When we returned to the hotel, we were surprised to find that they were
having a ballroom dance in the café area. Two looked at me immediately and
smiled. I shook my head and made a gesture that I was tired. He nodded that
he understood and followed me and One to the elevator.
The elevator stopped on our floor and we all walked to our rooms. I saw the Twins disappear into their room and I turned to unlock my own. I flipped on a light and closed the door behind me and locked it. I stood for a few minutes and listened. Everything was quiet. In fact, it was a little too quiet for comfort. I walked a few feet into the room and stopped. Something didn't feel right. I had one of those feelings that a person gets when you sense that you aren't alone. Like someone is watching you. I looked over toward the bathroom then quickly turned my head away. The door was closed except for a small crack. I was sure I had left the door open wide when I left. In fact, I know I did. I always left the bathroom door open even at my own home. I walked around a little bit as if I hadn't noticed. Looking in the mirror that was hanging over the bed, I saw the bathroom door open a little more behind me, then quickly move to the way it was. Someone was definitely in there! I continued to mull around a little bit more, then quickly grabbed my backpack and ran out into the hall to the Twins' room as fast as my legs would carry me.
"One! Two! Open up quick! It's me, Angel!" I shouted as I pounded violently on the door, hoping to cause enough noise to discourage whoever it was in my room from coming out in the open. Two was the one who answered the door.
"Angel, what's the matter?" he asked, puzzled.
"Let me in, quick, and I'll tell you." I said, shoving my way past Two, then forcing the door closed. "Lock it!"
Two locked it then turned back to me. One came walking out of the bathroom while being dressed in a pair of shiny silver nightclothes and a pair of white socks.
"What's going on?" One asked, looking at me then at Two.
"There's someone in my room." I breathed softly and as calmly as I could, even though my heart was pounding within my chest.
"Who?" said One.
"No idea. They were hiding in the bathroom and didn't come out."
"How did you know they were in there?" Two asked.
"I remembered leaving the door wide open when I left tonight and when I went into my room just a few minutes ago, it was closed except for a small crack. Then as I turned toward the mirror over my bed, I saw the door open slightly then quickly go back like it was before. Evidentially whoever is in there didn't know I was looking toward the mirror, but felt I was going to turn back around and didn't want me to notice." I took a break and swallowed and tried to catch my breath. "The last thing I knew was grabbing my pack and racing over here."
Two helped me sit on one of the twin beds and sat down beside me. He pulled me close to him in a comforting way.
"It's ok, Angel, I'm here." He said in a soft voice.
"I'm going next-door to see about this." One said while walking over to the door.
"Come on let's go with him." I said, jumping up off the bed while dragging Two by the hand.
When Two and I arrived at the door of my room, One was busy checking the place over.
"No sign of anyone here that I can see." One said, bending down to look under the bed. "Whoever was here must have left after you came pounding on our door."
"Check the closets." Two suggested.
"I did. Nothing but a couple of clothes hangers."
As the Twins continued to search the room, I slowly backed up while clutching tight to my pack. I felt like something was about to break loose, but I didn't know what. All of this didn't feel right. Suddenly, before I realized what was happening, someone from behind me roughly grabbed onto me. I screamed for all I was worth which succeeded in getting the Twins' attention fast. As whoever it was carried me down the hall, I saw Two turn into his ghost form and come bounding towards me and my captor, his fangs showing and the most beastly roar I had ever heard coming from his throat. I slowed down my captor a bit by kicking at his legs and squirming, making it difficult for him to run fast. Two materialized and grabbed onto the guy, slamming him against the hall wall. The guy turned me loose and dropped me onto the floor. I quickly got to my feet and scrambled to get out of the way, while hearing the guy's head again hit the wall. Not more than a few feet did I run, when I found myself slamming into yet another captor who roughly placed his arms around me and covered my mouth. Two looked up just in time to see him carry me off down the emergency stairs. One ran up behind Two and they both came bounding through the stair door, just in time to see me disappear. Getting rather scared and frustrated, I bit down on the guy's hand, making him turn loose of my mouth in a hurry.
"Two! One! Help me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs once my mouth was free. When the guy that held me burst through the door leading outside, I looked back behind us one last time and saw the Twins come out of the same door. My eyes met Two's as the captor opened a door to a black limo and stuffed me inside. I struggled and kicked, trying to get out and make a break for it, but the guy was too strong for me. Making one last attempt, I threw the credit card I had found over the guy's shoulder in hopes that the Twins could use it in rescuing me. And that was the last I remember before everything went black.
The Twins returned to their room after I had been taken away by whoever it was. Two was in a state of rage and was determined to find me or else.
"Calm yourself, brother." One said, patting Two on the shoulder.
"Calm myself?? Calm? The Master has taken Angel away and who knows what he's planning to do to her!"
"Standing there fuming about it and throwing a wobbly isn't going to help matters any." One threw his suitcase on the bed.
