"Okay, let's go!" I say at last. I make sure five times that Tim's not visible. When finally I'm satisfied I lock the door. 
                          
"Be careful!" I hear Tim say beseechingly.
                          
"You too!" I answer, then I go out through the room's door. 
                          
My heart vis thumping from excitement. Why is Heartless so sure? Why is he letting us move about freely? I don't understand that. In the corridor I look for a stairway; the lift is definitely passé. In the small corridor opposite the lift I find what I'm after.  
                          
"Emergency exit" is written in big letters on a metal door. Just as I'm about to open it I hear noises. The lift comes up and the illuminated figures show the 4th floor. I'm pretty sure that we are on that very 4th floor. My hand grabs the handle of the door with the white letters "emergency exit". Without lengthy pondering I slip through and lock it quietly. It is in fact the stairway. I take off my shoes and run down the steps in my socks. I hear voices from above, but I don't trust myself to look back, or to stop and listen. I hopew that won't find Tim. If everything works out the way I imagine they'll be looking for two young people together. Please, may they look for two ...
                          
I go past floors 3, 2, and 1. I'm not sure there's an exit on the first floor. Uncertainly I go past the door and finally stop in front of one with GF written on it. GF, I can imagine. Is it a good idea to go through the normal entrance? I think not.
                          
So I sneak one more floor down. BF in there in white on the door. Above enraged voices are getting louder and a door is slammed shut, loud stamping footsteps are coming in my direction. So they know we're no longer there. I can't do anything but walk through the BF door, and I do that.
                          
I'm so nervous that I don't take note of what's behind the door, and that's my undoing, because I slam very hard into someone and can just hang on to his hand so I don't fall over. The man opposite me looks at me with wide-eyed surprise and moves backwards aghast. He somehow looks familiar, but at the moment I don't know where I know him from. He virtually shakes my hand out of his, as though I were infected. His round face is surrounded by reddish-blonde wavy hair, and he examines me appalled and seems to be waiting for something. I've got no time to talk and explain because I know they are after me. So I just say, "I have to get out of here ... they're coming!" 
                          
The man blinks twice and shakes his head. "I must be dreaming," he says, more to himself. 
                          
I honestly don't know what he's on about, but I hear the voices and the tramping of feet coming closer and closer. "They're coming ... we have to disappear," is all I whisper, and my heartbeat can be felt in my throat. Now I'm suddenly afraid that this man, who looks friendly, will also be in danger if the criminals walk in here. 
                          
The steps are now exactly on a level with us. If I don't do something quickly, we're done for. I want to pull him away, but he doesn't come; instead, he shoves his body in front of me. In the same second the door opens. 
                          
"Lukas!" I hear a voice I don't know yell, and I'm just about to exhale in relief when the voice continues. "The two of them have escaped! Hektor, the idiot, neither tied them up nor locked them in. He said they were so scared that he was sure they wouldn't flee. I believe Rafael's killing Hektor right now, he's in a towering rage ... What's up with you? Have you seen or heard anything about the two of them?" 
                          
"I heard noises on the stairway. I think they went out through the basement garage ... how was I supposed to know they were the prisoners?" I hear the reddish-blonde man say, who clearly is called Lukas.
                          
"All right!" the second voice curses. "How long ago was that approximately?" 
                          
"Not two minutes ago."