AN: Well everyone, after nearly 3 months I've been able to post again. I've actually got several chapters done, so they'll be up shortly. Hope you enjoy them. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10: Bring Me Down

Sweet like a kiss

Sharp like a razor blade

I find you when I' m close to the bottom

You can't appreciate the time it takes

To kick a love I always knew was kind of wrong

And as I'm putting out the flame

Somebody brings up you name

-Bring Me Down - Miranda Lambert

"You don't know this guy," Johnny said. "He's smart."

"Well so am I," she said. "Whatever this scroll is going to lead him to, I'm not going to let him get it. He said so himself, I'm the best in my field. I can damn well outsmart this cocky bastard."

"So what's your plan?"

"You'll see," she said, an eyebrow arched.

"Damn it, Becca, why do you have to be so difficult?" He narrowed his eyes at her and she refused to meet his gaze although they were so close to each other in their attempt to keep as quiet as possible.

She raised her eyes to a corner of the room where she saw a small camera, almost completely nondescript except for the tiny green light blinking. They were being watched.

"Hot damn," he breathed, his breath warm on her cheek as his stubble grazed her skin.

"Looks like we don't really have the luxury of privacy."

"So, what, I'm just going to have to trust you? That you know what you're doing?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you know about getting out of situations like this?"

"Maybe a little more than you think. Anyways, 'torch', you obviously can't get us out of this mess as the place has been fireproofed. It just looks like you'll have to trust me. Anyway, out of the two of us, I'm the more level-headed one here."

She didn't know why she was trying to pick a fight here, she wasn't really, it was just her way of relieving stress from the situation. But she wasn't surprised when she felt his hand on her arm, not a tight grip, but just strong enough so that she wanted desperately to shrug it off.

"What?" she whispered, "I am the more levelheaded one. You have a very low boiling point, Johnny, always have. It takes nothing to set you off. And you don't think things through. You're a little, what was the word Reed used? Hotheaded."

"And you're superiority complex is starting to get on my nerves," he said through gritted teeth. "But that's a problem for another day. First, we've got to get out of here."

"Just trust me," she said. "And don't do anything stupid, as hard as that may be for you." She cleared her throat and started to back away from him as the door began to open, however Johnny's hand on her arm stopped her and she stumbled.

Victor entered, the same oily smile on his face. "Are you ready to begin?" he asked, steepling his fingers.

Becca nodded and watched as an elderly gentleman dressed in tan breeches and a large white shirt wheeled a cart into the room which contained several computers, all the necessary tools to handle antique documents, as well as a meal for two.

The old man aimed a blank smile at the two, who still stood close together because Johnny still had her arm in his grip. He had a large gap where his two front teeth were missing. For some reason, this gave Becca the image of a snaggle-toothed seven year old, except this mouth belonged to a seventy-year old man.

Victor didn't even acknowledge the servant, but spread his hand wide, over the cart. "I've brought you some food, and the necessary equipment. I'm going to be monitoring your progress carefully. If you're not making speedy enough advancement, there will be dire consequences for your dear Johnny here." He leered at Becca again and she felt goosebumps on her skin and his hand on her arm tightened slightly. Turning again, as if dismissing servants, he said, "I'll be back in an hour to check on you. Enjoy your lunch."

"Something about that…" Johnny's voice trailed off.

"What?" Becca asked, moving towards the cart for the food and to take her first look at the missing scroll.

"I've known Doom for a few years now," he said, "and there's something odd about the way he's acting."

"Isn't he, by all definitions, 'odd'?" she asked. "I've read about the guy. He's all mysterious, ran those employees at that company of his ragged, treating them practically like slaves, and no one knows too much about his background, except that he came from here, Latveria, and that he's descended from the rulers of the country."

"Something about him though," Johnny said, "maybe he's just eager…"

"What are you babbling about?" Becca asked, unrolling the second scroll and comparing it to the first.

Johnny shook his head, "probably nothing."

"Good," Becca sat down and began to eat, "I've got to get started."

"I thought you weren't going to help him," he said, his voice low.

"Do you want to get electrocuted?" she asked offhandedly, already focusing on the work before her.

She didn't see him roll his eyes, a gesture, which would've reminded her of herself if she'd seen it.

Twenty minutes later, she was well engrossed in her work and Johnny paced in a corner, a habit he'd taken up ever since Becca had fallen back into his life again. It wasn't his style to sit by and do nothing. But, something about the way she smiled at him made him think that she had a good plan up her sleeve.

Since she had both scrolls together and had already figured out how to read both, it was slow but steady work. When she came to a phrase she recognized, her hand froze, then began to shake. "Oh my God," she whispered. Her words brought Johnny to her side.

"What?" he whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder more out of habit than affection.

"He's a fool," Becca said in a hushed voice. "A damned fool."

"What is it?" Johnny repeated.

"I thought it was just a legend," she said, "just a fairy tale. This can't be authentic." She shoved hair away from her face and blew out a loud breath.

"Now you're babbling," Johnny said, a smirk teasing the edge of his mouth.

"The Black Volume," she whispered. She looked up at him, her clear eyes meeting his narrowed ones. "This is really bad."

She's making faster progress than I thought; Victor smirked to himself as he watched her reaction and Johnny as he hovered over her shoulder protectively. Soon, he'd know the exact location to the one thing that could give him everything he'd ever wanted.

Hope you enjoyed it. I'll be posting more in the next few days. Thanks for reading!