Finally getting back into the groove of posting after a long weekend of doing hay and playing catchup on the farm. Somehow it turned into summer already. Just where does the time go these days?
The plan had proven to be as simple as it was enthusiastic.
First, he and Mike had looked all over the small room for anything that could be used as a weapon, their urgent search yielding little but a discarded metal support for one of the heavy-duty shelving units, the three-foot piece heavy and clumsy to use, to say the least.
But it was something.
Then they'd unscrewed the dusty light bulb up above, turning the entire room pitch black, hoping it would give them the sliver of an advantage over Chong's goons.
Upon Mike's signal, Gifford began to scream her heart out, almost too authentic for Steve's taste.
For many long moments, there was no reaction to the commotion they had created, making him wonder if Chong either had a hidden camera somewhere in the room, or simply didn't care enough to worry about a screaming reporter, if not being entirely out of earshot and busy playing Doctor Frankenstein some other place.
Leaning against the back of the doorframe, Steve closed his eyes for a moment when the dizziness and nausea returned, cursing the manic doctor once again for drugging him up to begin with.
He could sense Mike next to him, rather than see him, the Lieutenant's presence and body heat a soothing distraction from the mess they currently found themselves in.
It seemed to take an eternity before a set of rushed footsteps could be heard from the other side of the metal door, making both Mike and him freeze in their respective spots, ready to attack whoever was on the other side and rush toward freedom at all cost.
Accepting the uncertain chance of a successful escape, Steve pressed himself closer into the doorframe, focusing all his energy on attacking, his nerve endings burning like fire when he heard the lock to the door rattle.
Eventually, the one thing he wasn't ready for was the tactical precision in each of Mike's carefully choreographed moves that started and ended their attack in one quick swipe of the metal pipe, followed by the thud of a person hitting the concrete floor in a more or less uncontrolled fashion.
With his balled fists still in the air, ready to attack, it took Steve a fleeting moment to recognize that the fight was over, Mike's hand appearing on his wrist pulling him out of his stunned state of mind.
"Come on, we gotta go…", the Lieutenant urged and opened the door wider to let them out, before bending down and retrieving the handgun from the man on the ground.
"I had no idea you knew how to fight like that…", Steve stammered, then made room for Gifford to get in between them, leaving for him to cover the back.
"You never asked…", Mike countered, then began to jog, "Come on, let's get out of here and call for help."