The Hidden Two

by Kimberlee R. Mendoza

  “Teddy!”

  “The wheel,” he managed to mumble.

  Willow grabbed the steering wheel and turned it hard into the motorcycle. It knocked him back and down a side hill. She straightened it and moved to sit on Teddy’s lap. He tried to stay conscious. Stars began to filter through his line of sight. “Move over, Teddy.”

  He slid the best he could over the middle thing. Why couldn’t he remember what it was called? Was it a console? He shook his head against the dizziness. Eri leaned over and wrapped a scarf around his wrist. He winced.

  “We have to get him to a hospital now,” Eri said. “He’s losing a lot of blood.”

  Teddy didn’t know what else they said. He only knew he felt cold and wanted to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Myers’s arms hung above his head in chains. His entire body trembled. The guy named Gael hit him with another jolt of electricity. Every vein tingled in resistance. How much more of this could he take? Time seemed irrelevant in this place, but gauging on how many times they had come to torture them, it had to have been a month or so by now.

  The door opened, and Harding entered with his usual cocky smile and sauntered next to the cot. “How are we doing today?”

  “I think he’s done.” He nodded to Laura laid out, chained to the bunk. “Do we want to start on her now?”

  “That would probably be good.”

  Fear gripped Myers’ chest. “You can’t!”

  “What?” Harding circled him and stopped eye to eye with Myers, his breath foul from cigarettes and coffee. “And why is that?”

  “Because…”

  Harding stared at him for a long time without responding, then stood, and said to the man of torture, “Make her time worse.”

  “She’s pregnant,” Myers spat out.

  All color seemed to drain from Harding’s face. He spun on his heel to face Laura. “Is that true?”

  She didn’t answer.

  Myers mouthed behind her, “I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head and looked at Harding.

  Harding rushed to a box on the counter and began rummaging through it. He withdrew a single syringe and then a plastic band. He tied the plastic band like a tourniquet on Laura’s upper right arm and then forced the needle into her skin looking for a vein. Laura grimaced. He pulled it out and pushed it in several times before blood began to flow into the vial. Once it was full, he snapped off the band and started walking to the exit with the sample. He stopped and said without turning, “Put an IV in her arm. She’s extremely dehydrated. I could barely find a vein.”

  “Yes, sir. And the man?”

  “Yeah, him too.”

  Harding exited, and the man complied. He placed Myers on the bed next to Laura, and within moments, both were enjoying an infusion of fluid replacement.

  That revitalized Myers to a place he had not been in a long time. Energy surged through his body, and for the first time in over a month, his mind seemed to clear from the haze. They had to get out of here. This gift may not come again. Myers peered around, taking in the situation. What did they have? How far was everything? How could he remove these cuffs? His renewed mind felt busy.

  After the IV bags were empty, Gael moved Laura and Myers back to the chained wall. Laura rested her head in Myers’ lap. Together, they tried to find comfort in the horrible situation. His head throbbed, and his muscles burned from an hour of electro-shock and extreme beatings. Laura didn’t look much better. Caked blood lined her temples and upper lip from Helena’s pent-up rage earlier that day. Myers did his best to clean Laura up, but he wasn’t doing much better.

  “Why did you tell him? They’ve been torturing me.”

  Myers turned his head to see her face. “The needles in your hands and stuff, that won’t hurt the baby. But electro shock? No way.”

  “Thank you. You’re always there for me.” Laura’s soft voice soothed him as she reminded him of better times.

  “Maybe not always. Do you remember the very first thing I said to you?” Myers asked.

  “Of course.” Laura grinned. “You called me beautiful, and I said you would refer to me as Agent Black or not at all.”

  He laughed. “And then I called you—”

  “Sweetheart,” they said in unison.

  “And I dropped you in one motion.” She started to laugh, then winced. “It hurts to laugh.”

  “You okay?”

