“You need to get inside. Don’t make a scene.” His tone was not gentle anymore and this just added to my alarmed state, helping to clear my head some more.
“Let me go.” The slur was gone and I didn’t even have to think about it. Again, thank goodness for adrenaline.
He grabbed for me once again, but I sidestepped. He wasn’t easily put off though because he came for me again. In a millisecond both of my arms were being held behind my back and he was pushing me toward the opened car door. I heard a man inside telling him to hurry it up.
I don’t even know what move I pulled but the man that had a hold of me was lying on the ground with a bloody nose. I started to back away, not sure as to what was happening. I had this feeling of urgency, but I couldn’t make myself move faster. I couldn’t decide where to go. Should I go back inside or should I just run away? I couldn’t hold onto a thought long enough to make a decision.
My hesitation was a mistake because the man was no longer on the ground. He was coming right for me and so was the driver. Normally, I wouldn’t have been too intimidated with this, but I knew I was not functioning well. Still, not being one to back down from a challenge, I squared off ready to fight.
“Just grab her,” the driver told the other man.
“No. I’ve done that already. You grab her.” He wiped blood from his nose and flicked it to the ground in an angry gesture.
The driver came at me with his arms out ready to grab the closest piece of me he could get a hold of. Again I hesitated and paid for it. He had me by the arms and was pulling me toward the car.
“Help me!” he ordered.
The man with the bloody nose got behind me and started pushing. I leaned on him and kicked up and made contact with the driver’s middle. He let out a strangled sound and let go. He fell to his knees in front of me, so I kicked him again.
The man behind me took advantage of the time it took me to figure out my next move and had picked me up over his shoulder. The next thing I knew, he and I were in the back seat of the vehicle and the driver was behind the wheel burning rubber out of the parking lot.
*****
Chapter Six
I fought as long as I could but I could feel my energy draining away. Soon I forgot why I was fighting.
I woke up to an aching neck and a headache that was making me nauseous. I was about to roll over and go back to sleep but realized I was sitting up in a chair with my hands bound behind my back. I don’t recall ever being so uncomfortable. The recent events came back to me in a rush. My curiosity overrode my pain and panic so I was able to lift my chin up off my chest and look around.
It looked as if I were in an old warehouse that had lain dormant for years. It was fittingly dingy and creepy for the circumstances. The same two men were sitting at a small card table not far from me.
“She’s awake,” I heard the driver say. This made the other man turn. His eyes were swollen and bruised. I must have broken his nose.
They both got up and slowly walked in my direction. I had left my mark on the driver too. He had a nice cut above his left eye and a small bruise on his cheek. While observing all of this I had been trying to indiscreetly get loose from the chair.
“No use trying to get away. You’re duct taped up good. We just want some information before we finish this.” The driver was gawking at my exposed legs, so I did my best to cross them and keep private things private.
“We want to know what White & Associates knows about a certain microchip and who you’ve told?”
The fog had lifted but I still had a bit of trouble concentrating because of the massive headache. I whispered, “I don’t know anything.”
“Speak up.”
The man came closer when I didn’t comply and leaned down to hear what I had said. I kicked out and he hit the floor hard. The other man was immediately at his side. That was a mistake because they were both still in range of my legs and feet and I felt like sharing.
I proceeded to kick both of them until they were able to each grab a leg and hold me down. One of them went to get the duct tape and I managed to get my legs free again. I most certainly was not going to make this easy for them.
I kicked out in all directions for all I was worth. My foot finally made contact with something solid and my wits came back to me. I decided I better start to aim. By this time the man with the duct tape had returned and was trying to get close enough to grab my legs again.
“How unfair!”
“What?”
“Two men against a girl and not just any girl, one that’s tied up to a chair. How unfair,” I repeated.
“Shut up and sit still.”
“Fine.” I dropped my legs back to the floor and waited for them to come tape me up.
The two men looked at each other and the one with the tape started to advance cautiously. He got within range but I let him come closer.
“This is more like it.” He bent down and was pulling the tape from the roll.
My leg went up and came down with one quick and agile stroke. It seemed like slow motion when my foot hit the back of his head causing it to hit the floor. There was a sickly sound that made my stomach turn. He was down and I could tell he wasn’t getting up any time soon.
“I wondered why White & Associates had taken on a woman.” The two shiners I had given the man who had bought us the drinks the night before were getting darker and his eyes were starting to swell shut. It seemed those last couple of kicks to the face were doing him in. He reached down while keeping his eyes on me, grabbed his buddy by the wrists and drug him away from my legs. Once he got him a safe distance from me he poured some water on him. His buddy sat up quickly, spitting and sputtering.
“Man, I’m getting to where I can’t see anything. You might have to do this alone.”
“Son of a bitch.” The driver from last night rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t think I can.”
They were speaking in subdued tones and what I didn’t actually hear I made out by watching their mouths.
“Let’s let her sit there for a while. Maybe she’ll calm down.” They looked at me then went back to their card table and sat and waited.
