by Loki Renard
“Bastard!” She screamed, kicking the door with the ball of her foot before sinking onto the floor.
This wasn't fair. She hated Tex and in that moment she hated Savage too. Where the hell was he? Why was he letting this happen to her?
A rapping at the door got her attention. “Five minutes, then I'm coming in whether you're dressed or not.”
Zora looked around helplessly. There was a window in the bathroom, but she remembered what had happened last time she jumped out a window and she wasn't particularly keen to repeat the experience.
Stuck for the moment, she put on the skirt and blouse then sat on the closed toilet seat. There was no way she was going to deliver herself to Tex all wrapped up in an ugly chintzy bow. She'd been far too cooperative up until that point, he'd managed to get her miles away from the only place Savage knew to look for her. Damn him, if he wanted to take her into custody he'd have to get her out of the bathroom first.
“Zora?”
She stayed quiet, watching the door handle as it shifted up and down.
“Zora, open the door.”
A small smile spread across her lips. He didn't sound frustrated, not yet, but he would be. The lock on the door was a straight bolt. The only way to get the door open would be to break it down and she doubted he'd be willing to do that lightly.
“Zora...” A lower rumble vibrated through the door.
She straightened her skirt and watched, waiting to see what he would do next.
“If I have to come and get you, you're going to regret it, little girl.” The threat held a now familiarly paternal note, one that scared her as much as it comforted her.
“Talk to me, Zora.”
She kept silent, then upon hearing a flurry of activity outside the door realized that he probably thought she'd made yet another window escape. She heard the hotel room door open and deduced that he must be going around to the window, which was at the back of the hotel.
Adrenaline spiked in her chest. This was her opportunity! She opened the bathroom door and rushed out of the bathroom. There was nobody in the hotel room, but the keys to the car were on the table. Joy! The plan formulated itself in her head instantly, she'd run down the street, get the car from the detailers and be gone before he got wind of what was happening.
She snatched the keys off the table and ran out of the hotel unit – straight into Tex's arms. He made an ooofing noise as he caught her and lifted her off her feet, then carried her back into the room struggling and squealing like a temperamental infant.
“Settle down,” he growled, placing her on the floor and shutting the door behind them.
“You tricked me!” She turned on him angrily.
“Yes, I did,” he agreed amicably, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at her. “I couldn't wait all day for you to decide to stop sulking in the bathroom, could I?”
Reluctantly Zora had to admit to herself that he'd done a very neat job of coaxing her out of the little room. Tex was one smart man and he seemed to be able to read her like a book. She sat down on the bed, trying to keep her expression neutral, trying not to pout. It was difficult.
“Here's what's going to happen next,” Tex said patiently. “There's a detention center not too far from here and we're going to go there. You'll be safe and comfortable and we can wait for Savage to show up.”
“What if he doesn't?”
“I have a feeling he will,” Tex said, smiling indulgently.
“I have a feeling he'll do no such thing,” she snapped. “He doesn't care, okay? He doesn't give any more of a damn about me than you do. If you want to find him, look for him, don't waste your time with me. I'm not bait. I'm just an old drunk.”
Tex laughed. “You really think that, don't you?” He shook his head at her. “One wonders if you spend any time at all looking in the mirror.”
“Don't try to flatter me,” she muttered.
“It's not flattery,” he said. “It's fact. He's risked a lot for you. He will come.”
In spite of herself, Zora was reassured. Then she was scared again. “What are you going to do with him when you find him?”
Tex sat next to her on the bed. “He is a very talented man. Our organization seeks out talented people. It's as simple as that.”
Zora nodded thoughtfully. Tex's organization was still fairly shadowy, but she knew better than to outright ask him who he worked for. “Which one of his talents do you want to exploit?”
“He's very good at finding people to do jobs.”
She frowned. “So you want him to find someone?”
“Something like that,” Tex said, clapping her on the shoulder encouragingly. “See, there's really nothing to worry about.”
“So you got me to find Savage, to find someone else?” She wrinkled her nose. “That's stupid.”
“Life is stupid sometimes,” Tex agreed. “Now come along quietly and this can be done without any more unnecessary fuss.”
Zora's curiosity had been piqued. More things were beginning to fit into place. Savage did seem to be a good soldier, but more than that, he knew how to run people. She remembered her time under his command very well, he'd managed to get her to do things that were almost impossible to do. She'd been very difficult, but he'd whipped her into shape, at least long enough to get the job done. So what did Tex want him to run? Who was the person they were really looking for at the end of the chain?
Her curiosity kept her quiet long enough for Tex to get them back on the road without her kicking up another almighty fuss. “What sort of man are you looking for?” She piped up about twenty minutes after they departed the temporal vortex that had been their temporary rest stop.
He chuckled. “You're quite the interrogator yourself, aren't you?”
“Well the least you can do is tell me something if you want me to tell you something,” Zora pointed out.
“An exchange of information? Sure, why not,” he said thoughtfully. “But you have to tell me one thing first.”
“What's that?”
