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A black hood is swiped over my head too. The last thing I see is how Jeans Guy presses something to Tanya’s gasping mouth.Oh, fuck, please don’t kill her.
My face is yanked up, my hair in someone’s tight grip. My body hurts everywhere. The hot darkness of the hood doesn’t allow me to know what’s about to happen. An execution? I tense, expecting more pain, maybe the final sting. The adrenaline keeps me too busy to dwell on the fact that I may be dying. I try to shake off whoever holds me, but the pain in my abdomen strikes with double intensity and I curl back up.
Then I get the same treatment as Tanya—a wet rag to the face. It takes them a few crucial moments to fit it over my mouth and nose. I don’t fight them.
I may not be a protector like Damien or a fighter like Ivo. I’m not driven like Tanya. But I’m a chemist, a scientist. And as a freshman, I was hazed in college. It happened pretty much like what is happening now, sans the excruciating pain. Something is being pushed into my air supply, and I know how to hold my breath.
So I move a little, pretending to struggle and when I’m almost at my limit, I go fully limp. I count backward from ten in my head, making sure I’m still holding my breath.
As expected, they release me and start dragging me somewhere. It takes everything in me not to flinch as my body uncurls. The pain is still there, but it’s bearable.
No matter what, I have to stay awake.
I thought they would abandon my body in the parking lot, but no, they dragged me inside the car and tossed me on the back seat with Tanya. They zip-tied my wrists and ankles, and I can only assume they did the same to Jenya and Tanya. The plastic digs into my skin, leaving burning trails of pain every time I move, and the thought that both of them have to suffer the same makes me rage inside.
“Keep pressing that to your head. We’ll be at the compound soon.”
“But there’s no doctor there, Boss. I need to go to the hospital.”
“Stop whining. I can’t believe you let a woman do this to you. Your literal job is to fight.”
“You have no idea how sharp her teeth were. Like she wasn’t human. This whole cult thing is starting to get to me. What if she really is a demon, like her grandfather?”
The two men are chatting away, convinced we’re all unconscious. At the mention of Tanya’s grandfather, my ears perk up and I tune out all my other senses, focusing solely on their conversation.
“Are you an idiot? Demons don’t exist.”
“But why do we have to work with him? He creeps me out.”
“We work with Comet International. He has ties with the company. And we have a security firm to rebuild.”
“Yes, Boss.”
A security firm? I remember Baseball Cap’s hand tattoo and strain my brain, flicking through memories like they’re pictures on my phone. The shape of the two crossed lines, ending in triangles, reminds me of arrows. Crossed lines. Cross. Arrows.
Crossfire Security.
The firm that was employed in the former Hale Bopp hospital to maintain and grow the atmosphere of quiet threat and compliance. In the briefing about the hospital incident, the Empress told us they had been mostly destroyed by Sophie’s gang.
‘Mostly’ seems correct.
I let my body slide down sideways on the back seat as the car shakes on a bumpy road. We must be leaving the city center. Keeping my movements slow, I bring my tied hands to my hood and pull it up a little, letting a blinding ray of light hit my face. Everything is too bright, but I need to see for myself. I need to know if Baseball Cap is one of Tanya’s biggest enemies, or if he’s just another violent nobody.
As my eyes adjust, I see the blue sky spanning ahead of us, so at odds with the dread and pain swirling in my stomach. It’s a nice sunny day, and nothing about it puts me in a mood for torture and death, which is what I’m expecting we will face right after we arrive.
Baseball Cap Guy turns the heating down, flashing his distinctive tattoo. I try to shift more so I can see his face, but the side angle I get doesn’t give me anything. A sharp, stubbled jaw and a face hidden in the shadow of the cap.
I contain an exasperated sigh, wishing I had my phone. I could have been sharing my location the whole time.
That’s right!Tanya’s phone. My body is almost flush with hers, but I press myself into her, feeling the warmth of her relaxed body. She’s vulnerable like this, weak, and it’s all because of me and my inability to protect anyone, including myself.
In small movements again, I feel for a phone, but there’s nothing. Not in the pockets of her jeans, not in her jacket. Another failed plan.
Before I can think up another one, the car starts swaying like we’ve gone off-road. The hem of my hood falls over my face from the jerky movements, and I’m once again robbed of my sight.
We slow down after a minute, then come to a calm stop.
“We’re here,” Baseball Cap says, and I strain my ears once again, searching for anything familiar about his voice. If he is who I think he is, I never spent too much time talking to him. Tanya did, and if she was awake, she would know instantly.
