Dancing With The Devil (part two)

Chapter 28: Changing The World

Seb and Astrid whipped their heads around to find the French woman stood bravely in front of them. Astrid approached her.  The woman was holding a small revolver up at her stepdaughters face, who had returned the favour by holding her gun up in her step-mothers face.

"Don't" the french women said, "don't move."

Astrid sighed, "are you gonna use that?"

The woman's hand shook, "I don't want to, but I will. What are you doing here?"

"Getting back what's mine," Astrid studied her gun with her left hand, "and I will use this if you don't keep quiet and let us go past without a fuss."

There was a small pause before Amelie pressed her lips together and dropped her gun hand to her side

"Go"

Seb and Astrid nodded and continued down the stairs. They made it to the bottom floor where they came across the congregation of people at the front door. Astrid could see the back of her fathers head as well as the back of the shorter skinny butlers head. They were talking to Jim who was shaking his head and Faith was looking at Jim with wide eyes. As quickly as possible the two spies made there way across the front entrance and to the kitchen on the other side of the entrance hall.

She slipped into the kitchen, Seb close behind and listened into her earpiece.

"Come in, we don't have to talk about this on the door step."

"Look, I came to apologise, we don't need to get comfortable."

"Hang on, your the one that died ages ago."

"Plainly not," he looked at Hansel, "who are these people?"

"They're lost."

The conversation didn't make a lot of sense, but Astrid listened in non the less. After a while the line went dead and Astrid frowned. She walked into the centre of the kitchen to where she had spoken with her father many years ago.

"The lines gone dead, I'm gonna find the poison, stay on guard."

Seb nodded as Astrid made her way to the corner of the room. She took out the pick pocket tool and fiddled about with it in the door that lead to God knows what. After a little while it clicked open and Astrid opened the door. She didn't exactly know what she expected, but what she saw was definitely surprising.

It was a staircase that lead down into the ground. She curiously made her way down the spiralling stairs and came across a second door at the bottom. She opened the door and was met with a horrendous site.  Instead of a memory stick or a safe, there was a giant wear-house looking room that went on for what seemed like ages. There were endless rows of containers, all smoking out the top. It became all too clear and Astrid couldn't help but criticise herself for not realising it sooner.

Over the years of Astrid being cut off from the world, her father had been mass producing his product. Each container was filled to the brim with the bubbly acid. So acidic, that steam was rising out of the cauldrons. She walked forward, completely disregarding her need to defend herself or hide and approached the first bag that she came up to. She looked into the container and instantly backed off, not wanting to be anywhere near the poison.

"I'm impressed you know," came a voice from behind her, "you did a wonderful job at getting into my house, the destraction was a nice idea."

Astrid turned to face the voice and shook her head slowly when she came face to face with her father.

"What have you done?"

"I've changed the world."

"No, that's not it." Astrid said heavily, "h-how did you know?"

"Well, I was sure you were gonna come up with something, so I made sure I had a man on the inside."

"Not Jim?"

"Of course not Jim, he's too in love with you to do anything like that for me." He sneered, "no help there."

"So who?"

"Why don't you come back up and find out," he smiled and opened the door, "also I think your friends will be looking for you."

"What?" Astrid ran past her father and back up the winding staircase and out the kitchen door. She ran into the front room to find Seb, Faith and Jim kneeling on the floor with guns pointed at them. She looked around the room for Dom, who, to her surprise, was pointing the gun that Seb previously had at Jim's head.

"Astrid, your boyfriends gone crazy." Jim said before being told to shut up by said boyfriend.

"Dom, what are you doing?"

"I'm holding a gun to your lovers' head." He deadpanned and Astrid shook her head

"You've been working for him the whole time?"

"Urm... yeah."

"Why?"

"Because he payed me."

"To sell me out?"

"No, to spy on you."

"Spy on me?"

"Get a taste of your own medicine, technically," he shrugged, "it's exactly like what you did with the detective couple at Baker Street, except, you didn't get into bed with them... well maybe you did. Not that it matters now."

"What the fuck, Dominic?" Astrid continued to shake her head in disbelief. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and flinched.

She looked up at her father next to her and he tilted his head, "this time, people are actually going to get hurt."

"Don't hurt them," Astrid begged, "please."

"Or what?"

"I'll stay with you," she said quickly, "that's what you want, right?"

"What can you give me?"

"I have the antidote." She said and Lucas frowned, "the one my mother created. It's back in oxford."

"How does that help me?"

"You can destroy it."

Handled twitched his head to the left, "you know what, I think I'll keep it, but I will take you up on that offer." Astrid

"You will?"

"Go fetch your antidote with Dominic, and when you come back, I'll let your friends go."

Astrid frowned, "I don't believe you."

"I won't hurt them." He said, "I'll give you thee hours to get it. If your not back by then, one of these three gets a bullet in there head."

"Don't, please don't."

"Three hours and counting."

Astrid nodded and looked at her three friends on the floor. They all looked back at her sympathetically.

"Go, Astrid." Faith nodded

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this, Faith." She looked at Seb and Jim, "as for you two, you were already in pretty deep."

They chuckled lightly and watched her run out the door with Dominic following her, still holding Seb's gun at his side.

Jim fell backwards and shook his head.

"I knew there was something weird about that guy."

(A/N Happy New Year everyone!)