Author's Blab: Didn't take me as long to update this time did it! I told you all that it was a horrid chapter. But thanks for your patience and all your suggestions. We're almost there!!! So keep reading and keep reviewing and I'll have more just as soon as I can!
Elizabeth couldn't believe her luck; she had finally made a break. Now Miss Mackin would lead her straight to Will and she could rescue him and they would make a clean get away off into the sunset... at which point she would send him back, into what could be oblivion. She was to be responsible for his possible death, in control of his improbable life. He completely trusted her, and she was lying to him. But Elizabeth shook her head, she couldn't focus on that, at the moment she only needed to focus on finding Will and getting him out of here before something terrible happened. As a mental note she added, to make sure something terrible would happen. She moved along as quickly as her heart would let her.
Miss Mackin in all of her cruel fantasies couldn't have imagined a better situation than the one handed to her. She didn't even have to explain her situation to the guard now, not that he would have dared given her a problem. She didn't have to drag a struggling Elizabeth down three floors, she didn't have to endure the wailing and the crying (at least from her). She was given the element of surprise and she was going to use it. She couldn't wait to see the look of horror on that whelp's face, to see his futile struggles as she choked the life out of Elizabeth in front of his eyes. She almost skipped down three levels she was so excited. And that stupid Elizabeth, so foolish and trusting, didn't have a clue; thought she was even an ally! It almost made her chuckle, the irony of it all. But she didn't because it would have aroused suspicion in Elizabeth and she certainly did not want suspicion now, when she was so close to her vengeance.
So Miss Mackin lead her down the corridors and stairs slowly and seriously, pausing in front of the General's door to be sure that Elizabeth would be the first sight to grace Will's eyes, before she entered and stole away his hopes gloriously. It would be perfect.
"Now Elizabeth, I believe he's in here, you best enter first, I think it is you he is most longing to see," Miss Mackin said doing her best to cover a smirk in the process... this was going to be good.
When they finally reached the door Elizabeth was too relieved to notice Miss Mackin's odd behaviour, pushing past her and entering the room. It was stark and white, like a laboratory, it gave her the shivers. She saw the General's desk, his computer and a series of monitors that, once she looked through the bars separating the room, were monitoring Will!
"Will!" she squealed as she ran into the room and to the door in the bars. Will was instantly alert and she could see his surprise and happiness as he saw her. But he couldn't speak, he was gagged and there were a series of cuts on his cheek, he was also shirtless. That image stole Elizabeth's breath away for a moment, Will's tense muscles under his smooth bronze skin. She had to gulp to swallow the pool of drool forming in her mouth. Man that man was gorgeous.
But she was shaken from her girlish fantasy as Miss Mackin entered the room. "Is that him, Elizabeth?" she said quietly.
Will on the other hand was anything but quiet, as soon as Miss Mackin had spoke he began throwing himself against his bonds, catching Elizabeth's attention and completely wigging her out. She looked at him in horror, fearing he'd gone into a seizure.
"Will!" she screamed as she banged against the cage and door separating them. "Will what's wrong?" He stopped and began shaking his head toward her, but she couldn't understand his meaning, he was too frantic. "Miss Mackin, something's wrong with Will we have to get him out of here!" Elizabeth tried to pry open the door, but nothing would budge it. Then she remembered Bradford's keys. "Miss Mackin, I'll try my keys while you keep watch," she said as she started fumbling through her pocket. She found the keys and started jamming them into the lock one by one.
Miss Mackin found it very difficult not to burst out in cynical laughter. Elizabeth was a headless chicken, trying to deal with all the pressures around her, but failing due to her lack of brain. And Will was frantic as well, trying to clue the brainless Elizabeth into her impending doom, but only accomplishing a surprisingly good impression of a dying fish. Miss Mackin made faces behind Elizabeth's back and mocked pummelling her over the head with a hammer, which wasn't a bad idea... but not quite fitting enough for her end.
A muffled sound broke Elizabeth's concentration on the lock. She looked up to see Will straining against the steel and trying to yell through his gag.
"Lth, bnd oo!" Will muffled.
"What?" Elizabeth said as she fumbled through the keys.
"Thh onen bnd oo!" Will muffled louder.
Will was causing Elizabeth to fumble and drop the keys as he screamed through the gag. "LOOK!" she yelled at him. "I CAN'T GET YOU OUT IF YOU'RE CONSTANTLY YELLING AT ME!"
"Buth icks inanped!" Will muffled quietly.
