by Chant, Zoe
Hector swallowed. Naturally, he was going to be difficult. But he couldn’t forget what Cecelia had said about Myrtle – nor the fact that right now he was strapped to a chair and couldn’t get free, and Cecelia’s men were holding Myrtle prisoner.
Myrtle. Please. If you can hear me somehow, I’m coming for you. I promise.
He wasn’t sure how, but he’d find her and get her away from here, even if it took every last breath in his body.
For now, however, there was only one thing he could do: play for time.
“I couldn’t give you any useful information anyway,” Hector said, shaking his head. “Do you even know how the agency works? I only know the details of my mission. I have no idea who’s deployed where, who’s in contact with who and what they might be talking about. Hell, I can probably only give you the names of about four other agents, and I couldn’t tell you what their assignments are. As an asset, I’m not much good to you.”
He kept the speech going as long as he could. He had no idea how long the crap he’d been injected with would take to wear off – but at the moment, every second counted.
Cecelia sighed. “That’s a very defeatist attitude.” She turned away, going to the set of stainless steel drawers over in the corner of the room. “I’m not asking you for your opinion on how useful you think you’d be to us,” she continued as she opened the top drawer. “You’d be amazed how even the most desk-bound paper-pusher can come in handy. How do you think we got our own men onto that chopper today? It wasn’t because we got some macho hero-type to hijack it, that’s for sure.”
She smiled coldly over her shoulder at him as she withdrew her hands from the drawer. She turned back to him, and Hector could see she was holding a syringe and a bottle in her hands.
Hector gritted his teeth. Was it more of the shit they’d given him on the helicopter, or was it something different? He knew all about the kinds of poisons and venoms that were on the black market these days. Most of them were totally untraceable. Wyvern venom was the most effective and painful, but there were plenty of others out there too, some of which left the victim’s system without a trace, leaving no clue at all as to how they’d died.
As a method of torture, he supposed it suited Hargraves to a T – if whatever was in the bottle killed him, there’d be no gunshot to analyze, no wounds to examine. His agency could suspect all they liked, but without evidence they could never be sure. Hargreaves was careful not to leave their fingerprints on anything they touched, and Hector knew he would be no exception.
“So, Agent Richardson – what’ll it be? It’s entirely your choice.” Cecelia held the bottle in front of his face, raising an eyebrow expectantly. “Come on, tick tock. I haven’t got all day.”
“Go to hell,” he snarled.
Cecelia sighed again, shaking her head. Lifting the syringe, she flipped off its plastic cap before plunging the needle into the seal of the bottle, filling it with a brilliant green liquid.
“You don’t seem to be getting this. We’ve won. We have what we came here for – Ruby. We have that woman you were with. And as for you –” she gestured to his bonds, the filled syringe in her hand “– well. Not much use to anyone, are you, and you’re about to be even less so. I’ll ask you one last time. You can either be helpful, or you can be tiresome.”
Hector glared at her.
C’mon, griffin. C’mon. Where are you.
It was clear, however, that Cecelia was out of patience, and he was out of time. She lifted the syringe.
“What will it be, Agent Richardson – the money or the box?”
Hector snarled. There wasn’t much he could do now. He had to hope that whatever she had in store, he could withstand it. He’d been trained for this, after all.
And once I find my griffin again, this will be all over for her.
He had to hope so, anyway. For Myrtle’s sake, and for Ruby’s.
“You know the answer to that,” he snarled.
Cecelia pursed her lips, rolling her eyes.
“Not the answer I was hoping for. But I’ve taken a liking to you, so I’ll give you another chance to answer in half an hour and see what you say then. But for now, sure, let’s do it your way. The box it is.”
Chapter 11
“Where did they take him??”
Myrtle could hear that her voice was shrill with fear, but right now, she simply couldn’t bring herself to care. She was no good at the silent and stoic act – there was literally no one in the world who wouldn’t be scared out of their mind in this situation, and she wasn’t about to try to pretend otherwise.
