For the next two days, I am kept on lockdown inside of my room, guarded by one of the burly blondes from the crime scene. I'm only allowed to visit the bathroom down the hall. Apparently it's my punishment for disrespecting the boss, coating him in beans and bacon in front of his staff. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. However, by the time that day two ends, the silence of my room is starting to drive me crazy. All I can think about is my family, my Mom's distressed face. The pain and worry that she must be going through right now will be destroying her. if i only i could text her and let her know that I'm alright... and that I'm sorry. The guilt builds up every minute of the day, filling every available space of my mind with regret and anger. I can't believe that I was so stupid, so reckless. And this is pretty much how I spend my time, eating rubbish food that they bring me three times a day, searching my room for signal, unfolding and re-folding my clothes, walking to the bathroom over and over again, reciting what I'm going to say when I see Lorrie again, finding and covering the security cameras in my room, and even having dead-end conversations with my blonde best friend outside. Note sarcasm. Let's just say that he doesn't appreciate my friendly efforts.
Late on Monday night, I am sprawled across the floor of my room counting the number of spiders under my bed when I get a smart tap on the door. Getting up from my blank daze, slightly annoyed that I've been forced to end my count on a negative number, I make my way over to the door and prepare for my next awkward conversation with blondie.
Instead, I open the door to a familiar face.
"Hi Gen." Morgan says quietly, taking me by surprise. She's dressed in black jeans and a simple white cropped shirt. She's not wearing any make-up which makes her look five years younger, more insecure. She has a dark, angry-looking bruise developing across one of her cheeks, similar to the bruise across my right knuckles. I involuntarily glance down at my hand and refuse to feel sorry for her. "I know that you don't really want to see me right now, but I thought that you could use some company. It gets pretty lonely around here."
"I really don't have the energy to talk with you right now Morgan." I say, unable to meet her eyes. I suddenly feel very tired.
"Then let's not talk, let's just walk for a bit? William doesn't mind me letting you out now, I've been nagging him all day. He's gotten over the food hall incident." She says quickly, taking a step back so that the empty hallway is visible in front of me. It takes all of my remaining willpower to keep myself from running like a crazy person down the hallway, the first chance of freedom that I've had in days. "Plus, I have something that I want to show you."
"Something that you want to show me?" I say in disbelief, meeting her eyes. "Are you kidding me? We aren't friends anymore Morgan. We don't hang out. Honestly, I'd rather sit in my empty room for another week than go on a walk with you after everything that you've done. You betrayed Lorrie and me. We loved you! You were like a sister to Lorrie, one of my best friends. How can you even think for a second that this could all be fixed with a walk?"
She forces herself not to flinch away from me, even though I can see the shame and hurt that flashes through her eyes. It makes me want to cry for the pair of us, to mourn for our friendship. Where did everything go so wrong?
"I know that I've hurt you both badly, I know that we're never going to be friends again after this, and I know that you're never going to forgive me. I don't expect you too, but you need to know my reasons before you judge me Gen. Because if you were in my shoes, I think that you may think slightly different of me." She says evenly, not letting herself be hurt by my words.
My mind instantly goes to Thea and sympathy betrays me. I look down at the worn blue carpet in the corridor, letting my brain go where she wants it to go. If Maddie was still alive and being kept captive, would I betray my new friend to save her? Would I risk my own safety, my own happiness, to give her hers back? I don't even need to think any further to know the answer.
"Okay." I say quietly. "We can walk."
"Um Gen?"
I look up and meet her eyes. They're looking back at me meaningfully, like she's trying to convey a message. With one of her hands, she quietly pats the front pocket of her jeans where I can see the rectangular imprint of her phone. Then, she raises her brows. I take the hint immediately, my body filling with a mixture of hope and anxiety, before stepping back into my room and grabbing my own cell phone. I quickly slide it into the pocket of my jeans, throw Lorrie's sweater over my head, and follow her down the dark corridor.
"You need to be careful about what you're saying around here, they have cameras everywhere and record everything that you say or do. This is their main base you see, their last one as well, The Rose Street boys and the local police have taken down the rest of them. That means that everything around here is pretty tight and orderly. If you step out of line, they know. If you say something out of order, they know. You've got to be careful. Right now, it's two in the morning and there's only one guard watching the security footage and he always focusses on the outside cameras. This is the safest time to defy the rules." Morgan whispers, as she leads me down the hallway, towards the elevator. It's two in the morning?