Miss Mackin thought she was caught when Will started mumbling a warning incomprehensibly through his gag, but she had again been saved by Elizabeth's stupidity, it was all too funny. Elizabeth went back to the lock, and she crept ever closer, pulling a string of nylon out of her pocket, ready to strike.
Will was really freaking out now, which was starting to totally freak out Elizabeth. He was screaming and thrashing, and Elizabeth looked up into his eyes and saw a fear and panic within them that frightened her. She didn't know what he was trying to say but the faster she got in there the faster she could find out. She calmed her hand and started to go through the keys methodically, but quickly. Will never stopped in his attempts to speak to her.
"It's ok Will, I only have a few keys left, I'll have you out of there in a moment." She said flipping through keys impatiently. Than Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief as she found the right key and heard a click in the lock. She pushed the door open and ran toward Will as fast as her legs would carry her. Will instantly stopped moving, and she rushed to his side and loosed the gag in his mouth. She hadn't finished before Will started yelling.
"Elizabeth behind you!" But Elizabeth couldn't respond due to the tight, burning sensation around her neck as a nylon string closed off her windpipe.
Elizabeth tried to scream but there was no air to support the sound. She didn't know what to do, she was frozen in shock, and little stars were starting to gather in her sight. Slowly her limbs were going numb and her joints were restricted, not unlike in the nightmares that had been haunting her. From somewhere it seemed both high above and far below voices were calling to her.
"Elizabeth, FIGHT!" called Will frantically. Elizabeth liked the sound of his voice, but didn't like the edge in it, he should calm down, like she was. "Let her go!" he called again.
"Silly boy, she's not going to do anything, she's to scared to put up much of a fight," the voices were lulling her into a peaceful sleep, so much so that she began sinking slowly to the floor.
"Elizabeth! ELIZABETH!" Will sounded scared and angry, not at all how Elizabeth felt, still and serene. She heard a cruel laugh, which jarred her slightly, but not enough to give her the motivation to do anything.
"You fool," Miss Mackin said coldly. "She's about to die, just like her parents did, in fact, it's the same piece of nylon cord, three birds with one rope, that must be a new record." Something about that comment made Elizabeth angry, really angry, angry enough to care about living another minute in order to make that comment eat its words.
Elizabeth put her feet flat on the floor and shoved, searing pain in her limbs and all. And it was a pretty decent shove, seeing as she was almost to the ground and she had the full expanding of her legs to give her momentum. It was so effective that it threw Miss Mackin, and Elizabeth attached, into the cage, forcing the string to loosen and Elizabeth to slip free from the nylon and into a mad coughing fit.
"YES!" was all that Will could do from his bound position.
But Elizabeth was in a far better position, once she had stopped coughing, she righted herself and delivered a firm kick in payment for her pain. "What did you say?" Elizabeth said filled with shock, and disbelief. "You're the one that killed my parents? That's impossible, I hadn't even met you when they were killed." Miss Mackin, crumpled on the floor, started to speak.
"Why do you think I put such a hard request for you to start working here after your parents died, if I couldn't force you to complete the work for me, I'd coerce you into doing it instead," she coughed.
"But the government were the ones trying to protect my parents, they were the ones that saved me in the first place," Elizabeth was trying to grasp all of the information and possibilities coursing through her head.
"You betrayed the Ghost," Will said solemnly.
"What?" Said Elizabeth. "How did you know that?"
If Will had listened he didn't make a sign of it, he just kept going. "Bradford was told to back Elizabeth and you made sure that he was fed wrong information so that he would be too late, than Elizabeth would be destroyed emotionally and you would be able to con her into doing pretty much anything you wanted."
"Bradford, what has he got to do with anything? Will you're not making any sense." Elizabeth was utterly confused now.
"No, he's a smart boy," Miss Mackin said as she took advantage of Elizabeth's confusion and began to stand. "Bradford told him his side and he filled in the rest. I knew you wouldn't be up to the challenges I had in store for you Elizabeth, not with the image of your perfect parents there to support you, so I took them away,"
"But how did you even know about me?" Elizabeth whispered.
"You really are thick aren't you, I was the one who hired you, I was the one who sent the thugs, you were working for me, that is until you got scared and pulled out. I thought I'd lost you then, but it worked out and I was able to hold onto your skill a little longer. I would have given you a cut you know, in the end. Who knows I may even have let you keep a Will of your own, or maybe a Todd... but no, you didn't turn the computer in like you were supposed too, you got involved. I really had thought you'd got that whole 'follow your heart' ideal out of your system, but oh well. No matter," she said as she pulled a wicked looking gun out of her coat.