She looked around, but the corridor they were in was totally featureless. It could have been a corridor in any corporate office, anywhere in the world. They were all the same: white walls, gray carpet. The occasional white door leading into, she imagined, an equally white-walled, gray-carpeted room. It didn’t look like the kind of place where evil-doers would lurk, but then, she supposed, that was probably the point. It was just an everyday office, with nothing outwardly sinister about it.
The only reason she had any even slight idea of where they were was because she’d caught a glimpse of the brilliant blue ocean extending to the horizon after she’d first been dragged off the helicopter. They were in a beachside city, in one of the skyscrapers that lined the white-sanded beaches she’d seen countless times in Australian travel brochures. Cities and beaches had never been her thing, but she had to admit that it had looked a little tempting in photos. Obviously, she would have preferred to visit in somewhat different circumstances, however.
Of course, the two men standing on either side of her said nothing. She’d madly yelled out Hector’s name as the other two men from the helicopter had dragged him down a side corridor, but he hadn’t seemed to hear her. She’d struggled, but that had only made the men escorting her tighten their grips on her upper arms, until their fingers were digging into her skin painfully, hard enough to bruise.
She couldn’t break free.
Ruby was quiet in her arms, as if sensing that making a fuss wouldn’t help – but it was the one time when Myrtle wished she would. Ruby was small enough and mobile enough that she might have had a chance to escape if she really tried.
Unless these men turn into flying animals, Myrtle thought, looking uneasily at first one and then the other. They still had their flight helmets and goggles on, so she could only see a sliver of their faces – just their cheeks, noses and mouths, which were set in hard, impassive lines.
Not friendly types at all.
“Where are we going?” she asked. Not that she was expecting an answer. But at the very least, she thought she might be able to goad them into talking a little – perhaps they’d let something slip. “I’m an American citizen, and I have rights –”
“It doesn’t matter,” one of the men said gruffly. He glanced down at her. “So don’t try that.”
Well, at least she’d gotten a response. Now all she had to do was keep picking.
“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter? Of course it matters! Unless you tell me who you are and where you’re taking me –”
“We’re not even interested in you,” the second man spoke up. “Only in that… thing. But if having you around keeps it calm, then you’re coming too. Satisfied?”
A little more than before, Myrtle thought, but they hadn’t told her anything she hadn’t been able to work out for herself. In the moments between her whirling, terrified thoughts about Hector and Ruby, she’d been able to figure out that much, at least. Whoever these people were, they were clearly the ones who’d been out to buy Ruby’s egg. Somehow they’d managed to infiltrate the organization Hector worked for and send their own people to pick them up, rather than anyone more friendly.
But how? How had they known? How did they know where we were?
She recalled that Hector had reported in to his HQ a few minutes after they’d arrived at the shipping container base.
Could that have been it? Myrtle
wondered, swallowing. Could they have… tapped the call somehow? Or is there something else going on? Was this an inside job?
A cold shudder ran through her.
How they knew is a problem for later, Myrtle told herself firmly. Right now, she had more immediate issues. Like How the hell am I going to escape from these goons, find Hector, and get out of here?!
She looked down at Ruby, who was watching her with wide, frightened eyes.
It’s okay, sweetheart… all right, it’s not, but I promise you I’ll do everything I can to make it okay.
Thinking back to the psychic blast of fear in the helicopter, Myrtle swallowed.
I suppose it’s too much to hope for that you’ve got another one of those in you, isn’t it, Rubes.
She ignored the way she’d switched over to Hector’s nickname for Ruby. It was a forlorn hope, anyway – Ruby needed time to recharge her powers. Myrtle would just have to save both of them.
“Mee-eeh?”
Ruby let out a soft whinny that sounded almost questioning. Myrtle would have held her closer if she could, but the goons’ grip on her arms prevented her.
Until, suddenly, they weren’t holding her arms anymore.
