Chapter 17: The Clone Center.
Anna rubbed her eyes as she got into Elvira's car, wishing the Clone Center was more than fifteen minutes away so she could get a bit more sleep. She almost regretted the hours spent with Elsa the night before… almost. Elsa, on the other hand, was also exhausted, but wide awake as she listened to Elvira giving her instructions.
"Okay, so it's very important that you don't take the wig off, or the contact lens, or the glasses, or…"
"Yeah, Elvira, I get it. I shall not mess with any part of the costume you so thoughtfully made for me." Elsa rolled her eyes, annoyed by Elvira's obsessive attitude, even if she knew it was important.
"Shut up and do what I say." Elvira said, upset for having to be the thoughtful one that morning, since that meant making sure the other two girls didn't get in trouble. "You know you could be easily recognized, and I don't what to think about what will happen to us if you get caught." She added as she got into the driver's sit.
"I know." Elsa retorted as she too got in. "Stop worrying."
"I will when this thing ends. I really don't want to get caught by Weaseltown. I bet he'd throw me into a dungeon or something." She sighed. "Now, do you remember what I told you?"
"Yes." She answered boringly.
"What's your name then?"
"Els…" She was going to answer, but she caught herself. "Jeanne De Blanch." Elvira nodded when she gave the right answer. "Even though Weselton doesn't know I go by Elsa now." She muttered.
"It's important that your name sounds french enough. Elsa is too… Arendellian. " The black haired girl explained as she caught Elsa's little remark. "Now, where are you from?"
"France."
"And why are you here?" Elvira asked again, trying to be patient.
"Because… I love… science?" Elsa said hesitantly obviously not remembering what the other girl had said to her only a few brief minutes ago. But hey, she had still been half asleep! It wasn't her fault.
"Because you are a brilliant biotechnology student who came here to see the foremost center on cloning research and technology in the entire world!" Elvira screamed in exasperation. She almost couldn't believe this was her clone… except she was sure her parents sometimes felt the same way when she never listened, so… "Just… don't say anything, alright?" She sighed. "I'll answer for you. You… don't speak a lot of English. Yes, that will work. I hope."
"If you say so." Elsa sighed, pretending to be disappointed that she didn't have a bigger role in this. Currently her only job was guiding Elvira around while they investigated, but deep inside she was glad she didn't have to say anything; she was too nervous about the possibility of being recognized. She didn't want to go back to the Clone Center, at least not as one of the clones. Or, well… die.
But she really didn't want to think about it. Today was the first step in exposing Weselton's unethical practices and shutting down the Clone Center forever… at least that was what she hoped would be the end result of all this.
When the three girls entered the Clone Center the first thing they had to do was register and wait patiently for their turn to be given a tour. Even though they were early, there was already a lot of people in line. Some of them wanted to commission a clone for themselves or for a member of their family, and others to ask for a clone to be delivered to some hospital or another. Still others were there to inquire for a job, an internship or a tour to get to know more about the Center. That day, it looked the only ones there for a tour were the three of them.
"I hope they'll call us soon. I feel like I'll die of boredom." Anna complained as they waited.
"You've literally been here fifteen minutes." Elvira rolled her eyes. "Quit being a whiny baby." She teased her with a little mischievous smile.
"I'm not a baby." Anna pouted.
"But you are whiny. Right, Joanne?" It took Elsa like five seconds to realize Elvira was talking to her. It was going to be difficult to get used to that name.
"Uh… ye… no, I mean…" The startled blonde tried to stutter out a coherent answer, but she was so nervous about voluntarily getting into the building she'd spent her whole life wishing to escape from, that she couldn't say anything. More so considering she didn't know what the sisters were talking about.
Just when she thought Elvira would start teasing her as well, however, a man stopped in front of them and eyed them from above. Elsa recognized him immediately and tried to cover her face a little with her bangs.
Hans, the head scientist of the Center.
"Elvira. What a surprise." He said, obviously not pleased to see the older girl there. "Somehow you're not in jail yet."
"Yes. I hope you're not too disappointed about that." She answered coldly, eyeing him with distrust.
