<br/>She startled at the sound; her heart racing subtly in her chest, beginning to increase pace. She considered her options, to hide in the shadows or call out, hoping to make contact with the informant if it were he. Perhaps he had stayed and was trying to look for her. She crept back into the shadow beside the stair, pulling the collar of her navy suit jacket up and tucking her long platinum hair beneath it. She wished she’d taken more precaution against discovery. Had she been on time, her appearance would have allowed her to pass as one of the commuters who came and went from the downtown buildings every day. She was unprepared for deep undercover work. What she was doing now amounted to a break in.<br/><br/>Her senses were heightened.  If she were to witness the storage of movement of illegal merchandise, she thought, her career would skyrocket. The possibility was too seductive. She fell against the stairs and waited for the lift to stop. The screaming of dry metal cords in need of lubrication carrying the ancient lift set her nerves further on edge. She reached into her bag and retrieved a small digital tape recorder. She held the slim black and chrome rectangle in her hand and aimed it at the elevator with her finger on the record button. She waited in anticipation with her hands trembling slightly.<br/><br/>She saw a shape move in the dark corner by the overturned cabinet and caught glimpse  of what she gathered to be a rat walking along the wall in the dank, musty cellar and she shuddered.