Chapter 28: Exit

Grace gave her mum a big squeeze, before freeing herself so she could focus. “Mia is coming,” she told her, “and Paul and Claude, to get us out. We need to be ready, with a plan. An escape plan. She mustn’t come and find us not ready.”

“How do you know she’s coming? ... Oh! Grace! You didn’t seriously get yourself captured on purpose? And go through that...”

“It was the only way. And I had three trackers, I kept one secret, so Mia won’t go to the others wherever they are, she’ll come here.”

“Be ready,” mumbled Mo, not quite being able to hide his shakiness.

“We should always have shoes on,” Grace sat him down on the bed. There were blood stains on his shirt ... but at least they were dry. What had they been doing to him? She took his hand; it was a bit limp.

“There is ... place?” said Rose.

“A destination,” her mum clarified. “She means ‘where are we escaping to?’ Who are these people anyway?”

“We think they’re the CIA,” Grace told her, “or a faction, kind of thing, but I suppose we don’t really know, exactly. I don’t know where we’re going; Claude and the others will’ve found somewhere, hopefully.”

“They tracked us down in Luxembourg ... they were very professional, they obviously have connections to the electronic snooping section of the CIA, to have tracked Cyan’s emails.”

“Yes, and they want to know about everlasting life don’t they, so...”

“Yes they’re connected to people who can use the information, as well...” her mum understood, as usual. “But I suppose they don’t all have to know the big picture.”

“What have we told them, so far?” Grace had to ask.

“I’m sorry,” Rose’s violet-pink eyes were watering just like a human’s, “it is ... all. Everything.”

“The principles,” her mum qualified the confession. “Just what can be conveyed verbally of course. But a lot of information. But only in their own language. The waterboarding was too much, when they did it on Emerald to interrogate the others, and Cyan.”

“Oh I understand! But so,” Grace recalled her thinking from before, “did they record it? Did they make them speak Striteracian?”

“They’ve recorded it, on a recorder, that looks like a phone. Though they can’t get into Claude’s laptop to do any translating. He has a strong password and without it the recordings are no use. He was working on the language of genetics and it’s difficult - in fact impossible without the program: the girls don’t have anything like enough English, and some words don’t even exist and have to be described in phrases.”

“Okay well we can be together at least, during the nights,” Grace tried to find something positive out of this disaster. “We can work out what to tell them. What more I mean.” Or ... perhaps they could stop it being a complete disaster? “But where is the laptop, do you have any idea?”

“I think it’s in the main hut, in the office. They showed it to me. They hoped I would have the password. They can’t give it to their hacking experts because of what might be in it, so now they’re waiting.”

“Waiting to capture Claude.”

“Yes.”

“And they’ll torture you, to make him tell, cos he loves you.”

“I’m sorry,” her mum came and stood in front of her, taking her hands. “I should have told you, I just didn’t know how. It came out of nowhere, and your dad leaving was bad for you. More than you realised I think. And ... I felt guilty ... for throwing him out, when he was your father...”

Grace stood up. “It’s okay Mum,” she hugged her, “I’m over it, honestly, and I like Claude he can be my new dad, it’s not a problem. And it wasn’t just one girl was it. The only thing is we have to get the laptop. Focus.”

“God, haha, ‘focus’” her mum laughed, “Gracie. What are you growing into?”

Grace didn’t reply. Her head was picking up something! Like, inside? Anxieties? Anxious vibes. Oh. She looked at Emerald, then Rose and Cyan. They were all looking at her. Oh god. She was feeling them! Perhaps they were kind of focusing their three waves on her? How amazing. Alright ... she looked at Mo, who by now was lying down on his side. She made deliberate thoughts: caring, sympathetic thoughts about him. Sitting next to him and stroking his head gently.

Nothing happened.

Ah. She conjured up an image: of Emerald sitting next to him. She tried to block everything else out. Mo, hurt, and Emerald sitting next to him, empathising...

Emerald moved! She was smiling at Grace, going over to Mo! “You ... did ... it,” she said.

