“That’s right,” I said, my eyes on the building again. “And to tell you the truth, I’m not too wild about the idea either. What do you think, Massha? It’s awfully quiet in there.”
“I’ll say,” my apprentice agreed. “I’m just trying to figure out if that’s a good or a bad sign. Another ten minutes and I’m heading in there to check it out myself.”
I nodded my consent, even though I doubted she saw it. We both had our eyes glued to the building, memorizing its every detail. It was a four-story structure . . . or it would be if it weren’t for the curved peak that jutted out from the roof fully half-again as high as the main building. It looked as if the builder had suddenly added the adornment in a last-minute attempt to have his work stand as tall or taller than its neighbors. From the number of windows in the main structure, I guessed it was an apartment building or a hotel or something. In short, it looked like it had a lot of little rooms. I found myself wondering exactly how our strike force was supposed to locate their target without kicking in every door in the place . . . a possibility I wouldn’t put past Aahz.
I was about to express this fear to Massha when a loud crash sounded from within.
“What was that?” I demanded of no one in particular.
“Sounded like a loud crash,” my apprentice supplied helpfully.
I forced myself to remember that no one out here knew any more about what was going on inside than I did.
After the crash, everything was quiet once more. I tried to tell myself that the noise might have nothing at all to do with the strike force, but I didn’t believe it for a minute. The crowd was talking excitedly to each other and straining to see the various windows. They seemed quite confident that something else would happen soon, much more than I, but then again, maybe as city dwellers they were more accustomed to such vigils than I. Suddenly, Tananda appeared in the doorway.