Breaking the Lock

Ten

He left them alone for the rest of the morning. Britt's head was clearing and she was coherent at least. Between the two of them, they shared every piece of information they had, which wasn't much. They knew that the man holding them hated Nathan and wanted him dead. They also knew he would follow up on any threat he made to them. Maxie was afraid for all of them but she was more afraid for Nathan than she let on to Britt. She desperately hoped that Nathan would figure out who was behind their disappearances and be careful. Britt was holding on to the hope that he would ride in to their rescue and was content to wait; Maxie planned to be more proactive about escaping.

While Britt dozed, the effects of the drugs the psycho had pumped her with taking their toll, Maxie started to think creatively. She was good at that. She heard a door slam and a car start in the distance. At least she had some time now. She started with the handcuff. She tested it every way she could think of but it wouldn't budge. She would have to get it unlocked somehow. For that, she needed a key.

She stared around her cell. He had removed anything that might have been of any use to her. How would she ever find a key? An overwhelming feeling of fear washed over her, making her knees go a little weak and forcing her to sit. The tears that she had held back all night finally came and she cried until no more tears would come. She was scared. Trying to calm herself, she thought of Georgie and Nathan. She imagined them playing together, slipping down a slide and laughing. The image calmed her and she took a deep breath. She would get out of this.

Wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand, Maxie took a deep breath and resumed her search for something to pick the lock on the handcuff. She crawled around on the floor, searching for anything he might have missed. She would have missed the bobby pin completely if her thumb hadn't brushed it under the cot. She yelped in delight and grabbed it. Now all she had to do was get that lock undone.

A memory of Nathan laying on the floor and smiling up at her flooded her senses. "Not a paperclip," the memory Nathan said with a sweet smile. "It's a handcuff key."

"That's right," she said out loud. "He got me out of there with that paperclip and I am going to get out of here with this bobby pin." She went to work immediately, bending the pin to a wider 'v' and pressing it into the lock. It took the better part of an hour to find the right release but she did it. She let out a scream of relief, waking Britt in the process.

"Maxie what's happening?" Britt mumbled sitting up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Britt. Better than fine. We're getting out of here." She shook the handcuff off and went to the lock on the door. She listened for a moment to make sure there was no movement above them before going to work on the cage door.

"What are you doing?"

Maxie focused on the lock but answered, "I found a bobby pin and we're getting out of here. That psycho is not going to use us for bait just so he can kill Nathan. I won't let that happen." Maxie glanced at Britt. She still looked weak but they had to get out before he got back. Maxie continued to work at the lock until she felt the tumblers release. How long had that one taken? Thirty minutes? She was getting better at it.

She swung the door open and went to Britt's cage door. The bobby pin was getting too weak to withstand another lock. Maxie searched through the room, looking for anything else she could use. She found a small screw driver that looked narrow enough to work. Britt's locks took fifteen minutes. With a smile, she imagined Nathan's voice when she told him how they had gotten free.

"You're picking locks now? You're on thin ice, Jones."

Now that they were free of the locks, her adrenaline kicked in pushing her to hurry out of their jail. She climbed the steps and tried the door. It was locked too. She tried the screwdriver but this lock was sturdier. Britt watched from the bottom of the stairs, calling out to her after five minutes of trying to pick the lock.

"Don't bother, Maxie. It's chained on the other side. I heard it the first night I was here."

"Damn," Maxie muttered.

"We should try the window," Britt said as Maxie came back downstairs. "If we break it, we could crawl out of it."

"Let's do it." Britt helped her climb up to the window, holding her as steady as she could. Maxie smashed the window with a rusty can, cutting her hand in the process. She knocked all the pieces loose and crawled out the window into the snowy cold air. She poked her head back inside and helped Britt climb the wall, pulling her through the window with her. The sunlight and the snow dazzled them both. They waited for a moment until the brilliance of it passed and they adjusted to the light.

"Come on," Maxie said pulling on Britt. She wanted to run as fast as she could to get away from this terrible place but Britt was still moving slow. They rounded the corner of the house and froze in horror. He was back and climbing out of a car. He saw them immediately, his face flushing red with rage at the sight of them.

"Run!" Maxie screamed, pushing Britt forward as her own feet sank into the snow. Britt stumbled but managed to keep her feet under her and darted away from Maxie. He was on Maxie before she could get to her feet, yanking her up by her hair. She screamed in pain, water filling her eyes. She fought back kicking him as hard as she could but he got an arm around her neck and cut off her air.

"Stop struggling or I'll break your neck," he hissed in her ear. Maxie stopped, pushing on his arm to catch her breath. She could see Britt still in the distance running as fast as her drugged state would allow. "Thought you could get away? You're too smart by half," he muttered. Too late, Maxie realized he had pulled a gun from his coat and was aiming it at Britt's fleeing form.

"NO!" Maxie screamed as the gun went off shattering the quiet of the countryside. She watched in horror as Britt stumbled and fell out of sight.

"Sooner than I expected but job done anyway," Frank Byron said with a smile. "Probably doesn't even know what hit her." He dragged Maxie back to the house. "You won't be so lucky."