"I'm not throwing a wobbly. Who says I am?" Two ran over beside One.
"I say it." One looked Two in the face. "Believe me, I'm just as mad and upset about it as you are, but standing in the middle of a hotel room shouting out loud to whoever will hear you isn't going to get Angel back." One placed some items in his suitcase and shut it. "You've got to take action!"
"You mean go to Paris and find the Mero, right?"
"Right!" One set his suitcase on the floor next to the door. "If the Master wants a fight, then we'll give him a fight. It's clear he cares nothing about us so why should we care if he loses? We'll go to Paris, find him, get Angel back and find someway to put a stop to the Mero coming into this world."
"But what was Angel saying to us earlier in the park about our room being opened and her finding this on the floor?" Two held up the credit card.
One took the card from Two's hand and stared at it while thinking.
"There's only one thing I can think of, and only one reason why someone would have a credit card in a hotel aside from charging their room." One walked over to the door and put the credit card up to it.
Two watched with interest.
"Two, I think someone broke into our room." One looked around him. "Burglars use credit cards to open doors. Angel said something about finding this card on the floor outside our room."
"Why would they want to break into our room?"
"To put something in here, most likely."
Two looked around him.
"Check the luggage." One suggested while picking up his own case. "Nothing's been disturbed in the room, so whoever came in here had to have come in wanting to tamper with something of ours and not anything in the room itself." One pulled out stuff from his suitcase and checked them over.
"Could be another tracking device?" Two asked, opening up his suitcase on the floor.
"Might be." One threw down a shirt he had checked over. "Or a listening device."
"One!" Two suddenly grabbed One's nightshirt and tugged on it. One looked over his brother's shoulder and into his suitcase. "Check this out." Two pointed at something stuck to the inside of his suitcase, under some clothes. Two was about to say something else, but One made a shushing motion for him to stay quiet. Carefully One pulled the device from the suitcase and looked it over. After examining it, he dropped it on the floor, grabbed for his boot, and hit it sharply with the heel, smashing it into little pieces of wire and plastic.
"Listening device." One mumbled. "The Master probably already knows we're coming."
"What do we do?"
"What else can we do? We go anyway." One looked at Two. "And expect a welcome party."
One sighed and looked at the credit card he still held.
"Blast!" he said under his breath.
"What?" Two asked.
One handed Two the card.
"It's in French!" Two exclaimed aloud.
"Well one thing's for sure, we aren't going to be his dupes anymore! C'mon, Two, gather your belongings. We've got a plane to catch!"
The elevator stopped on our floor and we all walked to our rooms. I saw the Twins disappear into their room and I turned to unlock my own. I flipped on a light and closed the door behind me and locked it. I stood for a few minutes and listened. Everything was quiet. In fact, it was a little too quiet for comfort. I walked a few feet into the room and stopped. Something didn't feel right. I had one of those feelings that a person gets when you sense that you aren't alone. Like someone is watching you. I looked over toward the bathroom then quickly turned my head away. The door was closed except for a small crack. I was sure I had left the door open wide when I left. In fact, I know I did. I always left the bathroom door open even at my own home. I walked around a little bit as if I hadn't noticed. Looking in the mirror that was hanging over the bed, I saw the bathroom door open a little more behind me, then quickly move to the way it was. Someone was definitely in there! I continued to mull around a little bit more, then quickly grabbed my backpack and ran out into the hall to the Twins' room as fast as my legs would carry me.
"One! Two! Open up quick! It's me, Angel!" I shouted as I pounded violently on the door, hoping to cause enough noise to discourage whoever it was in my room from coming out in the open. Two was the one who answered the door.
"Angel, what's the matter?" he asked, puzzled.
"Let me in, quick, and I'll tell you." I said, shoving my way past Two, then forcing the door closed. "Lock it!"
Two locked it then turned back to me. One came walking out of the bathroom while being dressed in a pair of shiny silver nightclothes and a pair of white socks.
"What's going on?" One asked, looking at me then at Two.
"There's someone in my room." I breathed softly and as calmly as I could, even though my heart was pounding within my chest.
"Who?" said One.
"No idea. They were hiding in the bathroom and didn't come out."
"How did you know they were in there?" Two asked.
"I remembered leaving the door wide open when I left tonight and when I went into my room just a few minutes ago, it was closed except for a small crack. Then as I turned toward the mirror over my bed, I saw the door open slightly then quickly go back like it was before. Evidentially whoever is in there didn't know I was looking toward the mirror, but felt I was going to turn back around and didn't want me to notice." I took a break and swallowed and tried to catch my breath. "The last thing I knew was grabbing my pack and racing over here."
Two helped me sit on one of the twin beds and sat down beside me. He pulled me close to him in a comforting way.
"It's ok, Angel, I'm here." He said in a soft voice.