"How do you know so much about it all?" I whisper back, squinting in the darkness as we approach the window. It's completely black outside. Time really does fly by when you can't see outside for two days.
"Because," She turns left, away from the elevators, and leads me towards a door. The stairwell. "I like to shadow William when he's not watching. I like to know exactly what's going on so then I can plan against him." I can't help but doubt her.
We make our way quietly up the stairwell; the dusty carpet masks the noise of our feet as we ascend. I notice that there are no flashing cameras on the walls so ask Morgan about it.
"The security cameras are dead on this stairwell, nobody ever uses it other than me, because it only leads to an old utility room that the cleaners used to use back when this was an actual hotel." She explains, smiling mischievously. "I discovered it a few weeks ago, when they first brought me in. When they noticed that I kept disappearing up here, they came to check it out but because there's nothing here, like an escape route or anything, they've just left it as it is and allowed me to use it as my own little space. They made me stay in your room as well. They locked me up in there, like they've been doing to you."
"And you're going against William now?" I ask in confusion as we ascend the final, dark stairwell. "But you've been working with him?"
"Yes." She stops at the top of the stairs, outside of a murky brown wooden door. It looks old and dusty, like it hasn't been used in a very long time. On the front is a little symbol of a mop, discoloured with age. "I never wanted to work with the Shelley's Gen. For me, it's always been about trying to save my sister. I love her more than anybody else in the world and I always will. I would do anything for her, even if that means hurting my best friends to help her. I wish that it was different Gen. I wish that I had told and trusted The Rose Street boys with this information, but I was too afraid that if I did, William would seriously harm Thea."
"Well, that makes two of us. How about next time, we just trust the boys we know?" I say quietly, giving her a sympathetic smile. "And Morgan?" she looks up from the dusty floor to meet my eyes. "I don't judge you for what you've done. In fact, I think it's kind of brave of you to put everything on the line for Thea. I don't know if we'll ever be friends again, I definitely wouldn't be able to trust you for a very long time. But that doesn't mean that I don't forgive you. I want to help you rescue Thea."
For a second, I think she might cry. She looks so vulnerable and torn, yet her small smile gives away her relief. Her large eyes become dangerously glossy as she shakes her head in disbelief.
"Thank you Gen. We're going to get out of here together, all three of us. But right now, I think that you've got a call to be making." She says, looking pointedly at the cleaning cupboard. "I'll come by your room tomorrow morning for breakfast call."
With that, she turns around and makes her way silently down the stairwell, as if she'd never been here in the first place. Not waiting another second, I quietly push the door open and flick on the light. It doesn't supply nearly enough light, only a tiny dim glow, but that's good because then I don't give my position away to the outside world. The stale-smelling room is empty and very small. By the window, at the very end of the room, is a small plastic chair that looks as though it hasn't been used in a long time. I make my way past all of the empty wooden shelves, dusty cupboard units and abandoned boxes towards the large window, where I take a seat looking out onto the eerie dark desert.
My phone begins to buzz restlessly, receiving days worth of notifications. I'm actually surprised that it doesn't shut down altogether, but right now, I only intend on making one call. Silently, I dial his number. When it reaches voicemail, I dial it again. And then again. And then again. On the final ring of my fifth dial, he picks up.
"Gen?" Lorrie's low, raw voice fills my ear, ripping my chest reverently in two. From that one word, I can hear the overwhelming hope that fills his being, tearing through the sleepiness in his voice. Silently, tears begin to make their way down my cheeks, flowing mercilessly from my blurry eyes. The sound of his voice physically hurts my insides, making it so hard not to sob down the line. I need him. I've never needed him so much.
"Lorrie." I breathe, releasing the tension and stress of the last few days in a single word. Suddenly, everything that I've been planning to say to him, everything that I've been rehearsing over the last few days, vanishes into the darkness of my brain.
"Oh mio Dio. Gen, Genevieve." He breathes back heavily, I can tell that he's crying. "Where are you? I can't stand this any longer. Tell me where you are and I'll come right now. Are you in the hotel? Have they got another base? I don't care if Shelley takes me, I just need to be with you. I can't imagine how terrified you must be right now-"
"Lorrie." I say quietly, soaking in the sound of his voice. "Don't you dare come for me right now, it would make everything so much worse. William wants to get you, don't let him. Please. I'm not scared."
