"How was your sleep?" the man asked. "Oh, I'm Michael, by the way."
Lizzy waved the question away. This entire situation was beyond her comprehension. What on earth was happening? How did this happen?
Apparently she had asked these questions out loud, because Michael answered her.
"Well, you are going to be questioned today is happening, and we kidnapped you is what happened. How we kidnapped you is a secret." His tone was disturbingly cheerful for the cold room, and his voice echoed off the floors.
She thought she knew the answer to this next question, but she asked it anyway.
"Who's questioning me?"
He chuckled. "MNT, of course. Otherwise known as 'the boss'." He winked at her. "Better stay in line, or else, you know..."
He gestured up to several men standing guard high on platforms placed randomly on the walls. The were all holding rifles and Lizzy didn't have to be told that they knew exactly how to use them. She guessed that, if she looked up, there would be more of the wooden platforms attached to the wall. They probably surrounded the whole area. She saw two others standing by the thick oak door across the room, but they didn't look quite as experienced as the others – the guns were held clumsily and they both looked very young. Maybe if she could get over there without being seen, she could escape... somehow...
But that was a big 'if'. The men on the ledges looked pretty serious.
Suddenly, something occurred to her. "You said MNT was questioning me?"
Michael nodded. "The one and only!"
Didn't Amanda say MNT was leaving for Canada? Lizzy thought. Maybe he hasn't left yet.
She looked back over at the doors. Did they ever rotate guards? They had to at some point...
"I can tell you're thinking of ways to get through those doors." Said the man, lowering himself down onto the end of Lizzy's bed. His smile had disappeared. "Let me tell you, there is no chance of survival that way. Even if you got past these guys, there are hundreds more out there. This room is in the center of the whole building. That hallway out there is the main way out, and every minute that the sun is up, it is crawling with agents of every sort. There is a guard out there every minute of every day. They are always wide awake. They all have guns."
Michael patted her on the knee, his grin reappearing. "And I would really prefer that you didn't die, since MNT – aka 'the boss' – has entrusted your safety and health to me."
He stood up. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience of our security. Dinner is at six. The staff enter through that door, over there." he pointed to a wooden door that, until then, Lizzy hadn't noticed. It was on the opposite end of the wall that her bed was nearest to, and there weren't any guards around it – at least, on this side.
"They come from that direction, and not through the main doors, because they're less likely to drop the food – there aren't as many people to jostle them, if you know what I mean."
Lizzy nodded, masking her face with an expression of interest. In reality, all she wanted him to do was leave so she could think – think and process everything that had happened.
"Also, nobody eats the food that they bring in the back halls – before we had that side hallway built, the platters were much emptier after they were brought through there than they were when they left the kitchen." He laughed, standing up.
"Well, I'd best take my leave, if you know what I mean." Michael winked. Lizzy tried not to appear confused, nodding her head slowly. Why was he winking at her?
"Goodbye." She said, forcing a smile to her face.
He brushed back his dusty brown hair and nodded, then walked to the door and, after affirming his identity with the guards with some sort of card, stepped out of the room.
After he had left, Lizzy lay back down and closed her eyes. Her mind was tired and she didn't know what to make of everything – all she could think of to do was rest. No matter what her attempt at escape would be, she could guarantee that rest was one thing she would need if she was to succeed.
It wasn't until an hour later that Lizzy realized what Michael had done while talking to her – he had made several big mistakes, and the information he had given her – the other hallway to the kitchen that she wouldn't have noticed otherwise, that there weren't nearly as many people that way – which meant less of a chance she would get caught – and where this room was in the building.
She smiled. If she could build on this information, maybe she could do what no-one else had – what no-one else could do in the past
Maybe she could break out of MNT's headquarters. It would be difficult, for sure, but if she tried hard enough... if she worked at it...
"Maybe it's possible," she whispered.
* * *
She didn't know when she was brought to the interrogation room – she had fallen back asleep quickly after she had realized what Michael had told her and how she could use it – but she did know that she hadn't been there long. She had been mildly surprised to wake up and discover that, once again, she was definitely not where she expected to be, but she guessed that she would have to get used to it – apparently they were only going to move her when she was asleep.
The room was mostly dark, with barely any windows and a heavy grey colour on the walls. The only source of light was from a bright oil lamp suspended from the ceiling, with the light trained directly on her. There seemed to be a sort of opaque mirror on the opposite side of the lamp that reflected the light entirely to her face and left the rest of the room in almost complete shadow. Since her chair was in the middle of the floor, there was quite a bit of room in shadow.