"What are you doing here anyways? I hope you're not looking for an internship; Weselton only accepts top-quality students." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"He clearly doesn't." Elvira remarked as she eyed him with disgust. "But I'm not here for an internship; I came to get a tour around the Center and see how things work."
When Hans looked at her with an unbelieving expression she added. "I didn't want to. Joanne here, who is a french foreign-exchange student and has a hard time with english, was given a recommendation and Maleficent forced me to accompany her." She pointed at Elsa, who gulped and waved nervously, hoping Hans wouldn't recognize her. The man just looked at her with disinterest before his gaze landed on Anna.
"Ah. I see the youngest daughter of our dear president came too." He said.
"W-what's up?" Anna greeted him as casual as possible, but her voice trembled a little. She wasn't good at lying, so she hopped she wouldn't have to say too much.
"Huh. I'd met you in person. You've certainly inherited the President's good looks." He complimented her.
"Thank you." Anna blushed even though she didn't like the way he has looking at her at all.
"Did Maleficent gave you a recommendation letter too?" The youngest girl nodded as response. "I didn't know you were her student as well."
"I'm not. I just wanted to learn more about one of the most important enterprises in our country, and when I knew Elvira was coming, well…" Anna shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "It's my duty to learn all I can if I'm to follow in my parents' steps." She added to make the lie more convincing.
"I guess that's true." Hans agreed. "From what I've heard of you, I think you'd be a good president, so it'd be my pleasure to show you around personally." He gave her a flashing smile followed by a wink, making it obvious he was flirting with her.
"Uhm, actually I… uh…" She stuttered and blushed, not used to be courted by a man, since by high school everyone knew she was gay. Also, she didn't know what to do; she didn't have any interest in Hans, but this could be a good opportunity. Being escorted by a respected scientist in the Center might get her access to restricted areas or more vital information if she played her cards well… but she didn't trust her mouth much, and she didn't want to ruin everything.
Not knowing what to do, she turned to her sister, silently asking her how she should answer, to which the older girl answered with a subtle nod.
"… I think I'd like that." She finally said with a forced smile.
"Great! Follow me then." He offered her his arm to take and, after getting up, Anna hesitantly took it. He then looked briefly at the other two girls. "You two wait here. They'll probably send someone to be your guide soon." And with that he left, dragging an unsure-looking Anna with him.
As soon as they were out of sight Elsa glared at the other girl, hoping she could kill her with just her hate-filled imagination.
"What?" Elvira asked innocently. "It's not like Anna is going to become straight, not matter how much he flirts with her."
"That's not the problem! You have no idea who he is." Elsa scream-whispered.
"Of course I do. He's the head scientist here. And Weaseltown's nephew." Elvira answered, surprising the clone. "It's better if Anna is with him. That'll hopefully keep him occupied while we're here. Plus, she could learn some useful things." She reasoned.
"I don't like it." Elsa pouted, remembering the few interactions she'd had with him when she was still locked in the Center. "He's bad."
"I know." Elvira said. "Believe me, I hate him as much as you do, but I trust Anna to take care of herself. Plus, it's not like he's going to hurt the president's daughter, right?"
Elsa didn't say anything, because she knew Elvira was right. But she stubbornly kept frowning in disapproval at the other girl, until she sensed someone standing in front of them. She looked up and saw none other than her friend, the one who had kept her company when she was still at the Center; Kristoff.
"Kris…!" She exclaimed as she tried to get up and hug him, but was stopped by a firm hand on her arm. She turned to see Elvira had stopped her and was glaring at her. At first she was confused, but then she remembered she was supposed to be a french girl who knew no one here. Of course she couldn't just hug Kristoff! She gave Elvira a sheepish and apologetic smile, to which the other girl answered rolling her eyes.
"Hey." Kristoff greeted them both with a wave of his hand. "You made it."
"It wasn't that hard." Elvira shrugged. "Also, Kristoff, I'd like to introduce you to my friend Joanne, here. She's from France." Kristoff looked at Elsa for a moment, obviously recognizing her, but seemed to understand and quickly gave her his hand to shake.
"Hello, Joanne. My name is Kristoff, and I'll be your guide today."
