Chapter 3
'So what you're just going to parade me up the street in handcuffs?'
'Let me worry about that, you just start walking. I'll tell you where.' Luckily his car was parked at the other end of the alley she had run down. When he had circled round her trying to get a better view he had no idea he would herd her in here. Taking her to the car was risky, but it was more discrete than having his team come get them. The local cops were already complaining about the operation earlier.
Max moved forward slowly. She took a good look round now that she was on her feet she could see more of the place. There was still nothing that could help her.
White hadn't frisked her, she was glad in a way, se didn't want him touching her, however it would have given her a chance to get hold of the gun, or at least to knock him out. That was probably why he hadn't bothered, with her hands restrained as they were even if she were armed she wouldn't be able to get to it. Besides she'd seen the guy shoot himself in the arm and not even flinch, just how much damage did she think she could do? She'd watched him get hit by a car and get up again. He was easily as strong as she was, perhaps even more so.
He hadn't asked about his kid yet, she wondered why. He may be one of the most inhuman people she had ever met but he did seem to care about his kid, either that or he was just pissed that she had been able to grab Ray from right under his nose. She couldn't feel sorry for the guy losing his kid, Ray was better off with his aunt than his father that was for sure.
'So what now? You hand me over to your breeding cult buddies? Take me apart, find out why my DNA's so outta whack?' Max asked.
'When the time comes to ask questions, I'll be the one asking them.' Ames warned her.
If he thought that was enough to shut her up he didn't have a clue.
'Still, it must be difficult.' She sighed.
'What must be difficult?' He frowned.
'Well being so perfect all the time, I mean tell me, doesn't it get boring always being right?' She looked back to see the look on his face, well actually it was to see where he was. He made remarkably little noise as he moved. She had been trying to track him by the sound of his voice, to judge how far away he was, but he didn't seem to be in a chatty kinda mood.
'Just keep moving.'
From the look on his face he knew what she was trying to do. At least he didn't seem to have noticed that she was steering them towards a very unstable looking patch of the floor. If she was careful and he was paying more attention to watching her than to watching where they were going she just might be able to lose him. Provided that the floor gave way under him and not her.
She was almost there. It would be hard to watch her step while not alerting him to the fact that he should also be watching his.
He was behind her and so couldn't see the direction she was looking in, as long as she didn't lilt her head down it should be ok. If she didn't fall through the floor that is. If she did she'd be in trouble with no hands to steady herself.
She was beginning to have second thoughts about this idea, perhaps it hadn't been such a good one after all.
No she reflected it wasn't that it was a good one it was that it was her only one. She kept walking, but more carefully.
'Stop!' Ames ordered.
'Something wrong?' She asked.
'You tell me.' He demanded.
'You need to get a life?' She suggested.
'Very funny.' He nodded. 'I was thinking more about the condition of this floor, if you're not careful you could fall right through it.' He pointed out with an edge to his voice.
'Really? Can't say I'd noticed.' She tried to sound uninterested but what was the point, he'd figured out what she was up to too soon. Or had he? As she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, she could swear she felt movement under them.
She still had her back to him so he couldn't see the grin developing on her face.
She turned round and looked at him. He was studying the floor carefully, obviously he had also felt the movement. Well it didn't matter, there was nothing he could now. This would hurt, but the pain would be worth it if it worked.
'Hey White!' She called forcefully.
His attention came back to her too late as she raised one foot and stamped down hard.
The ground under his feet crumbled and he lost sight of 452 as they both plummeted strait down.
He wasn't sure how far they fell but as he hit the floor beneath it too gave way and he fell once more. He had lost sight of 452 completely now, he didn't know whether she had stopped on the floor above or was already further down.
He landed hard on his shoulder and rolled onto his back to try and catch his breath. The wind had been knocked out of him when he landed. He tried to get up and once more the floor crumbled. He tried to grab onto something but there was nothing to get hold of.
He landed awkwardly on one leg and then collapsed as he felt something give.
The floor this time was more solid. He couldn't see properly for the dust in the air but it looked like they were in the very foundations of the old building. 452 lay about ten feet away unconscious. At least she wasn't going to be a problem for the moment.
He stood up and tested his leg, it felt weak. He wasn't going to be jumping out of here any time soon, it was probably too far anyway, even he had his limits.
He looked up, it was a long way.