"Can't kill you the old fashion way, I'll try with a new method." She sneered as she aimed the gun level with her head.
Elizabeth couldn't believe her luck; she had finally made a break. Now Miss Mackin would lead her straight to Will and she could rescue him and they would make a clean get away off into the sunset... at which point she would send him back, into what could be oblivion. She was to be responsible for his possible death, in control of his improbable life. He completely trusted her, and she was lying to him. But Elizabeth shook her head, she couldn't focus on that, at the moment she only needed to focus on finding Will and getting him out of here before something terrible happened. As a mental note she added, to make sure something terrible would happen. She moved along as quickly as her heart would let her.
Miss Mackin in all of her cruel fantasies couldn't have imagined a better situation than the one handed to her. She didn't even have to explain her situation to the guard now, not that he would have dared given her a problem. She didn't have to drag a struggling Elizabeth down three floors, she didn't have to endure the wailing and the crying (at least from her). She was given the element of surprise and she was going to use it. She couldn't wait to see the look of horror on that whelp's face, to see his futile struggles as she choked the life out of Elizabeth in front of his eyes. She almost skipped down three levels she was so excited. And that stupid Elizabeth, so foolish and trusting, didn't have a clue; thought she was even an ally! It almost made her chuckle, the irony of it all. But she didn't because it would have aroused suspicion in Elizabeth and she certainly did not want suspicion now, when she was so close to her vengeance.
So Miss Mackin lead her down the corridors and stairs slowly and seriously, pausing in front of the General's door to be sure that Elizabeth would be the first sight to grace Will's eyes, before she entered and stole away his hopes gloriously. It would be perfect.
"Now Elizabeth, I believe he's in here, you best enter first, I think it is you he is most longing to see," Miss Mackin said doing her best to cover a smirk in the process... this was going to be good.
When they finally reached the door Elizabeth was too relieved to notice Miss Mackin's odd behaviour, pushing past her and entering the room. It was stark and white, like a laboratory, it gave her the shivers. She saw the General's desk, his computer and a series of monitors that, once she looked through the bars separating the room, were monitoring Will!
"Will!" she squealed as she ran into the room and to the door in the bars. Will was instantly alert and she could see his surprise and happiness as he saw her. But he couldn't speak, he was gagged and there were a series of cuts on his cheek, he was also shirtless. That image stole Elizabeth's breath away for a moment, Will's tense muscles under his smooth bronze skin. She had to gulp to swallow the pool of drool forming in her mouth. Man that man was gorgeous.
But she was shaken from her girlish fantasy as Miss Mackin entered the room. "Is that him, Elizabeth?" she said quietly.
Will on the other hand was anything but quiet, as soon as Miss Mackin had spoke he began throwing himself against his bonds, catching Elizabeth's attention and completely wigging her out. She looked at him in horror, fearing he'd gone into a seizure.
"Will!" she screamed as she banged against the cage and door separating them. "Will what's wrong?" He stopped and began shaking his head toward her, but she couldn't understand his meaning, he was too frantic. "Miss Mackin, something's wrong with Will we have to get him out of here!" Elizabeth tried to pry open the door, but nothing would budge it. Then she remembered Bradford's keys. "Miss Mackin, I'll try my keys while you keep watch," she said as she started fumbling through her pocket. She found the keys and started jamming them into the lock one by one.
Miss Mackin found it very difficult not to burst out in cynical laughter. Elizabeth was a headless chicken, trying to deal with all the pressures around her, but failing due to her lack of brain. And Will was frantic as well, trying to clue the brainless Elizabeth into her impending doom, but only accomplishing a surprisingly good impression of a dying fish. Miss Mackin made faces behind Elizabeth's back and mocked pummelling her over the head with a hammer, which wasn't a bad idea... but not quite fitting enough for her end.
A muffled sound broke Elizabeth's concentration on the lock. She looked up to see Will straining against the steel and trying to yell through his gag.
"Lth, bnd oo!" Will muffled.
"What?" Elizabeth said as she fumbled through the keys.
"Thh onen bnd oo!" Will muffled louder.
Will was causing Elizabeth to fumble and drop the keys as he screamed through the gag. "LOOK!" she yelled at him. "I CAN'T GET YOU OUT IF YOU'RE CONSTANTLY YELLING AT ME!"
"Buth icks inanped!" Will muffled quietly.
Miss Mackin thought she was caught when Will started mumbling a warning incomprehensibly through his gag, but she had again been saved by Elizabeth's stupidity, it was all too funny. Elizabeth went back to the lock, and she crept ever closer, pulling a string of nylon out of her pocket, ready to strike.
