On getting the door, Nikolai twisted the lock and tried to open the door, but it didn't budge.
This didn't disappoint him. He reached inside his pocket and brought out a forged key, that looked exactly like the lock.
He put it in the keyhole and twisted.
CLICK!
The lock clicked. And his lips curved into a weird smile. Then he opened the door, entered the office and slammed the door shut behind him.
Meanwhile, Tommy's convoy has already gotten out of the mall through a hidden underground tunnel that connected to one of the major underground tunnels in the city and was en-route to the private airstrip.
BUZZZZ!
Tommy felt a vibration in his pocket. He reached for his phone to see who was calling. His face changed as he saw the caller ID. But, nevertheless, he answered.
"Hello, Tamara. What's up?"
"Boss you were right. Nikolai ain't a person to be trusted. He's in your office suite right now. He got in with a forged key." Tamara said from the other side.
"A forged key? I should've known. He's really predictable." Tommy said, obviously surprised.
"What's the next line of action, sir?" Tamara asked.
"Tell Jason to have his rifle ready. When he steps out of that office, waste him. He's already proven to be a snake. I don't like snakes." Tommy said.
"Yes, sir." Tamara said and Tommy ended the call.
"Anything wrong, Tom?" Cedric asked.
"It's Nikolai. He's in my office suite now. It's now a matter of time before he finds out that were gone." Tommy replied with a straight face.
"So what do we do now?" Florence asked, while stroking little Adrian, who was asleep on her laps.
"He's proven to be a snake. I hate snakes and I'mma do what I do to snakes to him." Tommy said with a partially angry demeanor.
Florence didn't need to ask him. She remembered one time Tommy took them to the Himalayas for a picnic, but unfortunately they saw a huge python heading for Adrian. Tommy was the first to notice it.
Tommy got in between Adrian and the serpent. The snake then took him as a target and shot its head out to bite him.
But instead, Tommy kicked out and hit the snake at the side of its head.
PAH!
The sound of the hit was so loud that it echoed around the empty field. The snake stayed down for a few minutes, then slowly recovered and advanced towards Tommy again.
This time Tommy vowed not to let it go. He hit it the first time so it could cower and run, but since it was adamant on making him it's target, he would give it what it wants.
This time, Tommy repeated his kick again and the hit was successful, but this time, while the snake was down, he walked to it and stomped it on the head which made it hiss loudly.
He stomped it again ten more times with his hard sole military boots and its head was smashed into an unrecognizable mess of bone and brain matter. If not for the snake's tail and body that laid lifeless on the floor, no one would be able to tell it was a snake.
He looked back at Adrian, who was still reeling from the shock on seeing that big snake.
"Are you alright, Adrian? Did that big bad snake hurt you?" Tommy asked, concerned about Adrian's health.
"Uncle Tommy you're awesome. You killed that big snake. Thank you!!" Adrian cried out with joy.
"It's nothing, kiddo. It would be harder if it was an animal with limbs, but since a snake has its weakness on its head, I just had to attack that." Tommy said, feeling heroic.
He looked towards Cedric and Florence, who were staring at him like they just saw a beast.
"Come on, you two. Stop it. Continue your eating. I'mma go wash up." Tommy said and went to the restroom to wash the snake blood and venom from his body.
Florence shivered a little on recounting that incident.
Meanwhile in Tommy's office, Nikolai was confused as the whole place was empty. He looked all around the office suite for clues as to where they've gone but found nothing.
Looking at Tommy's pictures, he smiled mischievously. Then he removes one of them from the wall and looked at it closely. As he proceeded to put it back, he saw something strange. It was a fingerprint scanner with a green blinking indicator light.
"Sh*t!!!" Nikolai silently screamed and immediately reached into his pockets for his phone.
"They're on the move!" Nikolai screamed immediately Boris pressed the answer button from the other end, without giving Boris a chance to say anything.
"Proceed with the plans." Boris said, seeming to talk to someone else. "Nikolai, find your way here ASAP."
"Yes, boss." Nikolai said, ended the call and left the office.
On turning around after locking the door, he saw the entire bunker staff staring at him.
"Sh*t. I'm screwed." He thought.
"Nikolai, Nikolai. Originally I thought since the President sent you my way, you were one of the good guys. But after you mysteriously disappeared during the first attack on Cedric, I thought you either must have died or you were some kinda snake. Turns out the latter was right." A booming voice said from unseen speakers.
The voice was obviously Tommy's. Tamara made a phone call to him and connected it to the speakers.
"When you came here, you thought you could hide, but I was watching your every move. Your phone lines, secret numbers, secret meetings outside the mall, and even phone booth calls were closely watched without your a*s knowing.
And now I know you must've called Boris to let him know we're coming. But there's one thing you both don't know. He's in for a big surprise.
And sadly, you won't be able to witness it, because your life's journey will end here."
Tommy's voice ended and was replaced by a dial tone.
Nikolai's face was ashen. He knew there and then that his end was certain and not even the Second Coming of Jesus Christ could prevent it.