Weird how you can pretend to know everything about a person and then be absolutely right…
Surprised
Robert Patrick was standing in front of them with nothing but a Speedo on and a towel draped over his elbow. Lainey looked desperately over at Alex to say something. She knew if she opened her mouth she would lose control. Alex didn't help her though.
"You must be Lainey," Rob said suddenly realizing who she was. "I'm sorry," he said. "Please come in."
Lainey and Alex followed him. There were tears in Lainey's eyes where she tried to keep from laughing.
"I just came out of the pool," Rob said. "If you want, we can all take a dip."
There was something in the way that he said it that made you know he wouldn't accept anything less. They had seen no guards but Lainey felt watched. As Alex scratched his neck she could tell he felt it too.
"So what's your name?" Rob asked Alex who looked at Lainey. Lainey just looked at him.
"Alex," He said. "I'm an actor," he said simply.
"Getting in with the media already eh?" Rob said looking at Lainey who laughed slightly. "Are you dating?"
Alex looked at Lainey. "Sort of," Lainey said taking over. "He bought me this ring," she added and flashed it at him.
Rob nodded his head. "There is a room right there for you to use," he said gesturing to a door. Lainey looked at him. She knew this was a joke.
"Very funny Rob," Lainey said. "You know very well that I won't go in there at the same time as Alex."
"You're dating," He said looking at them with a grin on his face. Lainey glared at him.
"You go first," Alex said calmly with a gentleman's grace. "I'll wait."
"They'll be clothes ready for you in there," Rob said as Lainey grumbled off.
Rob and Alex were left alone.
"So," Rob said. "What kind of movies are you in?"
"Spy movies actually," Alex replied truthfully.
"Do you do your own stunts then?" Rob asked.
"Mostly," Alex replied. Rob seemed suspicious already. "I haven't been in a movie for years though," he added. Rob only nodded. "It's been mainly romance films lately."
Lainey looked around the room Rob had pointed out. There was only one way in and out so the thought of actually looking around seemed over ruled.
There was a few towels lying on a bench and shelves of different swimming suits. Did he expect people to come over unprepared or did these belong to people? Lainey tried not to think about it as she looked for a one piece. She hesitated as the feeling of being watched crept over her again.
There was a rounded camera in the corner of the room. Lainey pulled the bench over to it and hung a towel on it. "Git," she murmured and put the bench back. She searched through every single suit and found only one one-piece. It had no straps though and was partially see through anyway. She threw it back and tried to find the modest bikini there. She changed and tied one towel around her waist and wrapped another one around her shoulders before walking out.
"Did you find one you liked," Rob asked practically chuckling as he looked at her face.
"Oh you know me too well," Lainey said sarcastically. Alex was staring slightly and she shifted uncomfortably.
Rob looked like he was trying not to laugh. "We'll let you change then Alex and I'll show Lainey to the pool. It's just down the hall," he said and pushed Lainey down the hall as Alex disappeared into the room. Alex saw the towel over the camera but did not take it down.
"I didn't expect you to be so perfect," Rob said, "You're as mary-sueish (A/N: a role-playing term for characters who seem to have absolutely nothing wrong with them if you didn't already know) as your characters."
"As if yours aren't," Lainey snapped roughly.
"I run those forums," Rob said, "I have every right to have my own way."
"Like everyone else in the world has to suffer by you're being on top," Lainey said loudly as they walked into the pool area. Her voice echoed slightly.
"You're as hotheaded as I expected," Rob said clearly acting relaxed even though he wasn't.
"Are you so surprised then," Lainey said through her teeth. She was still upset by having to do something she didn't want to do.
"No," Rob said recovering, "I expected most Americans to be like this."
"Well you have a lot of damned expectations of people that are set no higher than yourself," Lainey frustrated as she took the towels off much to her disgust. He had always made her feel like they were just playing games. It made her angry and he had insulted America.
"Relax," Rob said looking her over with his head to one side. "Aren't you going to get in?" he asked.
"If I had wanted to get wet I'd be outside playing in the puddles," Lainey said sarcastically picking up a strand of her damp hair as Rob chuckled.
"You always had a way of making me laugh," Rob said still trying to act like he had everything under control. Lainey felt that strange under a microscope feeling again as he looked at her.
They sat there for a long time saying barely anything as Lainey put her towels back around herself.
Why had she accepted this stupid mission in the first place? The want of adventure had been strong a few days ago but now in front of Rob it was all wrong. A week ago she had considered Rob a friend. Now with him in front of her everything changed. She had been told something about him that she didn't even realize was capable of him. After knowing him three years over the internet she knew absolutely nothing about him. She felt defeated already.
