Chapter 4

The Markham Islands

Robert got back to his hotel room later that evening, having stopped for a couple of drinks and some dinner. He was still angry that he hadn't gotten any answers out of Holly during their conversation at the prison earlier. Trying to unwind a little, he turned on the television. He was also curious to find out what was behind the explosions and the screaming that he had noticed on his way back to the resort.

A rather frazzled-looking news announcer appeared on the screen. He appeared to have been running his hands through his hair repeatedly, and his tie was undone. "Reports have been received of large crowds gathering at various locations around the capital. The government has gone into seclusion. Protests have been held all week in response to the treatment of many Markham Island residents during the recent encephalitis outbreak. Difficulties continue to be experienced in obtaining timely medical care. The death toll has reached 1600." The harried announcer continued, "Currently the largest unrest is reported in the neighborhood of the prison, where several explosions have been reported, and a number of armed individuals are situated. Residents are advised to remain in their homes."

"This does not look good," Robert thought. He got up again, grabbed his jacket and heaed back out the door.

Holly lay on her bunk, eyes wide open, wearing a warm sweater over her prison dress. All night long, explosions had been lighting what little she could see of the sky through the tiny window of her cell. The reverberations were beginning to shake the walls of the prison. Around her, people were screaming and cheering. Holly's heart beat faster and faster but she resisted the urge to pace around her cell.

Suddenly, a rocket of some sort sailed through an opening in the prison roof. A large fire broke out in the centre of the prison. More screams and cheers erupted from the cells. The guards, at a loss as to what to do, began running around, unlocking the various cells.

Holly was swept up in a sea of prisoners flowing out the prison door. Once out, it took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. When they did, she took in people running about with large machine guns. Several of her fellow prisoners took off into the woods around the jail. Holly began to panic, not having any idea of where she was and where to go. Holly fervently hoped that none of the Crylium goons were around. Not that being in jail was where she wanted to be, but at least she had a modicum of safety there, and she rationalized that since she had taken the fall, that Crylium would leave the rest of her loved ones alone. She began running away from the crowd, toward the cover of some bushes, thinking she would gather her thoughts there.

Just as she reached the bushes, an arm reached out and roughly pulled her to the ground.

"Going somewhere?" a familiar voice asked gruffly.

In a fraction of a second, Holly's emotions surged from terror to relief to worry again. "I suppose you're here to make sure I don't elude the authorities?" she retorted. She struggled a little to get away, but a hand remained on her arm.

"Listen, you're far better off with me around than you are out here with these armed lunatics. Not to mention your Crylium buddies."

Holly glared at Robert. "Two weeks ago, you were more than happy to hand me over on a platter to the authorities. Why should I believe that you're not simply going to do the same thing again? Robert Scorpio, playing the hero yet again..." She tugged her arm away.

Shots rang out nearby. Holly started and looked around nervously.

"Enough. We've got to get out of here. Now. Holly, I mean it." Robert pulled on Holly's forearm and looked at her intently. She stared at him defiantly but finally nodded her head. He grabbed her hand and they ran off, just as three burly men with machine guns arrived on the scene, clearly searching for someone.

Both Robert and Holly were breathing heavily by the time they made it back to his cabin. Robert walked in, gun drawn and quickly took inventory of the room. He lowered his gun, satisfied that the room was clear.

"We've got to find you something to wear other than that, and then we've got to get the hell out of here. You stay put, don't answer the door to anyone."

"Yes sir," Holly responded dryly.

Robert exited the cabin and quickly headed over to the resort's laundry facilities. He didn't even have to break in, all over the resort, fires were burning and rooms were being looted. He made his way into the laundry room and rummaged through some piles of women's clothing. He found a few items that he thought would fit Holly and chuckled for a second, remembering how fussy she was about clothes. He turned and headed back toward the cabin.

Meanwhile, Holly kept watch from behind the curtains. She drew a deep breath in alarm when she spotted two armed goons heading towards the cabin. Holly ran to the back of the cabin but saw that another man was coming around the corner. Hoping to find a window to climb through, she hurried to the back of the cabin. Unfortunately, the room was windowless. Holly's eyes roved around the room, frantically searching for an escape. Her eyes fell on the large jacuzzi tub. She noticed an access panel under the tub, used to get to the tub's motor. She pulled on it, scrambled into the crawl space under the tub, and pulled the access panel shut.

A split second later, the armed men smashed in the door and ran into the cabin. They quickly checked all the rooms, checked under the beds, in the closets and knocked over a bunch of furniture. "There's no one here. Let's report back to headquarters."

Robert returned to the cabin shortly afterward. His heart sank when he saw the demolished door. He cautiously made his way inside, again checking for intruders, fully expecting a firefight. Not only were there no intruders, there was no sign of Holly.

"Goddammit, Holly. Where have you gone?" He headed into the bathroom to splash some water on his face and collect his thoughts momentarily.

All of a suddenly, he heard a little voice calling his name. For a second he thought he was losing his mind, but then he looked down and saw the access panel begin to move. Robert pulled away the panel.

"I think I may be stuck." Holly had crammed herself into a corner, under the tub.

Despite the danger, Robert couldn't help but laugh at the situation, earning himself a dirty look. He reached down and started to pull Holly out. She stood up and dusted herself off.

"Thank you. Are they gone?"

"They seem to be, for now. I assume they are the ones who kicked in the door? You'd better put these on," Robert threw the clothes to Holly. "Who was here, Holly?"

"I think they were from Crylium. Robert, you'd best get out of here."

"And what are you going to do?" he retorted. "You can't exactly go back to prison now, can you? Nor do you have any papers or money to be able to get away from here. So you're best off in my custody, so to speak. And one way or another, you're going to explain to me how you got yourself into this Crylium mess. While I wait for what is sure to be an illuminating story, I should think that I'm your best shot at staying alive."

Holly glared at Robert but had no choice to agree. "Fine. How soon can you get me a passport?"