Oliver ran a hand over the back of his neck and paced as Victor ran the trace on Chloe's phone. "How much longer?"
"Ollie, man, we're all worried but you're not helping. I told you that her phone is off, so it's going to take a minute to pull up the last location." Victor continued working steadily.
Oliver's jaw clenched almost painfully. "It's already been more than twenty minutes, and we don't know how much time Chloe has because we don't know what's going on. What I do know is that she was terrified when she called me, and she said she was handcuffed to a bed. So I want to see some fucking progress, Victor."
AC stepped between Oliver and Victor while Bart looked on with a worried expression. He'd gotten the call from Oliver, and it had taken him only seconds to zip down to Florida to notify AC. They'd arrived at the Clocktower ahead of Oliver and Victor who had both been at the QI offices – Oliver for meetings and Victor for a system upgrade.
Getting Victor up and ready had taken time and as far as Bart could see, Oliver was starting to lose his cool. Bart dialed Clark again, sighing when it went straight to voicemail. "Stretch, you gotta start keeping your phone on, man. Chloe's gotten herself into some trouble, and we may need you. Call me when you get this."
Bart knew Clark was on assignment with Lois, and Lois wasn't exactly in on his super secrets. But he also knew that if they didn't let Clark know that Chloe was in trouble, he'd be upset about it later and would likely lay into Oliver about it. And with Oliver in his present mood, that could only lead to bad juju.
"Got it!" Victor's voice rang with relief as he brought up a satellite image on the monitor. "Last location was in the middle of the warehouse district – bunch of clubs and restaurants in that area, but I think these warehouses have all been converted into apartments."
"Let's go." Oliver was halfway to the door, and the others quickly followed.
Since it was broad daylight on a weekday, none of them were in their usual uniforms, and they couldn't risk going out with visible weapons. Instead, they were wearing casual clothing, and each of them was carrying a small gun loaded with tranquilizer darts. Checking his phone one more time, Bart hoped that was all they'd need.
Chloe watched the people in the room carefully. They had stared at her for a while, but after she stopped talking and moving around, they seemed to lose interest. A few peeked up at her occasionally, but most of the men and women were busy with their phones and tablets now.
She gradually relaxed when it became clear that they weren't planning to attack en masse, but she tensed up again when she heard the door open. A shaggy haired man about her age walked in carrying a tray of coffees and a pastry box from one of the nearby cafes. He was wearing a designer T-shirt, vest and scarf paired with tight jeans and loafers – his look definitely screamed hipster more than crazed killer.
"Oh good, you're awake. Want some coffee?" He set the items down on the table and approached her, holding out one of the cups.
Chloe stared at him incredulously. Was he for real? "What I want is the key to these handcuffs."
"Oh sorry about that – you were a little out of control last night, Chloe. Not that I mind usually, but not when I've got an audience." He set the coffee down on his bedside table and rummaged in a drawer. "Here we go."
Chloe cringed away from him as he approached her. She brought her taser up. "I don't know who are you or how you got me here, but don't even think about touching me. Just put the key down there where I can reach it."
He froze, eyes on her taser. "Is that a taser?"
"Yes – if you or your creepy little friends try to hurt me, I will definitely hurt you. Key, please."
"Ok, look – I don't know what your damage is, Chloe, but you came here under your own steam. When you got a little rowdy, I cuffed you to the headboard and you went to sleep. End of story."
"I don't really care about your story right now – I just want the key to these handcuffs so I can leave."
"Yeah and what if I give you the key and you come after me with your taser? I mean, you practically attacked me last night." He backed away from her. "You're crazy, you know that?"
Chloe's palms were sweating, and she adjusted her grip on the taser. Maybe she could just wait him out until Oliver arrived. She didn't doubt that the team was busy figuring out where she was at that moment. "Says the guy who cuffed me to a headboard. What is this, some kind of cult? Are you the one responsible for killing those girls?"
He looked confused. "What girls?"
Before Chloe could answer, she heard the door bang open. "Chloe?"
Finally. "Here, I'm here!"
Oliver rushed into the room with Victor, Bart and AC close behind him. Oliver came straight to her, and Chloe noticed that the others immediately took up defensive positions between them and the strange audience in the room.
"Are you hurt?" Oliver said, eyes darkening with anger when he saw her wrist cuffed to the headboard. His fingers went to her wrist, and she winced. She was going to have a lot of bruising there.
"I'm ok, but that guy has the key." She nodded toward the hipster who had begun shouting at AC and the others.
Oliver charged across the room and shoved the guy, who backed away quickly. "Is this how you have your fun, by assaulting women?"
"That bitch is crazy if she says I assaulted her," he shot back, throwing the key at Oliver. "I want all of you out of here or I'm calling the cops."
Oliver lunged at the guy, but AC and Victor both grabbed him and held him back. Bart scooped up the key, and when he unlocked Chloe's handcuffs, the men and women seated on the folding chairs all stood and clapped. Bart looked over at Oliver. "Hey Bossman, I think I know what's going on here."
Sorry for the abrupt chapter breaks, but I've got a painfully slow Internet connection right now and I'm having trouble with uploading and downloading things. The smaller size works better.