"You're not?" He whispers back in disbelief. "You've been abducted Gen."
"Because I know that we're going to make it out of this." I reply, breathing into the darkness. "And William isn't hurting me or anything. All he's doing is keeping me locked up in my room because I threw a greasy fry-up all over him. I've snuck out to a place with no cameras where he can't find me."
A few moments go by in which he doesn't say anything. The silence is soul-destroying. I pray that he isn't angry. I pray that I haven't lost signal. I'm about to check when he replies.
"You threw a fry-up all over Shelley?" he asks, a smile playing at his deep voice, regardless of the situation. "Should I be worried that my girlfriend is more badass than me?"
Pride fills my chest, filling my tired cells with life.
"Lorrie I miss you. So much." I whisper into the phone, trying to stop myself from crying. "I'm so sorry for what I've done to you. I'm sorry for being so stupid. I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you when I promised that I would. I'm sorry for not being smart, the one time when you needed me to be. I'm sorry for getting myself involved. I'm sorry for hurting my family and the boys. I'm sorry for making this whole situation harder for you all. I'm sorry for being such an awful girlfriend-"
"Ti amo anch'io." Lorrie cuts me off quietly, stopping me in my tracks. "I love you too. You didn't let me say it before you left."
"Oh Lorrie-"
"You don't need to apologise to me Gen, ever. We were both in the wrong, we both should've handled it differently. But it's too late for all of that now. I don't know how long you're going to be able to talk to me for so I don't want to hear any apologies, no regret. We're a team from now on, we always will be. Let's concentrate on how we're going to get you out."
"Thank you." I reply, letting my heart fill with hope again. "Once all of this is over, I'm never going to leave your side again."
"I'm not going to let you, we can't have you throwing breakfast all over random people can we?"
"Or punching people." I say absent-mindedly. Oops.
"Punching people?" Lorrie bewildered voice goes up an octave.
"I may have punched Morgan when I first saw her here." I guiltily explain, scrunching my face up in embarrassment. "And now she has a horrible bruise across her face and I have one across my hand."
"Bumblebee." He chuckles quietly. "That's my girl. All sting."
"How do I get out of this Lorrie?" My voice breaks slightly on his name.
"We're coming for you, both of you."
"When?" I ask, trying to ignore the painful ache inside of my chest.
"In two days, do you think that you can hold them off until then? If it's too much, tell me now and I'll come for you this second. Just say the word."
"Don't be reckless, that's what got us into this mess. We've got to be smart. Think like Gia, less like Lorrie." I say, smiling at his scoff. I can just imagine his adorable scrunched up face right now.
"I hate that you're smarter than me." He mumbles. "I hate all of this. I can't sleep. I can't eat. All I want to do is train and plan. It's all I can think about. It's all I can think about until I have you again."
"How are my family?" I ask warily. "Is it bad?"
"They're doing as well as they can be. Maddie hasn't left the house since you left but Teddy has been around the whole time. The police has reassured them though, given them hope. They're working alongside the police, who are working alongside us. They know about the plan, but not about me, don't worry."
"Promise me that you won't do anything reckless?" I whisper down the phone, praying that he won't.
"Two days." He says, almost to himself. He's then quiet for a few moments. "I promise."
"Thank you." I close my eyes and lean back in the chair, finally able to relax in the darkness. "We're in a hotel."
"Thank you. I have a condition." He says after a moment, his deep voice filled with something that I can't decipher.
"Oh?"
"You let me fill every waking second of your free time, for the rest of your life." He says, humour lacing his tone. I can't help but grin up at the dark ceiling.
"So needy." I chuckle. "But I think we could arrange something along those lines."
"Say yes." He says warmly.
"To what?" I ask, smiling.
"Just say yes."
I think for a few seconds, treasuring this moment with Lorrie that I may never have again.
"A million times over, I'll always say yes." I begin, making him chuckle.
"Alla ragazza che mi ha insegnato a non temere le infinite possibilità dell'amore." He finishes. "Okay, now let's talk about this plan Bumblebee. Tell me everything that you know about Shelley and his base, and then I'll tell you everything that I know."