I had been working on the duct tape on my wrists this entire time and I finally got a hold of the last layer. One nice thing about duct tape is that it tears easily if you can get it started. My arms were very sore and tired from being strapped behind me and I was relieved that I would be able to pull them forward soon.
Just as I was about to tear off the last of the tape a terrible noise came from the front of the warehouse. The cargo door had screeched open and in it I could see the silhouettes of two men. I knew immediately who they were. Black looked like a momma grizzly looking for her cub and White was just casually strolling toward us.
“What’s going on?”
“We just want some information, then you can have her back.” The man had turned from me to face White. He had added a gun to his wardrobe and had it pointed directly at White.
“Excuse me? I don’t think that is an option.” White replied calmly.
“Are you blind? I have a gun, the odds are in our favor.”
“But can you see well enough to shoot it? And, don’t forget my gun.” White was smiling openly at the man’s swollen eyes but he held no gun and neither did Black.
By this time I had entirely freed myself. I was about to come to the rescue when the man with the gun dropped to the floor and a puddle of blood started to grow from underneath him. White had the other man in a head-lock so quickly I didn’t even notice him move. The next thing I knew I was being ushered out of the building by Black. I didn’t look back but I heard White talking to the man in an ominous voice.
“What just happened?” I asked.
“Blue.” Black replied.
“Where’s the car? I need some aspirin.”
It was early morning and the sun was too bright for my eyes. I was feeling nauseous so when we got to Black’s SUV I crawled into the back s
eat.
“How did you find me?”
“Colin called from the Skylight a few hours ago. Apparently he saw the two men get you in their vehicle and drive off. He was smart enough to get the license number and other pertinent information about the car and men. He was also smart enough to come to us with the descriptions. Are you alright?” He turned in his seat to ask this last question.
“Other than a terrible headache I’m just fine. Is there any aspirin in here?”
“Sorry.” Black had reverted back to quiet and hulking.
He made sure I was secured in the vehicle and returned to the interior of the warehouse. My stomach was turning and I focused all my energy inside trying to keep it settled. All I wanted to do was lay down and go to sleep but I didn’t dare.
Eventually the two men came out of the building. White was holding his eye and he and Black were obviously arguing. The conversation stopped when they reached the vehicle and for that I was thankful. I don’t think my head could have handled the noise.
We hadn’t gone far before the movement of the vehicle got to me. I broke out into a cold sweat and knew I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“You’re going to have to pull over.”
I was out of the vehicle as soon as it stopped moving. I proceeded to get sick in the ditch then I reluctantly got back into the SUV.
“I hope we aren’t far from the office.” I hated getting sick in front of these two men. I wanted their approval and respect and throwing up every few minutes wasn’t the way to get it. I laid my head back and tried concentrating on keeping my headache at bay.
We eventually arrived at the building and went straight to the main office of White & Associates. Red was waiting with both Blue and Green.
Blue came directly to me, felt my forehead and said, “She’s not feverish.”
“Okay. Ms. Grey, you need to tell us everything.”
I began my story with sitting in the Skylight with Colin. I mentioned seeing one of the men run into our waitress and his seemingly nice gesture of replacing our drinks. That must have been when he drugged me. Mr. Blue asked my specific symptoms and concluded that I would be fine tomorrow, but the after effects would last through the day.
“Your story and Colin’s match,” Red acknowledged.
“Where is Colin?”
“We sent him home as soon as we knew you were fine.”
“When did you know I was fine? No one contacted you.”
“We had one of our UAVs in the air and Colin insisted we let him watch as you came out of the warehouse.” White & Associates had used UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, in the past and I believed they belonged to the government but adjusted my thought with this last statement.
“So who the hell are those guys?” I questioned anyone who would answer.
“A couple of hired thugs,’” Red answered. “I did a little research and they are local and will do almost anything for money.”
“Do we know who hired them?” I asked.
Red looked to White.
“I didn’t get much out of him.” He was abrupt and his eye was starting to blacken.
“Ms. Grey is starting to look a bit green,” Blue interjected. “This is enough for now, she needs to sleep it off.”
Before long I was in my new apartment. I quickly showered and changed out of my dress into more comfortable clothes. Then I crawled into bed but couldn’t go to sleep. I felt awful. If I could just go to sleep, I might feel better when I wake up. Finally I gave up and called Colin.
We talked for a long time. He had to know all the gory details.
“I was really worried about you,” his voice was serious.
“I’m fine. Besides, it helps to have friends in the right places.”
“I don’t know, if it weren’t for those friends of yours, you wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place.”
“I meant you. If it weren’t for you watching out for me I would probably still be in that dingy warehouse.”
“No you wouldn’t. You would have kicked ass and walked out.” We both laughed and the conversation lightened up after that.
*****
Chapter Seven
I didn’t know what time it was, but I had slept long enough to get rid of most of my headache. I could have slept longer, but the phone was ringing.
“Hello?”
“How are you feeling?” It was White.
“Better. What time is it?”
“It’s time for dinner. I’d like to come up and dicuss what we want you to do about Strom. Maybe we could order in some Chinese food, if you feel up to it.”
