Side Effects

Chapter 38

I'd spent the majority of the day thinking of what I'd say to Anna when I finally saw her. You know those witty lines that the hero gets to deliver in movies? Yeah, I wanted something like that. Unfortunately, I'd been unable to think of a single fun thing to say the entire time, probably because the nerves were getting to me, and in the long run it wouldn't have mattered.

You see, as soon as we opened the door, Anna saw us, and stood up from behind her desk, just gaping at us in surprise. That was when we heard the gunfire from back down the hall, and Esme's military training got her moving. She leapt forward, raising the taser and shot the electrodes right into Anna's throat. I would have never had a chance to say anything at all!

She flopped back into her leather chair before sliding to the floor while gurgling something that sounded suspiciously like "Uruk gerbil." Yeah, I don't think she meant that either.

"You check her out," I told Esme. "I'll go see what the shooting was." I pulled out the gun that I'd taken from the guard, and made sure the safety was off, and then moved back along the hallway, keeping to the side so I wouldn't be as visible to anyone who looked out a door. Alaya was right behind me, with her taser out, just in case. When we reached the bathroom, I could smell the scent of gunpowder in the air, as well as labored grunting from the room itself. I quickly peeked around the corner and saw the guard tugging at the handcuffs that were now around the exposed piping of the sink. I noticed the gun on the floor next to him, and I took a quick step in, then smacked him on the temple with his own gun.

"Shit, he shot out the window too," Alaya pointed out. "Any other guards would have heard that. We're going to have company!"

She was right. He never shot at us, but his actions had alerted the guards outside, and they'd be up here in little time. There was no way we could make it back down to the cellar without being seen, we'd have to go to the roof. "Shit. Let's go!"

We ran back down the hall to find Esme wheeling Anna out of the room in her office chair, her hands cuffed in her lap. "Got her!" she crowed happily.

"Awesome!" I replied. "Feel like flying a helicopter?"

Her eyes widened as she thought about that. "Umm. Okay, I can do that. Where is it?"

I pointed to the main stairwell. "Go up those stairs. It's the last flight of stairs up, so it lets out onto the roof. Go get it ready, we'll take Anna up."

Esme nodded, then sprinted down the hallway and towards the stairs. I hoisted Anna over my shoulder and headed that way too. I had no idea how much time we had, but I hoped that the helicopter would be easy to get going. As much as Esme may have said she could fly anything, she'd sounded a little nervous about this.

In a surprise, Alaya ran into the office. "Hold on a second, I'll get the doors for you!" Alaya said as she came out with Anna's laptop and phone and then walked quickly ahead of me. Yeah, that laptop might be a treasure trove of evidence. The main staircase was a grand affair on the main living floors, being made of marble and triple the width of a normal staircase. But the last flight was more utilitarian, being the same width as something you'd find in an office building, though still made of marble. When we got to it, we could hear some yelling down below, and I pointed down the middle of the stairs, pulling the trigger twice to hopefully slow down the guards. I took the stairs up to the roof one at a time, though walking quickly, and Alaya was there waiting for me with the door held open.

"Thanks, baby." I really wanted to lean in for a kiss, but Anna was getting heavy, and I just wanted to put her down. "Can you please text Viola and let her know that she can go to the football field. Then we can meet her there."

Esme was in the cockpit of the chopper, and I dumped Anna on the floor in the back. Alaya climbed in right next to her, busy on her phone to let Viola know we were flying, and then pulled out the taser and trained it on her, just in case. "Can I shoot her again?"