  “I’ll live.”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time you’d drop me.” He lightly tucked a strand of hair away from her face behind her ear. “You’ve kind of mastered us all. I’m looking forward to the day when one of us bests you.”

  “Ha! Good luck.”

  He smiled. She was probably right. There was a reason she was the best and Harding wanted her back. “Do you remember the time when I started to run, and you tried to shoot me in the head?”

  Laura twisted around so he could see her face. “I did not try to shoot you. I hit the branch on purpose. If I wanted to shoot you, I would not have missed. You know this all too well.”

  The two exchanged a smile. It was sweet, and then it wasn’t. Tears filled both of their eyes. Their loss was greater than anything else.

  “I’m sorry about everything.” Laura turned away and sighed. “I always have this amazing sense of guilt about breaking all of you out. In the past, Bryce would always say, ‘Well, then we still wouldn’t be free.’”

  “Yeah, and he was right.”

  “Was he really?” Laura moaned as she tried to sit up and face him. “I mean, are we free? Were we ever?”

  “We will be.” Myers grabbed his stomach as he tried to sit up. His muscles rebelled in pain.

  “No, that is probably not true. They will keep us here until we are the murderous zombies they desire.” She sighed. “At least if I hadn’t broken you all out, Denise and Bryce would still be alive.”

  “Maybe they’d be alive, but you know the rest of that isn’t true. We were a stubborn bunch. With or without you, we were going.” Myers glanced around and then leaned into her ear. “Since that juice boost, I feel one-hundred percent better. We need to get out of here. You and I are fighters, not guinea pigs. So, let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves and do whatever it takes to escape. Deal?”

  Laura kissed his cheek and nodded with a huge grin. “I knew I liked you, Myers. Deal.”

  “I think I may have an idea,” he whispered.

  “I’m game, what?”

  A sheepish smile spread across his face. “Don’t think I’m weird, but what is the one thing that would send Helena over the edge?”

  Laura thought about that for a moment and knew. “You and me.”

  “Precisely. From what you’ve told me a million times, they do not allow fraternization in S.I.U., correct?”

  “Correct.”

  “When they first brought us here, they thought I was conked out, but I wasn’t. I overheard Alicia promise Helena she could have me when this was over if she played her cards right.”

  “Harding would never allow that.”

  “Yeah, well, that may be true, but what that told me was Helena still has feelings for me.”

  Laura raised an eyebrow. “Do you for her?”

  He grimaced. “Girl, please. I love her about as much as I love a hangover. It was fun while it lasted, and now I am just sick.”

  Laura laughed. “So, you think if we ham up a relationship, she’ll what?”

  “She’ll make a mistake.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Laura considered the idea of pretending to like Myers. There was truth to that logic, but it also could mean Laura’s early demise. “If we’re wrong, I’m dead.”

  “Right.”

  “What if you play to her? Try to get her back.”

  He grimaced.

  “I know you hate her, but once it’s over, you can pull the trigger.”

  For a moment, he seemed to ponder that. “I still think—”
r />   The bolt on the door thumped.

  Myers grabbed Laura and touched his lips to hers. Passionately, he kissed her. Every muscle in her body tingled. Heat rose down her spine and into her toes. Laura didn’t know what surprised her more—that he did it, or that she enjoyed it.

  Helena cleared her throat.

  Myers withdrew slowly. His eyes spoke volumes of surprise as well. They had endured much together over the last month, but this was unexpected. He was like family. Like a brother. How could there be real attraction?

  Helena said something behind them, but it sounded muffled through the nonverbal conversation that occurred between her and Myers. His eyes asked, “Are we okay? Was that bad? Was it the right move?”

  Laura nodded. They were okay; it wasn’t bad, just confusing.

  Helena undid Laura’s chain, then yanked her from the ground, and tossed her to the cot. “Harding said you get a time out today, but I disagree.” She started to grab the bindings on the side of the cot to secure her, when Laura kicked her in the face. That dropped her to the floor.

  Helena stood back up and went for a syringe.

