Chapter Twelve
Brittany found it hard to concentrate on her
favorite songs when her sensitive ears were being assaulted
every second by ultrasonic waves modulated to effect a
Chipmunk's hearing and central nervous system.Bloodless
torture,but torture,nonetheless.
The squealing,high-pitched,pulsating
whine,which Humans would have found only annoying,drilled
through her skull like a physical thing.Her eyes watered
and she gritted her teeth to fight back the piercing pain
that enveloped her.
A single camera,mounted high in the ceiling and a
monitor set in one of the torture room's padded walls,were
the only other things there besides Brittany and she grew
quickly frustrated to see them every time she managed to
open her eyes.
The agony made it hard to keep abreast of the
time,but she figured a half-hour may have passed while she
was there.Remembering old songs,multiplication
tables,biblical passages and anything else she could force
into her mind helped Brittany focus and hang on,even when
she found herself clawing the walls or crumpling into a
fetal position.
A story up,in the building's uppermost floor,sat
the command center.Converted by the removal of all the
other rooms on the floor,it was large enough for a handsome-
sized crew of operators and the like.Now,only five ran it.
In the monitoring room,Bells quietly studied
Brittany.All she had to do was break and confess where she
hid the mask and he would stop all of this,but she refused
to do so.He didn't want to understand how she could allow
herself to be exposed to this torment.She was just a
girl,she should have given up at the first minute of sound-
pulses.Yet despite the ordeal,he begrudgingly witnessed a
woman comporting herself with a rare strength.
Libby.He knew she was doing all of this for
her.For the others,too,there was no doubt,but in his
eyes,he saw Brittany for who she really was.Her mother's
daughter.The same stubbornness...
"The same fire,"he whispered to himself.
He pushed the acknowledgement down in his mind and
looked at the clock.She withstood thirty-two minutes of
torture and the only sound that ever left her lips was the
occasional scream.Surprisingly,she was the only one on
Earth who was delaying him from finding The Archive,for as
long as she resisted,precious time was lost.He had to start
making moves now,while Duval didn't suspect.
He reached for the intercom.
Brittany's head throbbed so badly,she was afraid
that if she turned it,it would shatter.She clutched her
knees in a tight fetal position and prayed for it to
end,somehow,someway.Even if it meant her end,it would have
been preferable to the unending sonic hell.She couldn't
even hear herself scream anymore.
Then silence.It came so suddenly that it took
Brittany a minute or two to realize she was screaming
without the sound-pulses' accompaniment.
She wept openly because her nerves were so
nearly shot.Her throat was pained from screaming and crying
so hard,but it felt so good to her now.Her sobs and gasps
were the sweetest sounds she heard.And the quiet.It was
divinity,a blessing from on high.
It took long minutes to get the pain out of
her system and she was grateful for the time.She sat up and
the room wobbled sharply so she leaned back against one of
the soft walls and relaxed.She was too shaken to want to do
anything to thwart Bells at the moment.
When Brittany heard Bells' voice through the
hidden speakers in the room,she jumped,thinking she somehow
called him into being by thinking about him.
"Ya have yer mother's spirit,girl,"he said to her quietly.
That surprised her as much as the silence.What
was he playing at?If this was his idea of The Hot and Cold
Technique,she was too drained to care.She just wanted to
sleep forever.Eyes closed and drifting through the eternal
ether.
"When I get my...hands on you,you'll lose...yours,"she
managed.
His laughter rattled her nerves badly,even
though it was sincere."I like ya,girlie!Ya got brass.Let
nobody tell ya diferent.An',believe it or not,you're
actually inconveniencin' me by not tellin' me where the
mask is."
"B-Buzz...off!"
He continued cheerfully,and as calmly as if he
hadn't tortured her at all."Ya know,I don't know whatcha
were thinkin' about when ya tried to pull a switch on
me,but like I said,ya got brass,an' a heck of a bargainin'
chip.I can't finish ya off 'til I get the mask an' ya won't
tell me ta save yer life."
"Got it in...one."
"Ah,but I think ya'd tell me ta save someone else's."
Despite the painful dizziness,Brittany slowly
looked up towards the camera,fearfully aware of what he was
alluding to.
"See,I've got a bargainin' chip,too,an' mine's bigger an'
meaner than yours,my little sheila. Take a look at that
monitor,if ya please."
