A Second Past Midnight (The Sentinels)

by Melinda Hunter

  Laying on the floor unable to move, Arrigo stared at the lifeless body of Jonathan Hess wondering why his own daughter would have reason to kill him. What was it that she wanted and he wouldn't give her.

  Hess wasn't married as his wife had left him ten years ago and his daughter was a practicing MD in Virginia. When Hess hired Arrigo he only divulged that there were certain people that would be trying to prevent him from continuing his work. Whether it was his daughter or not didn't really matter now, but Hess wanted protection from someone.

  With Arrigo's thoughts still a bit cloudy, his focus switched back to Sana. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him and how much he needed her. The thought of holding her in his arms even just one more time made his heart ache, but it also gave him something to work for. Arrigo closed his eyes and imagined lying in bed next to Sana with one arm wrapped around her and his other hand splayed across her pregnant belly. That's all he wanted and if he survived he was going to do everything in his power to conceive a child with Sana and enjoy every moment of their time together.

  Not knowing how long he had been lying there, Arrigo opened his eyes to find that he wasn't actually in Hess's office anymore. A sterile white ceiling hung above him. Blinking repeatedly, he realized that he must have succumbed to the paralytic effects of the drugs and passed out. But how had that small woman moved him by herself? That meant that she was working with someone and they were inside Tecktar.

  Arrigo's head throbbed with pain and his eyes burned which quickly let him realize that his paralysis must be subsiding. Trying to look around, he attempted to lift his head but couldn't raise it enough. Tilting his head to the side he was able to see empty white walls to his left and ahead of him. Slowly, Arrigo tried to lift his hand but could only wiggle his fingers. It was a start and he guessed that he shouldn't be moving yet or that psycho woman would have been interrogating him already. His entire body felt like his mouth did after a shot of Novocain at the dentist. Numb and tingling.

  Several more minutes passed as he focused on his current capabilities, but then he heard the door start to open. Wanting to test his theory of being able to move, he decided to lay perfectly still and close his eyes. Only breathing deeply and evenly he otherwise froze.

  The sound of the door opening and then latching shut told him that someone was in the room so all he could do was wait and hope that he could lay still long enough to fool his captor and that they would leave.

  "You should be able to hear me now. You'll be able to respond in about another hour or so. Then we can discuss our future. No one will be in our way." It was obviously the same woman that had incapacitated him.

  Arrigo restrained himself from flinching as he felt her hand run through his hair.

  "I'm sorry I had to do this, but it was the only way I could see you since he wouldn't let me out."

  Holy shit! She killed her father to get to Arrigo. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

  Silent and still, Arrigo waited for her to leave, but he didn't know if it would be that simple. The sounds of her moving around the room echoed through his head as he guessed she was preparing instruments for his possible torture. It wasn't the first time he had been held captive and tortured, but if luck was on his side it would be his last. The sound of drawers opening and closing and metal confirmed his suspicions. Considering they were in a laboratory there would surely be the necessary items needed, but just as his anxiety rose, the sounds stopped and he heard her footsteps followed by the door opening and closing once again.

  Arrigo counted to sixty twice before opening his eyes and continuing to work his muscles. Thankfully this had only been a few hours of paralysis and not weeks or he would be suffering from atrophy. As another few minutes passed Arrigo found he could move his hands freely and while he knew that he didn't have his gun he wondered if she had thought to check his pants pockets for his phone.

  A strap over his chest and another over his thighs held him to the table, but the fit was loose and his arms were able to move. Pulling his right arm up, he managed to feel the phone still in his pants pocket. As fast as he could, he wiggled that arm free.

  Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed Williams.

  "Hess is dead. I've been drugged.”

  “What are you talking about?” Williams asked. But Arrigo didn’t have time to explain. If he didn’t get to Hess’s daughter in the next few minutes he wouldn't have any chance to make it out alive.

  “He was dead when I got here. Shot in the head. Take care of Sana and Marcus.” Arrigo hated the idea of having her back only to let her down.

  “Arrigo, listen to me, get out of there now. There is no reason to stay in this capacity. Get out while you can.” He heard the sincerity of Williams’s voice, but he couldn’t leave. He knew that if he headed for the door, Hess’s daughter would continue and might even send people after him or Sana. He had to let the situation play out.

  “Berk, tell Sana I love her and I’m sorry.”

  Arrigo could hear Williams shouting at him as he ended the call, but he knew he had to see this through, even if it killed him.

  Shutting the phone off as well, he shoved it back into his pocket. He couldn’t risk any interference if he were going to get out alive.

  ****

  “Fuck!” Williams shouted. Slamming his phone down on the desk, he knew he only had two options. One, he waited to see if Arrigo would make it out or two, to go get him. While had told Arrigo that he would be disavowed if he was discovered, Williams had never actually left a man and he had no intentions of letting one of his team down now.

  Just as he looked up from his desk, Sinjin walked in.

  “Boss, you look like you ate a bad burrito!” Sinjin smirked.

  Shaking his head, he had all of one more second to decide his course of action.

  “We’re going to have to go in after Kane.” Williams watched for Sinjin’s response and wasn’t sure what it would be.