"It's a pleasure." Elsa answered, keeping up the act.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go see the Center." Elvira said, getting up and starting to walk towards the door that lead inside of the Clone Center. With a long sigh, Elsa got up and followed her, while Kristoff hesitated a little before also going after the black haired girl.
"So, what do you study?" Hans tried to make some conversation with Anna as they looked around the great dining hall. So far the redhead had avoided personal questions by being super interested in everything, but there was only that much she could ask about the dining hall.
"Uhm… I just finished high school. I'm gonna start studying Law at Arendelle University in the fall." Anna said as she pretended to be examining a chair.
"Ah, I see. So you're hoping to become a renowned politician some day?"
"That's the current plan." Anna shrugged, not really wanting to explain that wasn't what she wanted, but what her parents wanted.
"I think you have potential."
"You've already said that." Anna rolled her eyes, but then remembered she should probably be nicer to him, and so added: "But thank you anyways."
"You're welcome." He acknowledged her with a polite nod. "But if you don't mind me asking… why did you come with Elvira? She's not exactly someone I'd like to be associated with."
"She's my sister." Anna answered with an angered expression. "Don't talk about her like that."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound offensive, but politics is all about how you sell yourself. And you wouldn't want to be associated with someone who's spent most of her life committing crimes." He tried to placate her. "I know she's your sister and that you must care about her, but my comment was said in a purely political context. I'm sorry."
"Right." Anna kept frowning and started walking around, just to avoid punching the guy in his ugly, stupid face.
"Okay. I screwed up. I'm sorry. Can I ask you something else?"
"Sure. Go ahead." Anna tried not to make a face of disgust.
"Your visit here doesn't have anything to do with the disappearance of your sister's clone, does it?"
"N-no… what makes you think that?" Anna asked, a little too defensively. She almost kicked herself for not being better at controlling her reactions.
"Oh, just saying." He shrugged like he wasn't interested in her answer. "Your sister's accident must have made you curious, right? That'd be completely normal."
"Oh." Anna blinked, sensing an opportunity to correct her mistake. "Well, now that you mention it… I was curious, just not at first." She cleared her throat, preparing her lie. "I'd never really been interested in clones and all that stuff, but after my sister's accident, I just realized how important this industry is, and I wanted to learn more about it." She was almost surprised how natural the lie came out.
"That's what I thought." Hans nodded, deep in thought. "You have a clone too, right?"
"I think so?" Anna answered, but it sounded more like a question.
"Would you like to see it?" He asked with an almost sinister smile.
"Uhm… I don't think that's a good idea." Anna tried to back off.
"Nonsense! I'm sure you'll find the experience pretty interesting." He took her hand, although Anna tried to pull away. "Our next stop: The clone's chambers."
"And here's the lab, where egg cells are extracted and cultured before being used in the production of the clones." Kristoff said as they arrived to that place. Usually the visit would start with the bathrooms, the kitchens, and all that stuff, but Elvira insisted they visited the most interesting stuff first.
"Wow!" Elvira exclaimed as she entered, wearing a goofy and awestruck smile on her face that, even Elsa had to admit, was kinda cute. It's not like the black haired girl had never seen a lab with such technology, but she just hadn't seen it in such a large scale.
"Look how many microscopes there are! And… wait, is that a Transmission Electron Microscope? And it's of the highest quality! I've always wanted to use one of these!" And with that, she ran to see the thing before Kristoff could stop her, startling the scientists that were working in the lab. Kristoff sighed and was about to follow her, when he was suddenly stopped by Elsa.
"She's not gonna listen to you." She simply said.
"I still have to try." Kristoff shrugged and tried to go to the other girl, but Elsa's hand on his shoulder stopped him once again.
"I want to talk to you for a moment. Let her have some fun; I don't think she'll destroy the lab if you let her look around for a few minutes."
"Uh… okay?" Kristoff said unsure, but still stayed with Elsa.
"I just need to ask: do you like Elvira? Like... in a romantic way?" She said in a serious tone, keeping an eye on said girl, hoping she didn't return too soon. Fortunately, she was busy talking to one of the scientists.