With painful slowness,she turned her attention to
the wall-mounted screen as it flickered to life.The image
was dim,black,steely wall were close together in right
angles,illuminated by a small light mounted somewhere above.
The image panned downward slowly until the tops
of heads could be seen.Brittany's heart jumped when the
image stopped at a level just low enough for her to see her
sisters,mother and friends still resting.Above their heads
and protruding slightly from one of the dark walls was the
mouth of a large pipe covered with a strong grill.
"Ya gotta hand it ta I.T.O.,darlin'.They think o'
everythin'.Interrogation and elimination in one buildin'.By
the way,yer people are in a water tank somewhere in the
buildin.I tried ta get yer mother with somethin' similar at
that spa,but I hear tell ya almost got it instead o'
her.Sorry,darlin'."
He ended that with a chuckle,but Brittany didn't
find it amusing in the least.So it was Bells,or someone in
his employ,who sabotaged the shower unit at Henri's.Well
that certainly proved that he wasn't above murder to
achieve a goal.
"Ha!If it was a woman in your position,it would have been
done right the first time,"she shot back with some
returning strength.
"Well,"he said slowly,menace lacing his words."If at first
you don't succeed..."
The instant he said that,the water started to
surge through the grated pipe in the tank,filling the floor
around the still sleeping victims.
"No!"Brittany called out,horrified."Wait!Please!"
The water continued to flow.Not quickly,but at
a steady pace that would have taken an hour or two to fill
completely.Brittany knew Bells could turn that trickle into
a deluge in a heartbeat.Bells had her in his mercy and she
had to come to terms with that.
"Please!"she begged.The thought of them dying before her
eyes gave strength back to her in the most agonizing
way.She knew what he wanted."I-I'll tell you where the mask
is!I'll tell you!"
"Where is it?An' ya better not be lyin' ta me."
Brittany never felt so lost and defeated."San
Michele.The cemetery island.I-I hid it in some stupid
potted plant in a mausoleum."
"Which one,fool?"
"I...don't know,but it said something about a doge,or
something."
The water still flowed and Bells was
silent.Brittany was hysterical.
"I've told you!Please stop!I've told you!I'VE TOLD YOU!"
Nothing changed.
"Please!"
The water receded immediately,then stopped and
she almost fainted with relief.The torture room door opened
and two of the SecuriMunks stepped in.
"We'll see,my little sheila,"came the voice from the
speakers.
The two troopers went to either side of
her,held her up from under each arm and carried her out of
the horrid room.She almost felt like laughing.
Alvin rested on the cold floor of the holding
cell,staring up at the ceiling.He had just recently
destroyed the cell's only table in a fit of rage and
panic,and he felt a little relieved.
However,taking his aggressions out on
inanimate objects didn't rescue him from what his heart and
mind were telling him.Like fear.Not from what might happen
to him later,but from something more immediate.
For even someone as charismatic and blessed in the
gift of gab as he was,had secrets.Entrusted to by his
sometime analyst,Dr.Ruda Weisenheimer,he harbored and was
haunted by two chief fears.The inner terror of being
alone,lonely and unloved,and the singular horror that came
with the knowledge,in *his* mind,that any endeavor he was
committed to,if failed,would not only bring irredeemable
shame and disgrace to himself personally,but to his closest
friends and loved ones,as well.
The doctor had chalked up his ego as a
substitute for confidence and a mask to hide his fear from
the world.But to him,right now,his failure to detect the
SecuriMunk ambush,stop Bells from interrogating Brittany or
prevent her from being attacked that morning or in the
spa,were the nails that were being driven into the coffin
of his own neurotic self-pity.
The fears he felt last night as he searched
the city for Brittany were resurrected with a vengeance.The
terror she had to have felt when she stared Death in its
eyes during those attacks and,perhaps,even now,under
interrogation,were not meant for her to face.
As her boyfriend and simply as a male,Alvin
swallowed hard the fact that he should have been more
protective and faced the dangers in her stead.He didn't
want to blame fate for his missing those opportunities to
do so.That would have been too easy.
He got up and paced around the room,running
his hands along the unforgiving walls.Listening to his
footfalls and his anxious,labored breathing that heralded
his phobias.