......
The next day, I go to breakfast with Morgan with a new kind of energy. If she notices, she doesn't say anything, obviously trying to keep up her act now that we're being watched again. I decide not to tell her about the plan, just in case she really isn't trust worthy, but I do let her know that we need to find out where Thea is staying right away. She takes the hint.
In the empty food hall, just as we are finishing up on our cereal, William decides to make an appearance. At the sight of him, my jaw clenches. Something about his confident stride just makes me want to throw another breakfast at him. Morgan gives me a stern look from across the table, implying that I need to chill out if I don't want to ruin everything. Since I hinted at getting out of here this morning, she has been filled with a new kind of hope. It's this hope that calms the storm in my stomach.
"Good morning girls." William says, coming to sit down beside Morgan. She physically stiffens, much to his dismay. "I'm glad that we're all getting along so well."
A large, intimidating guard enters the room, carrying a large rifle. He stands silently next to the door. Great.
"I was wondering Genevieve, if you'd accompany me on a ride out on the base? I'm aware that you haven't actually been outside since you arrived here. It's almost... cruel." A wicked glint flashes through his eyes. I clench my fists under the table, hard.
"That would be lovely." I say, earning a million dollar smile off of him. I bite back a sarcastic comment.
"Morgan." He abruptly switches his attention to her. "Why don't you join us as well? You don't go outside nearly as much as you should."
"Well that's because when I do, you have one of the team follow me around. It's not exactly relaxing." Morgan mutters, refusing to look at him. He pretends that he doesn't hear.
"Well great girls. Given that you're just about finished, why don't we set off now? I have a golf kart waiting outside."
Morgan glances at me before obediently standing up. William follows and gives me a pointed look. It takes everything in me to make myself smile at him and follow suit. There aren't nearly enough words to describe my dislike of this human.
As a three, we make our way out of the food hall, towards the lift. Two burly guards appear out of nowhere and join us, squashing Morgan and I to the back of the little box elevator. The ride down is exhausting and very, very awkward. Morgan and I are squashed up in a sweaty heap against the back of the elevator, trying not to touch the large guards. Whereas William is casually taking up three people's spaces in the centre, as if he's royalty. The guards don't dare touch him.
After a painful few seconds, we come to a stop and file out of the box, into the open air of what must have once been the lobby. It is fairly small and empty. Emptiness seems to be a common theme around this part of town, I can't help but think to myself. William introduces us to the bare lobby which consists of an old wooden desk, where the admin staff once would've been; a few worn blue couches; some vibrant white suspended light displays; and an old, white tiled floor. Then, we make our way to the door, which is guarded by two more large guards, and exit the building. The familiar humid air hits me like a train, taking all of the air out of my lungs. Man, I have missed this heat. I have missed this taste of freedom.
"After you girls." William says breezily, gesturing towards a six seater golf kart parked up on the grainy sand. I follow Morgan and jump up onto the leather seat next to her, in the middle of the kart. Two guards take the front two seats and William takes the back row, lounging across them as if he's expecting a river cruise. "Let's go and see the fence first, shall we?"
A sticky pool of dread fills my stomach as we rocket off through the sand, heading towards the long concrete road. From here, we can't even see the perimeter fence but I know it's out there. I know that it's huge. I know that it's a problem. As we ride, I close my eyes and try to rid myself of any negative thoughts. My hair runs crazy in the wind, flowing out behind me like a dark stream of water. I don't care right now if it's getting in William's way. Trying to imagine that I'm on the back of Lorrie's bike, I allow myself to breathe out any stress that has built up over the last ten minutes. Lorrie is coming for us. Before I know it, I'll be on the back of his bike for real, feeling unconditionally free again. All that I have to do is play my part right.
"Gen?" Morgan cuts through my thoughts, giving me a nudge.
"Yeh?" I say, opening one eye.
"Look over there." She nods towards the distance behind me so I open my other eye and follow her gaze. The giant metal fence is now in view and becoming increasingly larger every second. But my attention is fixed beyond the fence, towards the hazy desert. Not far beyond the fence, a huge sparkling city glimmers like a mirage. It sparkles and wobbles in the heat like an illusion, but it's most definitely there. Every part of its skyline is satisfyingly familiar. I have a beautiful painting of it back home. Phoenix. I glance over at Morgan, letting a smile transform my face. She returns the smile, obviously buzzing with my energy. We aren't that far from home.
