Chapter ten: Plans of escape.
It was cold and musty in the cellar of the villa; Chun Li supposed that Antoine Michaels hadn't been a wine man, judging from the empty wine racks and uncared for odor that permeated the fair-sized enclosure.
They were alone, just her and William, with their arms tied behind their backs and lashed to one of the empty wooden racks. She had no idea what had happened to the other members of her team, or what time it was as there were no windows in the cellar. All Chun Li knew was that she had to get out of here and fast. She had to get back to Japan, had to warn Cammy and stop that psycho son of a bitch Vega from hurting her. But right now, Chun Li couldn't see how to do any of that.
"Ahh," she pulled at the ropes that bound her for the hundredth time, feeling more of her flesh rip and burn, but not getting any closer to freedom. "Damn it!" She shouted, her voice echoing in the dark cellar.
"Try to relax," Guile said calmly, testing his own ropes carefully. "We aren't getting out of here by screaming our lungs out."
"That's easy for you to say!" Chun Li snarled, trying to find a weak spot in the old wood that she could exploit and use to her advantage. There was none.
"Why don't you talk to me, huh?" Guile had his eyes closed, his hands still moving constantly. "Tell me what's going on between you and Cammy. She was that assassin Bison used to kill those senators in America and the two members of Parliament over in Britain, right?"
Chun Li fell back against the rack, feeling a horrible wave of defeat wash over her. "Yeah," she said tiredly. "Interpol sent her to a clinic where they could run some tests and try to recover her mind. They reversed the brain washing Bison had done, but she still doesn't have any memory."
"Okay," Guile said in a very soothing voice. "Now how is she connected to you? The way Vega talked, it sounded like you two are…well, lovers or something." There was the hint of a question in Guile's voice.
"We are," Chun Li said quietly, feeling tears slide down her face. "I don't know how it happened, but after Cammy was deprogrammed, she was put on suicide watch; she had tried to kill herself twice. I guess the memories of what she had done were too strong and painful. So I agreed to let her stay with me. Hell," Chun Li chuckled miserably, "I figured I could keep an eye on her and keep her from hurting herself. Maybe I could even help her remember who she was."
"And?" Guile prompted as Chun Li remained silent.
"I don't know, like I said, things just moved on from there." Chun Li looked over at him, tied beside her. "After we split up, William, I just needed someone, anyone."
Guile nodded, not a hint of judgment in his eyes as he opened them. "Do you love her?" He asked quietly.
Chun Li thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes, yes I do."
"Then let's make sure we get out of here and send that asshole Vega on a one-way trip to hell." Guile grinned. "Chin up," he said brightly. "Everything will work out okay."
"I wish," Chun Li said cynically. "That's the attitude of dreamers and fools. Life isn't built for either one of those."
"Well, we'll agree to disagree on that one, eh?" Guile suddenly frowned and flexed his arms, his biceps bulging for a moment and sweat breaking out on his brow. There was an intense rending sound, and then the ropes binding his arms snapped with a bang like a gunshot.
"How'd you do that?" Chun Li exclaimed in shock as Guile got to his feet and shook off the remains of the rope.
"It takes a lot of time, skill, and experience, but if I build up a huge amount of pressure in my forearms, I can snap pretty much anything." Guile grinned again, this time with a slightly rueful twist to it. "Hurts like hell though."
"Well hurry up, let's get out of here." Chun Li twisted about so Guile could untie her arms. She stood, rubbing the circulation back into her wrists. "Great," she said. "Now let's find my team and blast our way out of here." They rushed for the rickety wooden stairs leading to the main floor of the villa.
Guile made it up first, and so was the first to discover their predicament. "It's locked," he said as he rattled the doorknob.
"Kick it down or something," Chun Li said hotly, almost pushing past Guile to try it herself.
Guile took one appraising look at the door and shook his head. "No way that's gonna happen." He stepped aside to show Chun Li. "This baby is reinforced with steel; it'd take something a heck of a lot bigger than my foot to bust this door down."
