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our surroundings for any sign of movement as we ran across the street and into the deeper shadow of the building on the opposite side.
    From above, seven rows of shuttered eyes, one for each story, glared down on the street and surrounding buildings. We ignored the boarded front doors of the building and the garage entrance that had been sealed long ago with sheets of steel to discourage vandalism and headed for the tall wooden fence guarding the alleyway between it and the next building. Reaching it first, Jake paused with one hand on the gate latch, signaling me to wait.
    Cutting his eyes both ways, Jake leaned into the boards of the wooden door and pushed it open just enough to allow us to pass before taking a half step back. Giving me a quick, mock bow, he allowed me to precede him. “Your turn to lure the ghosties out,” he laughed softly.
    “Thanks a lot,” I said as I flicked my eyes to the dark crack above the gate and the blinking red light that told me we were being recorded on the tiny security camera hidden there. I took a step through the gateway but had to stop when the dog refused to follow, cringing in fear of the deeper darkness.
    “It’s all right girl, we’re almost home now,” I whispered. Patting Dusty’s neck, I tried to reassure her, but it still took a moment more of sniffing at the dark before the dog decided she could trust me.
    I heard the rattle of the latch as Jake secured the gate behind us before following us through a metal side door that gave access to the parking lot beyond.
    A series of dim security lights were the only source of illumination in the concrete-walled cavern we were moving through, but their light was enough to create an unnerving dance of flickering shadows on the walls and ceilings of the big underground parking lot. To the uninitiated, the area appeared unprotected and abandoned except for the cannibalized hulks of the old gas-powered autos scattered about. But looks could be deceiving.
    Video cameras linked to a security system in the penthouse apartments had been hidden in several of the metal carcasses. Other wrecks concealed traps rigged to spring at the slightest touch. We had also planted explosives under some of the autos that could be detonated remotely from the penthouse or with the small remote devices each of the roommates carried.
    With the ease of practice, Jake led the way between the hulks and dark pillars to an elevator at the center. Taking a moment to cast his eyes into the shadows surrounding us first, he slapped the palm of one hand to the wall. The concussion caused the pressure plate to pop open, exposing a panel of black and red buttons. Jake barely looked down as his fingers danced across the panel, keying in the entry code.
    “Get back,” he said as the grate of gears and the shudder of the elevator doors gave warning of their imminent opening.
    I didn’t need a second warning. Jake and I each slid to opposite sides of the elevator just in time to avoid the pair of phantoms snaking through the open doorway. Flaring the crests surrounding their heads, the serpentines hissed at the intruders before slithering up the walls.
    “Those are new since I left this morning,” I said with a shiver as I stepped into the elevator.
    “Yeah, I saw them earlier when I went out to look for you. I think it’s all the noise this ancient machinery has started making in the last few days that’s drawn them. We’ve really got to get the old man to come down here to grease this damned thing before it gets loud enough to be heard on the next block,” Jake complained.
    “Right, and if you know what’s good for you, you will ask him really nice,” I laughed. The old man Jake was referring to was our one and only neighbor in the building. He’d appeared about six months ago when, much to our surprise and concern, he’d by-passed our security and took over an apartment on the fifth floor. When confronted, he had very curtly informed us that his name was