Eve couldn't take her eyes off the gun on Mortimer's hand. Its sinister, dark grey shape automatically drew her gaze. It was strange; guns had always been a bit of an abstract concept for her. She knew what they could do – she'd watched the news – but now here was one right in front of her, a deadly weapon, and Mortimer could very easily use it to hurt her if she didn't tell him what he wanted to know. She could already feel him growing impatient with each passing second.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. He can't hurt you. Slowly, she raised her head and finally looked at her captor again. "No."

He raised his eyebrows. "No?"

"No." Though her arms were bound, Eve attempted to sit up a little straighter in her chair. "Telling you about Ivy won't save my life – because you're not going to kill me. You can't." She swallowed nervously. "You want Ivy to find me, right? So you can find her. So you can study her, like I did. So let's say that happens; she finds me, and you somehow convince her to let you get close to her, find out her secrets. The thing is, you've already kidnapped me, drugged me, tied me up, left me alone and hungry with no escape. That is enough reason already for her to kill you…do you know what she will do to you if she finds me with a bullet in my head? There will be no grant funding, no cover story, no frickin' Nobel Prize, nothing. Not even a chance at that. She will destroy you."

The two of them watched each other, neither wanting to back down. Eve held her ground against the man she'd trusted, who had betrayed her so badly, and she hoped fervently that she'd gotten through to him. Finally, Mortimer sat back in his chair and nodded thoughtfully.

"You're right," he said. "You're absolutely right. I can't kill you, let alone even hurt you, without risking my own life. But yet again, Eve, you've underestimated my intelligence." He got down off the stool and leaned over her again. "I already knew that. I knew I couldn't kill you without dying myself, not if Ivy cares about you so much. Even if I leave here after doing the deed, she finds me once, she'll find me again. All I have to do is use you not as bait, but as collateral."

Eve stared at him. "What the fuck are you talking about? You can't just keep me so Ivy will work with you. How long do you think that would last? You think we wouldn't be trying to figure a way out of that every single day?"

"I'm sure you would. I'm also sure that if I did let you go, you'd report me to the police immediately. Which is why, I'm going to make Ivy agree to work with me for as long as I want, with no repercussions, in order to keep you alive." He lifted the gun and pressed the barrel against Eve's temple, hard enough to leave a mark on her skin. "I know I can never control her fully without you – she's too powerful. So if she refuses, or betrays me in any way, I will kill you. By then, I'll have nothing to lose."

"You're crazy." Eve stared up at him, trying not to show him her fear. The feel of the cold metal gun barrel against her skin was subtly terrifying. "I can't believe I ever trusted you."

"I've been told I have an honest face," Mortimer said, attempting a modest shrug.

Eve shook her head slightly. "Whoever told you that must have been crazy too."

"No!" With a sudden lunge, Mortimer raised his free hand and smacked Eve right across the face, nearly knocking her down again. "You do not get to call me crazy, not after you fell in love with a murderer, a criminal, a violently destructive villain. You know what she's done; you researched her, you read about her in the news. You even saw it up close with your own eyes! And still, you let yourself be blinded by love to all her faults."

"I knew those things, and I still accepted her for who she is!" Eve cried, for the moment no longer caring about what Mortimer might do. She would not let him say those things about the woman she loved. "You don't even see her as a person! For you, she's a science project, a means to an end; don't even try to fool me for one second that if you experimented on her you would treat her like a human being and not just another plant!"

"That's it!" Finally, mercifully, Mortimer pocketed the gun, but the relief Eve felt instantly dissipated as he retrieved the duct tape again. She gasped and struggled, but was powerless to resist as he wrapped the tape tightly round her head and over her mouth, trapping her hair. Eve screamed and cursed behind the gag. "Not one more word out of you. We're just going to sit tight, and wait. It could be a while – if Batman's involved, we'll have to wait until it's dark again. The downside of being a symbol of justice dressed entirely in black, I suppose." His tone had returned to casually conversational, as if they were just having coffee together or talking about something on the TV from the night before. He sat back on the stool again and watched her placidly.

In the half-hour that followed, Eve thought of eleven different ways that she really wanted to hurt him, while trying not to look him in the eye. She was also stiff and uncomfortable, thirsty again, hungry, and wishing she had access to a bathroom, ideally with a shower.

Even as the thought had crossed her mind, Mortimer got up and opened a drawer in one of the nearby benches, pulling out a pair of scissors. Eve watched him carefully, but all he did was untie the rope attaching her legs to the chair, pocketing it for for later use, then carefully snip the tape apart so she could separate her ankles. Slowly, wincing at the stiffness, she straightened her legs out at last. She resisted the urge to immediately try and stand, knowing that she wouldn't get very far while her arms were still taped down anyway, and she knew Mortimer still had that horrible gun on him.

"I'm going to free your arms now," he said, suddenly appearing on her left side and making her jump. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't try and escape, but just so you know, the door is locked. You wouldn't make it out of this room."

