The Protectors Of Fortune And Power

Chapter Nine: Prisoner Interview

When I awoke the first thing I noticed was that I was tied up to a chair. I had been lied to so many times by the shapeshifter I was sick of it. I wanted to check out my surroundings and try to find a way out, but the sound of heels clicking caught my attention. A woman walked through the door a few seconds later.

She was wearing a tight business dress that stopped just above her knees. Her hair was in a tight bun on top of her head. And the woman's shoes reminded me of the ones I bought. I took in her frown, her posture and the way she walked. Her whole look gave off a 'I am in charge and don't you forget it' vibe.

"Good to see you awake Agent Gem. Or would you prefer Crystal? Or how about Lena? You sure go by many names. We both have that in common. I am going to take a wild guess and say that either Lena or Crystal is your real name. Xavier trained you well. No emotion what-so-ever from you. Good. I want a challenge."

While she was talking, I took a quick and subtle look around the room. I was in a windowless room with only one door in or out. There were two cameras pointed at me and an air vent too small to crawl through. One thing became clear to me, though.

The only way to figure out if she was the shapeshifter and get her to leave pretty quickly, was to answer her questions. Normally I would fight and keep my mouth shut, but I really needed answers. And If my plan works and I can bring the shapeshifter in, any information I give away will be safe.

"Clearly we both want information. Let's make a deal." I offered.

"What kind of deal?" she asked.

"Answer my questions and I will answer yours. Deal?" I asked.

The woman looked like she was contemplating the deal. "Fine. Deal. First question."

"Who are you really? Are you the real shapeshifter? If so are you in your real body and face?" I meant to ask only one question at a time, but I couldn't seem to stop myself.

"My name is Whitney Bank. Yes I am the real shapeshifter. Yes this is my real face and body. Anything else?"

"Why use your powers this way? Why not for good?"

"Because everyone saw me as a freak. Having powers on top of being shy and awkward made me such an easy target. It was time I got revenge. Anything else?" I shook my head. "My turn then. What is your true name?"

"Crystal Myers."

"Is Xavier coming for you?"

"No. I told him to stay away no matter what." This made me realize that my comm link bracelet was gone. I couldn't feel it on either of my wrists. I knew that Xavier would probably still try to find me despite telling him not too.

"Sadly I know Xavier. If he finds out his top spy has been kidnapped by the shapeshifter, he'll come running. And he will most likely track your bracelet. Which will only lead him into a trap!" Whitney laughed.

"What happened to Trixy?"

"I thought you didn't have any more questions."

"Tell me what happened."

"Nothing. You're looking at her."

Oh man. That means, "so you're saying that every time I went to hang out with Trixy it was you? I shared all my secrets with her! With you!? How dare you! Why did you trick me like that?" I felt so betrayed I wished I could just break free and hurt her.

"When I decided to make a comeback I heard rumors of a new spy. One so good no one can get by her. I found out who you were and decided to become your friend. Learn all I could about you."

"I shared so much stuff with you! And you shared too! Was it all a lie?"

"Of course it was all a lie. And I know you have no parents. No mom or dad. I knew you were in the orphanage and I lied about that too."

I felt myself breaking down. I normally could keep my emotions in check. But somehow the shapeshifter managed to tear me down. Despite needing more information I fell silent. I knew when I was defeated.

"You are pathetic. You had so much blind trust in me. I knew what you were going to do  from the moment you had me change your hair. I saved you because I want to finish you off. When you ran, you called ME to ask if you could hide in MY house. You gave yourself away. You are pathetic."

I stayed silent. Knowing that I basically gave myself up to the shapeshifter killed me inside. Of course I had no idea, but that is what stung the most.

The shapeshifter was within arms reach for so long. And I had no idea. Just like Whitney said, my reputation was that no one gets past me. And she did. Over and over and over again.

"Now I would love to stay and watch as you continue to break down, but I have a vase to steal. See you soon!" Whitney opened the door and relocked it behind her. The sound of her clicking heels soon faded away into silence.

I sat there for what felt like a long time after she left. Tears I didn't realize had formed rolled down my cheeks. Alright Crystal. Pull it together. You can still take Whitney down. She thinks she's won because she got under my skin. But that will only benefit me more. Because she won't suspect anything.

I continued talking to myself in my head as I worked on the ropes binding me to the chair. It took me a few tries because my hands were shaking. The lock was another matter. I was looking at a keyhole which meant that I could pick the lock and get out of this room. Normally I would pull out a hair pin or two and get right to work, but I didn’t have one. I did however have a couple of pins that I always keep in my shoe. It sounds weird, I know, but they come in handy more times than I can count.

The pins are pinned to my shoe so they stay in place and don’t accidentally poke me. I took off one of my shoes and pulled out two pins and began working the lock. It took forever, but I finally heard a click and opened up the door. I relocked it behind me so it appeared that I was still in there. Before I could do anything I needed to scope out my surroundings.

This whole building that was only floor had no windows anywhere. There were a lot of hallways and doors leading to nowhere. Whitney really kept up with this place because it was spotless. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere and the whole place was in really good condition. Speaking of spotless, there didn’t seem to be anything I could use to blind her. And I don’t think turning off the lights is going to do it.

“This should be good.” I said to myself. I had just found a locked door. All the doors I’ve come across were unlocked. I noticed that this door had a keyhole facing me where the room I was in had the keyhole facing inside the room. I picked it and went inside. There was a desk and a chair, but nothing else.

“This must be Whitney’s desk. I wonder if she has anything useful.” I opened up the drawers and found a lot of papers, pens, pencils, erasers, a pair of scissors, and lots of other things. I decided to use some of my shirt as the blindfold and grabbed the scissors. After cutting off some of the bottom and cutting it to make it a line I began to explore again.

Whitney must have told the truth about going to steal the vase because I had yet to run into her. Which was good for me since I needed to set up a trap of my own. I decided that I had better find out where I was so that I would know where to go if my plan succeeds. Since I was unable to find my comm link I had to find the door leading out of the building.

Finding the door took forever, but finding out where I was didn’t take more than a few seconds. I was only a few blocks from headquarters. The building looked so worn down on the outside and there were fake boarded up windows. No wonder no one looked twice or had any reason to suspect anything was going behind its doors.

“I guess I should add this to my list of things that the shapeshifter kept from me.” I headed back inside and was finished with setting up my trap long before Whitney got back.