“I suppose.” I was still a bit foggy. I had only been back a few days and already so much had happened.
“I’ll order from here and be up in just a few minutes.” White hung up.
I stood there for only a second before I ran to my room to find something suitable to wear. While I was searching through my clothes I remembered the nasty little trick he had pulled on me the night before over the phone. I started to feel foolish and a bit used. I had been excited that White was coming but now I was starting to feel a bit ill about it.
I hadn’t even finished dressing before my doorbell rang. My nausea had transformed into anger by the time I opened the door to let him in.
“The food should be here in half an hour.” He walked to the living room and sat on the couch. As far as I was concerned, he was a bit too comfortable in my apartment.
“Would you like some coffee? I don’t have much else yet.” I gritted my teeth as I said this. My anger was getting stronger.
“No thanks. I ordered some wine with dinner.” Just the thought of alcohol was enough to make me gag.
“So, you’re feeling better?”
“Almost back to normal.” I didn’t want him to know he had gotten under my skin so badly. I was having trouble looking at him, but I noticed that his black eye wasn’t as bad as it seemed earlier.
“What happened to your face?”
“It happened when we were questioning that guy today. Things got a bit out of hand.” An evil grin blossomed on his face.
“I got him to admit to slipping you a roofie. Mr. Blue said your symptoms were consistent with Rohypnol or roofies. It should be totally out of your system within 72 hours. It’s illegal, but a lot of street thugs use it because it’s cheap and easy to come by. We have been known to use similar methods ourselves.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not fun, and I thought drugs were supposed to be fun.” I had begun to feel a bit better knowing that these men were behind me.
Just about then the doorbell rang announcing our dinner had arrived. White retrieved it and brought it to the kitchen where we began to eat. I always enjoyed Chinese food, but it really hit the spot tonight.
White and I talked about nothing in particular while we ate, but I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I didn’t feel the anxiety from the normal sexual tension and I didn’t feel like I was eating dinner with my boss. It was Alexis Stanton and Rick Malone sitting in the kitchen eating Chinese food, and that was all.
“I hope the dinner made you feel better.” I got the impression that the dinner wasn’t just to make me feel better about being drugged and kidnapped, but also it was an unspoken apology for the phone call. Well, no matter what, that’s how I’m going to take it, at least as long as he doesn’t do it again, I thought to myself.
“I’m still a bit tired, but am feeling much better, thank you. Now about the job…” I left it hanging.
“We need you to dig up anything and everything you can about Victor Strom. I’ve spoken with your father and he would like to know any information we come up with. He’s still a little perturbed at being… he called it “blind sided” with the questions at your house so we are in this alone. If you happen to find anything about Penumbra make a note of it but that information does not need to be passed onto the Admiral.”
“Why are we passing on anything to him? I know he’s my dad, but if h
e refuses to help us with what he knows…”
“It’s a professional courtesy. We’ve pissed him off already, let’s not make it worse. He is our best contact after all.” He shrugged.
We sat together on the couch watching television for some time after he got me up to speed on my new assignment. I eventually fell asleep and only woke up when White covered me with a blanket and moved my hair out of my face. I made sure not to let on that I had woken up so I could enjoy the touch of his hand on my face. This evening had made me look at White differently. I had seen him mainly as a boss or fantasy material before tonight. The conversations about life in general had brought to my attention that he and I had more in common than I had ever imagined. It would be easier to take orders from him as my boss and it definitely made him a better fantasy.
As soon as he left my apartment I got up and jumped around with glee. I had a tight ball of energy in my stomach and I had to get rid of it somehow.
After my dance of jubilation I grabbed up the blanket and headed for the bedroom. Again, I had trouble sleeping. A stupid grin was stuck on my face and I just couldn’t get it to go away. Thoughts of White were bouncing around in my head. Finally, I came to the conclusion that even if White had feelings for me other than the sexual kind it just wouldn’t work out between us. The grin faded and I soon drifted off to sleep.
I awoke the next morning feeling petulant. I was frustrated with my White dilemma. Growing up I had always assumed that I would probably end up marrying Colin someday, at least until one particular day when I was twelve.
My father had Colin, some other young man and their fathers over for a talk about joining the military. I was beyond smitten with this other young man. I spent most of the afternoon just watching them all from a distance. That young man was the man I wanted to marry. Now, I think it was my first revelation or epiphany, even if I had chalked it up as just being young. In any case, it was at that moment I knew that Colin, no matter how wonderful, was not the man for me. I had not known who the other boy was until I took the job with White and Associates. It turned out it was Rick Malone, AKA Mr. White. I had spent a great deal of my life pining for the young man I had only seen once and now I knew his name and even worked in close contact with him. I could possibly make my fantasy an actuality. My heart and body wanted my fictional world to merge with reality. I wanted to believe it was fate that had put him in my path twice and had given me the same feelings both times, but logic got in the way. It would just be too hard to deal with all the complications. Not to mention the fact that White scared me.
Shades of Grey: Book Two of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles Page 6