Project XII

Chapter Four

The trio did as they were told. The man with the gun had the upper hand. The engineer motioned for them to move over to the center of the room and to sit on the chairs adjacent to the table. His gaze shifted from Johnny to Katie and finally to Shawn. He stared piercingly through them as he appraised them.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked coldly.

Neither of them answered him, causing him to raise his voice, "Who are you?!" he demanded. He leveled his gun and placed his finger on the trigger, aiming it at Katie. She gulped. "I-I-I'm Katie, and these are my friends Johnny and Shawn." She stammered.

"What are you doing here? And how did you manage to sneak in?" he questioned.

"We've answered one of your questions, now you need to answer one of ours. Who are you and what is this place?" Johnny asked.

The man laughed. "I don't need to do anything. I'm afraid you all have misunderstood me, this is not a game, and if you don't start doing what I tell you to do, well let's just say that you'll regret it."

There was a moment of silence. He commanded Katie to get up and to get some ropes from a box lying on the ground at the far end of the room.

"Be quick and don't try anything. Don't forget that your friends are still here." He said.

Katie walked over to the box, bent down and grabbed the coiled rope. She walked over to them. "Now tie them both tightly." He said. But Katie was reluctant to do so. The engineer walked over to Shawn and struck him on his head. "Ow!" Shawn grunted in pain. "He sure didn't hold back," Johnny thought, "which means that he takes pleasure in hurting people weaker than him. He was a sadist, and it would be better not to push him." The man was about to hit Shawn again when Katie cried out, "Stop, please! I'll tie them up!"

After she had tied them up, he motioned for Katie to sit on a chair a few feet away from Johnny and Shawn. Then the man walked over to Katie and began questioning her. 

"We have to do something. This might be our only chance of getting out of this mess." whispered Johnny. Shawn struggled to reach his pocket as his hands were tied behind his back to the chair. He just had to reach for that pocket-knife. He wriggled his hand from the rope, but every time he did, the rope scrapped his skin and sunk deeper into it. He fought through the pain, and eventually he overcame it. He fished out his pocket knife and set to work on the rope.

Moments later, it snapped. He glanced at the engineer. The engineer was too busy quizzing Katie to realize that Shawn had freed himself. Shawn handed Johnny the pocket-knife and crept up carefully behind the engineer. He was about to pay him back for striking him earlier when the engineer glanced in Johnny's direction. He noticed that Shawn had escaped and glanced around frantically. He removed his gun from the holster and got his guard up. Shawn was hiding behind a pile of chairs, waiting for the opportune moment. Seconds later, he rushed toward the engineer, about to land a flying tackle. But the engineer saw him from the corner of his eye and anticipated his move. He caught his leg and shoved him to the ground. Shawn stood up and got ready for another round. But the round was over before it had even begun. The engineer was aiming his gun at Katie.

"Well wasn't that a blast. Now if you're done playing hero, get your ass back on that chair and tie yourself up." He ordered.

"Alright, as soon as you lower that gun."

The engineer was furious. The rage showed in his eyes. He cocked his gun; the man would definitely not hesitate to fire. Shawn slowly retreated. He bumped into a table, causing a jug to spill water on some blue-coloured papers. "No! The blueprints! They're the result of five years of hard work!" he shrieked. His feeling of disbelief slowly turned to rage. "You little..." He charged toward Shawn. "No wait, it was an accident, honest!" he said, his face was a portrait of guilt. The engineer ignored his plea as he advanced toward him. He was about to grab Shawn in a chokehold, when he heard a noise and whirled around.