by Remy Richard
A few twists of her mini-screwdriver had the face plate of the vent off on one side so that she could slide it out of the way. The pen knife was small enough to sit on the edge of the ledge of the venting. After re-securing the face plate, Sabrina hopped down and returned the desk chair to its original place. She briefly thought about putting her boots back on, but decided that since a daring escape wasn’t likely, she might as well be comfortable.
She couldn’t be sure if the room was soundproofed but the house seemed unnaturally quiet around her. She kept her mind off of the unnerving silence and her mysterious host by opening every drawer, looking under every piece of furniture and pushing her hand into every dark nook and cranny. The whole survey took maybe twenty minutes.
Lying on the ground by the door to find out if she could see anything through the small sliver underneath the door took another five and yielded no results. Then she paced the length of her cage until the sound of footsteps coming down the hall caused her heart rate to spike.
She forced herself to unclench her hands and regulate her breathing as someone punched a four-digit code into the door. Sabrina tried to discern the numbers from the slight pitch differences in each tone, but the door was too thick to give her little more than the impression of the sounds. She briefly considered charging whoever was at the door, but figured that she wouldn’t be able to make it to an outside entrance before the guards caught up with her. Especially since it seemed that the floor plan she had been given for the house was faulty at best. The fact that she hadn’t known this room existed was proof of its shortcomings.
She braced herself as Sam pushed the door open with one hand. In his other hand a tray was balanced with a couple of water bottles, a covered plate and a glass. He let the door shut behind him before he crossed the room to place the loaded tray on the small round corner table where she had taken her shoes off earlier.
“I believe you requested bread and water.” He gestured toward the tray and started to head for the door.
“I also asked for a phone call,” she said without much hope.
Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll work on that one.”
“How do I know this food isn’t poisoned?”
Sam shrugged one shoulder negligently. “I guess you don’t. I doubt you’d take my word for it anyway. Eat or don’t. It’s up to you.”
The door closed firmly behind him and again she heard the chiming of the lock being engaged. Sabrina moved closer to the tray and pulled the cover off of the plate. A sandwich and a pile of chips greeted her. Not exactly the most gourmet of selections but she was getting hungry.
Despite her drama, she was pretty certain that there was no poison plan going on. There would really be no point to it. They had her where they wanted her and they needed her to tell them what she knew. She was safe for now.
She carefully picked up a chip and munched on it, enjoying the salt and the crunch. She took a couple more and then carefully replaced the dome. As hungry as she was, it would be a better play to leave the food untouched and to keep her guard up. They didn’t seem like the type of men to starve a woman into submission. Maybe she could get them to let her out of the room at some point.
Yeah, right, and maybe if she closed her eyes and wished hard enough she could turn back time and start the whole day over. Both alternatives seemed equally as unlikely.
With a groan, she moved to sit in one of the large chairs. If she was going to engage in a battle of wits with a genius, she should probably start thinking now.
***
A headache was building at the base of Holden’s skull. He knew from hard-won experience that it was a stress headache, which meant that it wouldn’t be going away any time soon. He was considering leaving the quiet of his office and searching out some pain reliever when Sam walked in.
He quickly rounded on his head of security, headache forgotten. “Did she say anything else?”
“Oh, she said a lot of stuff. That one’s got a smart mouth on her. She didn’t say anything of use though, as far as I know,” Sam said with a dry laugh. He lowered himself into one of Holden’s leather arm chairs and massaged his temples as if he too had a headache.
“She did request room service, which I brought,” he said as he leaned back to face Holden. “She also requested a phone call, but I’ve already squashed that one.”
“Hmmm,” Holden mused. “Maybe we should let her call someone. It could help us figure out who our leak is at Organotech.”
Sam went back to massaging his temples and squeezed his eyes shut. “Absolutely not. That is the second worst idea you’ve had today. The first being, obviously, your decision to involve me in a felony.”
Holden started pacing as the gears in his head started turning. He was filled with nervous energy that he needed to burn off. Besides, walking helped his thought process. “I know it’s crazy but you know that nothing is going to happen to her while she’s here. She’s our only link to who’s behind all of this, though.”
“I get that. I’m just not sure why you care so much,” Sam explained.
“You mean other than that these people have been breaking into my home, costing me thousands of dollars in security upgrades and making my life miserable for months now?” Holden asked incredulously. “How about the fact that when Organotech pitched me this project, they made me promise not to tell anyone about it. Hell, if I had a mother, they wouldn’t have allowed me to tell her. So how do this random woman and her accomplices know about it?”
“Lucky guess?” Sam said, tiredly. “I don’t really care how they know. I care that there’s one less of them sneaking around here. We should turn this woman over to the police and you should get back to work.”
“It doesn’t drive you nuts, not knowing?” Holden asked, frustration rich in his voice.
“It really doesn’t.”
“Well, it’s driving me insane,” Holden said
“That’s the understatement of the year.”