  “Does Sana know?” Sinjin’s tone was bleak and it matched Berk’s thoughts. The news of this might kill her, but they would have to tell her.

  “Not yet, but she’ll have my balls if I don’t tell her.” Williams half-smiled at Sinjin knowing the fire of determination inside her might just be what they would need to get Arrigo out. “We’ll need her anyway, as for you get suited up with every weapon you can carry.”

  Sinjin nodded.

  “Will do!” Sinjin turned and headed out to follow through with Williams orders. He in turn had to call Sana, instead of dialing her directly, he called Marcus. Williams had Marcus’ number just for this reason. In case of an emergency.

  Sana had lost Arrigo once, and Williams could only imagine how she would react when she found out that she might lose him again. He wasn’t going to take any chances of her rogue behavior risking Arrigo’s safety further which meant he had to include her in order to control her.

  Dialing Marcus, he knew exactly what to say.

  “Hello,” Marcus answered.

  “Marcus this is Berk Williams. I need you to listen and only respond with yes or no. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  “You need to bring Sana to Sentinel HQ immediately, but you can’t tell her anything. I’ll explain more when you get here, but Arrigo may be in danger and we’re going to need her calm and coherent in order to help him. Do you understand?” Williams knew that Arrigo had started Sentinel training with Marcus but he didn’t know how well the kid would respond and take orders.

  “Yes. We’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Marcus’ calm tone made Williams feel only slightly better about the situation.

  “Tell her that you need to pick some things up for Arrigo. That should suffice.” Williams ended the call and knew he had a lot of preparation work to do.

  Chapter 12.

  “Bull shit,” Sana hissed at Marcus. Sana immediately climbed from the backseat into the front next to Marcus.

  “What did he say?” Sana asked. She knew that
whatever Williams had told him meant that Arrigo was in trouble even though she had just left him less than half an hour earlier.

  She watched Marcus’ jaw tighten and his knuckles whiten as he gripped the steering wheel. His body language told her everything she needed to know. First, she was right about Arrigo and secondly, Marcus feared her.

  “Drive faster or pull over.” Sana stated the words as calm and rational as she could. Knowing that Arrigo needed help, kept her sane and if Williams wanted her at HQ then he needed her too.

  “Yes ma’am.” Marcus stomped the gas pedal.

  Sana kept her thoughts focused on what prep she would need before going into Tecktar for the man she loved.

  Entering Sentinel HQ, they were met by Williams, who already had on body armor and had three pistols strapped on. Two on either side in a shoulder holster, and the third to his thigh.

  “What do you know?” she asked. Williams glanced from her to Marcus and back. “He didn’t tell me anything, he didn’t have to. So what’s the plan?”

  “Hess is dead and Arrigo is going after the killer. His phone is dead, but I can still track his location via the GPS locator once we’re close enough to him.” Williams had a seven-inch tablet in his hand and clicked on what looked like blueprints. Turning it toward her, he continued. “I have the plans of the facility uploaded from Arrigo. Since you’ve been in there, we’ll need your knowledge too.”

  “Got it. Let me get suited up and I’ll be ready.” Turning toward Marcus, she hadn’t known him that long, but she already worried about him. “Stay here and if I don’t come back Arrigo has everything of his set up to go to you.”

  “Like hell I will. I haven’t put up with him for almost two years, just to let him die.” Marcus crossed his arms over his chest and in that moment it reminded her of Arrigo when he wouldn’t budge on an issue. But that didn’t matter because Marcus would just end up dead.

  “You’ll just be a liability,” Sana stated solemnly. She turned away to go to the armory and get ready.

  “Did I forget to mention that I am trained in mixed martial arts?” Marcus smirked.

  “A little help?” Sana looked toward Williams.

  “Arrigo says the kid is good. We really could use him.”

  Sana glanced back and shook her head. She didn’t have time for a child, but she suddenly felt like she might be picking a losing fight.

  “I’m going to get Sinjin so we should be ready in fifteen.” Williams left her to continue the argument.

  As they arrived inside the armory, Sana pulled on her bulletproof vest and then went for her choice weapons. “Can you shoot?”

  Marcus grinned and she had to do a double take at his boyish grin of excitement.

  “While the Beretta is nice—” Marcus paused as he pulled on a vest himself. “My personal favorite is an AR-15 with a thirty round dual clip.”

  Sana suddenly had a newfound respect for Marcus, but even more so for Arrigo. He had taught him well and Sana knew they would need every ounce of expertise on their side.

  ****

  Confusion occupied his thoughts. Surely she hadn't killed Hess so that she could kidnap Arrigo. It made no sense to him as he hadn't ever seen her before and couldn't possibly understand how she could think she could want him. With the puzzle of his current situation bouncing around in his mind, he worked on his restraints.

  Arrigo had managed to free both of his arms and was trying to undo the strap over his thighs when the black haired woman walked in on him. With the last buckle almost undone, Arrigo moved as fast as he could knowing she would attack him with anything that she could find.

  She shrieked as she grabbed a metal tray full of instruments. "That's impossible!" she screamed. The contents of the tray fell to the floor as she charged him ready to swing it at him.