"Maybe you'd rather go to the library," Rob said making her look up through her eyelashes.
I'd rather you wear clothes, Lainey thought. "We told Alex we'd meet him here," she said instead.
"Don't worry about Alex," Rob said, "I'm sure he can find his way around here."
Lainey frowned at him. In spite of her stubbornness she gave in. She needed to find where he could be hiding the little girl. It all felt so wrong.
"This is a big library," Lainey said looking around. Big enough to hide a little girl behind a shifting panel bookshelf; she thought sarcastically not believing for an instant that Rob would be that dim-witted.
"I like reading," Rob said. Lainey suddenly softened completely forgetting that she was still in a swimsuit. She knew he liked reading. She knew him so well but had never met him. Rob continued talking softly as everything came together in her mind. They had known that she knew Rob. Anthony Horowitz hadn't wanted her for a movie at all. The absentminded saving of a toddler had been exaggerated even in her own mind. Reality had hit her again. Anthony Horowitz was an MI6 operative. Otherwise how would he have known exactly when she was going to be there? How did he know that she loved his writing? How would he have known that her professor was a writing professor? Her college in America brought five or six different professors for different classes. How had he known to add in that he was an accomplished writer to impress him? It all suddenly made since.
Lainey looked at Rob. She had always been able to be honest with him before. "Have you ever known someone and then realize you might not even know them at all?" she asked skimming his collection of Star Wars books. She waited for his answer as she pulled different books out to see the pictures on the front.
"I suppose I know what you mean," Rob said before Lainey reached another book to pick up. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Lainey put her hand on the book but didn't pick it up yet as she looked at him quizzically. "I'll take that as a yes," she said and pulled the book out. The bookshelf disappeared into the wall and Lainey suddenly found herself face to face with a little girl holding a bear. A shock suddenly went through Lainey and she collapsed onto the cold hard floor.
When Lainey woke up she was in a room with no windows. Her head was pounding and she felt like crying. Rob hadn't been who she had hoped for. Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind she had hoped it had all been a mistake, a dream. It was real and she knew even though she didn't try the door there was no way out. She was lying on a cot in a cement cell. Somebody had changed her clothes. She shivered at the thought of who might have. She had no idea how many people Rob had in his huge house.
"Stupid books," Lainey said to herself. "They always end up finding some way out." She looked under the cot. There was nothing but cement floor. The door was metal with no knob or keyhole. It was specially made for a prisoner. Can only be unlocked and opened from the outside. There wasn't even a place where she could get any food.
Perhaps Rob didn't intend to keep her there for long. Then again he might just leave her there to starve to death. She didn't know what to expect. Not even a month of SAS training could have prepared her for this. She had a relationship with Rob and it had gotten in the way of everything. She should have listened when he had told her not to pick up the book. She hugged her knees to herself. That seemed to be the only thing she could do. She had no way to communicate as she sat there alone as she always was.
Rob had told Alex when they found each other that Lainey had fallen extremely ill and couldn't be seen. Rob assured him that he would take care of her. Alex didn't believe him.
"I'd like to see her anyway," Alex said firmly.
"I'm afraid the illness is too contagious for you to do that," Rob said sympathetically.
"What illness is it?" Alex asked smartly. Rob's cool attitude was making him angry.
"A severe case of the flu," Rob said almost too smoothly. "She's really sick. I couldn't bear letting you see her in such a state."
"I don't care. I want to see her," Alex said getting annoyed.
"You know what Alex," Rob said folding his hands in front of him. "I'm sure with you being in film and all you're very busy."
"I can make time," Alex replied through gritted teeth.
Rob put his hand on his shoulder as he casually started to guide him to the door. "What's the point in making time? She'll be fine in a few days. I promise she's in very good care. Off you go."
Alex frowned at him but knew better than to argue further. He would be back soon enough. In his wanderings he had found the control room with video cameras. It was all too simple to him. It wasn't hidden at all. He knew that they had gone to the library and that Rob had carried her to a certain area of the house. The camera angles were all conspicuous so that anyone who came in wouldn't know what was happening unless they knew all of the rooms by heart and the entire house well. No one had been in it at all. It seemed that most of the cameras were simply to see who came in the room so the watcher of the cameras could sneak up on them.
Alex was smart as well. He knew that the next time he came around there wouldn't be just cameras for security. It was a surprise that Rob had no security beforehand which meant that his task force was relatively nearby. He knew it wasn't nearly as big a surprise for him as it was for Lainey. He thought of what she must be going through as he drove away through the still pouring down rain. He would come back that night. He knew now that Rob wasn't going to play easy at all.