Holden rolled his eyes before taking the chair across from the other man. He leaned forward and pressed his palms together, dropping his forehead on the side of his hands. The adrenaline was still coursing through him, but he forced himself to be still and quiet for a few minutes. The urge to solve a puzzle was familiar and comforting, and it was riding him hard. Some people loved to have all of the answers. Holden delighted in asking the right questions.
“There’s a clause in my contract with Organotech that says if the project leaks, I get nothing.”
Sam leaned forward slowly until he was looking Holden in the eye. “You should get a better lawyer. That’s a shitty clause.”
Holden cracked a smile. “I’ll be sure to tell Dylan you said so.” He tapped his fingers together nervously. “It’s a pretty standard clause actually. You see, Organotech isn’t the only one with this technology. There’re probably four other bioengineering firms working on the same thing.”
“So I guess the amount of people at the four other places who would be interested in getting their hands on your program isn’t small,” Sam observed.
Holden nodded. “Not to mention any coders they may have hired who are stuck like me.”
“So we have a long list of suspects. If you’re trying to cheer me up, it’s not working.”
“The first company to market with the bio-printer will literally make billions of dollars. That’s why secrecy is so important. That’s why it’s in my contract that if they can prove my program has been compromised, I get nothing.”
Sam looked at him in confusion. “It would suck to lose the money, sure, but I didn’t think you were all that worried about it.”
“I’m not, but I’ve put three months into this project. I’m so close I can taste it. My name deserves to be on the patent. It’s my idea, and I won’t let anyone steal it,” Holden said quietly.
“You know that thing people say? About pride going before a fall? You should really put some of your brain power to use working on that problem,” S
am said with a grin.
“I’ve got my hands full with this one right now, thanks,” Holden retorted.
He stood up and crossed the room to the small bar cart in the corner. He poured two neat whiskeys and brought them both back to the seating area. Sam took his with a murmur of appreciation, but didn’t drink any. Holden had known he wouldn’t. Sam never drank on the job. But that didn’t stop Holden from pouring him a glass.
Holden savored the smooth burn as the whiskey slid down his throat. After a deep breath, he faced Sam again. “So while you escorted our house guest to the safe room, I made a couple of calls. Dylan is using his connections to run a check on the name she gave us, Sabrina Kelly.”
Sam looked at him doubtfully. “Do you think anything will turn up?”
“Not at all, but it’s a place to start at least. Of course, Dylan demanded to know what was going on, but I think I’ve held him off for now. Don’t be surprised if he shows up at the door soon though.”
Holden took another sip and stared into the amber depths of the liquor, trying to pinpoint when his life had gotten so damn complicated. Probably around the same time that kidnapping had begun to seem like a reasonable response to stimuli.
Sam pulled him from his thoughts. “You said you made a couple of calls. If Dylan was one, what was the other?”
“To Organotech.” He settled the glass on his knee and leaned back into his chair. “I updated my contact on the latest break-in attempt and assured him that it was unsuccessful. I also asked if they had knowledge of any information leaks, which he denied of course.” Holden smiled wryly. “He did put a good bit of effort into urging me to hurry up with the program however.”
“Sounds like he’s kind of a dick,” Sam commented.
Holden shook his head. “He’s not bad actually. I’ve worked with worse handlers as a freelancer. I think he’s just concerned about the safety of the program. Justifiably, I might add.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t tell him about your house guest.”
“You’re right. I think that’s a secret best left between the two of us, don’t you?” Holden asked with a smile.
Sam rolled his eyes. “I’m not sure how well that’s going to work out. After all, you did say that Dylan is probably heading this way as we speak. This is way too stupid to remain secret for long.”
“Your faith is touching, it really is,” Holden said with mock-annoyance. “Stop worrying. It won’t be long until she tells us who her accomplices are and who hired them. Once we know that, we turn the information over to the police. I pay Sabrina for her assistance, and we never see her again. I finish this algorithm, complete the program and turn it in to Organotech.”
“That sounds like a pretty impressive to-do list,” Sam observed.
“That’s because I’m an impressive man, able to solve complex problems and leap tall buildings in a single bound,” Holden said with a smile.
“So you’re a modern day Superman, huh? Tell me, does that make Sabrina your Lois Lane or your Kryptonite?”
Holden wagged a finger in response as he took a long sip of his whiskey. “Neither. It makes her a means to an end.”
Sam just gave him an unconvinced look.
“Seriously, stop worrying! Everything is going to be fine.”
***
Everything was going to hell in a hand basket.
Thoroughly bored, exhausted and starving, Sabrina had spent too long considering what had brought her to be locked in the guest room of a mad genius. She had come to some conclusions that weren’t exactly complimentary and been reminded of exactly why she hated self-reflection.
She eyed the bed, considering taking a quick nap to make the time pass more quickly and shut off her revolving thoughts when she heard another chime. This wasn’t the sound of the lock being activated though. It reverberated through the house through some sort of speaker system. It had to be a doorbell.