The silence was not the enemy,but the lack of
social interaction and stimuli.That was what he
needed,craved even.It may have sounded cold and
clinical,but he wouldn't have cared and he didn't think of
it along those lines,anyway.
Friendship,comraderie and closeness
were terms he could grasp and appreciate the most from
those he knew the best,considering that most of them were
unconscious and holed up somewhere on the premises.And
without Brittany,it felt too empty where he was.*He* felt
too empty.
And so the vicious circle turned once
more.He failed her.Failed everyone to this fate.If Bells
was intent on torturing Alvin,he was succeeding
admirably.If it was his fate to end his days here,then he
would rather it was in the company of the others,so they
could leave the world as one,when it happened.He couldn't
bear to die alone.
Alvin stood rigid in the shadow of a
particularly dark corner of the room,staring into it and
hoping to be swallowed by its illusory depths.Looking at
his life,the life of a young artist,the side of fame seemed
so empty to him now,and he felt as though he were bound in
heavy chain.Anxiety made him vulnerable and it made
concentration difficult.For the life of him,he just
couldn't see a way out.
"Alvin?"
He whirled to the sound,his first impulse was
to be on guard.He was so deep into his introspection,he
didn't even hear the door open.When he saw Brittany looking
at him with concern in her red eyes and disheveled hair,he
thanked God for her safety and thought she was the most
beautiful girl born.
"Brittany!"
She walked to him with some confidence,then her
steps faltered.He was quick to catch her.
"What did they do to you?Are you hurt?"he asked he walked
her to the rear of the room and sat her down on the floor.
"The next time Miss Miller tells me to turn my music
down,I'm gonna do it,"she joked weakly.
She regarded Alvin."I'm alright,Alvin."She could
see his eyes tell the tale of his worry,anger and loneliness
prior to this moment."Boy,you look bad.I thought *I* was
put through the wringer."Brittany put a hand on his soft
cheek comfortingly."Don't worry.I'm okay,really."
Alvin's mind went into conflict the moment she
touched him.The guilt was overwhelming.Judging from her
appearance,she had to have been tortured in some way,yet
here she was,soon after,worried about *his* feelings.She
should be gathering her strength for her own survival.Who
was he?He didn't deserve her tenderness.Not now.
He felt like the lowest of thieves.Taking what was
most precious of hers,her love,when she was too weak to to
do the right thing,which was to yell and denigrate him for
his weakness.He turned his face away from her."Don't."
"Why?What's wrong?"
Alvin got up and strolled lifelessly to the dark
corner."I don't deserve it.That's all."
Brittany had heard some strange things from
him before and certainly during their time here,but this
was perplexing and more than a little disheartening."What
do you mean,'you don't deserve it'?Why don't you?"
"I...should have done *more*,Brittany,"he managed to say
from the corner."For you.And the others.I didn't see this
coming.I should have been...smarter.Better than this."
Brittany said nothing,but listened intently.
"I hate to lose,you know that.I hate being a...failure.I'm
scared of it."He looked into her eyes from the dark."I
think of you.Of...all of you when I set out to do anything
important.And I don't want you to fall when *I* fall.I
don't want you to lose because I couldn't hack it out there
when it gets too tough.You understand?"
Brittany settled more comfortably on the
floor while she thought about what he
said."Look,Alvin,you're not the only one here.We're all hit
by this and considering what Simon and Jeanette told us
about these jokers,something like this was bound to
happen,anyway.Beating yourself up just because you couldn't
be Johnny Hero doesn't make any sense and it's not what you
should be about."
"I'm your boyfriend.I'm suppose to protect you and I'm
doing a lousy job of it."
"So?At least you're trying.If I could tell you some of the
horror stories some of my girlfriends told me about their
boyfriends..."
"Brittany,you don't understand..."
"Hey,Alvin.I do understand,but you've got to understand
that this is the Twenty-first Century,baby.We're all equal
opportunity heroes,here.I know you care,but there's ego in
there,too."
Alvin was about to protest,but stopped midway
when Brittany made a halting gesture."I'm an
egotist,honey,"she admitted."I know these things."
He sagged as if surrendering to a great
weight."I'm just feeling sorry for myself,huh?"
"Got it in one.Come here."
