The cold damp room that had become Erica and Bianca's prison was now a little less damp and a little less cold thanks to David's input. He was using his limited power to make things better for them both. They now had scrubs to wear rather than thin hospital gowns and no tests had been carried out on either of them for the last week or so.

David was pleased to note that Bianca was certainly looking better after her violent reaction to the Lazarus drug. Her wounds were healing well too. She could sit up in bed without pain, but was not mobile much beyond that due to the absence of her brace and crutches.

Erica was still worried about her daughter. In truth she was worried about both of them. She drew David to her side of the room to talk, although there was little privacy granted by the few feet of floor between the beds.

"Are you any closer to getting us out of here?" she asked quietly.

"They don't give me much freedom when I'm in the lab. I have a full time guard... I'll try, if I can, to look around more... I'm just not sure how much longer I can keep them hanging, they want results!"

"But you're not going to really operate on Bianca?" Erica asked. "You said they don't have the facilities!"

"They don't." said David. "I don't want to give them my formula if there was any other choice... I can keep up this front for few a days more but at some point it is going to be a choice between me doing my best to help Bianca or that Doctor Norrell hacking at her like a...a..."

"...butcher." muttered Bianca from across the room. It's not like she couldn't hear them talk.

"I'll do my best for you." insisted David, looking over to her.

"I know." said Bianca.

...

David, typed a few notes on the computer on the lab bench he was assigned. His minder, a muscular orderly, was getting lazy watching him just as David hoped. Maybe this was his chance.

David had been biding his time. For three days he had been examined the Lazarus drug. He could see right away what they had tried to do with his formula and he could see right away why it failed. He had been keeping his findings quiet. He kept himself busy though, working on the correction needed if they were going to use his treatment on Bianca. He just lied to his minders how far along he was with the work.

It was getting late and the laboratory was almost empty.

David closed the file he was working on and got up from his chair. He picked up his mug and walked towards the coffee machine.

"Can I get you a cup?" David asked his guard, who had his nose in a magazine.

The guy looked up and shook his head. He didn't follow David as he made his way over to the kitchen area.

David put his mug on the counter and then kept moving. There was a door at the end of the room that David had never been allowed to go through. He checked back to make sure the orderly was still reading his magazine and then tried the handle. The door was locked.

David sighed and turned back to his mug waiting in the kitchen. There was no way out that way.

The only other door he hadn't seen the other side of was a few feet behind where his minder sat, and probably why he had chosen that spot to sit.

David stared at his mug and thumped his fist on the counter.

"Damn." he muttered.

"What happened?" his minder asked. "Is the coffee machine broken again?"

The chair creaked as the orderly got up to join him in the kitchen.

David stepped back as the orderly went to look at the perfectly fine coffee machine.

He looked across to the now unguarded door. Could he make it? He wasn't going to get another chance.

David ran across the room to the door.

The orderly swore and then tore after him.

The door was unlocked and David hurried out into corridor. The décor was much dirtier than the areas he had been allowed to see so far during his captivity. Erica's cell looked clean and neat in comparison. However the corridor was also occupied. David stumbled as he bumped into a man in a in a business suit and then was knocked into by another man pushing trolley. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. David recognised the thug in the sharp suit who had kidnapped him standing behind him. The guy didn't look all that pleased to see him.

His minder then caught up with him.

David didn't stop himself from being pulled away, too confused by what he had seen. Where in earth were they?

...