Eve suppressed a moan of disappointment and sat quietly while he cut the tape binding her arms, then helped her to her feet. Almost immediately following this, he held her arms in front of her and tied her wrists using the rope. He allowed there to be a small amount of slack, so she could move her arms a little way apart, but that was it. The rope cut into her skin, and she knew there would be raw red marks there later.

She knew where the bathrooms and shower cubicles were, but it was strange being led there through the dim corridors, bound and gagged by her boss who was clutching her arm like he was afraid she'd bolt any second. They reached the ladies' room, and for a moment Eve thought Mortimer might stay outside, but he pushed the door open and waited for her to enter first. "Don't think I'm leaving you in there by yourself," he said warningly. He followed her in, then untied her arms and pointed to the nearest cubicle. "You have five minutes."

The tape was still in place around Eve's mouth, and her responding expletive was severely muffled. She walked slowly into the cubicle, feeling embarrassed, angry, and scared. When she was done, Mortimer allowed her to wash her face as best she could, but tied her up again immediately after, this time with her hands behind her back. As they walked back to the lab, she wondered if Mortimer would stay with her for the whole day, and if so, what he might do to pass the time. More interrogation? More violence? He'd already hit her once, yet another item to add to the list of 'things Eve never thought Mortimer would do to her'.

It turned out his plan was to tie her up in the chair again, against which she protested and struggled vehemently. He ended up having to lie her on the floor of the lab, then sit on her thighs in order to tape her ankles together. He then did the same above her elbows, and removed the rope around her wrists in favour of more tape, while she wriggled helplessly beneath him. By the end of the battle, they were both out of breath, Mortimer was furious, and Eve barely put up a fight when he lifted her into the chair and dropped her bound arms over the back of the seat. He pulled her ankles up underneath her and tied them to her arms, rendering her completely stuck. She groaned at the uncomfortable position, but he was unmoved.

"I don't give a crap if it hurts," he growled, his words and tone completely at odds with the gentleness of his hand as he brushed Eve's hair out of her eyes. "You've given me too much trouble already – so here's what's going to happen. You are going to stay here, in this lab, in this chair. I am going down to Security, where I will make sure all the alarms are set, and all the security systems are on, just in case your girlfriend shows up earlier than anticipated. After that, well, who knows? Maybe we could end up having something resembling a civil conversation, once you stop insisting on being so stubborn."

Are you kidding me? Eve thought, glaring at him. She watched furiously as Mortimer left the room and locked the door behind him. Once again, she was alone. She measured the situation against its similar predecessor – she was pretty sure the drug had mostly worn off, although she still felt tired. She was bound and gagged more severely than before, with escape almost impossible. She knew where Mortimer was, and was aware that he was armed. He was also clearly unhinged in some way, but there wasn't a lot she could try and do about that if he wouldn't let her speak.

Looking around her, she gathered from the view out of the nearest window that it was still morning, but a grey and overcast morning that left frost on the windows and the threat of more snow looming in the clouds. She didn't agree with Mortimer; she didn't believe that Ivy would risk her safety just waiting until Batman was able to go out, if indeed she was working with him at all. It seemed unlike her, but if she was anything like Eve then she would be desperate to see her alive and well at any cost. She sniffed suddenly, her eyes welling up with unshed tears, wishing that she could go to Ivy and comfort her. She wanted to hold her close and let her know that everything was okay, they were together, and no one would ever be able to tear them apart again.

As it was, she screamed herself almost hoarse calling for help while Mortimer was out of the room, in the vain hope that somebody outside would hear her. Eventually, she gave up and started crying, hanging her head once more.

Her head snapped up when the sound of an alarm going off drifted into the room from downstairs. Seconds later, in ran Mortimer, looking excited. "She's here! Finally! I've never been so happy to be wrong!" He proceeded to quickly free Eve from the chair and release her ankles, swiftly bringing her to her feet. They faced the door together, Mortimer gripping her upper arm painfully tight, with his gun held in his other hand. The tip of the barrel was pressed against Eve's ribcage, so she felt it every time she breathed.

A low rumble, starting at the bottom and working its way up, rippled through the building. The rumbling increased, glassware rattled in cupboards, chairs and stools fell over. All of a sudden, about three feet from where Eve and Mortimer were standing, an enormous vine rocketed up through the floor like something out of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Eve was thrown backwards at the same time as Mortimer, both of them landing on the floor in a heap. Immediately she kicked herself away from him and struggled to her knees, swaying as she tried to balance. When she raised her head, it was to see Ivy walking towards her with predatory grace. At first glance, she looked completely calm and at ease, her beautiful face clear of any emotion. It was only when she crouched down and trailed her hand down the side of Eve's face that the relief in her eyes became apparent – her gaze travelled up and down Eve's body, checking her over, and she seemed satisfied for the moment. She traced her thumb over the tape that covered her lover's mouth, and her eyes narrowed.

Very slowly, she turned her head and her eyes fell on Mortimer for the first time. She was perfectly still, like a predator waiting to spring, while he stared at her in silent awe. She spotted the gun in his hand, which he'd had the presence of mind to point at Eve again once he was facing the right way up. Her lips curled up into a smile that was as far from being happy as possible. When she spoke, her voice was pure venom.

"Found you."