"Not in your Berlitz," I smiled. I stopped and looked up to his face. The coal miner was trying to restrain his emotions. He wanted to look calm, and I was enjoying hanging my knowledge over his head. If he chose to turn on me I'd be dead, but I had ceased to care. A reckless carelessness took over me. If I didn't know better, I'd say I wanted to be caught. I wanted to be finished. I wanted to return home, and, now that I had found the technapad, it was possible. However, this also meant my journey was just beginning. Coming home wouldn't mean the end of my tribulations.
"What are you doing here," he whispered, almost angry. "I'm going to get fired, and probably thrown in with your lot, if what you're saying is true." My back straightened and my temper flared.
"Well, it is true, so what are you going to do?" I said. He grumbled and rolled his eyes in disbelief. "You stalked me, remember?" I felt a little disappointed, even insulted. "Guess my pussy's not worth being thrown in jail. I'm sorry, obviously no one's pussy is worth going to jail for." He scraped a pancake onto my empty plate with a glower.
"Shut up," he commanded. "Guess I only like you with your dress off." His eyes looked me up and down, and he leaned back. I couldn't read him. "How's your hand?" I flexed, and told him I couldn't really feel it. I wanted to remove the wrapping. He complied, still avoiding my eyes and my skin. With the cast off, there was only the discolored, grotesque wound. Slowly, I moved my fingers. He assured me he had used everything he could get to make it heal properly. Feeling the air on my palm, I was able to move it—slowly but surely.
He led me to the door of his rickety working-class building and looked up and down the street cautiously. His large hand grabbed mine possessively, as though I would escape. We descended the wooden steps, and something shot through me. I felt warm. It was sunny. My stomach was full. I was either his friend of his prisoner. Either way, it came with a kitchen.
A black car pulled into sight as we approached the street. The passenger door swung open. One tall, bald-headed man stepped out and my gut turned. His eyes were dead-set on Viktor, there was no doubt about it. I opened my mouth, but Viktor's fist was already raised. My hand went straight for the knife in my garter. A man's hand went covered my mouth and I screamed through his fat fingers. He hoisted me up and into the black car, all the while muffling my voice. Bone on bone rung in my ears. I pressed my nose to the window, and ripped at the locked door, but it wouldn't budge. Two more men had appeared from around the corner and were beating Viktor into the ground. Before I could try again for the knife, my hands were in tight metal cuffs. I winced under the pain. A sweet voice purred into my ear.
"You are very secretive, Emeline." Whirling around, I saw the tall and elegant Elaine, dressed in a knee-length black silk dress. Her slender neck and shoulders were relaxed and smooth. Her perfect profile struck me like the painting of a goddess. Her hair was tied back tightly around her head. "I thought we were friends." She scooted nearer and moved in close, brushing my hair aside. "I have a number of questions," she whispered. "I'll save them for a more comfortable location." Her hand fell softly on my small leg, and I knew instantly I had been already drugged. The moment that man put his hand over my mouth, I had inhaled something. Elaine's long face melted into a mish-mash of color, and the sound of the car died out slowly.
Again, I awoke laying down. This time, I was more prepared. I was tied down to a bed with leather straps. At least I was clothed this time. The bright white lights overhead shined in my eyes, but I could make out the laboratory-white walls, and the two-way mirror. I stared into it; she was there, no doubt. I couldn't see a thing, but I knew she was watching. I cursed under my breath. The door swung open and heels clanked on the hard ground.
"Hello, again, princes," she said and, for the first time, I heard the evil resonating in her voice. "Now, before we start, I'm going to let you know the rules." Behind Elaine stood her assistant, vigorously taking notes. "I'm going to ask you some very straight-forward questions, and you are going to answer them." Hatred was building up in my throat. "You are going to answer them now, or later." I had too much work to do to be stuck here. I was already in the middle of a war, what was I supposed to do now?
"Why do you care?" I spit back at her. "Is it because I wouldn't play into your little game? Is this revenge, or are you going to make a perfume out of me and sell me to rich princes?" Elaine slammed her hands on the side of the bed, shaking the earth beneath me. I could see the intensity rising off of her skin. She opened her big brown eyes and locked on to me.
"I deal in secrets, my dear. I know how to make things disappear, or, in your case, appear." She straightened her back again, regaining composure. "I know you have something that is valuable to me." Her long fingers preened the shape of her dress around her waist. "Here is how today is going to go," she said calmly.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with," I responded. "This information you want to peddle can kill or save thousands of people." She rolled her eyes. "Go fuck yourself," I spat. Elaine's face went wide with shock and she turned in a huff. Her assistant followed her briskly out of the room without another word. The moment they exited, a pair of scrub-covered doctors in face masks came into the room and immediately began checking me out. They pinched and poked me, and stuck needles in my skin. A hand twisted my leg to the left and right. Another moved my hair, and felt my forehead. They spoke to each other in a language I didn't understand. My focus and bravery was waning, but I knew it would. I could only last for so long here; I wasn't some brave hero. Still, I wasn't ready to sell my country's secrets. I clenched my jaw and stared at the ceiling. I just had to get through this. They would get tired, leave, and I would find an escape.
In my periphery, I saw the doctor look to the two-way mirror and pause. My breath stopped in my chest when he nodded. I felt the pinch of a needle in my arm and an immediate burning sensation took over. It felt like fire running through my veins. It ran through my arm and into my chest. It was a pressure—the weight of being crushed invisibly. I held in my screams, but groaned, deeply, like a wounded animal. A second subtle pinch entered my other arm, and the pain grew. I clenched my eyes shut. Tears spilled out of the corners. I bit my lip and began to thrash. In my mind, I was replaying memories of home: my brothers, my lab, my work. It slowly subsided, and I felt wave after wave of relief as I regained consciousness. A third needle pierced my leg and the process repeated. I let out a loud cry and lurched forward, snapped back only by my leather bindings. My body contorted to the side, trying to escape or rub out the pain. Viktor's face came to my mind. It wasn't a memory. It was just his image. The way he would look at me if we were elsewhere. Pain shot through my head. My body was so tightly clenched, it had begun to fall apart. I'm not sure how long I sat in the bed under the eyes of the doctors, but it ended in a daze. I couldn't feel, and I could barely see. They untied me and left me locked in the room. It must have been a whole night before I opened my eyes again.
Looking around, there was nothing. The room was empty, and perfectly pristine. I had to find a plan. I knew I couldn't stand a second round. There was no chance of it. I was a proud person, but I didn't have that much faith in myself. Finally, as I sat brooding, the door clicked open. The same clink of heels came in my direction. Elaine, in her black form-fitting dress with gold lining tight around her neck, marched my direction. Her black heels came into my line of sight.