  Luckily, Arrigo unfastened the strap just in time to roll off the table and fall to the floor. His legs were still tingling as feeling returned so he was going to be clumsy with his movements, and he knew getting the table between them would give him a few more seconds.

  Scrambling to get up before she rounded the table, Arrigo leveraged his weight against a trash can in order to stand, but before he could become completely upright himself the woman attacked.

  Hitting him repeatedly with the tray, she cursed him. Still not knowing what she wanted, Arrigo fought back by kicking her feet out from under her.

  She fell to the floor with a thud.

  "What do you want from me!" Arrigo hissed. Moving around the table so that it once again separated them, he struggled to keep his eyes on her due to the effects of the drug.

  Slowly, she rose and started toward him.

  "I want to help you." Her quiet tone surprised him. She trully was disturbed if she thought he needed help or that kidnapping someone was the way to do it, but considering the circumstances he decided to use this information to his advantage.

  Relaxing his stance slightly so that she would be more receptive, Arrigo spoke. "What is your name?" Even though he knew her name from Hess's file, he had to create a relationship with her.

  The woman slowly rose and faced him. "Emily." Suddenly she seemed shy as she looked down at the table, and Arrigo knew it wouldn't be easy but he could gain her trust.

  "Nice to meet you Emily. What is it that you want to help me with?" Arrigo took these moments as an opportunity to not only gain understanding from her, but to let his body further recoup from the drugs.

  Looking up at him, she smiled. It wasn't like before during her murderous rage, but more like that of a child.

  "With your face, silly." She giggled and Arrigo smiled in return, but only to continue his charade.

  "You see-" Emily started to circle the table. "I can take away the pain."

  Arrigo tried to get closer to the door, but she placed herself between Arrigo and the only exit.

  "It doesn't hurt, but I greatly appreciate the offer. Is there someone else that we can help?" Arrigo knew that if he kept her talking he might be able to understand her weaknesses more and manage to get away from her.

  "But you don't understand. I can fix this." She stepped up to Arrigo and brushed her fingers over his scar.

  Arrigo wanted to push her away, but he couldn't. His life depended on her ability to trust him since he hadn't regained his strength yet.

  "Alright," he replied. It was the perfect opportunity to seize control if the situation, but he had to know what she was up to so he played along. More importantly he wanted to find out if she was holding anyone else in the facility.

  Emily took his hand and led him from the room into the corridor.

  Arrigo sucked in a deep breath while they walked together as if they were long lost friends or even lovers. The thought made Arrigo cringe and he couldn't hide it from her, but she mistook it for something else.

  "We'll be there soon and I'll take away the pain. The first time I saw you, you looked so sad and hurting that I knew then we were meant to be together." Her tone was almost melodic now and it gave Arrigo a bit more insight to her, but there were questions that it raised, too.

  "When did you first see me? I don't remember meeting you." Arrigo asked casually.

  "I saw you about a month ago in my father's office from the secret room. I begged him then to let me help you but he wouldn't. He didn't understand what I did for all those people." Her tone started to change and she grew angry. "He said I was dangerous and he tried to keep me locked away from everyone. But he can't stop me anymore! I can help so many people now and you can help them too." Squeezing his hand, she smiled up at him.

  Her declaration confirmed what Arrigo suspected. Emily was the one kidnapping people and Hess was trying to keep her secluded which cost him his life.

  "I'm very sorry that we didn't meet earlier. Maybe I could have explained things to your father." Arrigo smiled back at her to further gain her trust.

  "I don't want to talk about him anymore. We're almost there and we'll be able to get started
right away." Obviously his death bothered her on some level as she changed the subject, but there was no grief in her tone. Arrigo knew that an individual such as Emily would be difficult to deal with. The slightest thing could set her off and he had to be extremely careful with his words.

  As they rounded the corner at the end of the hall, Emily's excitement grew. Arrigo could see her expression change with a smile that was genuine. That alone was enough to scare the hell out of Arrigo but he held his emotions inside.

  "We're here! I'm so glad you woke up and have agreed to let me help you. I could only get you to the other room by myself. I have everything I need here to make you better though." Emily opened the door and they stepped inside.

  Arrigo swallowed hard at the sight before him. Only lit by a few lights along one edge of the room, the vast area was filled with every piece of medical equipment he could think of including it's own operating table that lay behind a glass wall. Emily released his hand and went over to a counter to turn on more lights.

  Looking at the equipment alone told the story. She was a mad scientist of sorts, but when and how did this happen?

  When did she end up here?

  Arrigo turned back to Emily and before he could speak, he saw her holding another syringe. This will take the edge off before we get started. Trying not to upset her, Arrigo thought quickly. "Will it knock me out?" he asked. Arrigo paused hoping he wouldn't have to fight her. At least not yet. His strength had returned, but he wasn't a hundred percent and strangely he didn't want to hurt her. In her sick sadistic mind, the experiments she had done were for the betterment of mankind which was far from the truth. She needed more help than a team of doctors would be able to provide her, but she could be locked up, safe from herself and not able to harm others.