"What?" Kristoff exclaimed as he blushed, obviously not expecting that line of questioning. "Well I…" He cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to compose himself. "I mean, Elvira is very beautiful, obviously. And intense. And the night I had with her was simply amazing." His face was now the color of a tomato. "But I really don't think she's girlfriend material."
"What do you mean?" Elsa asked confused.
"I-I mean I'd like to spend another night with her, or maybe another couple of nights… but to make her my girlfriend? Come on! It's Elvira we're talking about!" He chuckled, like the thought of dating said girl was ridiculous.
Elsa frowned at his answer, suddenly (and rather unexpectedly) feeling the urge to defend the girl. She had wanted to warn Kristoff that Elvira would never love him; not because she thought the girl wasn't capable of love, or being in a serious relationship but because she was already in love with Anna (not that she would have mentioned that part).
She didn't think what her friend was saying was very nice, and that angered her. His answer had disappointed her; it was like he only thought of Elvira as a sexual object, not a person; as if he would use her to have some fun and then get rid of her when he got tired. Sure, that wasn't quite what he said, but his tone of voice had more than suggested it.
"Elsa?" He asked when she didn't say anything, startling her out of her thoughts.
"Uh… sorry. I was just thinking." She excused herself. "But it's a relief to know you don't like her." She said with a false smile, deciding not to voice her thoughts. After all, why should she defend Elvira? She wanted to steal her girlfriend! Also, didn't Elvira treat other people the same way to distract herself and forget about Anna? In that case, she deserved to be thought of the same by Kristoff. Right?
"Hans, please. I don't think this is a good idea." Anna pleaded for the tenth time as she was dragged down the corridor towards the clone's chambers (After they both had put on sterile suits, caps, coveralls and shoes, of course).
"Why not? I thought you wanted to learn about the Clone Center, and this is one of the most important places here." He feigned being oblivious to her obvious discomfort.
"But…" Anna was about to protest when they turned a corner and entered a hall with many doors at each side, each with a number and a small window. It looked almost like a prison, together with armed guards and all. It gave Anna chills, but as she tried to pull away, Hans dragged her forward.
"Here, look." He said, placing them both in front of one of the doors, and as much as Anna really didn't want to see what was in there, she was curious by nature, and so, her eyes betrayed her. And there it was.
It was undoubtedly a person, dressed in a white robe, like patients in most hospitals. It's hair was messy, but clean, as well as it's body. It was male, and very young, probably no more than ten, and he was pacing around the small room that only contained one bed. His gaze was lost and bored, much like that of animals at the zoo.
Yes, it seemed like a person, a child. But, Anna had to remind herself, it wasn't. Not anymore.
"W-who is he?" Anna asked with a small voice.
"You mean who is it made from?" Hans asked. "A guy who started developing diabetes a few years ago. He's currently trying to regulate it with the conventional methods, but the hospital told us a week ago that he'll need a new pancreas soon."
"But… it's just a kid!" Anna exclaimed, completely horrified. "You can't kill him!"
"Of course we can. Its brain is just like that of any other animal: primitive." Hans reasoned. "These aren't people, Anna. They're mindless creatures."
Not all of them.
"What?" Hans asked, and Anna realized she'd talked out loud. Instantly, all color drained from her face, realizing she had just committed a fatal mistake. Her stomach turned and she had to fight the urge to punch herself in the face. Instead, she tried to correct what she'd just done; hopefully Hans hadn't heard her correctly.
"Nothing." She said quickly. "I was just thinking how awful it would be to live like them."
"I don't think they mind much." Hans shrugged. "All their necessities are tended to, and they never get sick. That's all they really need."
Anna internally sighed in relief. Apparently he had believed what she said.
"Maybe. But I think it must be kinda boring." She commented with a saddened gaze, thinking about Elsa. It must have been awful spending all those years in practically solitary confinement.
"Your clone seems to think that too." Hans said casually, and his comment threw Anna out of the loop, making her heartbeat accelerate and her eyes widen like salad plates.