Alvin shuffled out of the corner,eyes averted
slightly and feeling a little foolish.He sat beside her and
she draped an arm over his low shoulder,smiling.
"Hey,don't let it get you down.Even Lois Lane bailed
Superman out some really bad scrapes from time to
time.Don't I rate?"she said.
Alvin looked at her when she asked
that.*Don't I rate?*He realized in that instant how selfish
he was feeling,putting all of their problems on his
shoulders,as if they weren't capable of relying on their
own strengths to see them through.It *was* ego,plain and
simple.
Then he realized that Brittany had talked him away
from the dark corner he was standing in.More figuratively
than literally.She had rescued him from himself,his
greatest foe,for a little while.*Don't I rate?*
He threw a grateful,lopsided grin."You're perfect,Brittany."
Even in the dim room,he could see her blush slowly
bloom."I know,"she joked.They communicated with a lingering
look.
The cell door opened suddenly,breaking
their spell,and a SecuriMunk stepped in as far as the
threshold,holding an obscure object.Both were in silhouette
from the light of the hallway.
Alvin tensed.If it was a weapon,he *would* stop
the trooper if he used it against them.That he swore.
The trooper tossed the object with a scoff and
left.It skidded by Brittany's feet and she picked it up
quickly upon recognition.
Alvin peered at it.It was the garish mask she
had brought with them.The object she was tortured because
of."What happened down there?What did you tell him?"
Brittany looked at the mounted camera in the corner
and shifted her body around so that her back was to
it."Don't move.The camera."
"Okay."
"I think it's fair to say that Bells is an untrustworthy
little cockroach.I told him that I hid the mask over at San
Michele."
"That graveyard island?"
"Yep.There's nothing like a little wild goose chase to keep
everyone off balance.You know,I think there're fewer people
here than I thought.I haven't seen that Duval creep yet and
I kept seeing the same guys who jumped us."
"I think you're right on that,Brittany,"he said."But,and
I'm sorry to say this,your so-called plan stinks."
Surprisingly,Brittany seemed to take the
criticism well."Well,I admit there were a few snags in it.I
hadn't considered how many people I'd have to trick with
this.It's a good think we only ran into Bells and his
crew.With so few people,it worked out even better."
Alvin was still confused and wondered if all of
these events,coupled with what happened to her downstairs
was making her a little loopy.
"What?You mean the Ol' Switcheroo you tried on Bells?It
didn't work."
Brittany flashed a grin."Oh,no?I told you,a wild
goose chase.We don't have to much time,but he's too busy
getting ready to go to the island to think.He believes me
because I held out for so long down there,he thought I had
something to hide.I figured if I let them know that I knew
something about the mask,they'd want to question me.Good
thing they thought I knew something,anyway,because I was
going to have to tell them,otherwise."
"But why,Brittany?"
"So I could be questioned,"she repeated emphatically."If
all went well,I'd give them false information and buy time
for an escape."
Alvin was floored.The audacity,the cunning and the
execution of such a plan was breathtaking.It displayed a
courage even he didn't know she possessed."That's why you
didn't want to tell us about it."She nodded.
"You might have tried to stop me or say something while we
were caught that might have warned them."
"Brittany,"he said in awe."That was super-brave.You've got
guts,girl."
She fought a blush as she explained,"I just wanted my
mother and the rest of us safe,that's all."
"Still,to risk your life for that cheap Mardi Gras
souvenier."He pointed at the mask between them.
"I couldn't have done it without it.In
fact,"She began to carefully peel and pull the
feathers,sequines and decals from the mask with a smug
grin."I know I couldn't have."
Alvin's eyes popped out and he was so surprised and
elated,he wanted to kiss her on the spot.There,in all its
possible glory,hidden from the camera's view,was The Mask
of Unmasking.He reached over and held her hands,saying with
unhidden affection,"Have I told you that you're
perfect,Brittany?"
"Not for...minutes,"she quipped lovingly.
The young SecuriMunk finished his report to one
of the higher ranking ones in the command center.That night
at the warehouse ended badly for him.His quarry out-smarted
and evaded him and he was severely reprimanded by his
superiors.Now he was relegated to duties that were minor
even to a trooper of his low rank.In this case,a courier.
As befitting a member of I.T.O.,he executed his
duties with little complaint,as least not within earshot.He
longed for another shot at Alvin and if he was lucky enough
to encounter him again,it would have to be a fistfight,as
his demotion had stripped him of his ThunderGun.
