Calico was seemingly considering these words. She leaned closer to the bars and looked Regan in the eyes.
“Odd for a Class C species to express any concern for another creature. Do you really care about my fate?”
Was it working? Regan leaned toward her. “Yes. Let us help you.”
Calico reached into her jacket and removed Regan’s cellphone. She waved it in his face, but playfully. “This is your communication device, is it not?”
“It is,” Regan replied, unsure where she was going with this. Was she about to hand him a possible means for escape?
“You don’t have much time, but here, see what you can do with it.”
“Really? And if I escape?”
“Then take me with you. You’ll then have proven yourself worthy of my royal company. I’m a princess, you know.”
He didn’t doubt that, considering her spoiled attitude. She tossed the phone through the bars, which Regan scrambled to catch before it hit the floor.
He pressed the power button. It still had some juice, somehow. “I still don’t understand your motives.”
“Maybe I just enjoy keeping everyone on their toes,” Calico said, twirling her tail around in her hand. She took a step back from the bars, blew Regan a kiss, then left, locking the heavy door behind her.
Regan would have to get a hold of Arkei. It wasn’t like he could just dial her. But the phone had to be capable of broadcasting something, right?
Maybe Bob knows something we can do. He’s book smart.
Regan was just about to pull Bob away from his pointless studies when the heavy door swung open again.
Dammit, she barely bought me a minute to figure it out!
Mephistopheles glared, but there was also some excitement in his expression. He looked at Regan, then down at the phone in his hand.
“So you managed to play my dear Calico like a fiddle,” Mephistopheles began. “But that won’t be happening again.”
With his cane, Mephistopheles reached through the bars and swatted the cellphone out of Regan’s hand. It broke on the ground. Mephistopheles stooped to grab the phone through the bars, where he then inspected it to make sure it no longer worked.
Calico was by the door, putting on a nervous smile, hoping Mephistopheles would find the situation to be as amusing as she had.
But he didn’t. Instead, he threw the phone at her head. She barely managed to block it with her arm.
“What have I told you about playing with the prisoners!” he snapped at her, before facing Regan again.
Mephistopheles then smiled.
“Tomorrow we begin our lessons,” he said. “But since it seems I can’t trust you in this cell, I must put you in my isolation cell instead. There I can better monitor you.”
Calico had inched her way over to Mephistopheles, where she apologetically rubbed against his leg like a cat would do. “I’m sorry, master. You know how I get sometimes. It’s like a whim comes over me and I can’t help but misbehave.”
“Well, make it up to me by taking our prisoners to higher security.”
She nodded and opened the cell door, motioning for them to follow her.
Mephistopheles left the room first and Calico bowed to him as he exited. Regan noticed earlier that the cellphone had ricocheted off her near the cell door, so as she bowed, he grabbed it and slipped it into his pocket. He was up and alert before Calico turned around. He was sure she didn’t see it.
Calico took Regan’s arm into her own as she led them from the cell, down the hallway, and to the isolation unit.
“I thought you had Mephistopheles wrapped around your finger,” Regan commented while they walked.
Calico shrugged. “Sometimes I go too far too quickly. But yes, over time I’ll slowly break him down.”
Regan wasn’t sure even she was convinced of that.
They reached the isolation room. Half of the room was dedicated to yet another jail cell, only this one seemed to be made of stronger material.
On the other side of the room were random items, from bits of discarded technology, to space suits, to packages of food. “What’s all this shit?” Regan asked.
As Calico shoved them into the jail cell, she answered, “He studies how his specimens interact with their belongings in this room, where security is higher. He tosses aside anything uninteresting and saves the rest.”
As Calico was closing the door, she leaned close to Regan’s ear. “It’s not over yet. I’m sure you’ll think of something. How boring would it be if you didn’t?”
She smirked at him and shut the door, locking it. Regan stood in the solid cell thinking about what Calico said. He couldn’t tell if she was suggesting there was a way out of here, but he had to stay sharp. He had to be ready for anything.
Chapter Nineteen
Regan woke up in his isolation cell having barely slept. He tossed and turned all night, worried what would come of him and Bob. He was nervous that Arkei, Straya, and Reverie would simply keep waiting for a confirmation that’d never come, not taking the initiative until it was too late. They were Class A and B species after all; coming in with guns blazing wasn’t exactly what they were known for.
He looked over at Bob, who was still asleep with an open textbook on his chest. Regan wondered if Bob could even process the situation. Though perhaps it was better if he didn’t. After all, who wanted to see the end coming?
The sound of the door being unlocked reverberated throughout the room, waking Bob up. Moments later, Calico came pouncing in. She smiled at Regan.
“Big day today,” she said. “The real fun starts.”
“You could still help us,” Regan said.
“Who is to say I’m not?” Again, she spoke with a coy expression. Regan couldn’t read her.
“What are we in for today?”
“Some questioning from Mephistopheles himself.” She leaned closer to Regan and cupped a hand near her mouth. “It’ll be the only time you’ll be this close to him without a barrier between you.”