  Laura blocked her and shoved her hard into Myers. Myers wrapped chain around Helena’s neck. Laura ran for the syringe and pushed it deep into Helena’s neck. Within seconds, her body fell limp.

  “See, mistake. I knew that would make her be stupid.”

  Laura grinned. “Yes, I see. But you know they are likely watching. We have to go.”

  “No, chain her first.” Myers grabbed Helena’s head, while Laura took her legs. They moved her to where they had been and chained her to the pole.

  A roll of duct tape sat on one of the torturing tables. Laura grabbed and taped her mouth. “We need a hood, in case someone missed the show.”

  “Are you sure we can’t just kill her?”

  “Not now.”

  “Party pooper.” Myers pretended to pout. “I don’t see any material, but maybe we can just position her so you can’t really decipher what you are seeing.” He pushed Helena’s knees up, placed her head between her knees, and then tied the chain around her.

  “There should be two of us.” Laura glanced around. Nothing to make a fake body out of. Wait. “Let’s kill the lights, just leave one by this station.” One by one, they smashed the lightbulbs. The room fell dark, with the exception of one glowing bulb. “Too much darkness, and they’ll come find out why.”

  They ran to the entrance. Laura had paid attention to the tone of the beeps when they entered. She punched 3-9-7-2. The door clicked open.

  The two of them squeezed through and then locked it in place. The boiler room stood before them. They had run around like rats in this maze already. How does Helena get out of here every day? “Look for anything on the wall that seems off. There is a code box here somewhere. We just have to find it.”

  Together, they covered every inch of the enormous room.

  “Here,” Myers finally said. There was a light panel against a wall.

  Laura punched in 3-9-7-2 again, and the door slid to the side. Adrenaline shot through her system. It was a service elevator. They jumped in and hit the next floor. When the door glided open, it revealed a bay of agents. No one seemed to turn her way, so they must be used to having people come and go through here.

  Myers whispered, “What now?”

  “I have no idea. Blend in?”

  The two of them slowly inched forward, eyes darting left and right. If any one person looked up from their activities, Laura would be recognized. A black hat lay on a bunk. She grabbed it and shoved it on her head, then attempted to keep her gaze down as they weaved through the crowd.

  “Laura?”

  She squeezed her eyes shut, ready to fight, but knowing she did not have the energy to do so well. Slowly, she lifted her head. “Deshawn?”

  Myers smiled, grabbed his fist, and pulled him in for a half-hug.

  Deshawn pulled back and quickly escorted her and Myers down to a room and pushed them in. It was a broom closet that smelled of bleach and old towels. “Oh my gosh, are you guys back, too?”

  “Back too?”

  “Yeah, they kidnapped me in Mexico and brought me here.”

  Instinct kicked in. Would he turn them in? Was this a setup? “And you’re not locked up?”

  Laura and Myers exchanged glances.

  “I know, weird, right?”

  “Yeah, weird.” Laura glanced at Myers again.

  “Well, we need to go.” Myers started to reach for the handle, but Deshawn blocked the door. “You better get out of my way, man.”

  “Listen, I know you, Black. You trust no one. But listen. They will kill you if they realize you’re here. You are like enemy number one around this place. Your face is on every wall and range target.”

  “We can’t stay in this broom closet. Myers and I have been tortured in this building for I don’t even know how long. We need to get out of here, get fed, clean up, and then come back and end this.”

  Deshawn nodded. “I will help you do that, but let’s be smart, okay?”

  “Fine. What do you suggest?” Suddenly, Laura felt lightheaded. She started to drop, but Myers caught her.

  “You okay?” Deshawn’s expression spelled concern.

  “We haven’t eaten much in days, little water, and just an IV drip today.” Myers held her up against his chest. It felt strong and comforting. A position they had grown accustomed to after every torture session. “And she’s pregnant.”

  “Are you going to tell everybody?”

  He laughed. “It saved us last time didn’t it?”