Off to one side of the room he could see Bells
and the other three SecuriMunks load portable equipment and
tools into Chipmunk-scale duffle bags.Then Bells palmed a
small device that,from a distance,looked like a thin
calculator,and slipped it into his breast pocket.
He called the officer the young trooper was
reporting to,over and spoke to him and the others out of
earshot.One would glance at the youth occasionally and
then return his attention back to Bells.
The SecuriMunk officer returned to the youngster
and,to the boy's surprise,handed him a fully charged
ThunderGun.
"Guard duty,with me,"was all the officer said.
"Yes,sir!"
He felt the familiar grip and power,both
technological and psychological,that came with wielding
such a weapon.His youthful face cracked into a wicked
grin.'Third times the charm,sucker!'he thought gleefully as
he pictured Alvin's body disintegrating from a Maximum
Setting direct hit.
He turned to follow the officer out of the room and
as he did,he noticed two large,faceted cylinders standing
on either side of the room.In their centers were tiny,dull
red computer screens.Black cables ran from their sides and
were linked to a computer terminal in the center of the
room.
Thinking no more of it,he followed the SecuriMunk out
of the room.
Despite the surroundings,the holding cell
sounded cheery.It started with Alvin passing the time
humming favorite tunes to ease away his nervousness.It
wasn't long before Brittany joined in and soon the two were
crooning in duet any songs they could think of and
sometimes cracking each other up by singing off-key.At the
moment,they were caught up in a rousing version
of "Mockingbird".
"I wonder how long we've been here?"asked Brittany after
their sing-along ended.
"I'm guessing...since you were brought in,"Alvin
figured."Maybe an hour?"
"We've got to get out of here."
"You're preaching to the choir here,but that door's pretty
tough and that camera's got us scoped."
Brittany got up and paced around the room."Are you
hungry?Did they feed you or anything?I'm hungry."Alvin knew
she was scared,just as he,and rightly so.Placating her
falsely wouldn't help her,even though he could easily see
that she was looking to him for emotional support.He
figured the best way to provide it was to provide an
example for her,so he lounged a little more on the floor
and answered with calm and an easy air.
"Well,I do feel a little peckish,but I don't think Warden
Bells believes in feeding the prisoners.When we get out of
here,we oughta sue him.What do you think?"
Brittany cracked a smile,but her eyes still shone the
fear."I miss them,Alvin."
"I do,too,and if we keep our heads and move fast,we'll all
come out on top."'So much for placating her falsely,'he
thought.'Guess I'll say anything to make her feel better.'
Brittany returned to her spot on the floor next to him
and he put his arm around her shoulder.She brought her
knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them
disconsolately.
"Some tough girl I am,"she sobbed lightly.
"Tough as nails."
"I don't think so."
"I do."He held her closer and she put her head on his
shoulder.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you,Alvin."
"Shhh.We're *both* sorry."
Brittany uncoiled herself and held Alvin,listening
to his heartbeat,feeling his chest rise and breathing in
his scent.The familiarity of him calmed her down and she
wished the circumstances for being held like this weren't
so dire.She could spend whole hours in his arms.
As one,they turned to the sound of static from
speakers hidden in the dark corners of the room.
"Bells,"Brittany moaned.
"Ya called?"came the oily reply."Sorry fer the
interruption,lovebirds."
"Hey,Bells,"said Alvin,mildly annoyed."To quote Billy
Joel,"Leave a tender moment alone",huh?"
"Ahh,youth,"Bells mocked."But this ain't a social call,I'm
afraid.I direct yer attention to the monitor."
"What monitor?"Alvin asked,and then turned his head with
Brittany to the sound of small motors coming from a wall
off to the side of them.
A small section of the wall parted,revealing a
closed-circuit monitor.The sight of the rest of their
families struggling to stay afloat as torrents of water
rushed from the grated pipe above them was terrifying.
"NO!"Brittany screamed.Out of impulse,she ran to the
screen,willing,wishing for them to hear her,to let them
know that she and Alvin were still alive and trying to
reach them somehow.
Alvin got up in a rage and ran to the
closest speaker."Bells!Shut it off,Bells,or I swear you
better kill us next,'cause I'll hunt you down and your own
*mother* won't recognize you when I done!You hear me,Bells?"