Lizzy squinted in a futile effort to see beyond the circle of light that surrounded her and the chair she was tied to. Her arms were on the armrests and her wrists were secured to the wood by a triple knot. She sighed, abandoning any attempt to see anything in the room besides herself.
"I never did like knots," she said to herself, pulling up on the rope with her arms. She hoped there would be some give, but there were no signs of fraying and the knots were secure. "And I have always hated rope. It's so... confining."
Lizzy jumped when a sudden deep laugh came from behind her.
"Talk about irrational fears." Said a very low voice – it came from the same direction as the laugh had, and it was obviously male.
The voice sounded... familiar, Lizzy thought – yet she was mostly certain she had never heard it before.
"I didn't say that I was scared of it, just that I didn't like it very much." She muttered.
"Rope is only confining when you're tied up in it." He continued, apparently not hearing what she had said. "Oh, my name is – er, you can call me..."
He paused. "Never mind."
The man without a name. How charming.
A person strode around the chair and stood in front of her, casting his shadow over her. The light surrounding him made it so she couldn't get a clear view of his face, so she abandoned the idea and looked down at her lap.
"Oh, come now." He said, crouching in front of her. The light flooded back where his shadow had been, and she blinked rapidly in the brightness. "Come now. You haven't lost your boldness yet, I hope."
Lizzy refused to meet his eye. In fact, she barely heard his words – she was focused on something else. Why was his voice so familiar?
"We have something to show you."
She looked up quickly, distracted from her thoughts.
He chuckled, meeting her blue eyes with his own brown ones. "Ah, that got your attention." He looked past her and pointed to someone she couldn't see. "Beckett! I assume you were listening to our conversation?"
Lizzy heard a bit of stuttering behind her, and the man in front of her raised an eyebrow, a slightly amused expression on his face. She could see that much of his expression, even with the odd lighting, although not much more. "Don't even try to argue." The man told the person he'd called 'Beckett'.
There was a deep sigh.
"That's what I thought. Go get the item we were talking about."
The door opened and closed with barely a noise, and Lizzy assumed that 'Beckett' had left.
The 'man without a name' stood and rubbed his palms together. "Ohh, I think you're going to like this." He said, grinning broadly. His obvious pleasure in this was disturbing. And what was it that he thought she would like so much? She felt a sickening sense of anticipation and her stomach was twisting itself into knots as she imagined all the horrible things it could be – she shuddered.
The room was mostly silent as they waited for Beckett to return. Lizzy heard some hushed whispering between the odd, creepy man and some woman she couldn't see. This chair was really a bother. Well, more the ropes. The actual chair wasn't a problem. It was actually quite comfortable – or it would be, if she could move her arms. And if the chair wasn't nailed to the dark wood floor.
Soon enough, Beckett returned with a large box, which he gave to the apparently nameless man, who nodded in recognition. The he moved back in front of Lizzy, holding the box in two hands. It was about as wide as Lizzy's shoulders and a little longer than her arm.
"Here we go!" he said. "Alright."
He knelt again and placed the box on the floor gently. "Now, you might think that this is something really dark and evil, but trust me, it's, uh... um,"
"It's what?" she couldn't stop herself from saying something, but instantly regretted it when he smiled up at her like she was a toddler who had just learned to say 'please'.
She wished she could punch him in the face – it was probably a good thing she was tied up, or she wouldn't have been able to restrain herself. He had it coming to him.
"Good job! You're gaining your confidence back. Congratulations. This is one of my favourite things about you – you always bounce back."
Wait – how could he know anything about her? 'You always bounce back'? Where had that come from?
He was really creepy. How could he know something that she had never thought herself?
This guy was trying way too hard to be mysterious. All he was really accomplishing was being extraordinary annoying. She rolled her eyes.
He slapped his hands together. "Yes! There it is – your sauciness. I've heard so much –"
Lizzy kicked out at him with her foot and caught him in the jaw, and he fell backwards to the floor. Her mouth dropped open at what she had just done – she hadn't even thought before kicking – it was pure reflex. He stared at her. The room went silent.
Lizzy paused and time itself seemed to stand still. "What did I just do?" she murmured.
"Wha-what on earth?"
That was Beckett – Lizzy recognized the stutter, her mind automatically placing the voice, even through her shock.