“What...?” her mum started, but Grace was focused.

“Okay,” she said, “Emerald can stay and look after Mo? The rest of us have to go and look for the laptop.” Christ was she channelling Mia now, even? If only Mia were here!

She thought an image of the Acer laptop and the big hut, while looking at Rose and Cyan. Though they’d probably understood the words anyway. They smiled in any case, and made to move towards the door. Oh, was that a sensation of pleasure in her head? But this wasn’t the time.

“Yes,” her mum agreed. “There can’t be many places they can hide it. As long as we can get in.”

“Let’s go.”

They crept out, past the empty cottages and along to the big hut at the end of the path. It was all dark and quiet, but there was just enough moonlight to see where they were going, as their eyes adjusted. The brown wooden hut loomed up.

There was an ordinary door and it was locked.

“Let’s look round,” said her mum.

They did a slow circuit round the building, through the weeds. It was all rather neglected. There was a back door, but it was locked too. The windows were all closed, and had little wires in.

“We need a lever to force that back door,” said her mum. “It’s good and hidden at least, so we’ve got time even if they patrol past. If we can find something.”

“A bit of bar or post or something...” Grace started looking on the ground and the others spread out to search too.

“Wait!” gasped Cyan, from the corner. A jolt of alarm rang in Grace’s head.

There was light approaching the gates! And the noise of an engine. They hid behind the building, while light shone dreadfully down either side, and the clank of chain on gates came to their ears.

Shit! Grace knew they couldn’t possibly get back to the cottages without being spotted. But perhaps it was just a routine patrol? She could only hope! The engine stopped, and there was just the noise of clangy car doors, and voices.

“Come out!” It was Xenia! “We know you’re there, you fucking nuisances, come out the fuck now!”

They crept guiltily out and round to the front. Boris was there as well, along with two of the burly guards.

“You really thought we wouldn’t have motion sensors,” Xenia spat. “So here we are in the middle of the goddamn night!” She strode up to Grace and slapped her, hard. Very hard.

Grace’s senses dimmed with the pain as the impact flung her head over. Her body flew sideways, her legs gave way and she crumpled to the ground.

“Grace!” Zara ran to get between her and the big blonde. But Boris grabbed her by her hair and pulled her away. He gripped her by the shoulders and shook her violently, so her head flew to and fro.

“Shut up bitch. We don’t appreciate having to come out in the middle of the fucking night!” He threw her down, next to Grace.

“And as for you...” Xenia raised her hand threateningly towards the Striteracians, who cowered away.

“Honey,” Grace heard through the haze - a menacing voice, from the dark by the cottages! Menacing, yet melodious. “You have two seconds to be on your knees. And him, and the rest of you.”

Grace started crying, quietly, with both pain and relief. She’d come. Mia and Paul were emerging from the shadows, all black, with weird masks on and camouflaged chins, and guns. How was she here so soon? But that shape could only be Mia, and the voice. They were pointing the guns at Xenia and Boris!

BANG!

“AAAaaarrgghh!” Xenia shrieked and fell down.

Mia was aiming her rifle at Boris now. There was a red dot on his leg, like in the movies. He hastily knelt down, and so did the soldiers, who weren’t carrying guns, with being big. Paul was covering them with a pistol. Mia took her goggles off too and was human again. Almost.

Grace sat up to watch Mia stride over to Xenia, who was writhing on the ground clutching her right thigh. Mia hit her full in the face with the butt of the gun. Xenia cried out again but couldn’t do anything, except try to shield her face with one of her hands. Mia went to Boris, who covered his head with his arms.

“Take your arms down, you pathetic bully,” Mia hissed, “or get shot, I don’t care.” She was in a stance to hit him in the face with the rifle. Grace could only stand up and watch; horrified, thrilled and fascinated all at once: Boris was not quite believing the girl was going to, even after everything; and even when it seemed pretty obvious Mia was in a massive rage and actually wanted to shoot him. He dropped one arm, leaning away on it, but not the other.