  “Pregnant? Word,” Deshawn said a bit loud.

  “Sshh,” Laura and Myers said together with fingers to their lips.

  Deshawn whispered, “You and Bryce having a baby? That’s dope. Does Bryce know?”

  Laura’s heart sunk. He didn’t know. She shook her head.

  They remained silent for a moment, then Deshawn said, “Okay…let’s take care of basics first. I’ll be right back. Lock the door when I leave. I will scratch, not knock.” He put his hand on the knob. “Except for a few horny teenagers, only the custodians come in here. Good for you, they are out until tomorrow night.” He turned the handle. “Be back. Lock it.”

  Myers waited until the door closed to get up. He leaned her against a shelf and crossed to lock it. Turning back, he asked, “I know he’s my friend, but can we trust him?”

  Who knew anymore? Her rate of confidence outside of her regular team was at an all-time low. “I think we have to. Worst case…it is just another of Harding’s attempts at letting out the leash. We’ll play his game and be back where we were. Or we’ll be free.”

  Myers slid next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Best case, we’re out of here.”

  “Yeah, exactly.” Laura leaned into him and closed her eyes. “If Harding wanted us dead, we would be six feet under. This is more about breaking us anyway. We’ll look for an exit, and we’ll take it. If Deshawn is good, we’ll take him with us.” She opened her eyes and tilted her head up to see Myers. “If he isn’t, we’ll kill him with the rest.”

  He stared at her a moment, then nodded.

  A strong emotion enveloped her. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her again. Part of her wanted him to. The other part hated that first part. Her husband only died maybe five weeks ago. This man had been like a brother to her. Why was she feeling things for him? She closed her eyes again. Extreme circumstances could do that. Harding had been trying to condition them to join S.I.U., but instead he was conditioning her heart toward Myers. They both endured the worst torture together. Forever, they would be bonded by death and pain.

  “Can we address the elephant?”

  Laura peered up. “Probably should. Though I’m not sure I want to.”

  He touched her chin softly. “You know I love you. I always have. Just not like that.”

  She nodded and tried to look away.

  His hand on her chin kept he
r with him. “But that doesn’t mean things don’t change.”

  Her stomach flipped at those words. “I’m scared.”

  “Yeah, me too.” His arms enveloped her. “None of this makes sense, and honestly, I don’t think we need to think about it now. Our emotions are all out of whack. You just lost your husband. I lost my girlfriend to Satan. We’re sleep-deprived, malnourished, and hurt. Who knows what we really feel.” He kissed the top of her head. “But I know I love you and will protect you and that kid, no matter if that is romantic or platonic. You mean everything to me. Understand?”

  “Completely.” She turned and hugged him. “And ditto. Well, minus the kid part.”

  He chuckled.

  A scratch sounded on the door.

  Myers let her go and stood to open it.

  Deshawn ducked in. His arms held two water bottles and a sack. He dropped the sack and distributed the water. “I couldn’t get as much as I wanted because the mess hall was closed, but luckily, they had some stuff out in the halls.”

  Laura practically downed the water bottle, before being handed an apple and a pair of granola bars. Within minutes, she had consumed all there was. “So, you have a plan?”

  “Maybe.” He collected the wrappers and empty bottles and placed them in the paper sack. “There is a training session this afternoon, we could leave then.”

  “I think Helena will wake up before that, and they’ll know we’re gone,” Laura said.

  Myers shook his head. “Even if she wakes up. We tied her, gagged her, and made the room dark. I think it will buy us some time.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Laura met Deshawn’s stare. “We’re in your hands. Get us home.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Teddy sat in the hotel room chewing his nails and tapping his foot. This was taking too long. How long was Charlie going to just sit staring at that laptop screen? His hand hadn’t even moved in like thirty minutes. Surely, something had to have shown by now. Teddy jumped up, sending the seat almost toppling behind him, and began pacing on the hotel yellow shag rug.