“Did you ever work on one of Savage's teams?”
Zora looked out the window, hiding her face from him. It couldn't hurt to tell him yes, could it? Not if he told her some information too? There was no real reason for her to trust Tex, yet she did, at least on this score. She glanced over at him and saw that he was focused on the road, entirely patient and waiting for her to respond if she liked. “Yes,” she said simply, feeling a little adrenaline surge at the admission.
Tex nodded. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome,” she said with strained politeness. “Now tell me about this man you want.”
Tex glanced at her briefly, then turned his attention back to the road as an eighteen wheeler flew by in the other direction. “The man we're looking for walked into a terrorist cell, disabled a nuclear missile and walked out again. Just like that. A man like that could be very useful.”
There was admiration in Tex's voice as he spoke of exploits that had not been those of some nameless man, but her own. Zora's stomach lurched and she turned her head back towards the window, lest her expression betray her. He wanted her. He had her, but he didn't know it was her he wanted. The already complicated situation had just gotten even more complicated. “Yeah? Doesn't sound that hard.” She injected just the right amount of total disregard into her voice to keep Tex off her scent.
He shook his head. “It's very hard, harder than you might think.”
“So once you get the man, you'll let Savage and me go?”
“You'll be free to do as you please, we'll need Savage though.”
“Why?” The question came out decidedly petulant.
Tex checked his rear view mirror before replying. “The best trained dogs will only work with one handler.”
Zora looked puzzled until she worked out what Tex was getting at. Savage was 'the man's' handler. Her handler.
“It's not nice to talk about people like they're animals,” she frowned.
&
nbsp; “I suppose not,” Tex admitted without any trace of guilt.
The road rushed by at high speed as Zora tried to digest the new information. Savage had warned her that people would be looking for her after their mission, but she hadn't really taken him seriously. That had been a mistake, one of many.
With her choices fast dwindling, Zora decided to try to stay calm and let Tex's plan unfold. If he was right Savage would come for her. She would get to see him again, get to be held by him again. She had yearned for his touch for so long that even a reunion in custody was better than no reunion at all.
She managed to keep her cool until they turned off the highway and started winding down side roads and eventually began approaching a low, squat white building surrounded by ten foot high fences topped with barbed wire. It looked like a refined prison and it made panic rise again.
“Don't take me here,” she begged.
“It's fine,” Tex said. “No harm is going to come to you. It's not a jail, see? Just a place where we keep people who need to be safe.”
They stopped at a checkpoint at the gate, which slid open slowly in front of them whilst Zora's heart pounded in her chest. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, far too nervous to sit still. Tex parked the car in the surprisingly ordinary parking lot and she found herself clinging to his arm as he walked her toward the building and through automatic sliding doors.
The lobby of the detention center looked more like a dentist's office than a jail. There was a big low desk with a well coiffed blonde woman behind it. Just like any other office, the receptionist was on the phone when they came in and they had to wait until she hung up and gave them the benefit of a polished and professional smile. The experience was surreal for Zora who was used to dirty drunk tanks and military cells and people who never smiled at all.
Tex returned the receptionist's smile when she became available. “This is Zora Matthews,” he said. “She has a room here.”
The receptionist made efficient tapping noises at a keyboard and nodded. “Room Five. You can drop her off then file the necessary papers.”
“Come on you,” Tex said, using the trusting feminine arm wrapped around his own to steer his prisoner into the depths of captivity. The place was very strange, somewhere between a prison, a hospital and an old people's home. Attempts had been made at softening the institutional lines of the place but the smell of industrial cleaners made the place unfamiliar and sterile.
Zora clutched unashamedly at Tex's sleeve when he opened a door into a plainly furnished room. “Don't leave me here,” she begged with wide eyes.
He gently pried her fingers off his arm. “You're going to be fine,” he said, rubbing her lower back reassuringly as he guided her into the room.
“I'm not going to be fine,” she insisted, grabbing his shirt front in an even firmer grip. He looked down at her hand tangled up in the fine cotton, then lowered his head and placed a gentlemanly kiss on the back of her fingers before once more unprying them from his person.
“I have to go do the paperwork,” he said, steering her towards the bed. “Why don't you try to get some rest?”
She eyed the floral draped bed suspiciously. “I don't feel tired.”
“You will when you lie down.”
All her arguing and stalling was for naught. Soon Tex was gone and she was locked up yet again. Misery and hopelessness settled over her, even though she tried to cheer herself up with the fact that she wasn't miles underground and that she could actually see out the window, even if it was barred on the outside.
Standing on the bed, she peered out over the desert. There was a small garden around the front of the detention center, watered by sprinklers that probably needed to run almost continuously to keep the ground moist. The sight of green grass amidst all the red rocks and dust did lift her mood, as did the bright flowers ranged around the edges of the building. The place had been planned to look nice. That didn't mean it was nice though.
