Rescue Two
My captor had gone for what seemed to be hours. I began to feel that the physical torture, that I was sure would follow, couldn't be any worse that the mental torture I was experiencing now.
I knew it was impossible for International Rescue to know where I was, but still I was longing to see Gordon's cheeky grin, or Virgil's more serious smile, or even Scott, who I'd only met briefly.
"Forget about them!" I told myself sternly. "They'll be in worse trouble than you if that madman gets the information he wants. Concentrate on your name. Nothing but Chris Brown."
In the distance I could hear a rumbling sound.
My thoughts continued on. 'I'm sick of my name. Sick of saying it. Maybe I should call myself something else. That'd fool him.' I began to run a few combinations through my mind.
Suddenly there was a queer buzzing sound coming from the door. As I watched a spark of light and then a flame pushed through. The flame started at the base of the door and worked its way around the inside edge, melting the metal as it went.
I wondered about this phenomenon. Was it some prelude to my captor's terrible torture?
I was unprepared for the bang that happened with the door was pushed in. I was even less prepared for what greeted me on the other side.
"Virgil!!"
He quickly scanned the room with his eyes before rushing over to me. "Chris! Are you okay?"
"I am now that you're here. But how did you know I was here? Who was that guy? Where is he now? How'm I going to get out of these chains? How do we get out of here?"
"Whoa! Calm down!" he ordered. "One thing at a time." He was examining my bonds as he spoke. "We'll get you out of here and you can ask questions later." He unhitched a very odd gun that was hanging across his shoulder. "I'll try to keep the laser away from you, but the metal may get a bit warm."
A bit warm was an understatement, but I bit my lip and tried not to complain. The laser made short work of the manacle on my right wrist and once my arm was freed I shook it to try to get some feeling back.
Virgil was releasing my right leg. "Hold still." He said. "I don't want to burn you!"
I grabbed hold of the armrest again and froze. Not until the fourth bit of metal fell to the ground did I move and try to massage some feeling back into my limbs.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Can you stand, walk?" he asked with concern on his face.
"Yeah, sure." I stood stiffly and moved my legs a few times to ensure they were still mobile.
"Good." He raised his arm and spoke into his watch. "Virgil to Scott."
I could just see the dial disappear and Scott's face replace it.
"How's things going Virgil?"
"I've got Chris. We're on our way out."
"Great." I could hear relief in Scott's voice.
"Any sign of our man?" Virgil asked.
"Negative."
Virgil signed off and lowered his arm again.
"You're not alone then?" I asked.
"No. Scott's keeping watch at the stairwell and Gordon's minding the 'Mole'."
"The 'Mole'?"
"Our boring machine. C'mon." Without explaining further he cautiously looked out the door before stepping through the hole he'd cut. I followed closely behind.
The hall split into four different directions.
"Which way now?" I asked. Virgil pointed down the right hand corridor.
I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.
We ran quickly down the hall. To me our footsteps sounded as loud as my heartbeats.
Suddenly Virgil pulled up short and I cannoned into him. "Sorry" I whispered.
He was looking in consternation at the room ahead. It was large and filled with all sorts of computers and electronic equipment.
"We'll go back the way we came." Virgil whispered.
We retraced our steps until we reached a dead end.
"Virgil! Where's the door gone?" I tried to sound calm.
"It must be a secret door. It can't have been open when I was looking for you." Virgil examined it and then began to speak into his wristwatch communicator.
But there was no reply.
"The walls must be blocking our signal." He muttered.
"This isn't good, is it?"
"No. This isn't good."
I indicated his laser gun. "Can't you cut our way out?"
He nodded as he unhooked the laser.
An electronic sound from the door made him stop. "Quick" he hissed. "In here!"
He pushed me into a shadowy alcove, shielding me with his body, from the hall. It wasn't very big and we were standing very close, but I wasn't going to complain as I heard the door open and the all too familiar voice of my captor. He was muttering to himself as he ran down the hallway.
"... has escaped. International Rescue is behind this. I will make them pay!"
After we were sure he'd gone Virgil backed away from me. "Sorry." He apologised.
"That's okay." I whispered. "If I had to choose between you and him..." I let my words trail off. There didn't seem to be any point in carrying on.
Virgil was staring down the corridor after my captor. "There may be another exit down there. We can't chance that he'll hear us here. We'll have to go that way."
"Oh, ***!" I used the most appropriate word I could think of.
This time we crept quietly along the hallway. There were no other doorways off to the side, but there was an occasional alcove. Virgil stopped to examine one. "Thought it might be a door."
We came to the electronics room again. Virgil motioned me to wait in a nearby alcove. I crouched down in the shadows and watched.
My captor was standing at a control panel, reading printouts I supposed. Was he trying to ascertain our position?
After checking the layout of the room Virgil un-holstered his gun. He then crept quickly halfway across the room so that he was hidden from the man by a computer bank. Then keeping as much out of sight as he could he raised himself up and pointed the gun in the direction of the man.
I held my breath. I thought, and I was somewhat horrified by the thought, that Virgil was going to shoot the man in cold blood.
Virgil fired one shot. It slammed into the console to the right of my captor. The console burst into flame. The man said something in a foreign tongue and grabbed a fire extinguisher.
Virgil signalled to me to run across the room and through a door on the left side. As I did so Virgil kept cover for me. I now understood what Virgil had done. He'd not only created a diversion for me, but had disabled part of our enemy's computer system.
I reached the other exit and panting slightly hid to await Virgil.
He wasn't so lucky. As he prepared himself to join me, my captor turned and saw him. With a snarl the man raised a gun and fired several shots at Virgil!
