Chapter 2
The large hand that was wrapped around her mouth was crushing her nose. She gasped for air but none came. She tried to break free from his iron grip but all the squirming in the world couldn't wiggle her out of this problem.
Vanessa couldn't see the wall, but it came with a shocking force. The hand released her mouth but took her hair, pulled her head back and then cracked it against the wall. And then there was nothing. Darkness swamped her mind.
The three faces in front of her spiralled around before shakily joining to make one clear face. It laughed.
"Well it's good you came around" his condescending voice teased "I was worried that your little head wouldn't have been able to take that blow." Vanessa looked up at him, the spots on his skin suggested that he was old, but he didn't look it. From the looks of it they were in some kind of basement of a house. The main thing that she noticed was that he didn't have an Asian accent and wasn't wearing uniform. She was safe, for now.
"Morrison" a familiar voice called out softly. The man who she now knew as 'Morrison' turned around abruptly.
"What?" he snapped. Vanessa pushed herself off the ground onto a sitting position so that she could see what they were gaping at and she stared. That 'Morrison' guy was really getting on her nerve, they were searching through her bag.
"Get out of my shit!" she said angrily, showing no weakness. Morrison snatched the item of the tall mysterious man and stormed over to her.
"Where did you get this, Missy?" He asked whilst shaking the ammo in her face.
"Why do I have to tell you?" she snarled back. Vanessa was scared, but now her inner actress was at work. This was not the sweetheart Vanessa that everyone was used to, this was someone different.
"Do you know who this belongs to?" he asked her, showing the little engraved letters on the ammo. Vanessa smirked like she knew, but honestly had no clue. "This is 'General Ts'ai's ammo'. So I am going to ask you again. Where did you get this from?"
"I'll tell you once you give me back my shit" she said looking at him right in the eyes.
Another stalemate.
He laughed "I don't know if I like you of not. What's ya name, princess?"
Silence.
The man leant in closer, so close that she could smell the tuna from his last meal. And then she did something she never thought she'd do. Vanessa accumulated a bunch of saliva in the back of her throat and spat it hard in his face. Morrison stumbled backwards whilst trying to wipe it out of his eyes, his back was arched and he faced the ground like the Hunchback of Natradum. This was her chance. Vanessa hopped to her feet and pulled the gun out of her underpants – a place they forgot to check - and flicked it off safety. "I'm going to ask you one more time." She mimicked "Give me back my shit".
Morrison's eyes widened as he saw the gun pointed at him. "Now I'm not prepared to kill you," she continued "like what I did to General Ts'ai because we are on the same side, but…" Vanessa walked forwards and placed the end of the gun on his pants. She loaded it. "This" she said, flicking a glance at the bludge in the 'too tight pants' "is a different story."
"If you shoot the gun, they will hear and come after you." He tried to reason.
"No" she corrected. "If I shoot the gun, you won't have any more balls and you will be lying here, squirming on the floor when they come."
"I will tell them where you went"
"Where will I go?"
Blank stare.
"I will describe you to them"
"What will you say?"
"She is a short, blonde girl…"
"Well that really narrows it down. What will you tell them if they ask for a name?"
"She didn't tell me"
"Well that's great" she mocked him, enjoying her power " 'A petite, blonde nameless girl killed the General and shot my balls off' "
Silence.
"You really are a work of art" he admitted after a while. "Hunter" he called out to the familiar boy who look bemused at the situation "Give her back her 'shit'. You know, sweetheart, you can always join me"
"I don't work for anyone." She said seriously "And don't call me that"
"Well then what do I call you?"
"Call me… Riley" She fibbed. Vanessa was too sweet of a name to be one handling a gun. And besides, she didn't want rumours to be going around of Vanessa murdering a man, and this disguise was the protection she needed. But the main reason was because she didn't want Morrison to laugh at her. She hated his condescending tone. It was as if she were too much of a princess to be roughing it with the boys.
She saw the tall lean boy walk over cautiously.
"Get on the ground" Riley ordered Morrison, and he did so. She backed away from him with her gun still pointed at his groin. Riley transferred the nose of the gun to Hunter's pants. She looked up at him whilst still keeping an eye on Morrison. He had long dark hair that fell down to his shoulders and a tanned, angular face that was covered mostly by hair. He was very mysterious. And tall. He handed her the bag.
"If anything is gone from here, I will come straight back and shoot both of your balls off."
Hunter didn't say anything, he just looked down at her with two eyes as black as night.
"Walk me out" Riley ordered him. And he did so. Later, Vanessa tried to reason with herself why she asked him to do that. Her final conclusion was that she needed a hostage right until she disappeared, but she knew that the real reason was because she felt safe with the mysterious man.
