Brain Storm (US Edition) (17 page)

Taking her time like this also kept her from becoming impatient and screwing up. It was like the old adage; 'steady and slow wins the race.' Something to do with a hare and a tortoise, Sara had  never heard the story that went with it. She needed to make sure she kept her focus and didn't just rush around like she wanted them to catch her. But then again if she went too slowly they would catch her anyway. She had to maintain a balance.

Sara looked at the blank computer screen then the mess surrounding it and back again. These guards didn't seem like the most careful of people. They probably didn't expect anyone to ever get past them and into here. So they probably didn't bother to close their computer terminal down fully when they were going to be gone for just a few minutes. Why bother doing that and having to go through the rigmarole of entering your access and security codes all over again? It wasn't like anyone would know.

A gentle touch on the terminal's tracking ball was enough to show that she had judged the guards correctly. The terminal had been left on and the display had simply gone dark to conserve power. Sara was presented with a list of options. She started by trying to access some sort of information that would let her know more about this place. There was no logo on the menu or anything as simple as that. She tried to move into several different areas that might have held the information she wanted but each time her action was met with a request for an access code. The only things she could get access to were the guards personal mailboxes, a mailbox used to give orders to the guards and a short list of prisoner names.

There was nothing of interest in the personal mailboxes, unless she wanted to know that someone called Jane had had a really could time last night and that Chris could expect to get lucky  again tonight. Sara didn't know which of the two guards
Chris was but when his superiors got wind of what had happened here he
so
wouldn't be getting lucky. There wasn't anything in the orders mailbox either except for an order to get a blood sample from her. That must have been what they were coming into her cell for. She had no idea what they wanted with a sample of her blood but she was glad they hadn't got it. Whatever it was for it wouldn't be good.

Sara looked over to the door that would take her out to the rest of this place. She looked back to the terminal screen and the file that held the names of their prisoners. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two. The quicker she got out of here the more of a chance she would have. Then again gaining intelligence about those other prisoners could give her an idea of what to expect. Her decision made Sara opened the file and checked through the names. There were only six entries. Sara looked through the other five names and saw only one that she
recognized; Carla Swift.

So this was where Swift had ended up. The question of what to do next wasn't even worth asking anymore. Carla Swift had been mixed up in this from the off. If anyone could start giving Sara some answers it would be her. Grabbing one of the stun-sticks from the desk Sara went back to start getting her answers.

The guards were awake now and had enough control over themselves to bang on the door. They could only manage weak hits that barely made a sound. Their shouts were just as pathetic. Sara found Carla's cell, it was the one she had heard crying coming from earlier. The key card opened the cell without any trouble.

Carla Swift was curled up underneath the shelf with her knees pressed up against her chest. Sara was reminded of the first time she had encountered Swift hiding in the mud as a security mech tried to gun her down. If anything Carla looked more fearful now. Then she had been in shock but now she was able to fully understand the situation she was in and she was terrified.

"Get up and come with me," Sara said. She wanted answers but she didn't have all day.

Carla moved her head so that she could see Sara. Her eyes were rimmed with red and had dark bags under them. Muddy tracks traced the path of her tears all over her face. There was a lot of fear in her eyes but it was touched by a dulled shine of defiance.

              "Why?"

Sara gave the other young woman a quizzical look. "I'm getting you out of here. Isn't that reason enough?"

Carla didn't move. "You're the reason I'm in here. You and your people have kidnapped and drugged me. I'm not doing a damn thing until you tell me what's going on."

"That's what I want to know," Sara replied. She looked around the cell and wrinkled her nose at the smell of vomit. "If you want to stay in here then I'll just ask my questions and lock you back  in. But if you want to get out of here then get up and follow me. There isn't time to waste and I'm not about to
jeopardize my chances of escape for you."

Now Carla looked confused. "You aren't one of them?"

Sara shook her head. "No, they imprisoned me just like they did you. Now are you coming or not?"

Carla waited half a heartbeat and then scrambled out from her comforting shelter. She got to her feet, keeping a wary distance from Sara, and brushed down an orange prison uniform. Sara nodded to her and backed out of the cell leaving a good distance between herself and the door so that Carla would follow. The other young woman looked like she expected to be attacked by a pack of wild dogs at any moment. She moved slowly out of her cell. Her head and eyes moved rapidly around taking in all she could of her surroundings looking for a threat.

"This way." Sara set off to the guards’ room not waiting to see if Carla would follow. The banging and shouting started up from her cell again louder than before. The guards were starting to regain their strength.

Sara heard and sensed Carla close up behind her. "Are they . . ?"

Sara didn't look over to Carla as she answered. "The guards? Yes. I had to
persuade
them to let me out."

Carla stayed quiet as they entered the
guards’ room. Her eyes went in their frantic search for danger again. They settled on the mass of food and drink and stared at it for a long moment then they flicked back up to Sara. She nodded and Carla tucked in hungrily.

"Not too fast or too much," Sara cautioned. "If we're going to get out of here you need to be able to perform.

Carla's eyes were still filled with fear as she looked up at Sara from the feast. She started to chew more slowly and thoroughly. She took small nibbles from the food and sips of liquid.

"Who are these people? What do they want with you?" Sara had no time to be anything but blunt. Carla looked well enough to be up to some direct questioning.