"Yes girls, home sweet home." William chirps from behind us, ruining our good mood. "But good luck getting past our fence. We have fifteen men guarding its perimeter, one entrance, steel reinforcements, fifty two cameras lining the top, and motion detectors along the whole four point eight kilometres of fence. For now, you might as well dream about going home. Until we get The Rose Street Boys, you remain here."
I ignore his attempt to make us feel scared, focussing on remembering these facts for when I call Lorrie tonight. Morgan doesn't look as confident. If anything, she looks nervous, so I reach over and put her hand in mine.
"How many people do you actually have on base?" I ask, scrunching up my face as we drive past the huge metal posts and barbed wire.
"Only twenty of us now. We're the only Shelley's left, thanks to you and your people." Shelley replies darkly, staring directly towards Phoenix. "But we will see our time again."
"And why haven't the police taken you all in yet? No offence but your base isn't exactly discreet." I comment, earning a smirk from William.
"Because Gen, they have no reason to." William begins, flicking a piece of dirt off of his sleeve. "As far as they know, we comply with the law. That's what we let on anyways. We're very good at covering our tracks, almost as good at the Italians are at digging them back up again. The police cannot prosecute us because we bury our crimes or pin them on other accountable organisations."
"How respectable." I mutter, earning a warning hand-squeeze from Morgan.
"If you're looking for a respectable profession, then you're conversing with the wrong kind of boys sweetheart." William chuckles, earning a smirk from one of the guards in front of us.
"At least The Rose Street boys have class." I accidently say, earning a dangerous glare from the guards in the front seats. Morgan covers her mouth with one of her small hands, and tries to stifle her laugh. William scoffs indignantly.
"I think that Genevieve is getting rather bored of our little trip out. I'm starting to grow bored of her company, as well. Let's make our way back in. No more time outside for you two."
......
Back inside, Morgan and I spend the rest of our day trying to find out where they could be keeping Thea. We visit every available floor in the hotel, trying to feign boredom for the cameras and look as though we are just being curious teenagers. Morgan goes off to her secret blind spots to spy on William, desperate to overhear any tiny details. I look through random rooms, continuing my act of 'bored out of my mind so don't mind me as I explore every room in the hotel'. Seeing as nobody comes to hunt me down, I get the impression that I look too small and insignificant for anyone to care. My act is working.
After the full day of looking, Morgan and I reunite up in the secret utility room to share information. But neither of us have anything.
"I don't understand." Morgan says angrily, spreading herself out across the dusty floor boards. "How can you keep somebody so well hidden against their will?"
"I know." I reply quietly, sitting on the window ledge, my eyes focussed on the glimmering perimeter fence. "It's as if she's just disappeared."
"We've checked every room on all of the floors." Morgan closes her eyes and pinches the top of her nose with her fingers. "William said that she was on base. Where else could she be?"
"Wait," I say, quickly turning my head to look at her. She opens her pretty eyes. "What does William keep on the unavailable floors? The floors that you can't access via the elevator."
"I don't know, I've only ever tried to get up there once but gave up because it's a little difficult when you're on your own." She says, considering this for a moment. "And I've never asked."
"If you were a deranged crazy guy, hell bent on stealing teenage girls, where would you hide them in a hotel?" I say, raising my brows at her.
"On the floors that no one else can access?" She asks, sitting up and dusting her back off. I can tell that she feels stupid for not thinking about them earlier.
"I think that we have tomorrow's schedule sorted." I give her a reassuring smile, urging her to have hope. It doesn't exactly work.
"No, if we're going to go rooting through William's locked floors, then we're going to have to do it on the night of our rescue. We might set alarms off. They will almost definitely be recording us. I doubt that we will even get close to the floors. We will have to do it in the early hours, when nobody is on guard other than that one guy. We absolutely cannot risk being seen or noticed by the Shelley's."
"I might have an idea actually." I say, sitting up straighter. "How smart are the Shelley's when it comes to technology? Will they notice a bug in their security footage?"
