Frayed Edges

Leap of faith

The small recorder in her pocket felt like a brick.

She knew it was risky. The whole device was smaller than her palm but it didn't make it any less detectable. The lack of wires left her with some wiggle room. The plan was to ditch it as soon as she could. Somewhere hidden but close enough that the extract team could hear what they needed.

Mia however, was blind. She had no idea what lay behind the metal sheet doors. The memory of the masked man still gave her chills. She had already seen the end of a gun more times than she hoped she would in a lifetime.

She used to mess with the ones Drew left around his apartment. She found them fascinating, the weight and the risk associated with something as delicate as a trigger. He would always scold her for acting like a child. She never thought about why he needed them or their purpose once he left the room and his facade finally dropped. Maybe Alex and Drew were right about her, she was a child.

The metal containers had become familiar. She found herself counting down the numbers as she passed them. It was a silent countdown that let her know how close she really was to the danger.

215, 214, 213....

212. It always surprised her how similar it looked to the rest. For all she knew every one of these was filled with a Drew. A power hungry mad man willing to do anything to get what they wanted. Mia almost chuckled at the idea. Of course they were empty. She'd already seen what Drew did to his competition.

The rusted metal door was as intimidating as always. She didn't know what to do. Knock? Scream? Call out for Drew?

There was a good chance that all of those would result in a bullet between her eyes. But so did the recorder in her back pocket.

The side of her fist made the metal shake. Flecks of rust rained down on her and she tried her best to dodge them as they did. She went to take a step back but before she could the door was open.

The familiar mask greeted her. She watched the way he instinctively went to draw his pistol but faltered. She squeezed her eyes shut fearful of the impending threat but when she opened them again the gun was firmly back in its holster. She knew she couldn't hide the puzzled look on her face.

"Stay there" he grunted before shutting the door firmly in her face. Everything in Mia's mind told her to run. But the slim chance that Jake was inside pushed her forward.

The recorder in her pocket still left her with an impending sense of doom. She had a few ideas of where she could hide it. But with no way of knowing what lay ahead she couldn't plan her way out of this.

It took less than a minute for the door to open again. She expected the masked man to talk but instead he just waved her through. He stood aside letting her enter the dimly lit space. She had moved the recording device to her sleeve making it essentially useless. She knew that those listening on the other side would be losing their minds. Assuming she had ditched the device and made a run for it. Although it was less obvious it still posed a threat.

Of course they were listening. The rustling set both Rosa and Amy on edge but neither of them said a word. They knew this whole thing was a leap of faith. But it was the only option they had.

Eventually they heard the voice they were looking for. It was muffled through the fabric but undeniably Drew's.

"I was expecting your brother" he drawled. Mia's eyes were instantly drawn to the scabs on his bloody knuckles. He spotted her careless stare and chuckled gently. "I wouldn't look so judgy. Why else do you think you got in here without a gun in your face."

Mia couldn't help but glance at the man beside her. Even under his mask she could tell he was nervous and averting her gaze. She couldn't find the words to say anything but that didn't stop him from talking.