Blue Maneuver

by Linda Andrews

  “No.” I tucked the water bottle against my leg so I didn’t have to look at the doctor. Maintaining eye contact while lying wasn’t easy despite my years of practice. “Just worried you’ll find something wrong with me.”

  “I’m sure you’re perfectly healthy.” Layla bumped the table against the bed. After retrieving her electronic tablet from the cart, she tapped the screen. “After all, you have the CeeBees looking after you.”

  A soft hum filled the air around me then the monitor above my head flared to life. Lights and lines zinged in rhythmic splendor. I eased the bed back to get a better look. I wouldn’t have understood it any better if it had been Greek. “What’s it say?”

  “Your electrolytes are low, but that’s to be expected from using the datapad. You’re mildly dehydrated as well, but again, that’s perfectly normal.” She frowned at her tablet then glanced up at the monitor. “Everything is perfectly normal. Are you still lightheaded?”

  I twisted the cap off my water bottle. “Not when I’m lying down.”

  Layla shrugged then looked around the room at the silver boxes then back at her tablet. “Rae?”

  Finishing my water, I set the empty bottle on the metal tray. “Did you find something?”

  “No, not really.” Layla set the computer pad on the table. “Since we’re out of food, what do you say you and I drive to the nearest consumables station and get something to eat?”

  Consumables station? Store, my brain translated. Duh. “Sure, but I don’t know many places open at three in the morning.”

  Layla unbuttoned her lab coat. “Can’t you think of one place? I really don’t want to unpack. By the Creator, the first time I’ve been outside in months was when we bugged out.”

  “Cabin fever, huh? I can relate.” I could also use the time to check my phone. What better way than being away from prying eyes. And there was food at stake. My stomach grumbled. “There might be a Wally World open close by.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed. My borrowed white socks caught my eye. “Do you have shoes I could borrow?”

  “I might have something that will fit.” Beaming, Layla clapped her hands together and rose up on her toes. “I’ll be right back.”

  Pushing off the bed, I waited for the dizziness to pass. We’d buy two bags of Funyuns—one for me and one for her. No sharing this time. Heck, maybe I’d purchase three and have one for a back-up. I shambled to the doorway. No one about. I pulled out my Smartphone. English words filled the screen.

  Yes. I pumped the air with my arm then checked the corridor. Still empty. Guess the CeeBees know I’m smarter than the average Chimp now. I scrolled through the memo. As expected it was addressed to Rudd Torunn. The words ‘Operation Alien Scout’ caught my eye.

  That didn’t sound too bad.

  “Rae,” Layla hissed. “Come on.” She waved a pair of slip-on shoes at me from the corner. “Let’s go before the guys catch on.”

  A trickle of unease slithered through me. Dropping my hand with the cell to my side, I glided over the floor to take the shoes from her. “You don’t want them know we’re gone?”

  “I’ve been locked up with them for months.” She rolled her eyes. “I know there may not be a medical study to document it, but being in close quarters with testosterone laden males for days on end is not beneficial for women.”

  I laughed, dropped the shoes onto the floor and toed into them. That hadn’t been the first time I’ve heard that. “Male overload.”

  “Exactly.” Layla glanced behind her before looking at my chest. “Besides I thought you might like to get a little more feminine undergarments than the standard issue binding units.”

  I resisted the urge to cover myself. “You can say that again.”

  “Come on.” She snaked her arm through mine. “Let’s take a side door. Kuma’s unpacking his stuff in the front.”

  The occasional clang reverberated down the hall as we tiptoed out the door. Layla giggled as we raced for an older model truck. “I haven’t done that in ages. I hope they didn’t spot us.”

  Laughing, I opened the truck’s door and tumbled inside. “Don’t worry. I’ll take the blame if we get into trouble.”

  Layla slammed the driver’s door behind her. Turning in her seat, she aimed a silver key fob at me. “You won’t be around to take the blame.”

  She depressed the crimson opal in the center.

  My back arched as electricity zapped my nervous system. Idiot. Despite knowing an enemy lurked amongst the team, I trusted her anyway. The datapad slipped from my fingers and clattered to the ground. Tell Tobias where to find us.

