In Pursuit Of ✔

Throw the Plan Away

For the next hour or two, there wasn't much that Henley could do. Her father had to pretend to go over Tayson's operation in detail, so she really couldn't talk to him. However, what kept Henley's mind busy was how they were going to get out of the room once the virus began to mess with the building's systems.

The window was bolted shut. Henley assumed that was in response to her own flight. The door was locked, and Henley seriously doubted they would be able to break it down with sheer force.

"What do you do when you need to go to the bathroom?" she asked her father casually.

He looked up. "I just knock," he said, nodding to the door. "Someone takes me. Why, do you need to go?"

"No," Henley said quickly, shaking her head. "Just wondering. You know, it'll happen at some point."

If she could time it perfectly and be in the bathroom at the two-hour mark, then everything would fall into place. Unfortunately, Henley wasn't completely sure when her father had inserted the drive into the computer, and she had no way to tell time in the room, so she would basically be going off of her best guess.

It was worth a shot.

Henley waited, and waited, and waited, for as long as she dared.

"I have to go to the bathroom." She prayed that her time judgement skills were precise enough.

Her father looked up from his fake work once again and nodded. He seemed to be aware they were approaching the two-hour mark as well, although he had no idea what was about to happen. Henley barely knew what was about to happen.

Her dad got up and knocked on the door. He spoke briefly to the man standing out there and then turned back to nod at Henley. "He'll take you."

Henley wasn't thrilled to be escorted to the restroom by a random man employed by Tayson, but she didn't have too much choice in the matter. As Henley passed through the doorway, she noticed a set of keys on the man's belt. He used them to relock the door after Henley exited.

The bathroom was just down the hall, and the man waited just outside of the door. There were no windows, no other way out.

Henley didn't actually need the restroom, so she quietly put the toilet seat down and sat on top of it. She hoped that whatever the virus was going to do would be obvious.

After two full minutes in the bathroom, Henley started at a loud banging. "What are you doing in there?" the man outside complained.

Henley bit her lip. She needed more time. "Have you ever changed a tampon before?" she yelled back, struck with inspiration.

There was silence on the other side of the door.

Victory.

Still, it only gave her another minute, two at most. After about 90 seconds, she pulled a normal tampon from her pocket, lifted the seat to throw it in the toilet, and flushed. She took her time washing her hands, but after close to five minutes in the bathroom, she had to come out.

Her guard looked impatient. "How complicated can women's health be?" he complained.

"What would you know about women's health?" Henley muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Henley walked as slowly as she could, but the door to her father's room drew closer and closer. She was cursing herself under her breath. She had missed her window.