"I mean, most of them are soldiers, not nerds. They have a lot of tech but it's dated. It would be easy to hack into for a computer whiz but I'm not sure if they'd notice or not. Surely they would, people must have tried to hack into them before right?"
"I think I have someone in mind that could get into the system and scan the footage for Thea, without being noticed." I say, smiling devilishly.
Morgan energetically jumps up off of the floor and returns my smile, dusting herself off.
"Then let's get to it." She says confidently, sounding like the Morgan I used to know.
......
"You want me to what?" Gianni says over the phone later. Morgan and I are still in the utility room, after a quick dinner with William in the food hall. This time, however, we are on call to Gianni and Lorrie.
"We want you to hack into the security footage and scan it for any facial recognition of Thea, without being spotted." Morgan says, biting her lip nervously. "Does that sound impossible?"
"No, it's doable enough. But what are you going to do if she is being kept in one of the inaccessible rooms? Go full 'GI Joe mode' and rescue her on your own?" Gianni says, obviously stressing about the situation.
"Yes." I admit sheepishly, making Morgan bite her finger nails even more. "We were going to go and check it out tomorrow night when you guys come."
"You will do no such thing." Lorrie chips in determinedly. "That's too dangerous and you'll give up our motives. If Thea is on one of the inaccessible floors, then we will have to combine her rescue into your rescue plan. There will be no going rogue in terms of you two okay?" Lorrie says, squishing our plans. "We work as a team."
"Yes boss." Morgan sighs.
"Genevieve Fletcher." Lorrie pushes when I don't instantly reply.
"Okay, okay. No rogue rescue plans." I say crossing my arms defensively.
"So I'll work on getting into the system for the rest of tonight then. The less staff on duty, the better. We'll take Morgan's word for it and get on it tonight, before the morning." Gianni says, obviously thinking miles ahead of the rest of us.
"Staff return to duty at six am." Morgan chips in.
"That will be more than enough time. I'll use the signal from this cell phone to track the network that Shelley uses." Gianni says determinedly. We can hear the scribble of his pencil on something. I can just picture his pretty face with his cute freckles, all sharp and determined as he concentrates on the brains of his task; making my heart ache slightly. I even miss Gianni.
"Gen baby, did you get any other details about the base today?" Lorrie asks, deep in concentration. "Morgan, could you fill us in with any details that you know or could be useful for us to know?"
We both fill him in with the relevant information about the perimeter fence, staff numbers, working hours and general site layout, in as much detail as possible. Morgan shares lots of information, all of which Lorrie records as she speaks. After a couple of minutes, we have emptied our brains and everyone seems satisfied that we have enough information to carry our plan through. Morgan seems to be in cheery spirits, despite not knowing where Thea is and not being fully aware of what our plan entails. She trusts us nonetheless, expressing herself like the old Morgan would. After a while, she gets up to give me a small hug, and makes her way to bed. This leaves me alone with Gianni and Lorrie to talk about normal things, not mission related.
"So Gen," Gianni chuckles as he taps away at his computer in the background of the call. "I've heard that the abduction life has turned you into a badass chick."
"Yes, if you count annoying William to the point that he actually kicks Morgan and I out of his golf kart." I say, laughing at the boy's gasps.
"What did you say to him this time? It just keeps getting better." Lorrie laughs, making my insides melt into gooey mush.
"I told him that the Shelley's have no class." I admit, enjoying the sound of the two boys laughing.
"Ouch, girl." Gianni comments, humour lacing his voice. "Hit a man where it hurts, why don't you?"
"He was asking for it." I reply, grinning out at the dark window.
"I bet. We can't wait to get you home, Essie and Lorrie have been roaming around base every day like disgruntled pigeons looking for a fight." Gianni says. I hear a few thuds in the background. "Oi man."
"Stop hitting each other." I say amusedly. "You're like a pair of kids."
"I am much prettier that any average pigeon. I'm more like an exotic peacock." Lorrie laughs, thumping Gianni again. "And I could win any lousy pigeon fight if I wanted to."
"Well that's definitely up for debate." Gianni says, thumping him right back.
"And my hope of a clean escape lies in the hands of you two." I sigh dramatically into the phone. "This should be interesting."
"You wouldn't have it any other way Bumblebee." Lorrie says cheekily into the phone.
"Well, you're definitely right there." I reply smiling. One more day.