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Henson grabbed my arm and pulled me up. "Hey, I'm not done yet. Can I take the food with me?" He pulled me out the door without answering. "I'll take that as a no," I said, looking over my shoulder to see Cassie getting similar treatment.
I was shoved into my room and heard the door lock behind me. Rubbing my arm, I walked to the wall I shared with Cassie. "You OK?"
"Yeah. Not sure what's coming next, but it won't be good. I'm going to check for cameras or bugs. We need to know if we can talk freely."
I checked the bathroom and bedroom but found nothing I recognized as being a camera or microphone. I went back to the wall. "I didn't find anything."
"Me either. It's not a guarantee, but maybe we can make a plan."
"Will they torture us?" It wasn't that I feared giving them the information they wanted. I couldn't do that no matter what they did to me, but I didn't think I'd hold up well to torture.
"I don't know what to expect. You really don't know the actual coordinates, do you?"
"No. I figured it out, but always had it written down. After Gracie Layne's kidnapping, I realized it was an advantage not to know." There were long periods of silence as we both tried to think of something helpful.
"How long do you think it will be before Jared realizes you're missing?"
"At least a few more days. I don't know how they'll find us."
"It's the same with Chance."
Eventually, Chance or Jared would contact Mr. Smith in Little Rock. The trail will lead them to Renee's cabin. They'll find our cars and belongings, but not us. I don't know if they'll find any residue from the gas or anything in the lab that will help them track us down. We couldn't count on anyone coming to our rescue. Cassie and I were going to have to save ourselves.
We wanted to come up with a plan to escape, but we were having no luck. I laid on the bed and closed my eyes hoping inspiration would strike. It didn't.
I didn't know if there were other people in the building or in the area or not. We'd seen five men total. Talking about Chance and Jared not realizing we were missing made me more frightened. I knew I couldn't let the fear overwhelm me, so I tried to think through options.
I could probably take out one of the men, if they came in alone to deliver food or take me to the conference room again. Once I took him out, I could take his weapon. I'm good with Glenda, but not familiar with a lot of different firearms. If I could take out one of the guards and free Cassie, she could use the guard's weapon to neutralize more. I doubted we could subdue them all before they realized we were a threat and took precautions. We don't know the layout of the building like the guards do, so they'd have an advantage. I think they'll underestimate me, but the guy in charge seemed to be aware of Cassie's shooting ability. That thought made me wonder if the guys were even armed when they came into our rooms. I'd need to check on that.
Cassie and I had agreed to knock on the wall if we came up with an idea, but I hadn't thought of anything useful. I went to the wall and knocked. "Cassie, I'm going to sleep."
"Me too." I sat down on the side of the bed and unlaced my boots. That's when I noticed my knife. I've gotten so used to keeping it in my boot that I forgot it was there. We weren't unarmed after all. I wondered if that would change the plan. I laid down on the bed thinking about why I kept ending up in danger and drifted off to sleep.
XXX
I felt like I'd only been sleeping for a few minutes, when I was dragged from my bed by my feet. My hip hit the floor with a thud. "What the fudge," I yelled, rubbing my side. The guard wrapped his hand around my upper arm and pulled me to my feet. He pulled me down the hall in the opposite direction from the conference room. He opened a door and shoved me inside with both hands on my back. I stumbled and hit my chin on the edge of the desk, biting my lip in the process. "Good morning, Ms. Mason," the tall man said from behind the desk. "Please sit down."
He motioned to a chair. I could taste the blood in my mouth from my split lip. I held my arm against my mouth. "You really should be more careful," he said, walking around to the front of his desk. He wiped his sleeve along the edge of the desk where I hit it as if he was polishing away a spot. He leaned back against the desk and crossed his ankles. "I thought perhaps we should have a more intimate conversation, just the two of us."
I had to fight my normal tendencies to fill the silence.
"I have no desire to hurt you or Ms. Carter," he said, "but you and your friends have interrupted important research. We need to get our bigfoot program back on track. I don't want to keep you here. I'm sure you'd like to get back to your boyfriend and your cafe." He turned around and picked up a pad of paper and a pen off the desk. "Here. Just write down the coordinates. That's all you have to do."
I reached out and took the pad and pen. "I told you I can't. It's not that I won't. I can't. I don't know the coordinates."
He walked back around and sat down behind the desk. "I'm impressed. Why not just write down any coordinates?"
"Two reasons. I don't know a lot about coordinates, so I'd probably pick numbers that y'all would immediately recognize as being wrong."
"I'm not sure I believe you, but what was the second reason?"
"I don't think y'all will let us go until you or some of your hired muscle checks it out, so giving you the wrong coordinates would only delay whatever is coming next."
"Does your friend know the coordinates?"
"I'm not sure. I don't think so."
He went to the door and opened it. The guard that had delivered me must have been waiting outside. He had a patchy beard, so I decided to call him Patch. "I'm not sure I believe you, Ms. Mason." Mr. Big ran his hand down my cheek and neck, stopping with his hand on my shoulder. The pain when he squeezed was so intense I thought I might pass out, but I didn't. "Take her back and bring the other one," he said, letting go and pushing me toward Patch.