Sigma/Star

Chapter 31: Grimsley's Adventures Part 2

Grimsley squirmed on the ground as the communicator continued to buzz in his pocket. This could be his only chance at escaping this bizarre situation, provided he answered the phone. But it was well entrenched in his pants and his hands were tied up too well for him to even think of fishing out the little device.

Ronald watched with curiosity as the young soldier wriggled and twisted in an effort to knock one of the buttons on and answer the call. He was also tremendously nervous though. The communicator was making such a loud buzzing in the tiny space he feared that it would alert Chandana and the Red Scarves. Then their best shot at leaving would certainly be gone.

"This is Dr. Kostinev." The female voice of the psychologist echoed around the small room and Ronald sat bolt upright at hearing it while Grimsley stopped moving. "I have your report finalized now." Her voice was a little muffled through the material of Grimsley's pants and he hoped that was enough to keep anyone outside from hearing her.

"Oh, yes, umm, thank you. What does...does it say?"

Ronald was trying his best to wave around and get Grimsley's attention, mouthing that he needed to call for help. Grimsley nodded that he understood but he had to wait a little and be polite before he could make that statement. "Everything checks out here. You're psychologically sound and ready for combat."

"Ah, thank you. I'm happy to hear that." Grimsley cleared his throat a little and dropped his voice so his plea for assistance wouldn't be heard. But he never got a word out.

"Then report to your regiment officer as soon as possible." And then the communicator cut dead.

"No wait! You have to..." Grimsley looked over at Ronald's face, which was frozen in shock at seeing such a golden opportunity missed. "...Help us." Grimsley laughed nervously as Ronald's face turned to anger. "Funny how that worked out, right Ronald? Funny stuff. This will make a great story after we get out of here, won't it?"

Before Ronald could scream out his frustrations, the door burst open. In the doorway was the imposing figure of a gang member, their black trench coat sucking up all the light around them and causing the red scarf on their neck to burn bright like a bloody sash. "Sounds like you've been summoned," the gangster grumbled. He picked the two up off the ground, using a hand for each of them to show off his tremendous strength. The shadowy man then motioned for the two to follow him and he also revealed a small firearm he was keeping at his side to warn them.

The two crept along behind their escort, looking like a comical pairing of deranged old man and dirty teen. Ronald's eye wandered up and down Grimsley until it came across the shiny metal of the pistol Grimsley kept. It was still the young man's most prized possession and if he weren't tied up he would have surely be cleaning it, which contributed to the grime all over the rest of his clothing. But Ronald wasn't interested in the cleanliness of the weapon, only in its usefulness.

"Psst! Boy!" Ronald stumbled over a bit and nudged Grimsley, using his eyes to motion towards the gun. "Why don't we use that to get out of here?" Ronald whispered.

Grimsley looked down at the weapon, genuine surprise flitting across his face for a brief second. He had completely forgotten he had it on him. But then he shrugged and continued to trudge along. "It isn't loaded."

Ronald looked stumped for a moment, stumped by that unfortunate aspect of the gun. "Doesn't matter boy, we can still use it."

"How?"

"Like this." Ronald twisted his back so that his hands could reach the weapon. He fumbled a little at first as he had to maintain a walk while trying to use his tied-up fingers but eventually the gun was withdrawn from the holster and resting in the elderly man's hands. He turned himself again, winding up his body like a coil before suddenly whipping back and launching the weapon like a projectile.