Carla shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know what's going on. That machine tried to kill me, and then you came and you took me away from that, but then you gave me off to those men who put me in a van and drugged me, then I woke up here and I just don't know I don't know, what's happening." Her words came out in a ramble. Sara had pushed her too quickly.

"Calm down."

"I just don't know what's going on, what is this place, who are these people, who are you, what's happening, what's happening?"

She was starting to go into a full blown panic. Her skin had drained to a bloodless white and she was trembling. Words weren't going to be enough to console her. Sara moved closer slowly, putting the stun-stick down and removing the gun from the front of her trousers and putting that down beside it. She had to appear as non-threatening as she could. She continued in smooth slow movements to put her arms around Carla. The other woman reacted quickly flinching away and then in a sudden reversal clinging tightly to her. She burst into tears and pressed her head against Sara's breast. Not used to close physical contact that didn't involve violence Sara was momentarily taken aback. Then she put her hand on Carla's head and stroked it through her hair. She didn't have the proper words to go with the actions to help the other woman calm down but the actions alone seemed to be enough.

Carla stopped sobbing and pushed herself off Sara. She rubbed the tears from the sides of her face. Sara busied herself with adjusting her jacket and cropped T-shirt and pushing the pistol back  down the front of her jeans. Giving her time to regain her composure. She still couldn't afford to leave Carla too much time to get a grip on herself. They still had to get out of here.

Sara waited until the other woman looked ready to continue. She shifted herself so that she was face to face with her and spoke in a soft, slow voice. "I really need to know anything you can tell me about this."

Carla nodded and took several deep breaths before answering. "I don't know who these people are or why I'm here. I'm sorry but I'm scared and I don't know anything. I wish I could help but-"

"Hey, hey, it's all right," Sara interrupted her before she could get herself worked up into a state again.

Sara watched her until Carla lifted her head to make eye contact and then nodded to reassure her. "You don't know who these people are, fine neither do I and they captured us both. Can you think of any reason why
anybody
would want to do this to you?"

Carla shook her head. "I've never been in trouble like this before. I don't have any enemies. I just can't believe this is happening."

Fine, you can't believe this is happening. You don't have to keep on about it.
Sara knew that was harsh. She was used to being placed in scenarios that other people would find extraordinary. She had been trained to be calm in crazy situations. To investigate and solve mysteries.
Here comes the cliché
; to expect the unexpected.

"Okay, what about before last night." Sara didn't know if that was the right time frame anymore but they were both in the same boat so it didn't really matter. "Have you noticed any strange faces following you around? Did you ever get back home and think that things weren't quite right, even if you couldn't put your finger on what it was? Anything."

Carla started to shake her head and then stopped. Her eyes went distant, unfocused as she thought back. "Well . . ."

"Go on." Sara tried to keep from sounding too urgent. She needed whatever information Carla could give her but they had to get going. If the other woman couldn't offer her something soon they would have to start and save the questions until were out, hoping that she didn't know anything that, without Sara knowing, would
jeopardize their escape. She couldn't risk continuing when they were on the move because any noise could alert guards. This was the only place that Sara knew the sounds of them talking wouldn't alert more of their captors.

Carla nodded to herself. "There was Karl."

"Karl Grosset. Doctor Karl Grosset?" Sara asked. "You knew him?" Was this the connection Sara had never made? Did it mean that the reports she had told Ash were false were actually true?

"I didn't know him exactly. About three weeks ago he came to my apartment and told me that I was special. He said that there were things about me that I didn't know but that he did. He warned me to leave my old life behind because somebody
was after me. So I packed my things and left, getting myself an anonymous apartment down town. He contacted me a couple of times but he hadn't told me anything more than that yet."

Sara blinked. "You didn't think this could be relevant straight away?" She waved her arms to take in where they were. "Considering the circumstances."

"I guess I never really more than half believed him."

"You left your entire life behind on the say so of a guy you only half believed?" Sara
realized there was an edge creeping into her tone and tried to blunt it.

Carla shrugged. "It sounds ridiculous, I know. I've wondered if I was crazy for believing him a few times myself." She looked around. "But it looks like he was right."

Sara pondered this new information for a few moments but as it wasn't pertinent to their escape so she filed it away for later. Satisfied that the other woman didn't know anything else that could be useful she decided it was time to make a move.

Chapter
Fourteen

"You've been here longer than I have, do you know anything at all about this place? What's on the other end of that corridor?" She pointed back to their cells.

Carla shuddered. "It's the shower room. I think it ends in a dead-end."

"This way then. Here take this." She handed Carla one of the stun-sticks keeping one for herself. "Have you seen one of these used before?"

Carla took her time before answering. She turned the stun-stick around in her hands examining it before firing it up. The electrical charge reflected in her eyes giving them an unnatural quality. "I've figured it out."

Sara nodded. "Okay then, now for the ground rules. If you don't accept them you can go back to your cell." She didn't want to leave the other woman behind. All of this centered around her. But if it was a choice of getting out without her and getting recaptured because Carla couldn't  follow a few rules she would choose the former every time. "You follow behind me moving exactly as I do. If I crawl you crawl, if I walk you walk, if I run you run." Carla nodded. "You do what I tell you when I tell you. At times I may have to leave you for a few moments while I check up ahead, you stay where I put you. Don't worry I'll always be back for you." That was just about true. She would try and get back but if for some reason doing so would compromise her own chances at freedom she would cut loose and go for it alone.