Draiks and Angels: Vignettes

Effe Mahlberg - Part 2

Effe sat in the break room with her head down. She wasn't sure why she felt so bad. Well, she knew why, but she wasn't sure why she was so torn up about the Draik possibly being missing. It could be a misunderstanding. And she didn't do anything. This time.

It had been around a couple hours since the Angels had left, and Effe had been very unproductive. The older librarians kept making snide remarks until she said she needed a break and came into the back. Suddenly, she heard a knock on something wooden near the doorway and looked up.

A man in his forties with black pants, a black belt, a black tee shirt and black vest was standing in the entry to the break room. He had his finger to his lips and a handgun pointed at her. Effe just gaped at him, paralyzed at the sudden appearance and threat of the man. He walked quietly into the room and around the table until he was right next to her.

"Get up!" he commanded, quietly.

Effe was terrified of the man's eyes. She was completely sure he could kill her. So she stood up slowly and he grabbed her upper arm.

"Don't make a sound!" he hissed in her ear, and started pulling her out of the room.

To Effe's surprise, the man led her to a door she had never seen used in the back area of the library. He released her arm to open it, she saw a landing and stairs leading down. He shoved her forward and she had to work hard not to fall down the concrete steps. When they got to the bottom, Effe gasped.

The room was unfinished concrete with dusty boxes all over. There were around eight men in the basement, all wearing black pants and black shirts. They all wore vests proclaiming "Hell's Angels" on the back. In the approximate middle of the room lay the Draik, Tadeas, bound and gagged with duct tape! He appeared to be unconscious. The men all looked at her with surprise.

The man behind her with the gun shoved her to the left side of the room and commanded, "Tape her hands."

Two of the men came forward, one grabbing her wrists and pulling them together, the other pulling the tape out.

Another of the men asked, "What's she for, Boss?"

"Insurance," was all he would say.

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After a couple hours in the basement, where they let Effe sit on some boxes and the men mostly showed off their knife-twirling skills to each other, one of the men suddenly got the attention of the gang leader.

"Boss!"

The leader grabbed Effe by the upper arm and she couldn't help but whimper at the pressure with which he squeezed. He dragged her around and in front of the Draik, who was awake now.

The gang leader showed a plastic item in his hand about the size of a cigar and spoke viciously in Anglian to the Draik, "This is my last injector, but if there is any funny business, if something odd happens, something unpredictable," he dragged Effe forward a step, "this one gets cut! Got it?!"

Effe's breath caught in her throat. She would get cut?! She saw the Draik nodded slowly once. He knew what this man was talking about?! The gang leader shoved Effe down to the floor near the Draik's head and she all but collapsed there. She could see from that location that his fists were clenched and white from the force.

She took a breath and whispered as quietly as she could and still believe he could hear her, "Your friends are looking for you."

She could see his fists relax just a little, and didn't think it was important to specify that they were looking in the wrong place. The men in the room whispered to each other and the leader appeared to be giving directions. When he finished, a large man came over and hoisted the Draik onto his shoulder and another man pulled her to her feet.