6
Point Prometheus, Little Wonders Educational Facility
It took a couple of tries, but, eventually, Holly managed to sit up and look around, her mind still fuzzy from the induced sleep. Her body was sore, her eyelids felt heavy, and her fingers felt a little numb… but she was fine, other than that. She was still in one piece, and that's what she cared about.
Someone had laid her down in a small bed in a stiflingly small room. She was lying on her side, curled up like she would if she were to sleep in her own bed. Once she realized she didn't recognize her surroundings, she sat up, muttering something angrily under her breath. Even if her life depended on it, she wouldn't be able to recite what she'd said if someone asked her to repeat what she'd mumbled. Her mind felt like it was in a completely different time zone.
The only source of light was a lamp in the corner of the painfully small, clustered room. An empty chair sat adjacent to the bed, it's padding torn, and its insides escaping. Though the room was dimly lit, as the lamp's light was weak, she could still see the pink wallpaper, which had garish scribbles of figures drawn all across it. The ceiling, from what she could make out of it, was a patchwork creation: several metal doors were welded together, and then placed over the gap above the room. It didn't take her long to realize that this was a makeshift prison cell.
"Do you like it?"
Holly flinched and looked about the room. The door was open, and Coleman was entering. Before it even crossed her drug-instilled mind to try and run for the door, it closed. The discouraging sound of its gears locking in place told her that she wasn't opening that door from the inside.
Coleman sat down on the chair, crossing one leg horizontally over the other, and exhaled deeply as if he were perfectly content. "You look confused, kiddo." He gestured to the room itself. "The room. Do you like the room?" When she didn't answer, staring blankly instead, Coleman linked his fingers together on his stomach, leaning back in the chair. "I prepared it just for you. That ceiling is bolted in place, you know. I want to keep you extra safe. You ain't exactly somethin' I run across often, you know? Clean."
"Where am I?" Holly demanded, still a little groggy from the drug. She ignored his questions and his comments – Or rather, skipped over them. Things around her seemed a little fuzzy still, but it was starting to finally wear off.
Coleman didn't seem offended by her ignorance of his question. "Point Prometheus. Little Wonders."
"Damn…" She rubbed her eyes. If she was moved to Point Prometheus, she couldn't help but wonder where Jack was moved to. Coleman shuffled in the chair, catching Holly's attention again. She glanced, but had to look back. "A radio…" She murmured, looking from the service radio to Coleman. He slovenly held it out for her. Hesitantly, she reached out for it, but he kept it just out of reach.
"Before you can have this little gift, darlin', you and I need to have a chat," He set the service radio on his lap, tenting his fingers together over top. "A deal."
"Haven't we made enough deals with you?"
"One more." Coleman assured with another sweet, trademark smile. "This time, with you, sweetheart."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Holly glared at him suspiciously. "What is it you want this time?"
"I will give you this here service radio once you agree," He thought for a moment, as if the wording of his next sentence wasn't easy to come up with. "I, ah… need somethin' from you. And you need many things from me. The radio is just for you to speak with the boy. A peace offerin', if you will. I wouldn't want you to get lonely without the company of your friend…" He drawled, not taking his eyes off her. "But what I wanted to talk about was your identity. That will take a little convincin', you understand?"
"Excuse me?"
As if that were a joke, he laughed lightly. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to hack into radios and the likes… I've had a lot of time to practice these sorts of things, kiddo. Lots of reasons. And I know who you are. Or, rather, what you are." He leaned forward and put a hand on her knee. Taken aback, Holly slapped it away, but Coleman simply replaced it with a stronger grip. "Holly Cohen…" He hissed through his teeth. "Sapphire's little marionette doll. Isn't that right?" He released his grip after smiling smugly.
Holly, startled and terrified, stared at him as she backed away, crawling to the other edge of the bed, pressing her back against the cold wall. For a moment, they both stared at each other. Coleman looked far too pleased with himself. She stared at him with pursed lips, briefly flicking her eyes to the corner of the room, where camera stooped on the wall like a fat bird, watching them. To Coleman, she growled "What do you know…?"
"I know that you work with Sapphire, of all people…" Coleman shrugged. "But I can't just go around and tell people who to work for. Dictatorship, and all that noise…" He twirled a hand absent-mindedly. "But what I can do, is tell other people about who those people work for. It's like a moral obligation I was raised to foster – my eternal curse…"
"And if I just kill you, right here, right now?" Holly snarled, her shadows already forming, creeping up the wall behind her from underneath the bed. She glared at him menacingly from underneath her brows, doing her best to look intimidating.
Coleman didn't even flinch. "Then the two and a half dozens of men and women outside the door will come stormin' in and kill you."
"What makes you think I wouldn't rather die than help you anymore than we already are, let alone agree to whatever 'deal' you want to make?"
"You've fought hard enough, from what I've seen. Nobody who wants to die will fight that long. You would have killed me already if you wanted to die that badly."
The shadows dissipated like smoke in a breeze. Holly shook her head vigorously, shifting away from him quickly. "You creep…" She hissed, not looking at him at all.
"Need more of an incentive, other than your own life? Interestin'…" Coleman tilted his head curiously. "How about the rest of the willin' Splicers who've surrounded your friend, and are waiting for my word to either help or hinder him?"
