Cyberlink Cove

Chapter 9

 

CYBERLINK COVE (SKYHOOK ISLE)-2077

 

“Move and I shoot her,” Zander McLeod growled menacingly, tightening his grip on the gun. Mina was expressionless, though her eyes darted restlessly around the room. Francie did the same, taking note of the handcuffs that kept Mina restrained to the hospital bed and the window behind McLeod.

 

Tina’s voice came into Francie’s headset. “Francie...I can see you right now. I’ve already told Es, Chrissy, and Philip to stay outside. The window behind McLeod is locked, but it should be breakable. There's an alarm rigged to it, so we'll have to move quickly if we want to utilize it. Someone could pick the lock, seeing as it isn't electrical. If you want Philip to come in through the window and Chrissy through the door, tap your foot once. If you need to make changes to the plan, tap your foot twice. If you want us to make a completely different plan of action, tap it three times.”

 

Francie listened impassively to Tina. She tapped her foot once. McLeod’s eyes bored into her, and his finger hovered threateningly over the trigger. “Lay your weapons on the ground in front of me, or I fire the gun,” he said, his voice icy.

 

Seeing no other choice, Francie complied. She removed her daggers fastened at her belt and her revolver, laying them gently in front of McLeod. He nodded grimly. “Go back to the door, facing me,” he ordered.

 

As she backed up, she bumped into General Thomas’s broad chest. Marissa had led him through the heart of the chaos, and he’d decided it would be best to keep an eye on Mina. Rapidly assessing, the situation, Thomas twisted Francie’s arms behind her back. He pressed a knife against her throat.

 

“I wouldn’t do anything stupid, if I were you,” he said in a frigid tone. Francie stiffened at his touch. He strong-armed her into a chair, handcuffing her hands behind her back so that Francie was restrained to it. Francie fished out a hairpin, started working slowly, silently.

 

“Now, if I hear a sound out of one of you two, I’m blowing her brains out,” McLeod said, gesturing slightly towards Mina. The silence in the room was oppressive, the tension in the air palpable.

 

General Thomas flicked his headset on. “We need backup,” he muttered. “We’ve got two pirates in here. Repeat, we’ve got two pirates in here.” He looked up, surveying Francie. She stared straight at him, her eyes shuttered and unreadable. He took a deep breath, and all the hell broke loose.

 

Two things happened simultaneously; Chrissy slowly edged into the hospital through the back door that Francie had left open, and burst into the room. She was notorious for her precise aim, and that’s what saved the pirates that night. She sprang into the scene like a tiger, and without giving anyone time to react, Chrissy hurled a dagger at the arm McLeod was holding the gun in. She hit her mark, and he cursed, dropping the gun, blood leaking from the wound. The knife had not gone in very deep, as was the nature of blades designed for throwing due to the way the weight was distributed, but the sharp sting was distraction enough for McLeod to loosen the fingers wrapped around his gun.

 

Philip and Es had picked the lock on the window, and a second after Chrissy threw the knife, Philip jumped in too, firing his gun in Thomas’s direction. He ducked just in time as the bullet whizzed through the air, just barely missing his forehead. Another alarm sounded, the rude beeping just backround noise in the already frenzied hospital. Francie leapt out of the chair, having successfully picked the lock on the handcuffs. She dived for her daggers and stood up, wielding them expertly . McLeod yelped in surprise and grappled for his gun.