  Layla started the engine then leaned over and pulled my door closed. “Ulla will be pleased to see you. And as a reward, she might even allow me to experiment on you. The CeeBees are my specialty.” She clucked me under the chin. “And you’re just full of them.”

  My vision collapsed into darkness taking my consciousness with it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “My son in exchange for the steward.”

  Layla’s voice rattled the fringes of my awareness. I pushed through the fog of oblivion and opened my eyes. The truck’s headlights cut across a red brick building as we bumped the curb and pulled into the parking lot.

  “Yes, of course, she’s alive.” Layla’s hazel eyes flit to me. Couching the phone between her shoulder and ear, she aimed her key fob in my direction.

  Right. I was a prisoner. Again. Damn but I was beginning to feel like Daphne from the Scooby Doo movies. I raised my hands and clutched my head. Every vein in my skull pulsed noisily against my palms. What did she do to me?

  Layla pulled around back of the two story building, parked against the curb and killed the engine. “And she’s loaded with CeeBees. I can help you decode them, but I need your assurance that my son is healthy and will be released on a neutral world.”

  The female voice on the other end of the phone answered with a series of mumbles.

  Layla turned slightly on the bench seat and partially leaned against the door. “That’s acceptable. We’re at the back door.”

  The doctor snapped her phone closed and stared at me.

  “Whatever deal you made, you’ve got to know Ulla Torunn won’t keep it.” My hands shook as I dropped them into my lap. What was a monster migraine when my life was at stake?

  “I have to try.” Layla cleared her throat. “It’s my son.”

  I shrugged. There was nothing I could say to that. Even my unconventional parents had done things against their principals for me. The engine ticked softly in the night. “You have to know that Tobias will have figured out you took me and you’ll be useless as a double agent.”

  The words were bitter on my tongue. If those stupid CeeBees hadn’t tested me, I might have figured out the doctor’s duplicity earlier. Wise up, Rae. I knew there was a traitor and left the security of the office with her anyway.

  “You think I’m worried about my job?” Layla strangled on a note of hysteria. “You’re not a parent.” She shook her head so vigorously her bun came loose and gray hair tumbled around her shoulders. “You can’t possibly understand.”

  “I understand people in power.” Cops, social workers, principals, teachers and judges all liked to exercise their power over those weaker—to remove them from family and friends and force them to conform to rigid social norms. Ulla was all of them on steroids. “You’re not going to get your son back this way. Let Tobias and…” I groped for the names of the organizations. “And Special Forces handle it.”

  “As you said, it’s too late.” Layla depressed the opal on her key fob and a line of light shot out of the silver tip.

  I ducked down in my seat but the rainbow splattered my face, sealing my mouth. Son of a monkey’s butt! My fingers scratched at my tingling cheeks to no avail. That evil rainbow gag had seemingly fused with my skin.

  With the key fob still trained on me, Layla yanked on the handle and backed out the open door. “Stay in the car until someone comes to g
et you. Understand?”

  Understand, yes. Going to obey, no way. I planned to use my daily ration of stupid somewhere else today.

  After one last look, Layla climbed out of the cab. The truck rocked when she slammed the door shut.

  I slipped off the seat to cower on the floor. Now what?

  Escape. Duh!

  I glanced at the ignition. Empty. It had been a long shot that she’d leave the keys behind. I needed to call for help. My hands stilled in mid-air. Right. I needed my mouth for that. But I didn’t need it to talk to something else. CeeBees? Can you remove this light gag?

  A moment later, my lips tingled.

  Was that it? I touched my face. It didn’t feel different, but then again the gag had been seamless. To find out for sure, I’d have to talk.

  “Hello,” I whispered. Yes, yes, yes! I had done it. No more evil light gag. Looking for my Smartphone, I patted my pockets. Empty? They can’t be empty. Where was my cell? I had it when we left. I stared at my open palm. It had been right in my hand when I’d gotten in the car and…

  And Layla had zapped me.