No-one moved for what seemed like an eternity. Then something happened that surprised her even more.
The man-without-a-name laughed. A long, loud explosive laugh that was even more annoying than his voice. Lizzy's brow creased and her expression turned from scandalized to bewildered. "Uh, what?" she said, beyond confused.
"Oh, what personality! What spirit!" he exclaimed after he got his laughter under control.
She frowned. He waved her off and commenced opening the box.
"As I was saying, this isn't – well, dangerous. Or it shouldn't be. At least I think so – as long as Beckett got the right thing." He shot a look past Lizzy and she was relieved it wasn't aimed at her – it seemed like he could have melted iron with that glare.
"I hate to say this, but you're kind of ridiculous." She said, swallowing her fear.
"Thanks." He replied sarcastically. He lifted off the top of the box and, hiding the contents from her eyes with the lid, lifted something else out.
It was another box. But this one was half the size and made of iron.
He moved the larger one out of the way and replaced it with the iron box.
"And here we go again." He said.
He unlatched it and pushed up the lid with only a mild creak from the hinges while Lizzy looked on intently. He glanced up and noticed her watching. " Curious, are you?" he asked, his tone mild.
She shrugged, making him grin. "Whew. I was starting to think that you weren't interested at all and I was wasting my time."
"You know, I didn't say yes. I never said I was actually curious, you just –" Lizzy protested.
"You didn't have to." He cut her off.
They held eye contact for a few seconds, then the young man looked back down into the box. "And – surprise, surprise – we have..." he looked to Lizzy for the answer.
"Another – box." She said, and he held it higher.
"Yup. But this one is wood."
"I can see that. I have eyes, you know." said Lizzy, rolling them again.
"Well, let's see what's inside." He was obviously trying to use a mysterious voice, but if Lizzy was being honest, he was failing.
"Let me guess – another box?"
"I don't think so – uh, but maybe it is..." He nodded and smiled widely, but his words weren't exactly confident.
"... Right. I'm sure that's a completely accurate statement." Lizzy said under her breath.
He opened the box and Lizzy leaned in for a closer look, quickly sitting back when he looked up at her. "Were you, uhh...?"
He didn't finish the question, but Lizzy knew what he meant. She shook her head vigorously. "No. Nope. I definitely wasn't trying to see in before you showed me what was inside. At all. I don't care what's in the box." She told him.
He paused and smiled uncertainly, then lifted something out of the box.
"Ta-da!" he exclaimed, holding the item high. Lizzy scrunched up her nose. "What is it?"
"Wait – sorry..." he pulled the cloth covering from over the... well, whatever it was... then held it up again.
Lizzy squinted at it a moment, then sat straight up, her back pressing against the chair. "Wait, that's not – it isn't..."
"Oh, yes." He nodded. "It is."
* * *
Lizzy couldn't believe it – it was here. Here, of all places. It was supposed to be at Kit's house. Well, she had last seen it at Kit's house. She had left it there, but they did come kidnap her...
She had one question she couldn't figure out the answer to – how on earth did the agents get in there in the first place? She knew Kit was a relatively light sleeper, and his bedroom was right between the living room and the kitchen – those were the only two doors from outside that led into the house. Also, several the stairs had a noticeable creak. How could they get inside the house?
Then she remembered the open windows. The agents could probably climb, and they could open the window from the outside since it wasn't closed or locked.
Lizzy kicked herself mentally. That should have been obvious. She was losing her touch for noticing these things.
"I just wish they hadn't got the clock." She whispered.
When the... well, when that man had pulled the small dark-stained mahogany clock from under the beige cloth... she had been completely shocked. So shocked, in fact, that she hadn't said a single word for over a minute. Then she had kicked him again. This time, it was more intentional, more powerful, and less 'funny' as the last one had been to him. She had hit him in the collarbone and he had fallen back and hit his head – hard – on the floor. He was immediately knocked unconscious, and two men – she hadn't been able to see their faces – had carried her out of the room after cutting the ropes off. She had been at the door almost before he hit the floor.
Now she was lying back in her previous spot, on the thin bed where they had put her originally. She was tired from the day before and the interrogation, mad at herself for not putting the pieces together – the clock hadn't been there when she had retrieved the coded message for her companions – she should have noticed that it was missing. Lizzy frowned and pushed her face deeper into the few pillows on the bed. "What on earth have I done?" she said, her voice muffled. A passing worker glanced at her in confusion when he heard the noise, and he started walking a bit faster at the sight of her, but Lizzy didn't notice. She was distracted by her thoughts. And her hunger – she was absolutely starving. When had Michael said supper was?
