Dangerous by Default

46. What fresh hell is this?

What fresh hell is this?

Ami pressed against the fog that hovered on her brain. She had lost all sense of time. It had felt like days, maybe even weeks had passed. This was clearly a side effect of the constant pain inflicted by... them. The bad guys. It was certain that they would be back to interrogate her in a matter of minutes. She had to find her bearings. Though her hands and legs were bound tightly to a rusty chair in the middle of a decrepit room, her mind raced around every nook and cranny of the dank space. Studying her surroundings, she couldn't help but think of small talk she'd heard over the years while working at Dimensions.

Small talk of cavernous tunnels deep below the city, made by the ancestors of ye old San Francisco. It certainly smelled like it. Sewers with secret passageways connecting in every direction. In a flash, she vaguely remembered Caine mentioning that he powered his woodshop with the water from these same tunnels. What if it's close by? She sighed. Who was to know what part of the city's underbelly they were actually in. The cacophony of rushing water that echoed off the old walls made it sound like a maniacal labyrinth more than a systemic floodway. It would drown out any cries for help, and why would they bother to look for her here? If they even know to look for me... Four stone walls and a clanky metal door isolated her from the maze of damp, never ending hopelessness. The small room alone could inspire a whole franchise of horror films.

How did I get here in the first place? She could barely remember the frightening moments that led to her kidnapping. She had been in the lab of course, and there had been a feeling of great excitement. The excitement of finally discovering how to properly use the goo. Eureka, I found it! This feeling was but a distant flicker of light, a light that only she had felt the warmth from. But she needed so desperately to share this warmth with Mina. And Janus. The large gap in her memory jumped from this light all the way to the moment she fluttered her heavy eyelids open again. Opened her eyes to this nightmare. How much time had passed? How long have I been missing for?

"Alright, Doc. you've had plenty of time to consider your fate."

The bad guys. The middle-aged shrew and hillbilly hulk in high grade tactical gear returned with a booming clang of the door. The first time they entered her room with the same booming clang, their visit had been brief. But it told her all she needed to know to survive. Within the first minute of their entrance, Ami had clearly assessed that the middle aged woman (Godefrida?) though smaller, was the cunning superior of this group. Her companion, while obviously steroid injected and spry (Senegalanesis?) was more Texan muscle than mastermind. So what would hired mercenaries, or their rich employer, possibly want with the biggest breakthrough in biotechnology? Ami didn't want to find out.

This odd couple had mistook her gentle appearance for weakness, assumed that their secret ops appearance and intimidating mind games would make her cave. They miscalculated. Unfortunately, her silence on the matter meant that Senegalanesis' hands did all the talking. Against her skull. The only reason she was still alive had to do with the gray matter between her ears. She was torn between her disdain and gratitude for her knowledge. It had gotten here, but also gotten her this far. Let's hope it keeps me alive.

The pain had barely subsided when Ami rolled her head over, hazey and heavy with blood as they entered the room for the second time.

"Alright, Doc. You've had plenty of time to consider your fate. Remember, it goes like this: you tell us every detail of what you and Ms. tech Tranny are concocting down to the last molecule..." Godefrida paced around the room, kicking aside dusty rubble. With a theatrical air, she had stopped in her tracks to look Ami in the eyes.

".. or have another taste of Senegalanesis." Ami stared back at her with a blank face, "The choice is yours, my friend. But be advised that time is not on your side."