"Thanks for remindin' me.You *are* next!Thank ya,little
lady,fer the mask.I'm already on route to it and talkin to
ya by radio.No hard feelin's.Ya really are yer mother
daughter."
Then silence.
Enraged,Alvin went over to the remains of the
table,picked up a leg and threw it at the camera,smashing
it off the wall.
"Alvin,what are we going to do?!"Brittany was near
hysterics.
"Only one thing to do,"he said grimly,grabbing another
table leg."Come here.I got an idea."
The young SecuriMunk almost skipped when he and the
officer approached the locked holding cell.His hand almost
tingled with anticipation for the kill.Under his
insistance,he would be allowed to finish Alvin.
The officer opened the door and looked down to see
Brittany on the floor crawling away from the doorway in
apparent fright.Logical,he thought.There was no way out for
her and the others.
Smiling and anticipating a quick kill,he sauntered
into the dim room,the young SecuriMunk in tow.Just then he
noticed something.Or the lack,thereof.
"Where's your boyfriend?"he asked gruffly.
Before he got an answer,his perceptual world became
distorted by a savage blow to the base of the skull by
Alvin,hiding in the dark.
The ambush was so sudden,the junior trooper was
stunned into indecision before he had the presence of mind
to draw his weapon.Alvin,scooping up the fallen trooper's
gun,beat him to it.
Not since their first fight in the alley,had the
little trooper felt so inconvenienced.Not fast enough to
use his precious gun,he now saw one pointed unmistakably at
his chest with more than enough charge to kill him,being
wielded by someone who didn't seem to forgiving at the
moment.His guts turned to stone and his hands grew frigid
with fear.
Alvin felt some of the ThunderGun's power
twice.Even with a weak charge or set to Incapacitate,it
packed an unforgettable punch.Now,he could dish it out with
the best of them,one of whom was lying on the
floor,unconscious.
It was darkly intoxicating,holding potential death
in his hand.The smooth high-tech contours and details of
the gun,the sturdy,rubber grip of the handle,the well-
balanced heft of the machinery within and the slight
vibrations of its power systems that promised lethality
with a single trigger-squeeze.
"Maximum Setting,pal,"he muttered as Brittany
peered over Alvin's shoulder to see what he was
doing."You're fried."He didn't need to see where he was
aiming,so close was he to the target,but Alvin wanted to
see into the boy's face up close.See the boy's eyes widen
and twitch,fearfully looking for a way out and finding
none.Be close enough to feel the fear radiating from his
victim like a sun and bask in it.
Brittany's frantic plea to stop seemed so distant
to him.He barely heard her,the here and now was too lustful
to ignore.
"Alvin,don't do this!It's not worth it,"she entreated.
His arm never wavered,"Are you kidding?I've been hit twice
by these...thugs,and this is the same clown who shot at you
and Libby.Nah,I think it's time for him to know what it
feels like to be a target."
Brittany felt like she was outside looking at
herself.Between this situation and the peril their families
were in,she was feeling more than a little stressed.She
knew Alvin to be impetuous and even a little ruthless,at
times,but this was frightening.
Frightening because although the SecuriMunk did
deserve it,the SecuriMunk was a mere stripling and,most
frightening of all,Alvin was almost *enjoying* this.
The SecuriMunk,this child in an adult's skin,didn't
feel comfortable in it anymore.His mortality appeared as a
white canvas stretched to infinity,barely painted with a
lifetime.
"Alvin,please,"she begged."Look at him,he's just a
boy.I.T.O. did this to him."She placed her hands on his arm
holding the gun and stared into his eyes deeply."Don't take
away his life because he made a mistake while he was
young,"she said softly."You're young,too."
Alvin looked at her and saw a reflection of himself
and what he was about to do.In the space of heartbeats,he
could see himself giving in to the power of the gun.Killing
the boy in a technological flash,his dreams and the life to
pursue them gone for good by Alvin's merciless hand.He saw
himself a pawn of immediate,justifiable ends,and worse,a
burgeoning addict of the gun.He felt sick.
When he took hold of reality again,he saw that she
had lowered the gun arm.Although Alvin was no longer aiming
at the boy,the boy was still motionless with shock,the
touch of Death still lingering on his heart.
