Love is Patient

Chapter 14

Tina's eyes fluttered open. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she blinked to adjust her eyes to the dark room.

Where am I?

The last thing she remembered was walking back from work and hearing a commotion in an alley. I went to see what was going on and . . . what?

Her fingers moved to rub the back of her head. Someone must have knocked me out from behind, but why? 

She instinctively reached for her wand to get some light. It wasn't there. Of course it's gone. What did I expect? That means I'm dealing with magical people, though.

Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could see that she was in a small room. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all made of stone but the room was completely empty. 

Tina pulled herself up against the cold, damp wall. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter.

She muttered a simple spell that gave her a bit of light and warmth.

What do I do? she thought. I have no idea where I am or why I'm here.

She slumped against the wall. Newt and Queenie will be so worried if I don't show up by nightfall. Of course, I don't even know what time it is now. I guess the only thing I can do is wait until someone shows up.

Tina jerked awake at the sound of approaching footsteps. She scrambled to her feet just as the heavy door swung open. A young man appeared in the doorway. One side of his face was disfigured with a long scar. Tina moved forward but the man raised his wand and sent her flying back with a flick of his wrist. Her back slammed into the cold stone wall. When she tried to move forward again she found that her wrists had been chained to the wall.

"What do you want with me?" she demanded.

"We don't want anything from you," the man sneered. 

"Then why am I here?"

"Because you are the only way for us to get what we want."

"And what is that?" Tina snapped.

"That's not for me to tell you. You'll come with me now." 

The man waved his wand again Tina was jerked to her feet with her hands cuffed securely behind her.

"Come on then," the man instructed. 

Tina moved forward. "Follow me." She followed the man out of the cell. She noticed a dark haired woman step behind her, wand raised.

They lead Tina through a maze of dark corridors into a dimly lit room. The woman gave her a rough shove and she fell to her knees in front of a large chair.  She struggled to her feet.

A tall, handsome man was sitting in the chair. "Welcome, Miss Goldstein," he said. His tone sounded friendly but there was a slight coldness to it that made Tina shiver.

"Why am I here?" she spat.

The man gave a gentle laugh and stood up. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why so unfriendly?"

"Why would I be friendly to someone who has me knocked out and locked up?" 

"Have a seat," he said. He waved his wand and the cuffs fell off of Tina's wrists. She flew to the chair. Restraints appeared around her wrists and ankles, pinning her to the chair. The man stood in front of her.

"Now, to business. There is something that we need. . . ."

"And what might that be?" Tina cut in.

"After careful consideration," he went on as if she hadn't spoken, "we decided that you would be the easiest way of getting it. At first, we considered taking it forcibly but then we realized that he is far too protective of it for that plan to work. We realized that the only way to get it from him would be to trade something for it."

"I don't know what you want me for but I'm not doing anything for you," Tina snapped.

The man started laughing again. It was a soft, ironic laugh that sent shivers down Tina's spine.

"We don't need you to do anything. All we want is for you to sit quietly in that chair. We've informed your sister and Mr. Scamander of your absence. We expect the latter will be along shortly, bringing what we need with him."

They want his case -- his creatures. "You're using me as bait to get Newt's creatures."

"No, no, no, no. You've misunderstood. We would never use you as bait. We would never use anyone as bait. No, you see, my master would love it if you were killed. However, he also wants Mr. Scamander's case. If Mr. Scamander cooperates and brings his case without putting up a fuss, then you will be returned to him. If Mr. Scamander fails to bring his case or causes any trouble . . ." the man stepped forward and used his wand to lift Tina's chin. "I think you get the point."

"You work for Grindelwald," Tina said.

"You're sharp. However, I had expected you to have figured out before now."

"Well, obviously you're not as clever as you think you are. Newt will never give you his creature. Never." He loves them more than he loves me. He probably doesn't even love me anymore. He would have said something by now.