My captor had gone for what seemed to be hours. I began to feel that the physical torture, that I was sure would follow, couldn't be any worse that the mental torture I was experiencing now.
I knew it was impossible for International Rescue to know where I was, but still I was longing to see Gordon's cheeky grin, or Virgil's more serious smile, or even Scott, who I'd only met briefly.
"Forget about them!" I told myself sternly. "They'll be in worse trouble than you if that madman gets the information he wants. Concentrate on your name. Nothing but Chris Brown."
In the distance I could hear a rumbling sound.
My thoughts continued on. 'I'm sick of my name. Sick of saying it. Maybe I should call myself something else. That'd fool him.' I began to run a few combinations through my mind.
Suddenly there was a queer buzzing sound coming from the door. As I watched a spark of light and then a flame pushed through. The flame started at the base of the door and worked its way around the inside edge, melting the metal as it went.
I wondered about this phenomenon. Was it some prelude to my captor's terrible torture?
I was unprepared for the bang that happened with the door was pushed in. I was even less prepared for what greeted me on the other side.
"Virgil!!"
He quickly scanned the room with his eyes before rushing over to me. "Chris! Are you okay?"
"I am now that you're here. But how did you know I was here? Who was that guy? Where is he now? How'm I going to get out of these chains? How do we get out of here?"
"Whoa! Calm down!" he ordered. "One thing at a time." He was examining my bonds as he spoke. "We'll get you out of here and you can ask questions later." He unhitched a very odd gun that was hanging across his shoulder. "I'll try to keep the laser away from you, but the metal may get a bit warm."
A bit warm was an understatement, but I bit my lip and tried not to complain. The laser made short work of the manacle on my right wrist and once my arm was freed I shook it to try to get some feeling back.
Virgil was releasing my right leg. "Hold still." He said. "I don't want to burn you!"
I grabbed hold of the armrest again and froze. Not until the fourth bit of metal fell to the ground did I move and try to massage some feeling back into my limbs.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Can you stand, walk?" he asked with concern on his face.
"Yeah, sure." I stood stiffly and moved my legs a few times to ensure they were still mobile.
"Good." He raised his arm and spoke into his watch. "Virgil to Scott."
I could just see the dial disappear and Scott's face replace it.
"How's things going Virgil?"
"I've got Chris. We're on our way out."
"Great." I could hear relief in Scott's voice.
"Any sign of our man?" Virgil asked.
"Negative."
Virgil signed off and lowered his arm again.
"You're not alone then?" I asked.
"No. Scott's keeping watch at the stairwell and Gordon's minding the 'Mole'."
"The 'Mole'?"
"Our boring machine. C'mon." Without explaining further he cautiously looked out the door before stepping through the hole he'd cut. I followed closely behind.
The hall split into four different directions.
"Which way now?" I asked. Virgil pointed down the right hand corridor.
I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.
We ran quickly down the hall. To me our footsteps sounded as loud as my heartbeats.
Suddenly Virgil pulled up short and I cannoned into him. "Sorry" I whispered.
He was looking in consternation at the room ahead. It was large and filled with all sorts of computers and electronic equipment.
"We'll go back the way we came." Virgil whispered.
We retraced our steps until we reached a dead end.
"Virgil! Where's the door gone?" I tried to sound calm.
"It must be a secret door. It can't have been open when I was looking for you." Virgil examined it and then began to speak into his wristwatch communicator.
But there was no reply.
"The walls must be blocking our signal." He muttered.
"This isn't good, is it?"
"No. This isn't good."
I indicated his laser gun. "Can't you cut our way out?"
He nodded as he unhooked the laser.
An electronic sound from the door made him stop. "Quick" he hissed. "In here!"
He pushed me into a shadowy alcove, shielding me with his body, from the hall. It wasn't very big and we were standing very close, but I wasn't going to complain as I heard the door open and the all too familiar voice of my captor. He was muttering to himself as he ran down the hallway.
"... has escaped. International Rescue is behind this. I will make them pay!"
After we were sure he'd gone Virgil backed away from me. "Sorry." He apologised.
"That's okay." I whispered. "If I had to choose between you and him..." I let my words trail off. There didn't seem to be any point in carrying on.
Virgil was staring down the corridor after my captor. "There may be another exit down there. We can't chance that he'll hear us here. We'll have to go that way."
"Oh, ***!" I used the most appropriate word I could think of.
This time we crept quietly along the hallway. There were no other doorways off to the side, but there was an occasional alcove. Virgil stopped to examine one. "Thought it might be a door."
We came to the electronics room again. Virgil motioned me to wait in a nearby alcove. I crouched down in the shadows and watched.
My captor was standing at a control panel, reading printouts I supposed. Was he trying to ascertain our position?
After checking the layout of the room Virgil un-holstered his gun. He then crept quickly halfway across the room so that he was hidden from the man by a computer bank. Then keeping as much out of sight as he could he raised himself up and pointed the gun in the direction of the man.
I held my breath. I thought, and I was somewhat horrified by the thought, that Virgil was going to shoot the man in cold blood.
Virgil fired one shot. It slammed into the console to the right of my captor. The console burst into flame. The man said something in a foreign tongue and grabbed a fire extinguisher.
Virgil signalled to me to run across the room and through a door on the left side. As I did so Virgil kept cover for me. I now understood what Virgil had done. He'd not only created a diversion for me, but had disabled part of our enemy's computer system.
I reached the other exit and panting slightly hid to await Virgil.
He wasn't so lucky. As he prepared himself to join me, my captor turned and saw him. With a snarl the man raised a gun and fired several shots at Virgil!