have kissed her for, but she knew it would only last as long as she cooperated and gave them all the information they wanted.

"The tunnels are well-guarded. Since it’s impossible to get to the other three tunnels without going through the first, it is the most heavily guarded, usually by one pureblood and two hybrids. The others have two hybrids each. The paved road ends here." She marked the spot with a Sharpie. "There is a dirt road that continues from here, but it's not marked on the map, and there is a really rough patch between where the paved road ends and the dirt path begins. My old car gets a beating every time I force her through it. It's not easy to find the dirt path, and since it rains so much over there, and it's so overgrown with vegetation, leaving tracks is not a concern. The same goes for the paths between the tunnels."

“I bet the tunnels have cameras and are boobytrapped,” Leon said. “If someone manages to get to the first tunnel entrance undetected and eliminates the guards, they can collapse the secondary tunnels.”

"What happens if you get stuck?" Eleanor asked.

"I have a cell phone. I can call for help."

Leon and Eleanor exchanged glances.

"We forgot about your phone," Eleanor said. "It's still in the safe in the office." She looked at Leon. "Should we tell Kian about it?"

"There is nothing to tell. When we fake Sofia's death, we will mail it back along with the rest of her belongings."

Sofia felt the blood drain from her face. "I can't do that to my father. He will die from a broken heart."

Eleanor patted her arm. "Better a broken heart than a broken back. You don't want Igor to torture him."

"That's not helpful," Emmett murmured. "Maybe we can put something in the stories to let Jade know that you are alive, so she can tell your father."

"Did she send another email?" Eleanor asked.

"She didn't, but I know that she read my fable. William set it up, so I know who visits which page. It's something called cookies, and all the websites have them these days. She either didn't understand what I was trying to say, or she's afraid to answer."

"It's better that way," Leon said. "We can't help her anyway, but we can send her encoded messages." He narrowed his eyes at Emmett. "Maybe you should sharpen your writing skills, so she can actually understand what you are trying to tell her."

Emmett glared at him but didn't say a thing.

Leon turned to Sofia. "Please mark the dirt road for us."

"I'll try. I'm not good at judging scale. But here is the first river, and I know that the dirt road terminates half a mile or so before it. The first tunnel entrance should be somewhere here." She marked the spot with an X. "They have cameras on the dirt road, so when I get near, they move the bushes aside and roll the fake stone door aside."

"Where are the three other entrances?" Leon asked.

“I can only estimate.” Sofia marked the spots.

“They are not far from each other.” Leon leaned his chin on his fist. "But it’s still a long way for the spiders to cross. I’m not worried about the cameras in the tunnels detecting the spiders, even if they are using infrared. Their heat signature is minimal. But we will need to study the terrain and find a shorter path for them. We might have to use a drone to drop them closer to the compound."

"Spiders?" Sofia arched a brow. "What do you need spiders for? Are they poisonous?"

"These are not real spiders," Marcel explained. "Leon is talking about mechanical devices that look like spiders and carry a tiny camera and transmit sound and images. We can send them to film the compound and even listen to conversations."

Her eyes widened. "Are they remote-controlled?"

"Some are, why?"