Six (Countdown book 1)

Chapter 13

We walked out into the corridor cautiously, keeping an eye out for patrols or security guards. We saw none. The corridor was just like the one that had held their cell upstairs, but with more rooms leading off. I read the label of the first one we came to. 'Questioning room one'. There were a dozen more that were almost exactly the same, except for the room number on the door.

We approached the security guard at the desk cautiously. He didn't look quite as stupid as the guard upstairs. "Who're you?" he snapped at us.

"Boston wants to see the kids." I said, putting on the rough voice again. "I need the last one."

"She's in room ten. You got your ID, Shortie?" the guy asked, glaring at me. I flashed him the badge quickly, like I had to the first guy. "Let me look at it properly." he said accusingly. I handed him the badge and he examined it more closely. "Hey, you're not-" he slumped to the desk, as I hit him with the cold, metal side of the gun. Scarlett turned to look disbelievingly at me, but I just shrugged.

"He was about to find out about us." I said defensively. She shook her head at me, and I looked up at the CCTV camera that was staring down at us. "No time for subtlety." I said. "Come on, we need to get Andy and get out of here."

We all walked over to Questioning room ten, and I tried the door. It was locked. I could go back and search the guard, but I realised it would be quicker to open in with gravity. The lock gave way immediately, and we all walked into the room. There was a table in the middle of the room, and I could see Andy tied down on it, her face covered by a hood. Her breathing was uneven and ragged.

I guessed the Hunters had used water-boarding. The idea was to make the victim feel like they're drowning. You put a hood on their head, and then pour water over the hood. The wet material sticks to the person's face, making it near enough impossible to breathe. The table was titled downwards slightly, so that any excess water ran down, making Andy cold and wet.

"Guard the door." I told the others, then suddenly wondered exactly when I had been put in charge. I walked over to where Andy was, and stared at the metal cuffs keeping her on the bed. "It's me, Andy." I told her soothingly. "Just hold on, I'll get you out." Her clothes were drenched.

I moved onto more pressing issues. I couldn't use gravity to undo the cuffs, because they were made of the 'Cure metal'. I pulled my knife out and started sawing at them. They gave way surprisingly easily. I guess they weren't built for their strength.

I carefully maneuvered the knife to cut through the zip tie that was holding the hood in place loosely, then pulled the hood off. Andy gasped, and coughed and spluttered. Her face and hair were drenched, and she was shivering. She sat up weakly, her face both scared and exhausted. "You're okay. We're going to get out of here." I told her reassuringly. I wrapped an arm around her waist, and she put her arm over my shoulders. I helped her down off the table, and she leaned heavily against me.

"Don't move." a familiar voice said behind us. I sighed heavily. We'd made it so far, just to be stopped here.

"Boston." I breathed. I turned towards him. He had Scarlett, Tony, Aiden and Mackenzie lined up against the wall, covered with at least half a dozen guns. I hadn't even heard the Hunters approaching.

"You thought you could get away from me?"

"I did before." I said. "I can do it again." Boston's eyes flared angrily.

"Barely. You barely escaped last time." he hissed. "You have no chance of escaping this time. Even if you did, where would you go? Your home has been destroyed, and, for once, my brother isn't around to help out."

"Your brother?" I asked. Then it dawned on me. "Wyatt. He's your brother?" 

"Is it really so hard to believe?" Boston asked, looking at me seriously. "I've been told we look alike. That was, until he got old and decided to grow a beard. He looks like a fool."