Myrtle stumbled a little as they suddenly let her go. They’d been dragging her along so forcefully that she almost hadn’t been moving by her own power at all, and once their grip was gone, Myrtle had to steady herself.
What the…
“Mee-eeh!” Ruby said again, as Myrtle regained her balance, and this time, her whinny sounded urgent.
Catching her breath, Myrtle turned, just in time to see the goons staggering, their hands covering their helmeted heads, their mouths pulled into pained grimaces.
“What the fuck –” one of them muttered, his voice strained. “Fucking – what is this –”
But Myrtle knew exactly what was going on. Ruby had gathered all the strength she had left and was using it to psychically attack the two men.
If what she was doing here was even half as disorienting as the attack she’d broadcast on the helicopter, then Myrtle knew they’d be in no fit state to pursue her, though her own head felt completely clear. Ruby was a fast learner, after all – she was managing to direct her powers now, and use them only against certain targets.
And Myrtle was using the opening that Ruby was putting all her strength into giving her to stand here and stare stupidly.
“Meee-eeeh!”
That was definitely a ‘Come on, hurry up!’ sound, Myrtle decided.
One of the men was already shaking his head to clear it, seemingly beginning to recover from Ruby’s efforts to cloud his mind.
Wildly, Myrtle looked around. She was looking for an escape route – not easy in a long, featureless corridor.
Myrtle caught her breath.
Featureless, except for one thing.
There was a medium-sized fire extinguisher hanging on the wall a couple of feet ahead of her.
Very safety conscious for an evil organization, Myrtle thought as she made a lunge for it. She’d never done a single violent thing in her entire life – she’d only just barely passed the self-defense course she’d taken because she’d been so worried about hurting the instructor during her test – but right now, with her adrenaline surging and with the safety of Hector and Ruby on the line, she knew what she had to do.
She didn’t like the thought of hurting anyone, but to protect Ruby and Hector – well, it wasn’t really a choice, was it?
“Ruby!”
She called out her name to warn her before she threw her arms up, sending the tiny pegasus up into the air. Ruby, understanding, took off, her wings fluttering to keep her airborne.
As soon as she was gone, Myrtle grabbed the fire extinguisher, yanking it from the wall before using her whole body to swing it around in a wide arc, catching the first of the staggering goons in the side of the neck. He crashed against the wall of the corridor before collapsing onto the gray carpet, and didn’t move.
“What the fuck –”
The second man had clearly begun to recover. He stood upright, but his knees were still buckled, his movements shaky and uncertain. Myrtle didn’t intend to let him get any further.
Letting out an inelegant grunt of effort, Myrtle heaved the fire extinguisher up, using every single muscle she’d built up during hundreds of hours of fieldwork carrying all her equipment across treacherous terrain. The extinguisher caught him in the jaw, sending him over backward, spinning around before he landed face-down on the ground.
Myrtle paused, breathing heavily. The men groaned, but didn’t move. It was clear she’d only incapacitated them on a very temporary basis, but she supposed that was to be expected.
She looked up at Ruby, who was hovering in the air by her shoulder.
“Ruby, come on!”
She turned away, racing down the corridor. She didn’t care how white and featureless an office building was – unless it was designed by Kafka, it still had to have an exit.
Not that I can leave yet, she thought, as Ruby zipped through the air beside her. I still have to find Hector.
It seemed bizarre to her that someone as strong and massive as Hector might be in need of rescue by her, but she’d seen what that stuff they’d injected him with on the helicopter had done. She didn’t know what it was, but it was clear what effect it had had on him. There was no way Hector would have allowed them to drag him away like that if he’d been in any fit state to prevent it.
So he needs me.
Myrtle paused when she reached the end of the corridor. After this, it branched off into two separate sections, heading left and right. She bit her lip as she looked first down one way and then the other. They were both identical, with nothing to tell her which one might lead anywhere useful.
In the end, she went right, with Ruby following after her.
There was no reason for her decision, other than the fact she couldn’t simply stand there staring.