  Aw snap! It must have fallen from my hand when I’d passed out. I was so screwed. No. Stop it. I had to think positive. Right. Maybe it was stuck between the seat and the door. I snaked out from under the dash and slithered face down over the front seat. With the door brushing against the top of my head, I reached in the tiny space. My fingers slid over the nubby carpeting, eased along the cold seat mounts and fondled the hard molded plastic covers. Crumbs coated my skin but I didn’t find the phone.

  For a moment, I buried my face in the seat cushion. Okay, the phone was out so I needed to move on to plan B. Did I have a plan B? I’d have to think of one. And fast.

  I took a deep breath and peeked over the dash.

  Banks of Cypress hedges mirrored the tan bricks banding the two-story building. Above the double glass doors, the row bulged out providing a curved portico for the ground floor and a balcony for the story above. Bright halogen lights illuminated the building and parking lot. Layla glanced up at the dark second-story windows punching holes in the bricks while hurrying toward the portico.

  Before she cleared the planters, the doors were thrown open. Two raven-haired hunks with biceps the size of toddlers’ heads scanned the area with boxy pistols before glancing behind them and nodding.

  Yipe! Heart hammering my ribs, I scrunched back under the dash. Did those fancy doodads pick up my heat signature or was I safe behind the hot engine block? Think, Rae. Think. There had to be a way out of this.

  I stared up. The dash. Tobias had all sorts of neat stuff in the dash of the HHR and the other truck. Surely, this one would have something similar. I eased onto the bench seat and stared at the center console. Radio, AC, and car outlets. What had he pushed to get all the fancy gadgets? I pressed the radio button. Nothing. After tapping each of the preset buttons, I waited. No change. Dang it. Time counted down in heartbeats.

  “Come on.” I poked the AC button. Nothing. Gritting my teeth, I peered over the dash.

  Silver winked in Ulla’s hand before a blade emerged like an evil extra finger. She slashed it from right to left then back again. Liquid sprayed her face and crimson glistened on the formerly pristine knife.

  Layla clutched her neck. She swayed for a moment before dropping to her knees then pitching face forward onto the concrete landing.

  Oh no. Oh no. I twisted each knob of the air conditioning controls then the radio dials. Nothing responded. “Please. Please. Please. Work. Something work.”

  The dash remained dark.

  Fighting back the frustration, I glanced up.

  Ulla ran her index finger along the flat side of her knife before pressing her bloody finger to her full lips. Smiling, she turned to Hunky Minions One and Two then pointed at the truck.

  Fudge. I’d just been outed.

  The men headed my way while Ulla bent down and cut Layla’s finger off and removed the key fob.

  I scrambled across the bench seat toward the far door. My sweaty hands slipped once on the door handle before I managed to shove it open. I hit the asphalt running.

  Footfalls pounded behind me.

  Faster. I urged my pumping legs. Run faster. A ball of heat hit me square in the back. Fire raced up my spine and exploded inside my skull. I blinked and the next thing I knew I was facedown on the pavement. Aches and pain suffused my body then they faded in the background.

  “Well that’s no fun.” Ulla pouted from behind me. “She didn’t even scream.”

  Black boots with gold tassels appeared in my peripheral vision. Hands reach under my arms, manacled my skin in a punishing grip, and then I was lifted partially off the ground.

  My head lolled to the side as I hung between the two minions like a fresh wishbone-too soft to break from their tug-of-war.

  My personal Sherpas turned about then dragged me, legs tailing on the black top, toward the door.

  Ulla slammed the key fob onto the cement then crushed it under her booted heel. “At least the UED’s toys don’t kill outright.”

  Her smile sent a chill down my spine.

  Ulla summoned her minions with a wave of her long fingernails. “Bring her to my room. I wish to play with my new toy.”

  My head drooped forward. That was my exit cue. The asphalt gave way to the white concrete walk. Okay CeeBees, set yourself to overload on my mark.

  Chapter Twenty

  I closed my eyes and waited for the CeeBees to explode, ripping me apart from the inside out. My feet smacked the curb. And waited. Chilled air washed over my face. And waited. Son of a monkey’s butt!