Will was really freaking out now, which was starting to totally freak out Elizabeth. He was screaming and thrashing, and Elizabeth looked up into his eyes and saw a fear and panic within them that frightened her. She didn't know what he was trying to say but the faster she got in there the faster she could find out. She calmed her hand and started to go through the keys methodically, but quickly. Will never stopped in his attempts to speak to her.
"It's ok Will, I only have a few keys left, I'll have you out of there in a moment." She said flipping through keys impatiently. Than Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief as she found the right key and heard a click in the lock. She pushed the door open and ran toward Will as fast as her legs would carry her. Will instantly stopped moving, and she rushed to his side and loosed the gag in his mouth. She hadn't finished before Will started yelling.
"Elizabeth behind you!" But Elizabeth couldn't respond due to the tight, burning sensation around her neck as a nylon string closed off her windpipe.
Elizabeth tried to scream but there was no air to support the sound. She didn't know what to do, she was frozen in shock, and little stars were starting to gather in her sight. Slowly her limbs were going numb and her joints were restricted, not unlike in the nightmares that had been haunting her. From somewhere it seemed both high above and far below voices were calling to her.
"Elizabeth, FIGHT!" called Will frantically. Elizabeth liked the sound of his voice, but didn't like the edge in it, he should calm down, like she was. "Let her go!" he called again.
"Silly boy, she's not going to do anything, she's to scared to put up much of a fight," the voices were lulling her into a peaceful sleep, so much so that she began sinking slowly to the floor.
"Elizabeth! ELIZABETH!" Will sounded scared and angry, not at all how Elizabeth felt, still and serene. She heard a cruel laugh, which jarred her slightly, but not enough to give her the motivation to do anything.
"You fool," Miss Mackin said coldly. "She's about to die, just like her parents did, in fact, it's the same piece of nylon cord, three birds with one rope, that must be a new record." Something about that comment made Elizabeth angry, really angry, angry enough to care about living another minute in order to make that comment eat its words.
Elizabeth put her feet flat on the floor and shoved, searing pain in her limbs and all. And it was a pretty decent shove, seeing as she was almost to the ground and she had the full expanding of her legs to give her momentum. It was so effective that it threw Miss Mackin, and Elizabeth attached, into the cage, forcing the string to loosen and Elizabeth to slip free from the nylon and into a mad coughing fit.
"YES!" was all that Will could do from his bound position.
But Elizabeth was in a far better position, once she had stopped coughing, she righted herself and delivered a firm kick in payment for her pain. "What did you say?" Elizabeth said filled with shock, and disbelief. "You're the one that killed my parents? That's impossible, I hadn't even met you when they were killed." Miss Mackin, crumpled on the floor, started to speak.
"Why do you think I put such a hard request for you to start working here after your parents died, if I couldn't force you to complete the work for me, I'd coerce you into doing it instead," she coughed.
"But the government were the ones trying to protect my parents, they were the ones that saved me in the first place," Elizabeth was trying to grasp all of the information and possibilities coursing through her head.
"You betrayed the Ghost," Will said solemnly.
"What?" Said Elizabeth. "How did you know that?"
If Will had listened he didn't make a sign of it, he just kept going. "Bradford was told to back Elizabeth and you made sure that he was fed wrong information so that he would be too late, than Elizabeth would be destroyed emotionally and you would be able to con her into doing pretty much anything you wanted."
"Bradford, what has he got to do with anything? Will you're not making any sense." Elizabeth was utterly confused now.
"No, he's a smart boy," Miss Mackin said as she took advantage of Elizabeth's confusion and began to stand. "Bradford told him his side and he filled in the rest. I knew you wouldn't be up to the challenges I had in store for you Elizabeth, not with the image of your perfect parents there to support you, so I took them away,"
"But how did you even know about me?" Elizabeth whispered.
"You really are thick aren't you, I was the one who hired you, I was the one who sent the thugs, you were working for me, that is until you got scared and pulled out. I thought I'd lost you then, but it worked out and I was able to hold onto your skill a little longer. I would have given you a cut you know, in the end. Who knows I may even have let you keep a Will of your own, or maybe a Todd... but no, you didn't turn the computer in like you were supposed too, you got involved. I really had thought you'd got that whole 'follow your heart' ideal out of your system, but oh well. No matter," she said as she pulled a wicked looking gun out of her coat.
"Can't kill you the old fashion way, I'll try with a new method." She sneered as she aimed the gun level with her head.