For Honor or Glory

Only the Beginning

Chapter 43

Thankfully, Professor Rayleigh already had the master key when Angeal arrived. She was still wearing a frown as they headed to Alex's lab, but at least she wasn't complaining anymore. Once they were both inside, Rayleigh immediately went to the filing cabinet to look for the files she needed. While she did that, Angeal looked around for anything that might be out of place.

His unease and frustration grew the longer he looked through the random things on Alex's desk and didn't find anything. However, all that crashed to a halt when he looked over to the cot and saw her phone was peeking out of the rumpled blanket.

He was frowning as he picked it up and noticed the dark screen. He didn't mean to ask anything aloud, but it still came out. "Why would she leave her phone?"

Rayleigh stopped what she was doing and looked at the piece of electronics in his hand. Her frown eased as she tried to answer. "Actually, it isn't unusual for anyone that leaves on one of Professor Hojo's missions to have to leave everything behind until they return. When he says it's top-secret, he means it."

She then stood to join him. "Is it dead?"

Even with that explanation, Angeal still felt like there was something he was missing. When she asked about the power, he pressed the button as was surprised to see that it wasn't dead, just turned off. His frown grew when it finally came on, and he saw that there was one unsent message.

His frown grew as he read it. 'Geal, I've got something urgent to do, but don't worry. I may not be here when you get back, but I'll tell you all about it when I return. Love you, Alex.'

He read through the message several more times before he looked up to see Rayleigh had already gone back to her work. The harder he looked, the more it seemed like Alex really had left to get away from things for a while. Even so, he could not shake the sense that there was more for him to find if he knew where to look. Not that he had anything more than a feeling.

He sighed as he turned to phone back off and pocketed it. Maybe he would have felt better if Alex had verified that message was sent before she left, but what was done was done. He still looked through everything else in the office that wasn't locked up and could find no other clues. Her things looked like they had been left in the same organized chaos that always permeated her workspace.

When Rayleigh finally found what she had been looking for, Angeal was sure there was nothing else he could see in the room. He gave the whole place one more look before he followed the professor out, and she locked the door. For now, what choice did he have but to wait and hope that Alex had a chance to get in touch with him soon? Though, he wasn't sure he could just stop trying to figure it out until he was sure she was safe.

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Alex woke with a groan and rolled onto her side so she could curl into a ball. She hurt all over, especially her head. It was several moments before her mind caught up and remembered that she had been kidnapped by Hojo of all people. That thought had her trying to force herself into a seated position despite the pain.

She had to blink a few times to clear her vision enough so she could make out that she was on a cot in a cell. There was a little section that was partitioned off at the end of the room. The only other thing she could see was the door. It looked like it was thick metal.

She was about to push herself to her feet to verify there was no way she could get out, but she was stopped when she heard a chuckling voice come through a speaker near the ceiling. "You look like shit. I can't remember how it felt personally, but I've been told the first boosters are the worst. Plus, I hear you got the special variety. Not that it will help you escape if that was what you were thinking."