"What?! You mean she's like E…" She cut herself on time, and changed her sentence as quickly as possible, not wanting to reveal just how much she knew. "I-I mean… Is she like… always trying to get out or something?" She hoped her nervousness wasn't as noticeable as she feared.
"Yes. At every given opportunity." Hans sighed. "She even escaped from her room a couple of times."
"Can I… see her?" Anna asked, now curious because Hans' words didn't exactly reveal if she was a normal clone or she was like Elsa. She needed to know now.
"I thought you didn't want to?" Hans answered amused.
"I changed my mind." Anna defended herself.
"Alright. It's over there, come on." He chuckled before leading her down the corridor and stopping about ten feet later. There he pointed to a door that simply read: S-A-162. Anna gulped and looked in. A second later, she regretted her decision.
Her clone looked just like her; same face, same eyes, same mane of unruly red hair, same skin color, and same freckles (well, maybe a bit less). But at the same time, she looked quite different.
She was drawing circles in the ground with her finger, over and over again, with a distant expression. She didn't seem to be intelligent, but Anna thought maybe she was just too bored to show any signs. However, when the clone suddenly looked up and met her eyes, she quickly ran to the door and started softly throwing her body at it, making soft sounds, like a dog pleading to be let out of the house. That convinced Anna; her clone was like any other clone. She wasn't intelligent.
She didn't know if she should be relieved or not. All she knew was that she felt light headed and needed to get out of there as soon as possible. Meeting your own brainless clone wasn't exactly something to be taken lightly.
"Can we go now?" She asked Hans with a tired expression.
"Of course. Come on, I'd like to show you some other things." He answered, and reluctantly, Anna followed him.
"And this is the kitchen." Kristoff said as he guided them through said place. Elsa scrunched her nose in disgust; now that she'd tasted real food, the smell of the nutritional dough was just awful.
"Can we go somewhere more interesting?" Elvira whined, earning a glare from their guide. "We're not here to take a normal tour, you know?" She defended herself.
"Plus, I think I'm about to throw up." Elsa added trying to appease her nausea.
"Come on, it's not like I can just take you to the secret lab or something. I don't even know where that is!" Kristoff tried being reasonable.
"Then we're just wasting our time." Elvira frowned. "Come on, Joanne, let's get out of here." That said, she turned around and started walking to the door, but Kristoff panicked and stopped her, taking her hand. He regretted it a second later when she glared at him and he let go as if her hand had burned him.
"Look, I'm sorry, but I can't let you walk around unsupervised." He said apologetically.
"Then lead us to the entrance or, preferably, to somewhere useful." Elvira retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.
Kristoff was very tempted to just take them to the entrance and avoid getting into trouble, but he knew he had promised to help them and hadn't exactly been very helpful since they'd arrived. But how could he possibly take them somewhere restricted without being reprimanded? Or worse, fired? He gulped. He didn't have that many options, except maybe…
"Okay. You win." He sighed. "Follow me." And with that, he started walking to the entrance of the kitchen. The girls exchanged looks, silently asking each other what should they do. Elvira was the first to shrug and follow Kristoff, with Elsa following soon after. She just hoped her friend wouldn't get into trouble or do anything that would end up with her being captured.
It wasn't long before Kristoff took them out of the Clone Residence zone and back to where all the offices and official research labs were located, which was odd considering he had promised to show them something useful. Just when Elvira was about to question if he was actually leading them to the exit, however, he stopped just before a corner. He quickly looked to both sides of the hall to make sure no one was around and simply said:
"Wait here." Then he hurried to a door just a few feet away and walked into the room beyond. From outside, the girls were able to hear, though faintly, what was going on.
"Hey, Kristoff. What brings you here?" A masculine voice was heard.
"H-Hey Hank." Kristoff greeted the other man, though he sounded very nervous. "I-I just… remember the other day when you asked me to cover you while you were absent?"
"You want me to return the favor, don't you?" The man answered, but thankfully he didn't sound upset about it. "It's okay, what do you want? Just tell me and I'll do it if it's possible for me." He added in a friendly tone.
"Uh, you see… there's this girl…" He started, but was soon interrupted by Hank.
