Hello, welcome back! Now where were we... Alice just tried to escape again and fell out of the truck and lost consciousness. Here's what happens next! Enjoy!

Chapter Six

Captive

When her eyes fluttered open the first thing Alice saw was a white ceiling. No, that wasn't right. Her room at Abi's had a beige-coloured ceiling.

Suddenly, a tall man in a black leather jacket appeared, standing over her, looking down at her. Alice's eyes shot open and a shrill scream escaped her lips.

"Shhh!" cried the man, putting a hand over her mouth.

She squirmed and shoved him away. Before she could ask anything, the blond man who had done most of the talking in the truck, entered the room.

"Phil, what did you do?" he demanded.

"Nothing!" cried the younger man, Phil. "I was just watching over her, as instructed." Creepy.
"She's awake now."

"Yes, I can see that."

"Where the hell am I?!" Alice cried. She snatched up a pillow from beside her on the couch, gripping it tightly and ready to throw it if necessary.

"We're at a hotel," the blond answered.

"Where?"

"Still in D.C."

"What happened?"

"How much do you remember?"

"Falling out of the truck…" It was as if her memory of it triggered the pain. She looked all the way down her arm at a long scrape and road rash. It felt like she had scraped the side of her head too.

"You fell unconscious after that," he explained. "So we brought you up here and laid you on the couch there to rest."

How did they carry me all the way into a hotel room without seeming suspicious? Now that he mentioned it, she seemed to recall a vague memory of being pressed up against someone's chest, carried bridal-style, but the memory was fuzzy. However, she was pretty sure it had been him. She shuddered. Then she scoffed and shook her head. "Who are you?"

He smiled a little. "Ian Howe."

She regarded him through narrowed eyes. "Is that your real name?"

He chuckled. Then he took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Yes." She yanked her hand away.

The other men filed into the room then.

"Phil you've already met," Ian said, nodding to where Phil stood.

He smiled and gave a little wave. "Phil McGregor."

"Victor and Powell," continued Ian, nodding to two other men who now sat across from them on the opposite couch. They nodded at her.

The bald, grumpy-looking man who had been shooting answered merely, "Shaw."

"And that's Shaw," said Ian. "There, Miss Chase, now you know the crew."

The men seemed to forget about her after that, Ian sitting down on the couch with a pen and pad of paper while the other four unloaded their bags of supplies for the robbery. So Alice went and plopped herself in a chair in the corner, glad to get off her feet. Her boots were squeezing her feet. She would probably have blisters.

Because she had nothing better to do she watched Ian as he scribbled something down on the notepad, while the others, when they were done unloading, came and sat around him. He looked extremely concentrated and thoughtful.

She jumped then when she felt something brush against her arm.

"Sorry," said Phil. He had appeared at her side. He brushed his finger against the rash on her arm. He winced. "You probably want to get that cleaned up." She slapped his hand away. "We have a first-aid kit somewhere around here." He began rifling through the bags. He came back moments later with some disinfectant wipes. She took one from him and tore it open, wiping her arm. She winced at the stinging.

Ian was still scribbling away, looking more and more frustrated by the minute. The others obviously noticed this too.

"Ian," said Shaw gently. "We're all very tired, and it's really late. Maybe it would be best to get some rest and get a fresh start in the morning."

"But we don't have that much time!" Ian cried. Then he looked apologetically at his friend. "No, maybe you're right." He set down the notepad and pen and rubbed his hands over his tired face. "We'll figure this out in the morning. Good work tonight gentlemen."

Alice yawned. She could feel herself fading rapidly. She had a strange dream that night, of car chases, fancy parties, and treasure.

So I updated/changed some things in this chapter, as you may notice, as well as the next chapter. So if you've already read these chapters you may want to re-read them to see the changes, and if you haven't gotten to those chapters yet then no need to worry :) thanks, sorry for the confusion!