"Shit!" Chun Li swore viciously. "Then we're stuck in here?"
"Until someone opens this door, it looks that way."
"Then escaping those damned ropes didn't do anything!" Chun Li stormed down the stairs and began searching for some other way out. She was determined to find something, anything that would facilitate their escape from this dungeon under the villa. She checked over each wall carefully, searched the entire floor, and even stood on the wine racks to examine the ceiling. Nothing.
Chun Li sat back down by the rack they had been tied to and began to sob.
"Don't worry," Guile said softly, putting an arm around her. "As soon as one of those morons upstairs comes down to check on us, we'll get out. Trust me, everything will be okay."
Chun Li wished she could believe him, she really did. But their situation seemed more hopeless by the minute. And right now, Vega could be in Japan, doing unspeakable things to Cammy.
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With an airy sigh, Vega walked down the steps to the waiting car. The sun was up and things were looking bright in sunny Tokyo, and he was feeling like today would be the perfect day to have some fun with cute little Chun Li. But no, instead he was here, in Japan, with a job to do.
Work always got in the way of pleasure.
He stood out to a fair degree from the people of Japan, with his bright green tee-shirt and Panama hat. He also wore a pair of shades and a blue and yellow checkered jacket.
Vega pulled open the passenger door of the old Honda Integra and got in. He looked over at the driver––a thin, pallid Australian he knew only as Cuthbert––and told him to start driving.
"Got a present for you in the glove box," Cuthbert said, his voice a dull neutral without the usual Aussie accent. He was a cold professional, and able to kill without blinking an eye. Vega disliked him; a man had to enjoy his work, even if it was annoying, and for the Australian, it was just business as usual. So very sad.
Vega opened the glove compartment and smiled. A nice big Heckler & Koch USP Tactical lay inside, fitted with a silencer and with an extra clip of .45 caliber ammo.
"Aw, how nice, someone really does care about my happiness." He smirked at Cuthbert and checked out the gun. "Just like the one I have at home; the same one I couldn't bring through the frigging airport security and had to leave sitting in its holster feeling all dejected."
"The boss says it's your preferred weapon," Cuthbert said dully, his grey eyes not even flicking over to Vega. "He had me buy this one especially for this job."
"Good, now let's get this over with. Do we know where our dear sweet little Cammy is?" Vega was satisfied with the pistol, and he slipped it into his right jacket pocket, putting the clip of extra ammo in the other pocket.
"Yes, we have her location and two teams monitoring her."
"Then what the hell did you need me for?" Vega demanded. "I'm sure one of the normal flunkies could have handled it."
"The boss says he wants this done by someone he can trust." Was it Vega's imagination, or did Cuthbert sound a little annoyed? Maybe the Aussie didn't like the insinuation of not being trusted enough to kill one woman. It made Vega feel a little giddy.
"All right," he said. "Let's get this over with right now. I've things to do and people to torture." Yes, once Cammy was dead, Vega could go back to Taiwan and begin his party with Chun Li. The thought of making her pay for what she'd done to him was intoxicating, like a drug. It invigorated his system, filling him with a sense of power.
So soon, dear, so very soon. I just have to kill your bitch girlfriend, and then we'll have all the time in the world.
To be continued…
Ah, a fairly unimpressive chapter. Nothing big happening, nothing exciting, just a lot of building up. Oh well, expect something to happen next chapter…or the one after that. I jest, I jest. I seriously hope I'm not boring anybody here by going at my own pace, and I hope you do find something to enjoy in my story. On a totally unrelated side note, I swear a lot don't I? I just noticed that my characters cuss like sailors. Man, this kinda annoys me, 'cause I'm so easy going in real life. I guess I get too involved in the plot, trying to get inside my characters' minds and make them act as they would act if they were real. Oh well. Sorry for the constant cussing.
J. Nelson, 4–8–2007.