"Ah! A girl, I see." He chuckled. "Now that I think about it, I've never seen you with a girl before. I'm glad you've found someone." He said, sounding genuinely happy for his friend. "So… you need love advice?"
"No! No, I've got it." Kristoff assured him, a little too quickly. "I need…" He took a deep breath. "a place to make out with her." He finally admitted with obvious reluctance; it may not have been true, but he was still embarrassed about saying something like that to a colleague.
His words were followed by a moment of silence before the other man finally spoke.
"You want to make out with her in the security room?" He asked in disbelief.
"I-it's the only room without cameras." Kristof tried to reason. "And I can't exactly ask one of the scientists to leave me alone in one of their labs."
"I don't know Kris…" He seemed reluctant.
"Just… fifteen minutes. That's all, I need." He pleaded.
"A little quick, don't you think? Won't your girl be disappointed?" Elvira could almost imagine him snickering.
"That's not… we're not…" Kristoff stuttered, obviously embarrassed by what the other man was implying.
"I know you're not, man!" Hank laughed at the mortified Kristoff. "But that's okay. I'll even give you twenty minutes, and if someone asks, I went to get some food." His words were followed by the sound of a chair being pushed across the floor and a couple of steps.
"Go get her, tiger." He said before walking out, his steps sounding more distant, until they couldn't be heard anymore. That was when Kristoff returned, red faced and obviously trying to calm down his breathing.
"So… who's the lucky girl, tiger?" Elvira wiggled her eyebrows, looking at him with an amused expression.
"What?! That's not…! It was only a lie!" Kristoff quickly said, blushing even more when Elvira laughed and Elsa tried to stifle a giggle.
"I know." She answered, still laughing a bit. "Now let's go. We don't have much time."
And with that, the three of them quickly ran to the surveillance room, not before checking to make sure no one saw them. Once they were safely inside, Kristoff closed the door, though he left it ajar so they could see if someone was approaching.
Now that they were sure no one was watching them, Elvira went to see the many screens showing different parts of the Center, examining each one closely, trying to see if she found something weird or suspicious.
"Uhm… I don't think they have cameras in the any of the hidden labs." Elsa said as she positioned herself next to Elvira, who was frowning as she concentrated on what she saw.
"Maybe they do." Kristoff countered, though a bit unsurely. Clearly, he did not want to think his efforts to get them there had been in vain.
"No, I think Elsa is right." Elvira said as her eyes kept scanning the images. "It would be stupid of them to film what happens there."
"But?" Elsa asked, sensing there was more.
"But there might be a clue that tells us where it is. Or at least where the secret archives are." She answered.
"I see." Kristoff nodded in thought, before he started looking at the screens too. Elsa sighed but did the same; after all, there were too many screens to be examined by just one person in less than twenty minutes.
Mostly, she saw offices, research labs, and corridors full of rooms where the clones were kept when they were not eating or being washed. It all was a bit unnerving to her, but not so bad; it felt familiar. However soon she started seeing other things. Like the nursery, where newborn clones were stored. She'd never seen them before with her own eyes, at least not that she could remember, but Kristoff had told her about them. Now, she understood why her friend had been about to quit after he first saw them.
The babies were all placed in cribs, attached to a mechanical thing that would automatically move when one of them cried. There was also a feeding bottle on a mechanical arm above each crib that, Kristoff had told her, supplied a programed amount of milk to the babies every two hours. No matter if they cried, no matter if they wished for someone to hold them, pick them up and carry them; no matter if they needed to feel the warmth of other human. The process never changed. It was all automatized, and no one ever entered there except the doctors, who only checked to make sure everything was in working order.
Elsa was no fool. She knew the first two years of her life were like that. She knew part of the reason she always felt somewhat alone was because she had no one during that period of her life.
She also knew that the milk they were feeding the babies contained some toxin that would irreversibly damage their brain and turn them into what most clones were.
She felt tears burning in her eyes, but she forced herself to look away. This was not the right time to start feeling sorry for herself, or for the babies at the Center that she wouldn't be able to save anyways. She had to be strong and find a way to prove what Weselton was doing was wrong; she couldn't let her personal feelings get in the way to her mission.
