From the far end of the portrait gallery, a door opened. Lieutenant Hayes emerged, his black boots striking the floor with a rhythm that brooked no obstacle.
He moved with terrifying efficiency, covering the distance in a blink. His dark green eye locked onto Leon's long before he reached him.
A wave of pressurized air slammed against Leon's skin and made it hard for him to breathe. The pressure vanished when Hayes stopped before him.
Leon's heart heaved as he saw Hayes standing close to him, his stare stripping away all thought of eavesdropping.
Hayes opened the door without knocking and slid inside.
Leon stood frozen, barely daring to breathe after noticing, sensing a bone-crushing silence ruling in the room behind the door.
After three minutes, the whispers resumed in a lower and more urgent tone.
"…is he aware?" Hayes's voice was unmistakably cold but clear.
"No." Again, that unsettling chorus rose – the female and the male tones.