Perhaps it had been the wrong choice, because there was nothing at the end of the corridor except a white door that, when she opened it, simply led into a large meeting room, with a wide conference table and some cheap plastic chairs inside.
Fuck. Fuck damn fuck.
Myrtle realized profanity wasn’t going to get her anywhere just now, but she allowed herself a few moments to curse anyway, as cold dread filled her stomach. She’d trapped herself, and Ruby with her. She knew she’d had no way of knowing where the corridor would lead and she’d had to take a chance, but Myrtle couldn’t help but feel horribly responsible. She had promised Ruby she’d keep her safe, and now, she’d failed her.
“Sorry, Ruby,” Myrtle said, her heart sinking. “I took us the wrong way. I’m sorry.”
Ruby just cocked her head as if she didn’t understand, her beautiful eyes wide and still filled with trust. Myrtle closed her eyes, not able to look at her, as pain filled her heart.
I’m so sorry, Ruby.
Somewhere behind her, she could hear the shouts of the men she’d hit – and they didn’t sound happy. She didn’t have time to run back down the corridor and try the other direction. They’d see her as she ran past.
Wanting to put off the moment they found her as long as possible, Myrtle slipped inside the meeting room, closing the door as silently as possible behind her. The best she could hope for was a few more seconds, but right now, she’d take it.
Ruby alighted on her shoulder, hooves slipping a little on her skin.
“You’re already a little too big for that,” Myrtle murmured as she crossed the room. There was a window in here, at least – it looked out over the city, and beyond that, to the ocean. From here, it was beautiful – glittering and brilliantly turquoise blue. Myrtle kind of wished she’d had the chance to dip her feet into it, now.
And suddenly, she decided she was going to. New resolve filled her. They hadn’t caught her yet. And she wouldn’t give up – not while there was still even the smallest chance that she, Ruby and Hec
tor could walk out of here together.
Think. Think.
She was under no illusions that she could use her trusty fire extinguisher to break the glass of the window. Up this high, it was sure to be heat tempered and virtually impossible to smash.
If it weren’t, Ruby might have had a chance, she thought. Could Ruby fly well enough yet to make it safely to the ground from this height? Myrtle didn’t know, and she wasn’t certain it was worth the risk.
Looking around the room, Myrtle tried to find something – anything – she could use to her advantage.
“Mee-eeh?”
Ruby’s wings brushed her cheek as she took off again, fluttering up close to the ceiling.
The ceiling.
Myrtle stared at it. It looked like the same kind of ceiling they’d had back in the cheap, crappy office she’d shared with four other adjuncts back home.
A memory fired off in her brain of the time there’d been a leak, and they’d had to call an electrician out to fix the wiring. He’d climbed up on a desk and taken one of the ceiling panels off in order to get up and crawl around in it to find the problem…
Without waiting another second, Myrtle set down her fire extinguisher and hauled herself up onto the conference table. Reaching up, she pressed her fingertips to the center of one of the large, white squares that made up the ceiling.
It lifted easily, shifting aside to create a space she’d fit through with room to spare.
“Meeh!”
Ruby was clearly urging her along, but Myrtle was already going as fast as she could. She wasn’t tall enough to push the ceiling square away fully, nor pull herself up into the space above. Her heart in her throat, she looked around the room. Stacking chairs on top of the table would be a dead giveaway as to where she’d gone, but – but –
There.
Over in the corner of the room there was a large plastic box full of computer cables and other junk. Surely, that was the kind of thing that might not look completely out of place in the middle of a conference table?
Jumping down onto the floor, she heaved the box up, pushing it along the table. It was only at the last second that she realized she really ought to take the fire extinguisher too – leaving it in the room would be extremely incriminating evidence. Lifting it, she slid it up into the ceiling cavity, before, using the last of her strength, she pulled herself up after it, wiggling onto the solid paneling next to the soft ceiling tiles. Ruby fluttered in after her a moment later, and Myrtle slid the ceiling panel back into place.