At once,Alvin realized just how terrified the youth
was and how much he and everyone in the room knew about
Life now,because of that.Despite his own flaws and
insecurities,he would not succumb to murder.He raised the
gun up again,scaring both his target and Brittany.
"Okay,Billy the Kid,drop the hardware."he commanded.
Slowly,with eyes still locked on Alvin,the
younger Chipmunk carefully placed the weapon on the floor
in front of him.
"Now start running and don't stop until this building's
behind you.*Way* behind you."
Despite the fear,Alvin and Brittany could see in the
boy's eyes and body language,a veritable speech of
gratitude.Then he turned and sprinted down the hallway and
hopefully towards a better life.
"Alvin,the water!"Brittany gasped.
"C'mon!"
They ran out of the cell,letting the feeling of
freedom course through them as they ran half-formed plans
in their heads.
"I don't know where they are!"Brittany shouted."All I know
is that they're in some tank,but we don't have time to look
all over the apartment for it!"
Alvin grimaced in thought.They could be anywhere,in
any room.But the water trap might be operated remotely,both
from within and from without.Bells proved that with his
operating the camera and the monitor in the cell while
already being out of the building and on Brittany's wild
goose chase.
"There's gotta be a control room or something,"he
said as they reached the stairwell.They could hear the now
fading footsteps of the young Chipmunk going
downstairs.Then the footfalls stopped and a voice rang from
below them.
"Upstairs!"Then the footfalls resumed into silence.
"He must've heard us,"said Alvin."C'mon!"
They reached the next and last floor of the
building and found the door leading immediately into the
command center opened slightly.Holding the ThunderGun,Alvin
ran through first,ready to cut down anyone trying to stop
them.Computers and monitors were turned off,save one
terminal,sitting in the center of the room.Just as
perplexing was the fact that no one was there.
"Where is everyone?"asked Brittany as she stepped in.
"Bells must've had a skeleton crew working here.They might
have left with him.Help me look for..."He went into shock
at what he saw.
"What?What's wrong?"
He motioned for her to follow him to the still
running terminal and monitor in the room.While the terminal
hummed quietly,the monitor revealed the horror.Dominating
the screen was the waterproof,closed-circuit camera shot of
their families fighting the water to live.
Below and to the right was a smaller window on the
monitor screen.In flashing red borders,the window showed
the numbers,00:10:00.They were gradually falling in value.
That's when the two noticed the black cables
snaking from the base of the terminal,running along the
floor and ending in one of each of the two large cylinders
on either end of the room.The red LED's in their centers
were counting down in sync with the terminal.
"Bells' got this placed wired!"Alvin yelled.
"Ya think?"replied Brittany.Indecision was creeping into
their minds.Too much was happening at once.If they could
just find the gang and get out.Love for them didn't give
them the option to abandon them,although self-preservation
was a great devil's advocate.
Brittany ran to a nearby sealed window.If it
was a bomb,or a series of them,she wondered how the other
buildings next door would survive.If there were anybody
living in them who would be casualties of Bells."At least
this side's got a great view of the river,"she joked
solemnly.
Alvin was debating feverishly on whether to
attempt a disarming or not.Actually,he knew he couldn't
disarm it to save his life.Or anyone else's,for that
matter,but he was getting desperate.
Then he heard something that Brittany said
that,somewhere deep within,gave him an instant recharge of
hope."River!That's it!That room downstairs!That must be the
pump room Bells was talking about taking then to!"
Alvin tore off to the window while Brittany stood
by,confused.He pressed his head against the glass and
peered down as far as the window and his depth perception
would allow.Jutting out from the first floor wall,was a
large pipe,perpendicular to the apartment.At a certain
length,it bent in a right angle and was submerged deep in
the canal.Above from where the pipe connected to the
wall,was a small window sill.
"Get down!"he yelled.Brittany crouched tightly on the
floor,wondering what he was about to do.
Alvin took measured steps from the window,raised
the ThunderGun with one hand and shielded his eyes with the
other.He squeezed the trigger and fought against the
unaccustomed recoil as lightning struck,shattered and
vaporized the window and some of the surrounding masonry
with a sudden boom.
A strong breeze moved through the room,blowing
loose objects into a maelstrom.Alvin helped Brittany to her
feet.
