previous chapter: Abetment [4]: 1.4: 2083, May 8th, Saturday. 20:55
1344 words
Vicky sits in the back of the unmarked van in silence, separated from the two federal agents by a metal grid. They stare at the road in silence. Not even music is playing.
After twenty minutes, the van stops. The agents exit the car and open the back of the van.
“Wait, are we there yet?” Vicky asks. “No way we reached the Western States by now.”
“Please get out of the van, Ma’am.” The agent says.
Vicky complies and notices she is standing in front of a giant mansion. It looks old, victorian style maybe, but very well maintained. Lights shine from behind some of the windows, contrasting against the pitch-black sky. The mansion is surrounded by a thick forest.
“Where are we?” Vicky asks.
“Upstate New York.”
“I thought we were going to Oregon? What the hell is going on.”
The man shrugs. “I was paid a lot of money to dress up as a federal agent, hand the superintendent a fake extradition order, and drive you here. Now can we please go inside, so I can finish the job and get paid?”
Vicky shakes her head and stamps on the ground. “No, I am not going anywhere, until you explain why the hell I am here and what is going on.”
The man grabs her torso right below her shoulders and lifts Vicky in the air. He looks at his colleague. “I have no time for bullshit. Do you grab the legs? Then we’ll just carry her inside.”
Vicky struggles and kicks while the other man grabs her legs, and despite her protests, they carry her inside. The door of the mansion opens automatically, and Vicky is met with a beautiful hall. The floor is made of marble, and a giant spiral staircase circles around in the centre, leading to many galleries. Vicky wonders how tall the mansion is, it didn’t look that big from the outside.
The men drop her on the floor like she is a sack of potatoes, and Vicky wants to scream the moment her cracked ribs hit a hard floor for the second time today. She doesn’t even try to get up, she just lies on the floor, screaming in pain, wishing all of this is only a bad dream, and she will wake up in the safety of her bed soon.
But she knows this isn’t a dream. The still ever-present smell of the toxic sludge on her dress, the constant itch and burning sensation against her skin, the piercing pain in her foot, and the throbbing pain in her ribs and head, all prove to her that this was very much real. She just was kidnapped and brought to a stranger’s house. If her brother realised she was gone, he would either go to the police directly, or investigate himself, and find out she was arrested. Then he would be told she was extradited to the U.C.W.S. No way he would be looking for her here, in upstate New York. An hour ago, she didn’t think she could have been in even more trouble than she was back then. Yet here she is. She is probably gonna die here. Lucas will never find out what happened to her.
She looks up and sees the men talking to a robot. It looks like a large iron frame mounted on caterpillar tracks. It has comically large metal arms. Where its head should be, there is a large screen displaying a smiley face. The giant head makes it looks kinda cute. It is absolutely crammed with electronics, wires, and blinking lights, giving it a homemade look.
“Thank you for delivering the package.” the robot says to the men. It hands the man a cred stick. The man looks at it, and Vicky assumes he is satisfied with the amount, as he nods and walks out, leaving Vicky alone with the Robot.
The Robot drives over to Vicky while she scrambles on her feet. It speaks to her in a robotic voice. “Thorn is busy at the moment but will have time for you soon. But while you wait, please feel free to freshen up. You look like you can use a shower.”
“Wait, Thorn? The crime lord?”
The Robot repeats. “Thorn is busy at the moment but will have time for you soon. But while you wait, please feel free to freshen up. You look like you can use a shower.”
Vicky shakes her head. “You are not sentient, are you? You are just reacting to words I say.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.” the Robot answers.
Vicky sighs. She doesn’t feel safe enough to take a shower in a crimelord’s home, but then again. The dried sludge is sticking to her skin, and she really needs to clean it off. And she needs to change the makeshift bandage.
“Fine,” Vicky says. “I will love to take a shower.”
The Robot smiles. “Please follow me.”
It leads Vicky to a bathroom on the ground floor. It is decorated in beautiful tiles, with intricate patterns, and the tabs look like they are made from solid gold. She locks the bathroom door and looks around. The walk-in shower is huge, and even tho Vicky still does not feel at ease, the prospect of running water strongly appeals to her. Next to the shower is a similarly large bathtub, painted with intricate patterns. She removes her dress and looks at her battered body. The black sludge stained her strapless bra and panties too, and she can see her skin has blistered where it made contact with the stained inside of the dress.
She goes to sit on the edge of the bathtub and removes the makeshift bandage from her foot. She has to pull quite strongly to separate the scarf from her skin. She yelps as it comes off.
Her foot is completely covered with blisters, most of which have busted open, and yellow pus runs out. Even tho the cut on her foot is only an hour old, it is already festering with green and yellow ooze. It smells horrible, like decaying meat.
Vicky decides that standing on her foot is a nogo, so she might be better off washing herself in the tub. She rubs her foot as clean as she can using water and soap. The soap burns on her wounds, but she doesn’t care. After doing as best she can, she starts to wash the rest of her body, stabbing all the sludge of her body. She notices the itchy patches on her body have similar blisters, and they don’t react well to the soap.
After scrubbing herself clean, someone knocks on the door. A familiar voice sounds. “Vicky, I brought you clean clothes and a first aid kit.”
“Lucas is that you?” Vicky yells.
“Yes, it is me, sis. Please open the door.”
Vicky wraps her torso in a towel and opens the door. Lucas walks in, immediately drops a bundle of clothes and a white case on the sink, and hugs Vicky.
“Please, Lucas, I am bruised in so maybe places, you are squishing me.”
Lucas takes a step back and looks at Vicky from top to bottom. “I am just so glad you are ok.”
Vicky sighs, holding back tears. “What is going on Lucas.”
Lucas shrugs. “I was hoping you could tell me. I got a call from a fixer who called herself Sage, who told me you were arrested under false pretences. She told me they got you out, and asked me to meet them here and bring spare clothes. So I did.”
“So you have no idea if we are safe or not. And you didn’t ask questions?”
Lucas sighs. “I saw the news.”
“The news.”
Lucas shakes his head. “‘Girl climbs into an apartment window and shoots woman in front of her six-year-old daughter.’ Does that ring a bell? It also has a video.”
Dammit.
Lucas grimaces. “So, maybe you should tell me what the hell is going on.”
next chapter: Abetment [6]: 1.6: 2083, May 8th, Saturday. 21:35
all chapters: Abetment