  The CeeBees had reneged on our deal.

  Fine. I’d find my own way out of this mess. I opened my eyes and lifted my head. Surprise, surprise, I was in a hallway. It seemed to be all these alien humans built.

  Ulla pranced ahead of me. Her three-inch heels played Taps on the shiny floor. Here and there, tan piles of rags appeared along the long corridor.

  Whoa. That didn’t seem right. I zeroed in on the closest one. Not a pile of rags at all, but a person cowering behind lumps of matted hair. Glancing over my shoulder, I watched the person sag in relief.

  She glanced up. Age didn’t mark her oval face so much as abuse and some of the red slashes still bled. Tattered sleeves slipped up her bony arms to reveal ghostly white marks on her flesh. Pity flashed in her brown eyes before she focused on scrubbing the floor with a brush the size of a toothbrush.

  My lungs labored for breath. Right. I was going to endure much worse than she had. I only hoped the traitorous CeeBees numbed me. If I could, I’d love to deprive Ulla the pleasure of my pain.

  Turning through an archway, she led us into an open room. Banks of electronic equipment striped the white floors and glommed onto the walls. Here and there raggedy clothed people vacuumed the surface of the shiny black computers, monitors and servers. Every three feet, a person stood at attention. Sickly green, yellow and red LCD lights played over their waxy skin.

  I blinked. No, not skin. Each wore a clear mask, smearing their features into indistinguishable blobs. I didn’t see any air holes near the flat noses. How could they breathe in them?

  Each exhale clouded the mask then faded slowly away. On the left side of the room, a woman with a swollen belly swayed slightly.

  “29Zed9,” Ulla snapped, stopping at the base of the curving staircase in the center of the room.

  The pregnant woman straightened, waddled over to Ulla and prostrated herself at the despot’s feet.

  No one else moved or even twitched.

  My fingers spasmed. Oh God, what was Ulla up to?

  Ulla set her boot on the woman’s head. “You will remain on duty for the next twenty-four hours without food or water.”

  “Thank you mistress.” The woman enunciated each word slowly.

  From fatigue or something else I didn’t know. Anger roiled through me and my fingers curled into fists. No one deserved to be treated like that.
If the CeeBees ever got around to turning me into an incendiary device, I hope Ulla stood right next to me when I exploded.

  Ulla smirked then turned and clomped up the stairs.

  My personal Sherpas hauled me up after her, shins banging on every riser. I winced at the rhythmic thump even though I didn’t feel any pain. At least part of the CeeBees functioned. Concentrating, I managed to get my feet under me every other step. Upon reaching the landing, my muscles dissolved into unset gelatin and my head bobbed on my neck. If I didn’t know better than I’d think the CeeBees could turn me on and off as they choose.

  I stared at the blood red and bone white floral design of the Oriental runner unrolling from a carved walnut door on the right. My head drooped to the right as the minion on my right leapt over the rug to land on the bare tile. My left shoe plopped onto the carpet with a hollow thunk.

  Pausing by the carved door, Ulla turned. Her full lips turned down in an unpleasant pout. “Pick her up you dolts. We don’t allow trash on the carpet.”

  Bitch! She knew what human garbage looked like every time she glanced in the mirror. I clamped my lips shut. And I wasn’t going to pay my swear jar a red penny for my thoughts.

  As one, the minions hoisted me higher.

  My bare toes brushed the carpet then all I felt was cold air.

  “That’s better.” Ulla smirked then threw open the wooden door and sashayed inside.

  From under the fringe of my bangs, I watched the door grow larger and larger. My stomach clenched and sweat stung my eyes. God only knew what the chamber of horrors looked like. Or what I’d experience once inside.

  I closed my eyes as they carried me over the threshold. The sickening sweet stench of blood hit me first, followed quickly by the caustic odor of bleach and ammonia. Opening my eyes, I surveyed the place of my impending death.

  Aside from a metal human form in the center, the square room was strangely empty. Pristine white walls, floor and ceiling boxed us in. Where were the grisly stains and primitive dental equipment?