"I'm going next-door to see about this." One said while walking over to the door.
"Come on let's go with him." I said, jumping up off the bed while dragging Two by the hand.
When Two and I arrived at the door of my room, One was busy checking the place over.
"No sign of anyone here that I can see." One said, bending down to look under the bed. "Whoever was here must have left after you came pounding on our door."
"Check the closets." Two suggested.
"I did. Nothing but a couple of clothes hangers."
As the Twins continued to search the room, I slowly backed up while clutching tight to my pack. I felt like something was about to break loose, but I didn't know what. All of this didn't feel right. Suddenly, before I realized what was happening, someone from behind me roughly grabbed onto me. I screamed for all I was worth which succeeded in getting the Twins' attention fast. As whoever it was carried me down the hall, I saw Two turn into his ghost form and come bounding towards me and my captor, his fangs showing and the most beastly roar I had ever heard coming from his throat. I slowed down my captor a bit by kicking at his legs and squirming, making it difficult for him to run fast. Two materialized and grabbed onto the guy, slamming him against the hall wall. The guy turned me loose and dropped me onto the floor. I quickly got to my feet and scrambled to get out of the way, while hearing the guy's head again hit the wall. Not more than a few feet did I run, when I found myself slamming into yet another captor who roughly placed his arms around me and covered my mouth. Two looked up just in time to see him carry me off down the emergency stairs. One ran up behind Two and they both came bounding through the stair door, just in time to see me disappear. Getting rather scared and frustrated, I bit down on the guy's hand, making him turn loose of my mouth in a hurry.
"Two! One! Help me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs once my mouth was free. When the guy that held me burst through the door leading outside, I looked back behind us one last time and saw the Twins come out of the same door. My eyes met Two's as the captor opened a door to a black limo and stuffed me inside. I struggled and kicked, trying to get out and make a break for it, but the guy was too strong for me. Making one last attempt, I threw the credit card I had found over the guy's shoulder in hopes that the Twins could use it in rescuing me. And that was the last I remember before everything went black.
The Twins returned to their room after I had been taken away by whoever it was. Two was in a state of rage and was determined to find me or else.
"Calm yourself, brother." One said, patting Two on the shoulder.
"Calm myself?? Calm? The Master has taken Angel away and who knows what he's planning to do to her!"
"Standing there fuming about it and throwing a wobbly isn't going to help matters any." One threw his suitcase on the bed.
"I'm not throwing a wobbly. Who says I am?" Two ran over beside One.
"I say it." One looked Two in the face. "Believe me, I'm just as mad and upset about it as you are, but standing in the middle of a hotel room shouting out loud to whoever will hear you isn't going to get Angel back." One placed some items in his suitcase and shut it. "You've got to take action!"
"You mean go to Paris and find the Mero, right?"
"Right!" One set his suitcase on the floor next to the door. "If the Master wants a fight, then we'll give him a fight. It's clear he cares nothing about us so why should we care if he loses? We'll go to Paris, find him, get Angel back and find someway to put a stop to the Mero coming into this world."
"But what was Angel saying to us earlier in the park about our room being opened and her finding this on the floor?" Two held up the credit card.
One took the card from Two's hand and stared at it while thinking.
"There's only one thing I can think of, and only one reason why someone would have a credit card in a hotel aside from charging their room." One walked over to the door and put the credit card up to it.
Two watched with interest.
"Two, I think someone broke into our room." One looked around him. "Burglars use credit cards to open doors. Angel said something about finding this card on the floor outside our room."
"Why would they want to break into our room?"
"To put something in here, most likely."
Two looked around him.
"Check the luggage." One suggested while picking up his own case. "Nothing's been disturbed in the room, so whoever came in here had to have come in wanting to tamper with something of ours and not anything in the room itself." One pulled out stuff from his suitcase and checked them over.
"Could be another tracking device?" Two asked, opening up his suitcase on the floor.
"Might be." One threw down a shirt he had checked over. "Or a listening device."
"One!" Two suddenly grabbed One's nightshirt and tugged on it. One looked over his brother's shoulder and into his suitcase. "Check this out." Two pointed at something stuck to the inside of his suitcase, under some clothes. Two was about to say something else, but One made a shushing motion for him to stay quiet. Carefully One pulled the device from the suitcase and looked it over. After examining it, he dropped it on the floor, grabbed for his boot, and hit it sharply with the heel, smashing it into little pieces of wire and plastic.
"Listening device." One mumbled. "The Master probably already knows we're coming."
"What do we do?"
"What else can we do? We go anyway." One looked at Two. "And expect a welcome party."
One sighed and looked at the credit card he still held.
"Blast!" he said under his breath.
"What?" Two asked.
One handed Two the card.
"It's in French!" Two exclaimed aloud.
"Well one thing's for sure, we aren't going to be his dupes anymore! C'mon, Two, gather your belongings. We've got a plane to catch!"