shoulders and the two of them moved toward the glass
doors at the top of the stone balcony. She was impressed at the way he used
stumbling footsteps to lengthen their stride and pull them toward the door
faster. It was useful. He keeps his head in an emergency, Hope thought,
and felt proud before she could stop it.
“What
now?” Rick said in her ear as he fumbled with the door. That was legitimate; it
looked like it had been a long time since anybody had used the door and though
it wasn’t locked, it was practically sealed shut with rust and disuse.
Hope
turned her head and rested it against his shoulder for a second so that she
could get a better look behind them. Her heart thudded staccato in her chest
and her nerves started to buzz, a slow, familiar, almost pleasant build.
She
shifted her head again to whisper but kept her eyes on the figure in black
creeping closer to the stone stairs. Idiots. It didn’t matter if ninjas and
secret agents wore black; if it didn’t blend in, you shouldn’t use it.
“Now
you hurry the hell up if you want to keep your hide intact,” she hissed into
Rick’s ear.
She
caught a fleeting glimpse of a grin at the edges of Rick’s lips. He gave the
doorknob a final wrench and the door swung open.
“In,
in,” Hope said, caring less about subtlety the more time passed by. The guy in
black was creeping closer and closer. His foot touched the first stair and Hope
shoved Rick through the door.
“Whoa!”
Rick didn’t seem to object so much as debate being sick, but they didn’t have
time for either. Hope grabbed him by the arm and made her way unerringly
through the unlit room.
“How do
you know where you’re going?” Rick managed to get out as they made it into the
hallway. Hope shut the door behind them. Anything to give them an extra second.
“I do
recon. Always. Now,” Hope turned to him, assessing quickly how much he was
capable of (not much), “You need to hide. The lab, under your room. Panic room
is too far. C’mon, I’ll take you there.”
She
towed a stumbling Rick along behind her at double speed while Rick yanked
half-heartedly at her grip.
“Wait,
wait,” he said, “this is bad, look, no, you need to come with me, you’re coming
with me, right? Because I can’t just leave you to - you know, I can’t just
leave you out here. You have to come with me.”
Hope
couldn’t lie - the thought was tempting. She could hunker down with Rick in his
hidden lab and fulfill every obligation she was bound to. Rick would be
protected, and both of them would be as safe as possible. They could sit next
to each other, talking and forgetting the last time they’d been in the lab.
She’d call the cops and wait.
She
sighed and swiftly unlocked Rick’s door; shoved him inside.
“I
can’t,” she said, fear and regret mingling. The fear she was used to; it
happened in her line of work - the regret, not so much. “Your guests are still
here. I have to find the threat before he does anything stupid, like take a
hostage. Or shoot someone.”
She
tried to shut the door. Rick shoved his shoulder in as a wedge and refused to
budge, though he winced when she pushed at it.
“No,”
he said emphatically. “They’ll be fine. The people who are after me only want
me. If they can’t find me none of this will matter, come on, I need - I want
you to be safe too. Please, come with me.”
Fingers
circled her wrist and Hope glanced down. The warm pressure on her skin
threatened to light off sparks inside her but this really wasn’t the time.
“Rick,”
she said, struggling to remain calm and not just bash him over the head and
drag him bodily into his secret tunnel, “you said these people are after you,
right? You and your invention.”
A
guilty look crossed his face and Hope knew she had him.
“I
don’t really understand what you’ve got down there, but I know it’s important.
It’s something you can’t let anyone else have, right? It could turn into a
weapon,
doors at the top of the stone balcony. She was impressed at the way he used
stumbling footsteps to lengthen their stride and pull them toward the door
faster. It was useful. He keeps his head in an emergency, Hope thought,
and felt proud before she could stop it.
“What
now?” Rick said in her ear as he fumbled with the door. That was legitimate; it
looked like it had been a long time since anybody had used the door and though
it wasn’t locked, it was practically sealed shut with rust and disuse.
Hope
turned her head and rested it against his shoulder for a second so that she
could get a better look behind them. Her heart thudded staccato in her chest
and her nerves started to buzz, a slow, familiar, almost pleasant build.
She
shifted her head again to whisper but kept her eyes on the figure in black
creeping closer to the stone stairs. Idiots. It didn’t matter if ninjas and
secret agents wore black; if it didn’t blend in, you shouldn’t use it.
“Now
you hurry the hell up if you want to keep your hide intact,” she hissed into
Rick’s ear.
She
caught a fleeting glimpse of a grin at the edges of Rick’s lips. He gave the
doorknob a final wrench and the door swung open.
“In,
in,” Hope said, caring less about subtlety the more time passed by. The guy in
black was creeping closer and closer. His foot touched the first stair and Hope
shoved Rick through the door.
“Whoa!”
Rick didn’t seem to object so much as debate being sick, but they didn’t have
time for either. Hope grabbed him by the arm and made her way unerringly
through the unlit room.
“How do
you know where you’re going?” Rick managed to get out as they made it into the
hallway. Hope shut the door behind them. Anything to give them an extra second.
“I do
recon. Always. Now,” Hope turned to him, assessing quickly how much he was
capable of (not much), “You need to hide. The lab, under your room. Panic room
is too far. C’mon, I’ll take you there.”
She
towed a stumbling Rick along behind her at double speed while Rick yanked
half-heartedly at her grip.
“Wait,
wait,” he said, “this is bad, look, no, you need to come with me, you’re coming
with me, right? Because I can’t just leave you to - you know, I can’t just
leave you out here. You have to come with me.”
Hope
couldn’t lie - the thought was tempting. She could hunker down with Rick in his
hidden lab and fulfill every obligation she was bound to. Rick would be
protected, and both of them would be as safe as possible. They could sit next
to each other, talking and forgetting the last time they’d been in the lab.
She’d call the cops and wait.
She
sighed and swiftly unlocked Rick’s door; shoved him inside.
“I
can’t,” she said, fear and regret mingling. The fear she was used to; it
happened in her line of work - the regret, not so much. “Your guests are still
here. I have to find the threat before he does anything stupid, like take a
hostage. Or shoot someone.”
She
tried to shut the door. Rick shoved his shoulder in as a wedge and refused to
budge, though he winced when she pushed at it.
“No,”
he said emphatically. “They’ll be fine. The people who are after me only want
me. If they can’t find me none of this will matter, come on, I need - I want
you to be safe too. Please, come with me.”
Fingers
circled her wrist and Hope glanced down. The warm pressure on her skin
threatened to light off sparks inside her but this really wasn’t the time.
“Rick,”
she said, struggling to remain calm and not just bash him over the head and
drag him bodily into his secret tunnel, “you said these people are after you,
right? You and your invention.”
A
guilty look crossed his face and Hope knew she had him.
“I
don’t really understand what you’ve got down there, but I know it’s important.
It’s something you can’t let anyone else have, right? It could turn into a
weapon,
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