All three of them made the door as soon as they were no longer under the guns of Hood and his nasty henchmen. The door was sunk almost seamlessly into the thick rock and steel walls of their future crypt.
"D-d-darn." Brains swore quietly. Virgil resisted the urge to pound his fist on the door which would undoubtably break knuckles before any mark would be made on the smooth exterior.
"I wish I had my purse." Marie mourned.
"Make-up?" Virgil regretted the words immediately. "Sorry." He repeated the word. "Sorry you got dragged into this."
"Well here I am, no use crying over spilt milk. And in my purse I at least had a Swiss Army knife and a flashlight."
"I-I don't think we c-c-could dig ourselves out in t-time, not with a p-pocket knife."Brains said with a small apologetic smile. "I'm s-s-sorry t-t-too."
"They took anything that could be of use. Even took the keys out of my pocket." Virgil clenched his fists. This looked desperate. They had been drugged. Taken to some unknown place, locked in an impregnable room and given 24 hours to live before the mountain was going to be blown up around them.
All of a sudden Miss Ryker began to laugh.
"This is no time to get hysterical." Virgil growled.
"No, not hysteria. Irony."
"I-irony?" Brains questioned.
"You know, leading the Christians through the catacombs only to come out in the arena in time for the lion act. Irony."
"You mean if you hadn't met us..." Virgil asked pacing their cage or soon to be tomb.
"No. That's timing. The irony is that I've been worrying for months about losing my job, my profession and now it really doesn't matter. I'm losing my life. And the company is all right. Last time..." Her face twisted into one of pain and then cleared.
"L-last time?" Brains asked.
"Ah, last time they left me to die alone. But, as you see I am still here. So, any ideas?"
"What sort of work do you do?" Virgil asked looking sharply at her.
"I am an investigator. What do you do?" The air fairly crackled between them.
"The d-door was electronic." Brains spoke up suddenly. "If I had m-my w-watch the s-signal could b-be m-modulated. B-but." His voice trailed off.
"Um..."Marie began hesitantly. "Could you do something with a bionic feedback circuit and some small hydraulics?"
"Wh-what?"
"There's always something good that comes out of something bad." She muttered and to both men's astonishment she unzipped her trousers and pulled them down, kicking off her shoes as she did. Both men had the grace to blush as she stood in a pair of white lacy knickers and a now obvious prosthetic left leg. She leaned over and removing several straps handed the plastic and metal contraption towards Brains. "You use this thing to get us out." She teetered a little on her remaining leg, but grabbed support from the wall to rather ungracefully and hastily pull up her trousers. One shoe lay abandoned on the floor.
It was her turn to look embarrassed. "So, I have a wooden leg. It happens." Her chin rose dangerously. "There's a small tool on the side. I use it to adjust the connections."
"Y-yes. Th-this will g-give us a fighting ch-chance." Without anymore discussion he immediately sat down and began to take the artificial limb to pieces. "G-good thing th-this isn't a w-wooden l-leg." He grinned and bent his head over his work.
Virgil went to stand in front of her as she was still leaning against the wall. "You are constantly surprising me. I think I'm maybe the one without a leg to stand on here." He attempted humor.
"Don't push me Mr.Tracy." She said defensively, but a small smile crept in.
"I think you can call me Virgil, under the circumstances." He touched her arm lightly.
"Oh I don't know. Imminent death isn't always an excuse for informality...but if you insist, Virgil." The small smile was more in her eyes.
He liked the way she said his name, it sounded soft and personal. He had a sudden irrational thought that he'd like to kiss her. Or maybe it was rational? He felt his body lean fractionally towards her...
"V-virgil? C-can you help?" Brains had his hands full of small parts already. Virgil joined him and started sorting bits and pieces as Brains handed them to him."Hah! A b-battery." He muttered to himself.
"Durotonium. Guaranteed for six months running. I've only used it two." Marie volunteered somewhat grateful to have both men's attention away from her.
Brains and Virgil both looked up from where they were crouched over the leg that was already beginning to look unlike a limb. She stood leaning against the steel wall like a butterfly pinned to a board. One trouser leg hung empty and limp. Her expression looked almost empty and limp.
"M-might as well s-s-sit." Brains said not unkindly.
Time seemed to pass both slowly and swiftly. After a short time there was nothing more that Virgil could do to help Brains who was fidgeting with his pile of parts and batteries and wires. He almost envied Marie who had fallen into a fitful sleep.
Brains finally had a gadget that he hoped would spring the door. Two small wires were inserted painstakingly where they hoped the lock was and the device triggered. It took at least eleven tries before they hit the right spot. There was a click and the door sighed and opened one inch.
No one rejoiced overly, they still had to escape before the mountain blew up.
Brains and Virgil muscled open the door. It gave space reluctantly. Marie stood next to them giving them verbal encouragement, as they had refused her physical aid.
"I d-don't think we h-have much t-time." Brains said as the door gave way enough for them to slip through. They found themselves in a long corridor which went up at the right and down to the left.
"Up or down?" Virgil asked.
"I-if he is pl-planning to bl-blow this up, then d-down, and we l-look
for air sh-shafts."