"I watched him take down six Splicers, including one Brute and one Spider Splicer, with just a pistol, a wrench, and a single bottle of EVE. If he can handle that, he can handle whatever you have to throw at him."
"Are you so confident in his ability to defend himself that you'd be willin' to risk his life?" Coleman asked, his tone coy. He got to his feet, looming over Holly. When Holly refused to answer, Coleman continued. "No? I thought so… Because you need his help, and he needs yours. Somebody like him, who just so happened to take down Frank Fontaine – that's not something you're willin' to give up so easily. Remember, you're just a 'sweet, innocent' child whose naïve approach to life masks the fact that you've got no experience, no guts, and no blood on those cute little hands of yours." He held his hands behind his back, tilting his head slightly. "Isn't that right, darlin'?"
"Maybe I haven't gotten anyone's blood on my hands," Holly leered at him with a forced bravado, "but I've got more guts than you ever will. I don't hide behind a radio, listening in on conversations, and blackmailing people when they're already down and out of their luck. I face my problems, and I try to sort them out without hurting anyone."
"Oh, darlin'…" Coleman sighed whimsically. "How many times I've seen that pure, naïve outlook on life. And how many times I've seen it tossed away like yesterday's paper for a handful of dollars…"
"It's not naïve, I—"
Coleman cut her off, looming a little closer. "Oh, it's child's play, kiddo. A girl tries to keep everyone happy without the pain. A woman recognizes that everyone's got a cross to bear, that this is a dog eat dog world, and that the only way to survive is to do whatever and whoever you gotta to stay alive. Know what I mean, little bean?"
"You're disgusting…" Holly snarled, kicking at him, trying to push him away. "Get the hell away from me!"
Instead of being pushed away, Coleman simply gripped her ankle and pulled her forward. Holly let out a yelp before smacking him with a block of shadows, knocking him away. She pulled the hem of her skirt back to the top of her knees, hoisting herself into a sitting position again. The door immediately opened, and an elderly man with red, blotchy, cancerous growths covering his face peeked in. "Need help, Guv'nor?" He asked cautiously.
Stabilizing himself after being pushed away by the shadows, Coleman looked back at Holly, straightening his buttoned vest and smoothing is hair. He walked over to the bed again, glaring angrily down at Holly. "No, Farish We're doin' just fine." Coleman called, not breaking eye contact with Holly. "She's just havin' herself a temper tantrum. She'll calm down in a minute…" His tone was the type of tone that said "if she knows what's good for her…" without actually saying it. This, in turn, caused Holly to narrow her eyes angrily, pulling her knees up to her chest, feeling like a fish in a small net.
Farish nodded. "Just give a shout if you need any help, yeah?" The Splicer said as he pulled his head out of the doorway, letting the door close.
Even though the guard had left, Coleman growled, standing over Holly again: "That won't be necessary…"
Wayne Coleman left Room Number One of the Little Wonders Educational Facility.
It didn't take long for Coleman to convince the girl that his offer was… ideal. She quickly agreed, leaving behind all signs of her former violence and disobedience. The girl was a real dish, alright – but she'd take some working. Reminded Coleman of an old employee in a business he once ran… One tall, blond, charismatic creature that he was quite fond of. A dish whose spices he would never forget.
Forcing himself off of Memory Lane, and onto the Contemporary Highway, Coleman whistled a tune as he walked down the hallway. Farish stared after him, obviously dumbfounded.
"Deepenin' shadows gather splendor," Coleman sang wistfully, hands behind his back. "… as day is done. Fingers of night will soon surrender the settin' sun." He walked past one of female followers, the… 'striking' Miss Laurel. He paused in front of her, smiling charmingly. "I count the moments, darlin', 'till you're here with me…" He clasped hands with her. "Together at last at twilight time."
"Why, Coleman! What's gotten you in such a good mood, you pistol?" She giggled, smiling profusely. Coleman resisted the urge to cringe – her smile showed off two lovely rows of yellow, decaying teeth. It matched rather well with her cancerous growths. How he loved when women knew how to keep a theme.
"I'm walkin' on air, Beverly!" Coleman sighed happily, drawing her in for a brief embrace. "I've just been given the openin' we've been lookin' for, baby-doll, and we're milkin' the hell outta it." He let her go, leaving her to giggle to herself as he walked away. He continued to hum, walking up the stairs to the top floor of the building, both hands in his pockets. "Here, in the afterglow of day, we keep our rendezvous beneath the blue. And, in the same and sweet old way I fall in love again, as I did then…"
Coleman walked to the room that read 'Autopsy' above its doors. He entered the room, pleased to find it as busy as he expected.
Many of his fellow followers were at work, preparing for their newest project: The descent into Persephone. They needed a clean environment to assemble the dynamite, meaning everything had to be swept, wiped, and cleared out. Two crates of cleaned and dried sand were moved into the room as well. Hopefully, it was enough to make all the sticks they'd need… granted the boy brings enough nitrocellulose and ketone.
The boy… He was going to take a lot more work than even the girl. He was stubborn. A real ass in more ways than one. Not that it mattered… it wasn't him that Coleman had an interest in. Sure, the boy was a useful little gopher, but he wasn't worth the work. Not in the least. But the girl had some resell value. She was a real piece of work, and keeping her contained was only going to be half the battle.
The other half was getting her to comply.