Sabrina forced herself to be patient as she pressed her ear to the wall. Sure enough, after a brief pause came the sound of voices. It sounded like at least two other men. She rolled her eyes. That’s just what this party needed. More guys.
Hopefully these guys wouldn’t be as willing to kidnap a woman though. She quickly crossed the room to pull out the desk chair to sit under the vent. After she climbed up on the chair she cupped her hands around her mouth and took a deep breath. “Help! Please help me!”
She yelled as loudly as she could, aiming her voice up into the air vents and hoping that the sound would carry. She yelled for a good five minutes, until her throat was raw and her voice sounded less terrified and more bored. “Help me. Please.”
Sabrina was about to give up and hop down from her chair when the keypad sounded and the door opened. She braced for Sam’s frustration but wound up with Holden’s resigned irritation. “What are you doing up there?”
She tipped her head to the side and tried to regain her cool. “Checking for dust bunnies. You should really have a talk with your cleaning staff, it’s a mess up here.” She ran her finger along the vent, keeping her hand in easy reach of her hidden pen knife should she need it. The vent cover was back in place but she had left the screw out for easy access.
“Really? Because it seems more like you’re trying to drive me out of my ever living mind.” He paused and surveyed her with cool gray eyes. “Get down from there before you hurt yourself.”
Sabrina opened her mouth to make a smart ass comment about whether he actually cared, but she stopped herself. It was evident from the tight way he held his mouth and the clenching of his hands that he actually did care. Probably only just to keep himself from having to deal with the aftermath. It was pretty tough to explain an unconscious hostage to emergency workers.
With a smile,
she moved her toes to the edge of the chair, took a quick breath and executed a neat backflip off of the side, landing cleanly with her knees together.
He stepped back in reaction to give her some room before moving closer and grasping her elbow. “Are you trying to be aggravating or does it just come naturally?”
She pretended to think about it. “I’m sure that I could be aggravating without working on it, but in this instance, I am definitely putting in some effort.”
He let out a heavy sigh, shoving his hand through his tousled dark hair before squeezing a handful of it in irritation. Sabrina just stopped herself from cautioning him against the movement. It would really be a shame if she made him bald from the stress. His hair looked ridiculously touchable. He opened his eyes and pinned her with a stare. “What’s the problem here?”
“Ah, excuse—” Sabrina stuttered for a moment in indignation before finding what she wanted to say. “Are you crazy? The problem is that you are holding me here against my will! The problem is that I am starving to death and you won’t let me out of here to get a pizza! The problem is that you have your manservant pushing me around and locking me up and I don’t react well to people telling me what to do!” Her voice had gotten progressively louder as her tirade had continued.
Holden folded his arms and didn’t looked cowed by her volume, although she did think she saw a guilty wince at one point. “Point taken. You have valid concerns. But those don’t trump the fact that you’re the one who’s involved with a plan to steal my work. You’re the one who broke into my house.” Holden’s voice was low and well-modulated but every word he uttered had as much weight behind it as those that Sabrina had yelled like a banshee. A neat trick that. She was going to have to learn it. “Everything you’ve done up until now has put you in this position and don’t pretend that you’re worried we’re going to hurt you. You talk back way too much for someone who’s scared.”
Sabrina stayed silent and concentrated on taking measured breaths. He was right and that was the most frustrating of all. She knew better than to try to make a score with such little preparation. She didn’t have brute force or menace on her side. She survived by wits and planning and breaking into his home
hadn’t been evidence of either.
But for someone who lived and died by being nimble, being locked up without any way out was a terrible punishment. She could feel the panic rising up inside of her and worked on imagining stuffing it all back into a little box.
Meanwhile Holden had walked further into the room and allowed the door to close behind him. He was looking at the tray that held her food and appeared untouched. “You said you’re starving.” He motioned toward the tray.
Sabrina rolled her eyes and put her hand on her hip in a show of bravado. “How do I know what’s in that?”
“You have food allergies? We can make you anything you need.” His brow creased. “Well, I sent the housekeeper home but if it’s too complicated we can order in for you or something.”
She bit her lip against a laugh. “Allergies? Yeah, sure, I guess you could say I’m allergic to poison. Isn’t everyone?”
“Poison?” Holden looked shocked that the word had even crossed her lips much less that he could actually do it. “Give me a break.”
He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face before trying again.
“Just tell me who you’re working with and what the plan is. Once we have everything under control, I’m happy to let you go. No questions asked, no police involvement.” When Sabrina remained stubbornly silent and just lifted her eyebrows at him, Holden blew out a deep breath and crossed his arms in irritation. “If you don’t want to help us, then why shouldn’t I call the police?”
A question that she had asked herself a hundred times as she paced the room she was locked in.
Holden threw his hands up. “Fine. But if you think that I’m going to take pity on you for not eating or that my friends are going to run to your rescue because you’re screaming, you’re mistaken. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I intend to find out.”
