Hanging in the balance
"So, she's all right Gracie?" Katie applied eye shadow to Grace's eyes two days later.
"Yeah," Grace replied, "I called an ambulance and she was rushed to hospital." The three other girls stood beside her, listening.
"Any idea how it happened?" Karen asked.
"They think it might have been another murder attempt. She might have been poisoned." Grace raised her eyebrows at Karen, indicating that she would talk to her later. Only Mary-Jo & Karen knew she was an agent.
"Can I borrow Gracie for a second?" Vic walked up beside Katie.
"Yeah, sure. I'm almost done anyway. I'll just start Juliette's make-up." Katie replied. Grace got up & Juliette took her seat.
"What is it?" Grace muttered as Vic led her away.
"Eric wants to talk to you." he replied. He led her through a curtain, where Eric was standing waiting.
"What?" Grace asked.
"We took that meal from Cheryl's room & had it tested." Eric replied.
"Well?" Grace waited, expectantly.
"Cyanide." Eric replied, "Small enough dose not to be tasted, but large enough dose to kill."
"So, what's being done about it?" Grace asked.
"We've arrested Kenneth Healy and Josh Keaton for questioning, and checking out where someone could have got a hold of some poison." Eric replied, "Also, this morning one of the models from Russia was found dead in her room- hung from her wardrobe."
"Jesus." Grace put her hand up to her mouth, "So what? Is it an American? Or have others died?"
"We're working on finding that out now." Eric replied, "You just be careful. Anyone of you could be…" His voice faltered.
Grace rested a hand on his cheek, "I'm not going to die. Not this decade." She looked back at the curtain, "Look I gotta' go. I'll catch up later."
* * *
"Today's show will not be taking place, as our American models cannot take part." Jennifer Legaz, head of the French Supermodel organising committee, stood before them, "We suggest you take ze rest of ze day to exercise, rest or, in some cases, have a little fun. Try ze restaurant 'Mardis de rubis' or as you Engleesh call it 'Ruby Tuesdays'.
"Now, why would they give us the day off?" Mary-Jo asked as they left the green room.
"Yeah, and why can't we take part?" Karen said.
"Come here," Grace beckoned them into their dressing room. She checked to see if it was clear, "Okay, they've arrested Kenneth and Josh."
"Why?" Mary-Jo asked.
"Girl, it's not as if Josh was exactly quiet about his opinions of some of the girls." Karen replied, "But why Kenneth? That's what I'm wondering."
"Before we left for the club, Cheryl told me that Kenneth wanted to speak to her. He may have put the poison in her food, we don't know." Grace replied.
"I think we should visit her before we do anything." Mary-Jo said.
"We can't. No-one is allowed in to her yet." Grace replied.
"C'mon, let's go do something that will get our mind of this." Karen stood up, "Let's go have some fun!!"
* * *
Grace stood with her back against the wall, holding the gun in her hand. "You can't run from me Grace! I'll get you eventually…"
"Yeah, but I'm a better shot. I can aim and fire quicker, better and more accurately that you."
"Wanna' bet?"
"Come on then if you think you can win."
Grace jumped out and fired at Karen. Karen looked down at the blue paint splattered across her chest, "Oh now you're gonna' pay." Grace sprinted away from her and began to look for Mary-Jo. Suddenly she spotted her hiding behind a wall. Grace snuck up, pulling a paint bomb from her sack & smacked it straight onto Mary-Jo's head, 'smushing' it into her hair.
"Oh you bitch!!" Mary-Jo exclaimed, turning round and firing on her. Grace backed away, straight into Karen. They all began firing at each other, threw paint bombs and then sprinted off in opposite directions.
"Oh Gracie!!" Grace could hear Karen's voice taunting her. She crept along the ground keeping low until she rounded a corner and saw Karen with her back to her, looking round a corner. Slowly she crept up to her, gun at the ready. She pulled her trigger and… nothing. Notta. Kaput. Empty. "Shit." She muttered, but that was enough for Karen, who rounded on her.
"I give up!" Grace knelt down, "I have nothing left."
"Okay." Karen said. She took Grace's gun, turned and waited for Mary-Jo. Grace sat waiting and played with her sack. Suddenly she realised & reached into the sack, pulling one, single, final paint bomb. She stood up & threw it at Karen. Karen wheeled round & started firing upon Grace, who collapsed on the floor in fits of laughter. Mary-Jo ran round & joined in the firing and throwing paint bombs. Soon all of them were lying on the floor, laughing.
"Now that…" Grace wiped tears from her eyes, "…was fun!"
* * *
Grace sunk into the bath and allowed the hot water to sooth her aching limbs. She began washing paint out of her hair and smiled at the memory of rolling on the floor in fits. 'We'll definitely have to do that with Cheryl, when she gets better.' she thought before submerging herself under the water.
* * *
"What's going on?" Eric asked as he entered the team's first floor control room. The same hotel room that Eric & Harris slept in.
"Nothing much. She took the pin off and earpiece out for a bath." Jenson looked up, "They were paintballing."
Eric walked to the sliding doors and looked directly across the courtyard into Grace's room. He saw her sitting in the bathroom, applying moisturiser. She looked so beautiful, the way the light hit her.
"Ah, sir?" Jenson interrupted his thoughts.
"What?" Eric turned away from the window.
"I think we've got a little bit of activity in Grace's room." Eric walked over to the monitor. Sure enough, a figure, completely dressed in black was in Grace's room. It walked over to the pin camera, lifted a vase, brought down on the pin and… the screen went blank.
"Shit! Sir, the transmissions been lost." Jenson stood up.
"Shit," Eric grabbed his gun & ran out onto the balcony, peering into Grace's room, "Get agents over there now." Jenson ran out of the room & Eric tried to see into the room. Grace was struggling with whoever this person was. He jumped over the balcony to the ground not far below. He raced across the courtyard and began to climb up to Grace's balcony.
* * *
Grace stood in front of her bathroom mirror, rubbing in moisturiser. She heard someone walk into the room. "Carina, is that you? I'm almost done." She waited. No answer.
She walked into her room to find someone, completely dressed in black, including a black balaclava. "What the-" Before she could finish she was swung onto the bed and she grabbed the person's wrist before they could smash a lamp across her head. She looked to where she had left her pin & ear piece, but they were smashed to pieces. The figure grabbed her arm and threw against the wall. As she slid to the floor, the figure pulled a gun.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, another figure ran into the first. Grace got to her feet and saw Eric struggling with the person. Three shots rang out, and the person fled out onto the balcony and over the edge. Grace watched it go & then turned back to Eric, "Thank God, you-" Graced stopped & stared at Eric in horror. He was slumped against the wall and blood covered his shirt.
She rushed over to him and ripped open the shirt. Three wounds were flowing with blood. Grace pulled the sheet of the bed & ripped it while screaming for help. She pressed the sheet on the wounds trying to stem the blood.
"I'm sorry." Eric whispered, blood and sweat drenching him.
"No Eric," Grace said, "You did great."
Eric took shuddering breaths, trying to stay conscious, "I don't mean that. I'm… I'm sorry… I'm sorry for hurting you."
"No baby," Grace tried to comfort him, "Its okay baby. You just stay awake. HELP!!" Eric lifted a hand and touched her lips. She held his hand as he fell into unconsciousness, "No baby, no…"