285 Hunter and the Russo family 6

He avoided electrical currents, rewired the power for the lasers, crawled under and jumped over the obstacles… he did everything wonderfully. There were a few close calls that made Mia scream from anxiety, but it ended well.

"This is the last one." Mia said stiffly when Hunter entered the fifth room.

The fifth room was empty in the middle with low grass and moss covering the floor. On the left and right were pieces of wood piled up, as they came from a shipwreck. Walls are dark, some bricks are sticking out of it and Hunter observed that the walls are mossy in some areas, like the floor.

Hunter thought for a few seconds before moving to his right. He concluded that this clearing in front of him which leads to the final exit is deceiving, and he will have better luck making his way from the side.

He moved behind piles of wood slowly while doing his best not to touch anything. But no matter how much he tried, Hunter ended up pushing some of the wood away so that he can pass and suddenly the whole room shook. It took Hunter a moment to realize that the floor is opening up, sliding from the center toward the sides, and the wood pieces are moving toward him, threatening to pierce through him with jagged edges and exposed nails.

Hunter estimated that he does not have the time to dash to the end of the room, and he decided to use bricks that are sticking from the wall to climb up. The floor will not open all the way, right? And he will figure out a way out once the mechanism for moving the floor stops.

He climbed up to a safe height and observed below him. Just as he suspected, the floor opened about halfway, revealing water under it.

Hunter could not see anything in the water, but he assumed that it's not safe to jump in there and to swim. Even if it's safe, how will he climb up to the door which is his goal?

Now that the shipwreck-like wood moved all the way to the wall, Hunter realized that it will be challenging to avoid all those jagged edges. Some of them are reaching high and are leaning on the wall! If he loses his grip and falls, he will be hurt. Badly.

Well, no need to fret over it. He is already up and about halfway thought the room. The only thing he needs to do is to find enough bricks which can support him to reach the other end. He prayed that the bricks are stable and that his grip does not loosen. 

Hunter moved two steps toward his goal, when he felt water dripping down the walls.

"Shit!" Hunter cursed under his breath.

The water is making the mossy wall and bricks extra slippery. His shoes have a good sole which provides a fairly good grip, but his bare hands are a problem. He needs to hurry!

"Come on, Hunter… You can do it, love…" Mia spoke gently to the monitor. "I know you can do it…"

Mia was happy to see that Hunter moved swiftly.

Hunter was almost at the end when he felt his grip giving up and he decided to jump for it.

Unfortunately, his left leg was caught in a wood that was sticking up and Hunter fell on the ground with a thud.

Mia dashed toward the exit, and she reached it just in time when Hunter opened the door from the inside.

"Medic!" Mia screamed when she saw blood gushing from Hunter's left calf.

"Don't worry…" Hunter said to Mia who was pressing on his calf to stop the bleeding. "I did it."

"Yes, you did." Mia said through her tears which rolled down her cheeks relentlessly. Now that he is out, all her anxiety exploded into rivers of tears and Mia was happy that it's over and that he is alive.

It took less than a minute for two men with a stretcher and a medical bag to show up. They cut Hunter's pants and wrapped his leg swiftly before carrying him inside the mansion. Mia went with them.

Fabricio entered the last room through the exit and touched the wet walls.

"When did we install this?" Fabricio asked Keith.

Keith understood that Fabricio is referring to the water which is dripping down the walls. "A few weeks ago, we wanted to have better ranking between our people who passed the hardest level…"

"And why did this got activated when the setting is easy? Even these wood pieces are sharper than what I remember. They are supposed to be obstacles and not deadly piercing…" Fabricio said under his breath. 

"It's a new system. Maybe that is why it malfunctioned." There is no way that Keith will admit that he had people rewire it before this challenge. But he also told them to revert everything how it was as soon as the challenge ends so that all this ends up like a weird one-off thing. "I will look into it, boss…"

Fabricio's brows furrowed. They have these escape rooms for many years, and this is the first time that it malfunctioned. Also, it is a long time since Keith addressed him as 'boss' in such an official tone, and something didn't sound right about it. "No need, Keith. I will look into it personally. Since Hunter passed, I expect you to accept him as Mia's choice."

Keith was unable to come to terms with this. "Are you serious? How can you allow Mia to marry a nobody? You know that he is not a boyfriend, they got engaged in Hawaii! It's only a matter of time before…"

"Stop!" Fabricio hissed. "Nobody or not, that is not on you to decide. Know your place!"

Keith was unwilling to yield. "He will not be a suitable husband for someone who should inherit your position."

Fabricio was getting irritated with Keith's stubbornness. "Mia will inherit my position, not her husband. If he is capable, he can fend for himself and maybe even support her, but if he is not… I'm sure that Mia is taking those risks into consideration. Keith, this is not different from me picking my partners. You never voiced any objections when I was in a relationship with women outside the organization. I understand that you have feelings toward Mia, but as a grownup, you need to accept that her choice is someone else."

Fabricio saw that Keith is frowning and he lost his patience. He never had much of it, to begin with. "Keith, you had your chance to prove that Hunter is a liability and you failed. Now you need to live with it. I don't want to hear any more from you about Hunter. Do you understand?"

Fabricio saw that Keith nodded stiffly, even though his expression told him that he is not willing to accept this outcome. "Good. I will investigate these failures after I check how Hunter is doing. I expect that you fix your attitude by dinner because going against Mia and Hunter means going against my orders."

Keith watched Fabricio walk toward the mansion and he balled his hands into fists. How can he accept that the position of the boss he wishes to obtain for so many years slipped through his fingers? Is he supposed to be Hunter's subordinate? Never!

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