"Thank,Alvin,but how's blowing a *HOLE*..."she said before
suddenly being hoisted off her feet and slung over his
shoulder in a Fireman's Carry.With surprise and terror,it
dawned on her fast.
"Alvin!Alvin!No!No!It's too high!"
"No time!"
"It's too high!Alllviiinnn!!!"
One second she was kicking and struggling
desperately to get off this mad 'munk,the next,she was
holding on for dear life,her eyes shut,not daring to watch
the wall and windows of the building ascend in a rush as
Alvin,still holding her and the ThunderGun,stepped off into
a freefall and roughly land on top of the large pipe in a
crouch.
Bomb or no bomb,the terror of that wild ride took hold
of her."Are you out of your mind?!Are you trying to kill us?
Are you,huh?"she screamed while slapping at him.
Alvin fended her hysterical attacks and ignored her
protests as he lined up the gun to the small window above
the pipe.The weapon made short work of it and its section
of wall.
The blast brought Brittany back to her senses in
time for Alvin to say,"Stay put!"Then he bounded into the
room through the hole.
The interior was a simple affair.It was stoney,damp
and weather sealed with piped crisscrossing above and
around him.He could feel a vibration under his feet and
when he looked down,he found himself standing atop a large
industrial-sized pump's housing.The outside pipe was
connected to it from behind and another pipe extended from
the side to a large,black,square tank with a simple yet
strong bolt lock on its door,that dominated a corner of the
room.
Alvin leaped off the pump and ran to the metal
chamber.Through the thick walls and door,he could just make
out the sounds of screams and frantic splashing.
Realizing the danger of using the ThunderGun so
close to the others and the risk of electrocution,he tossed
it aside.He had his fill of firearms,anyway.Then he went
for the lock.
For a moment,Alvin couldn't understand why the bolt
wouldn't slide away without effort.Then it hit him.The
increasing water pressure inside the chamber pressed
against the door,and it on the bolt.It slide by half-
inches,but with difficulty.
Time flowed faster than the water and despair
was robbing him of his fortitude.His fear of failure,like a
vengeful wraith,came at him full force.This time,his
failure *would* doomed them,as he knew it would all along.
He almost wept in frustration until he felt another
pair of hands pull with him,hard.In surprise,he saw
Brittany tugging and straining with the lock.Inspired,he
redoubled the effort and with a squeal of rubbing metal
giving way at last,the bolt slid aside.
The door was wrenched open as gallons of canal
water cascaded into the room,knocking Alvin and Brittany
down as Libby and the rest of The Chipmunks and The
Chipettes tumbled out.
The duo waded through the flood to check on
them.They didn't seemed hurt.They were wet and winded,but
alive.Alvin was helping Simon to his feet when he noticed
his brother's watch.And panicked.
With yelling commands and quick herding,Alvin and
Brittany began moving everyone up on top of the pump and
out onto the pipe overlooking the murky water outside.Alvin
was the last to exit the pump room as he joined the others.
"What do we do now?"Libby asked weakly.
"Jump!"Brittany yelled as she leaped as far from the pipe
as she physically could.
Confused,but far too grateful to ask or complain,the
rest did likewise.
"Swim!"Alvin shouted as they formed a loose flotilla and
paddled away as fast as their aching muscle could
allow.They all submerged under reflex when the world
exploded around them.
The romantic couple had just finished their
lingering kiss in the gondola when the shockwave of the
explosion gently rocked them.
The woman's eyes sparkled in amorous surprise."Did
the Earth move for you,too?"
"Oh,yes,"gasped her paramor as he wrapped his arms around
her,allowing her to cuddle deeply.
The gondolier had seen it all before and was
happy he wasn't jaded by the experience.Romance was a
wonderful thing,but he couldn't understand why it was
suddenly getting harder for him to row anywhere.
The answer came from the sounds of consternation
coming from the center of the boat.The couple fearfully
clutched at one another as seven waterlogged and exhausted
Chipmunks surfaced on both sides of the gondola and with
some effort,climbed and flopped into the boat,water running
over the couple's shoes and lunch.
"Please,"Alvin said to the stunned lovers and
gondolier."Don't mind us."
Needless to say,it was a crowded and awkward ride
back to the quay.