Is she messing with me?
Bob closed the book and set it on top of the pile next to him.
“What’s happening?” he asked. “I have—”
“They canceled your test,” Regan said. “And your mom understands the situation.”
Bob scratched his head at this, about to open his mouth to say something.
“Bob!” Regan snapped, knowing what was coming. He approached his cellmate and put his hands on Bob’s shoulders. “I understand you’re having a tough time with that mind of yours. I feel bad for you, I do, but you gotta keep it together today. We’re in some deep shit, so follow my lead and let’s see if we can get out of this.”
Bob looked at him intensely for a moment, then nodded. Somehow, magically, it seemed Regan had gotten through to him.
He turned around and Calico put her arms out to escort the prisoners to their first meeting. She made sure their inhibitor cuffs were secure, then wrapped her arms through each of theirs. She gave them each a kiss on the cheek and laughed.
“I hope you know what a rare occasion it is for Mephistopheles to meet with his specimens in this way. Usually he just keeps them behind bars and observes from a distance. But this? Such a civilized confrontation! He must find you two to be most interesting.”
Again, Regan felt that Calico was telling him something. Maybe she really was helping them. Her actions were confusing, and perhaps even malicious, yet she continued dropping hints of Mephistopheles being exposed.
He looked at her. She didn’t return the gaze.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’m not sure if you’re helping me or not.”
“I’m not quite sure either. Isn’t it fun?”
Regan knew if he could get ahead of the situation, that she could be turned into an ally. But it was clear she’d only be an ally if he could take out Mephistopheles first.
They reached the office where Mephistopheles was seated and working. It was a room with
many screens and bounded logs of information. It resembled a study, but one that contained secrets and information from all over the galaxy.
Mephistopheles was inspecting the items that Arkei had stolen from Regan’s apartment. All of them except for the cellphone which was broken and still in his pocket. Mephistopheles currently had Regan’s baseball bat in his hands, but he set it down when he saw Calico enter with the prisoners.
“Ah! Lovely!” he said in greeting to them, before standing and making his way around the desk. He shook their hands and motioned for them to sit. “Today will be great fun. I want to get to know you better, and I want to start by hearing all about this wonderful weapon.” He was referring to the bat, of course.
Regan approached the table where the items were scattered about and reached for the bat, but Mephistopheles stopped him with a slap on the back of his hand.
“Don’t touch it!” he said firmly. “Just explain it to me. How do you use it?”
“Well, it isn’t a weapon.”
“Of course it is!” Mephistopheles snapped. “I imagine it being a club of some type, but I haven’t seen this perfected design. Or material. Usually clubs are so crude, but this one has such a nice balance to it.”
“It’s to hit baseballs with,” Regan said, still hoping he could somehow play dumb. “It’s for a game called baseball.”
Mephistopheles laughed.
“It’s true,” Bob said. “I always wanted to play baseball, but my mom would never allow me.”
Thanks, Bob.
Mephistopheles squinted a bit, hoping for something more interesting. He also didn’t seem pleased with Bob stepping in to defend Regan’s response.
“Games, huh? Well, you said something similar about this device I showed you yesterday.” He lifted the controller off the table. “You’re expecting me to believe that you are a Class C species with no violent tendencies? That all you do is play games for children?”
Not quite the right conclusion, but maybe it was best for Mephistopheles to be disappointed. Regan just shrugged.
Mephistopheles then turned to face Bob and squinted further.
“And you, the brains, are only interested in your books and education. Do I understand that correctly?”
“I was actually hoping to be a doctor one day. I think the biology of the human body is fascinating and I hope—”
“Aha!” Mephistopheles said, raising a finger in the air and sending a wave through his cape as he did so. “I too am interested in the body’s biology. So you have extensively studied the human body, I take it?”
“I have ongoing studies related to the species, yes,” Bob said.
Regan liked how the attention was moving to Bob—and how Bob was cooperating and acting smart. Mephistopheles was wide-eyed with interest on him. But then this focus turned into something Regan didn’t expect.
“Perhaps you can assist me in dissecting Regan,” Mephistopheles said with great optimism. “You can explain to me how a human sees its own kind. How helpful and wonderful would that be?”
“Uh… Well…” Bob started but had no reply.
Suddenly, Calico was at Mephistopheles’s side. She again moved like a cat in the way she rubbed up against him as she got near. She seemed to stiffen in poise and her black eyes gave a look of longing.
“I hope you won’t dissect him too soon,” she mewed.
“And why is that, my dear?” Mephistopheles asked.
“The dumb human is clearly skilled in games, and it seems his species has quite the penchant for them. And, well, since we sometimes get so lonely here, it might be fun to learn some new games?” She spoke in a way that was charming but also childish. Regan could see how she manipulated the old man.
Mephistopheles smiled and gave her ear a scratch.
“You want to have a pet?” he asked, as if humoring her.
She smiled demurely, and nodded her head.
He looked at Regan and pondered it.