And so, trying to hold back her tears and surprisingly succeeding, Elsa kept looking at the screens, trying to focus on the images and nothing else, to see if she could find something that could help them.
And then she did. Just after five minutes of looking at the images, she saw it; a never moving image of a lonely corridor with a door at the end of it. It would appear normal enough for everyone else, but for Elsa that door had been the source of her nightmares for more years she'd like to admit.
"There it is." She pointed at the screen, and instantly Elvira's and Kristoff's eyes were directed towards it.
"And… what is it, exactly?" Elvira asked, raising an eyebrow after she saw a very normal-looking door at the end of a very normal-looking hall.
"I've never seen it before." Kristoff commented.
"That's because it's the entrance to the secret lab." Elsa answered.
"Are you sure?" Elvira asked skeptical.
"I was experimented on inside that lab more times I can count. Of course I'm sure!" Elsa snarled back, obviously offended that Elvira (who flinched at her outburst) would doubt her words.
"Okay, I believe you." She tried to placate her. "It's just… I was expecting the entrance to be hidden behind one of Weselton's bookcases or something." She said, but immediately blushed at how incredibly cliché and stupid that sounded.
"It's in the middle of the center, located through one of the many doors that are restricted access." Elsa informed her with a serious tone. "I don't remember which one, though. I'm sorry." She sighed.
"It's okay." Kristoff placed a hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner. "That's enough information for me to start looking for it."
"I don't think it's nearly enough." Elvira disagreed. "Maybe we should search for the hallway that leads to this door now that we have access to the cameras." She stared at the screen with a thoughtful expression. "But how…?" Before she could finish her question, the door suddenly opened and Hans walked in, surprising them all to the point that Kristoff even jumped a bit.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Hans asked with an obviously displeased tone of voice.
"D-Dr. Westergard, sir." Kristoff stuttered, trying to come up with something to say and not to shit his pants. "I-I tried to stop them, but Elvira…"
"Stop with the excuses, Bjorman." Hans interrupted him, raising a hand in a stern way. "I knew you were incompetent, but this is just too much." He sighed. "I'm afraid I'll have to discount a week off your salary for this infraction." He feigned a sympathetic expression, but Kristoff couldn't be fooled so easily. Still, he refrained the urge to protest, least he get a bigger punishment.
"Yes, sir." He answered to gritted teeth. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"I certainly hope so. Any other mistake from you and I'm afraid I'd be forced to fire you." Hans looked strangely pleased at the idea. "Now, please escort these ladies to the entrance. I'm afraid their visit was cut short."
"Wait… where is my sister?" Elvira asked, glaring at him with distrust.
"She's already waiting for you outside. She said she was feeling indisposed." Elvira glared at him but still went and followed Kristoff when he gestured for them to do so. However, she was stopped by Hans just as she was crossing the door.
"I suggest that from now on you mind your own business." He whispered in her ear, his voice full of menace. "Or else… someone you love could get hurt." His smile turned malicious as Elvira glared at him. "Just keep that in mind." And with that, he turned around and started walking, leaving the black haired girl to her own thoughts.
Hans wouldn't dare hurt Anna, right? She was the president's daughter, after all. Still, she felt her stomach churning in fear. She would never admit it, but he had actually manage to scare her.
"Elvira? You coming?" Kristoff called for her after she just kept staring to where Hans had disappeared to. She shook her head, hoping to get rid of her worries and turned around, running to catch up with him.
"Yeah… I'm sorry." She choked out, trying not to show her fear. She didn't want to scare Elsa, after all, so she wouldn't say anything. Hopefully, it was just an empty threat.
Still, she hurried up to the entrance, wanting to meet with Anna as soon as possible.
A/N: Cliffhanger! Hahahahahaha! No, but seriously, what do you think will happen? Hans really seems kind of sinister, doesn't he? XD. But then again, it would be bad for him to hurt the daughter's president… unless there are no witnesses.
I guess you'll have to read the next chapter to find out. Hopefully I'll have it ready much sooner than this one.
Anyways, thanks for reading, favorite and/or follow, and please leave a review if you can :)
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.