Tiring of the view, Zora started rummaging around the room. A chest of drawers revealed some simple clothing, underwear in her size as well as a few shirts and skirts. She divested herself of her clothing and settled for wearing a singlet and her panties. It was warm enough to do so and there was no point in pretending that she had dignity anymore anyway. Tex had seen absolutely everything she had and he'd barely raised a brow at the sight. Maybe he was gay. He did dress well and his hair did have a certain floppy foppishness to it. That thought assuaged her bruised ego somewhat.
The room held a few treats in addition to the basics, there was a pile of books, all old adventure books written some time in the 1950's. It seemed like a strange choice for a prisoner, but with nothing else to take her mind off her capture, she settled down on the bed with a novel about a fighter pilot who was jolly good at everything and frequently got mixed up in very dangerous missions.
About an hour later, Tex reappeared. In spite of the fact that he was the one who'd locked her up, she smiled when he walked through the door, thoroughly relieved to see him.
“I see you're comfortable,” he said, taking in her bare legs and underwear clad bottom with a slightly raised brow.
She shrugged. “I'm not going to wear those ugly skirts.”
He shook his head vigorously at her incorrigible attitude, dumping his hair into his eyes. He pushed it out of the way with one hand whilst the other stayed on his hip in an authoritarian pose. “Young lady, you are a great deal of trouble.”
A little grin sneaked onto her face. “That's your problem, not mine.”
“I suppose I'll have to spank it out of you,” he said, coming towards her.
She squealed when he sat at the corner of the bed, grabbed her and dragged her over his lap. She found herself with her bottom very high and her head very low. His big hand settled across her pantied behind and patted it in a friendly fashion. “Am I going to have to spank you, Miss Matthews?”
“No!” She squealed, wriggling over his thighs.
“I hope not,” he said. He gave her a few lazy swats for good measure regardless, stinging her bottom with light smacks that did not hurt at all, but did a great deal to remind her that she was in his care.
She wriggled off his lap and took refuge at the head of the bed, scowling at him playfully. He'd somehow managed to completely take her mind off her situation. From being so scared at the prospect of being locked up she had vomited at the side of the road to squirming around on her jail bed in her underwear, she'd come a long way and it was all because of him.
He flickered a wink at her and she broke into a shy smile. She was all locked up far away from anyone she knew, but this suave man with his no-nonsense attitude and patient demeanor was making her feel incredibly safe. “I'm glad you're settling down,” he smiled, praising her. “Things will be as pleasant for you here as you allow them to be.”
“What about for Savage?”
“You mean, for the man you hate who used you and abandoned you?” Tex raised a stern brow at her and made a tutting sound. “You really must learn to keep your lies straight little girl, you are far too eager to learn the fate of a man you pretend to hate.”
Zora stuck her tongue out. “Just because I want to know what you're going to do to him doesn't mean I care about him.”
“I think you'll find it does,” Tex contradicted her. “You're not a very good liar I'm afraid Zora. Better to stick to the truth with me, you'll find it much easier on that hide of yours.”
Zora withdrew her tongue and bit it. She was tempted to boast that she was a very good liar indeed and very talented besides, but that would not likely help her cause at all. Still, she couldn't help but fantasize a little about how grand it would be to declare that she was the one who had disarmed the nuke. He wouldn't push her around so easily then, would he?
“What are you looking so smug about?” Tex inquired, his deep voice lightened with amusement.
“Nothing,” Zora lied.
“There you go again,” he sighed. “Do
n't worry little girl, I'll have your secrets out of you soon enough.”
Chapter Six
In the slow light of a new day Zora stood on her bed, chewed a nail and fretted over her situation. She was all locked up, caged like a rat. Would Savage come? He had to come. He just had to. The thought of seeing him again made her feel a little weepy. It would be so nice to melt into his arms, to let him fight for the both of them. She felt like she'd been fighting alone for a long time and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up. Tex was starting to wear her down, he was starting to get under her skin, into her head – and more dangerously still, he was starting to make her feel safe.
She craned her neck around, looking out the window and trying to catch sight of any other people. As tempting as it was to just lie down and go with the flow, she had to keep alert, had to keep looking for a way out just in case he didn't come.
A large dark four wheel drive had pulled up at the front gate. She squinted her eyes, trying to see who was inside but the windows were tinted and the car was so far away she probably wouldn't have been able to make out any faces anyway. She was so intent on her task that she didn't hear the door open. It wasn't until Tex cleared his throat behind her that she spun around blushing as if she'd been caught in some naughty act.
He pointed towards the floor. “Come down off there, put some clothes on and join me for breakfast.” That was it, no 'Good morning', no 'How did you sleep?' Just orders. She frowned at him, noticing that he was looking slick in a dark suit with a white shirt and black pencil tie. There was something else different about him too. Was it his hair? His hair seemed to be a little shorter and tidier, but that wasn't it.
“The mustache!” She declared triumphantly, pointing a finger at him.
He smiled and ran a hand over his clean-shaven face. “I put it away for a while.”
She nodded, looking at him appraisingly. He looked a little younger without the mustache, but he also looked much more institutional, much more straight laced. The jean clad bikie reporter in the bar was long gone now.