"Seven, I think." Lizzy sat up, rubbing her left eye. "No, six."
She paused, thinking. "But it must be later than six by now." She looked towards the door, then up at the windows.
The high glass panels let in minimal light; Lizzy could tell that the sun was rapidly sinking by the unusual reddish colour of the light. She propped herself up on her elbow, falling into a more relaxed position. "I guess they'll feed me when they feed me." She sighed.
Lizzy lay back down and closed her eyes. She tried to rest, but she was so distracted with her thoughts and the few noises around her that she couldn't relax enough. Her body was tense and her head was reeling with all the information she was processing – the day had given her much to think about, and her mind wasn't sure how to get it all in order.
Then someone tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped, her right leg flying up in her wild attempt to stand. I keep seeming to kick without meaning to, Lizzy thought ruefully. She finally got both feet underneath her and stood, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "What on earth?"
A frightened-looking young girl looked up at her with wide green eyes, her blond hair pulled back in a loose braid held up with a single hairpin. She held out a tray with a good-sized bowl of stew, a wooden spoon, and a large mug of water. "You-your dinner, m-ma'am," she managed to say, her thick Irish accent slurring the words together. She swallowed, and when Lizzy didn't take the tray she placed it on the bed and curtsied hastily, then hurried away. Lizzy hadn't moved the whole time the girl was there, and now she blinked in confusion.
"Well, at least they brought me food." She muttered, then sat to start her supper.
* * *
Since she hadn't eaten at all that day, Lizzy was almost sick with hunger. She had to remind herself to go slowly – she remembered the last time she had been this hungry and she hadn't paced herself, and she didn't want to re-live that moment – even though the event was years ago, she remembered how sick she had felt afterwards like it had happened yesterday.
After a few hours of focusing on attempting to plan her escape and watching the guard changes, trying to find a pattern, Lizzy had calmed down enough – well, was bored enough, really; guard changes aren't that interesting – to finally rest. She lay down and closed her eyes, but stayed half-awake in case they decided to move her again. It was around one A.M. when any activity happened – or rather, lack of activity – and it woke her up.
She wasn't completely awake, but she knew something was different. She looked around and immediately knew what it was.
The guards were gone. In the near pitch-dark she saw no sign of life on any of the ledges.
"This security is the worst, I swear." Lizzy muttered, swinging her legs out from underneath the covers and placing a bare foot on the cold tile floor. She paused, waiting to see if there were any traps, but when nothing happened she stood up and took a step, then another, and another – waiting for several moments between movements for some signal that she had been found out. But none came, and she got to the side door to the kitchen in just a few minutes.
She put a hand on the handle and turned it gently. Well, she tried – the door was locked. Or the doorknob was jammed. Either way, it would make too much noise trying to open it. She decided to try the main door first, and if that one was locked, she'd come back and try to pick the lock. That way it would be quieter. Stealth was key.
Lizzy made it halfway across the floor and, when nothing alarming happened, she started moving a bit faster. She arrived at the door, and reached for the handle. But something stopped her. She thought someone had said something... something about what was outside this door – was it Michael?
"Yes, he said something about a guard being out here all the time." She murmured. "With – guns."
Lizzy's eyes widened as she realized how close she had been to dying. She wasn't any more use to MNT and his mission than Finn could be. Or Alexander, or Patrick, or Marjorie. Or... Kit. They could just as easily kidnap one of them and get rid of her.
She couldn't escape. Not if it meant endangering others. It wasn't just suicide to step out of that door, it was homicide, too. Her friends could be slaughtered, would be slaughtered, just as easily as she could be. MNT was relentless. He wouldn't stop.
She hugged her knees close to herself and rested her head against the door, tears gathering in her eyes. She had no backup plan, no other options. Their time had run out. Winning was a distant dream, a quickly fading hope, an impossible thought. Just like reuniting with her parents.
Lizzy couldn't handle it. The mission was hopeless. She would never escape.
We're almost to the end!!! Only 5 more chapters to go. I'd like to thank everyone who's read this far for their loyalty to the project. I'd love it if you'd comment/vote, that would mean a lot to me <3 I'm still working on the sequel, "Time and Time Again", but we'll see when I finish that. In the meantime, here's another chapter. I hope you enjoy it! :D