Maybe she’s helping me.
“Well, Regan,” Mephistopheles said. “I suppose you’ll be teaching us some of your games for entertainment. After all, we do want to learn as much as we can of your culture, being a species museum.” Much to his surprise, Mephistopheles handed him the bat.
Regan hesitated at first, but accepted it. “Do you have a ball?” he asked.
Mephistopheles nodded then looked at Calico. “Our last visitors had a plentiful number of items with them. I believe a ball was included.”
Calico nodded and started to leave the room. Mephistopheles turned his attention back to Bob. He began discussing Bob’s studies, but Regan was dazing out. He was fantasizing about striking Mephistopheles with the bat in his hands.
His grip tightened around it. He thought of the way the Brute’s head flew back and broke upon impact. He could land a swing like that again.
Calico set me up with an opportunity. And it’s now!
As quick as he could, Regan raised the bat and began to bring it down on Mephistopheles. He thought of Arkei when he did so. He was angry with this evil self-proclaimed tyrant for all the lies and misfortune that had fallen on Arkei because of her debt to him.
He was moments away from killing Mephistopheles, or so he thought.
Right as the bat was close to striking, a sharp electric shock ran through Regan’s hands, pulsed up his arm, and into his chest. It was the inhibitor cuffs. They activated, making Regan not only shout and fall over in pulsing pain, but also drop the bat. He had failed.
Mephistopheles looked down at Regan. He smirked, having not been fazed by the attempted attack one bit.
“You are too trusting,” he said to the grounded Regan.
Regan then looked toward the door, toward the direction where Calico had left, and saw then that she had never left at all. In fact, she had a device in her hand with a switch that he knew was what caused his cuffs to activate.
She set me up.
“It seems you’re a warrior after all,” Mephistopheles said. “A crafty warrior. Only a truly intelligent person would claim ignorance and not let their pride get in the way.” He leaned in closer. “I look forward to peering inside that brain of yours.”
The horrible shock came again. Calico had pressed the switch, Regan assumed, just for fun. He was on the ground, his body trembling in pain.
This went on until Regan passed out.
Regan awoke in his isolation cell with a horrible headache. His vision was blurry at first, before slowly fading into focus. He also had an appetite, not able to remember when he last ate. It all made him feel weak.
The electrical shocks drained him, and he looked at his wrist to see the cuffs still on. He inspected them more closely, trying to peer underneath them. There was a small piece of metal that was touching his skin right on the underside of his wrist.
He looked away, and that was when he saw Calico sitting in a chair just outside his cell door. She crossed her legs, looking like a little girl at the zoo observing a caged animal.
“I guess you enjoy being his prisoner,” Regan said to her. “Because I was about to free us all.”
“Your little trick wasn’t going to work,” she said. “And besides, I’m no prisoner. If anything, the great Mephistopheles is a prisoner of mine.”
She spoke confidently, and without her coy facial expressions. She was direct now, and Regan felt like he was seeing her for the first time as she spoke.
“He used to always honor a deal,” she explained. “And in my case, when I did not pay my debt to him, I was his to execute. But he didn’t, because I convinced him to make an exception.”
“How did you do that?”
Calico just waved her hand across the air.
“Details,” she said. “So boring. I just proposed a change to a little line in the contract, so instead of being put to death, I would become his prisoner instead. To play with… to use as he pleased.” Calico smiled when she said this. “It sounded like an even better deal to him, so he accepted. An
d what do you know? One thing led to another, little adjustments made over time, and now I get to do as I please, mostly.” She stood up from her chair and approached the cell door. She put her face right up against it. “I don’t need to escape.”
Regan was angry. He had let her get to him. He had been so optimistic when he left Arkei’s ship. He thought he could figure it out like he always did. But in the end, he had met his match.
“So why tell me all this?” Regan finally asked. “Are you just here to toy with me some more?”
She smiled.
“Sort of,” she said. “It’s just my nature, I suppose.”
Bitch.
She blew Regan a kiss then made her way to the door where she paused and turned her head back to look at him.
“By the way,” Calico continued. “The beautiful ladies you arrived with… They’ve finally left. Arkei’s debt has been cleared, so I guess she had no further reason to stay. Even if you had whacked Mephistopheles in the head with your weapon, you would have only escaped to an abandoned moon. You’re here for good.”
The words were more painful than a jolt from his inhibitor cuffs. They were more painful than anything he’d ever experienced.
He had played this one wrong. And he would die for it.
He thought of Arkei, and he was glad she was free of her debt. He was glad she could do whatever she wanted to now. But the last words she said to him stuck with him. She had told him they wouldn’t leave. They had told him they’d wait.
Calico is lying. She was lying before, and she’s lying now.
Regan smirked. If Calico was willing to make such a claim, it could only be because she felt threatened by Regan’s girls. There was a definite threat to this entire operation if he reunited with them. When he reunited with them.
And he would. Regan was sure of it.
Chapter Twenty
Galactic Bandits 1 Page 13
