13
Integra opened her eyes slowly and reached for her glasses. She had been sleeping for a few hours. Since she had finished her book, she had nothing else to distract her from her impending doom. She had told Victoria that she could use the trial to flush out her hidden enemy. But she really had no idea how she would do that. The person had to be well connected to manipulate the courts this way. But more than likely he would not show his face at the actual trial. And if he wasn't there, how could she identify him? It was a conundrum, and she would have to solve it in the next twelve hours or die trying. As she tried to think, a sound filtered down from the higher floors of the Tower. It was faint at first but it got louder as the source descended through the stone catacombs. Integra moved to the high-backed chair and sat there, listening. It was a dull roar, like a freight train, but softer and intermittent. It seemed to come and go in a steady rhythm, like waves. But it also seemed purposeful, like footsteps. Eventually, it was coming down the hallway outside her cell. Integra wasn't really worried until she heard the guards shouting on the other side of the iron door. The roar came again, louder than ever, and the footsteps of the guards began to fade away down the hallway.
Integra was on her feet about to approach the door when the hinges on the edge of the iron turned red. They glowed as if an intense heat were being applied to them and then they snapped. The door collapsed inward onto the stone floor with a deafening clang.
"So much for doing this quietly," said an unfamiliar male voice.
Three cloaked figures stood in the cloud of dust that obscured the doorway. As the dust settled, Integra recognized Victoria's orange hair under her hood.
"I'm ready to rescue you now, Sir," she said.
Integra had to work hard to not let her jaw drop.
"Idiot," she snapped. "I told you NOT to rescue me."
"I know, but Walter said…"
"I don't care what Walter said. I give the orders in my own organization."
One of the strangers looked suspiciously at Victoria.
"You didn't tell us we weren't supposed to rescue her," he said in a distinctly dark tone. Victoria looked back at him with begging eyes.
"I asked you to help me rescue her. I never said she told me to."
The man's eyes widened and he drew back slightly. Integra took the opportunity to jump in again.
"And you brought outsiders into it? What are you thinking, Victoria?"
Before the vampire could answer, the other girl got everyone's attention.
"There are more guards coming," she said.
"Are you coming or not?" Victoria asked, turning back to Integra.
"I don't have a choice now. They'll kill me where I stand thanks to this little stunt of yours."
A moment later, Integra was struggling to get her cloak on as she followed the others running down the hallway. Everything was happening so fast. She hated feeling out of control like this. It was the same feeling she'd had the week before sitting in the helicopter with Walter. His presence then had done a lot to calm her nerves. His absence now had the opposite effect. Part of her was glad he had arranged for her rescue, but she would never admit that to anybody. Maybe once they were out of the Tower things would become clearer. In the meantime, she found out what that roaring sound was. It was fire. Victoria had recruited a witch to help her. Whenever they reached a locked door, the quiet young girl would burn straight through it. They could hear the footsteps and shouts from behind them, driving them forward. The only way they could escape without major casualties was to find one of the back exits and disappear into the night.
14
The group ran through the stone tunnels under the Tower, trying to throw off their pursuers. Robin burned through every door they passed, looking for an escape route. All she found were dark rooms and dead-end passages. She slowed down on the way up a long flight of stairs and Sir Integra came up beside her.
"Would you please keep the damage to a minimum?" she panted. "This is a historical landmark, you know."
"I'm sorry," was all Robin could say before Amon intervened.
"Do you want to live or not?" he asked from a few steps ahead.
Sir Integra looked from one to the other of them.
"Who in bloody hell are you people?" she asked bad-temperedly.
"We'll explain later," Amon shot back. "Right now we're the people saving your life."
A bullet from a soldier's gun ricocheted off the stone floor behind them as they reached the top of the staircase.
"And a fine job you're doing," Sir Integra sneered.
"You'd rather get mowed down by the army?" Amon taunted her.
Sir Integra scowled. "I had everything under control ten minutes ago. Can someone explain to me why that's changed?"
"I would be happy to, Sir," Seras said. "But could we please get out of here first?"
More gunshots rang in the dark hallway behind them.
"By all means," Sir Integra replied.
"Do you really mean that?" Robin asked.
"Without reservation," Sir Integra answered, listening to the footsteps of the soldiers get louder.
Robin glanced at Amon and he glanced back. They must be above ground by now. They could see a sharp corner in the hallway up ahead. This might be their best chance. Robin focused her energy and threw it out at the wall. For a moment, nothing happened. But then an entire section of the stone melted and spread over the floor. It had already cooled in the night air by the time they reached it. Robin got a brief glimpse of the London skyline and the ground below before she and the others threw themselves out into space.
Story notes:
Bloody - A common curse word in British English.