He held up a hand. “I’m not—”
“Please, no.”
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
She used her arms to push herself into a sitting position. “Leave me alone.”
“I’m not one of them,” he whispered.
She wasn’t convinced. “Get out.”
He was trying to help her, but she wasn’t making it easy. If she continued to speak loudly, someone would eventually hear her. That left him with only one choice. Moving quickly, he clamped a hand over her mouth. She tried to squirm free, but her drug-weakened limbs made it difficult for her to fight back.
He leaned closer and whispered, “They were holding me too.”
She stopped moving. His words seemed to calm her. She studied him closely, as if trying to determine whether he was telling the truth. He held her gaze and waited patiently.
A few seconds later, her eyes softened slightly.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “I promise.”
She stared for a moment longer then nodded.
Patrick pulled his hand away slowly, ready to clamp it down again if she shouted. She remained silent, so he lifted his hands in the air. “See, I’m not here to hurt you.”
Her pretty eyes blinked as she tried to shake off the effects of the sedative. She glanced toward the door then shifted her gaze back to him. “Who are you?” Her voice was raspy, probably the result of a dry throat.
“I’m Patrick. What’s your name?”
She coughed twice then said in a clearer voice, “I’m Danielle.”
“Nice to meet you, Danielle. How do you feel?”
“Groggy.” Her brows pinched together in confusion. “So you’re being held too?”
He nodded.
She gestured toward his unrestrained arms. “Then how did you…?”
“Someone came into my room a few minutes ago to give me another shot.” He paused for a moment, unsure how much he should tell her. “I overpowered him and took his keys.”
Her eyes widened slightly upon hearing what he’d done. Patrick was going to explain further when he heard footsteps down the hall.
“We need to go,” he said.
Her eyes moistened slightly. “I… I can’t.”
He put a hand gently on her arm. “Yes, you can.”
“You don’t understand.” She wiped her eyes. “One of the men told me they’d kill me if I ever tried to escape.”
“Look, I don’t know what they’ve done to you or what they’re going to do to me.” He touched the cuff that encircled her wrist. “But I think we both know if we stay, this isn’t going to end well.”
Despite the truth of his words, she hesitated. Truth be told, he couldn’t blame her. There weren’t any perfect choices. If she left with him, they might both be killed trying to escape. If she stayed, she might experience something worse than death.
“Look, I’m not going to force you to come with me,” he said. “You can stay if you’d like, but I have to go. All I ask is that you don’t call out or let them know. I’ll notify the police as soon as possible.”
Danielle held his gaze but said nothing.
He gave her a quick smile then turned to leave.
A hand grabbed his arm. “No.”
He stopped and looked back.
“I want to come with you.” She nodded at her cuffed wrist. “But I’m going to need some help. Can you get me out of these?”
“Yes, I think so.”
Patrick found the key he’d used before and inserted it in the lock. Thankfully, the mechanism clicked, and the cuff popped open. Seconds later, Danielle was free and sitting on the edge of the gurney. She opened and closed her fist, getting her circulation moving again.
One hundred twelve. Sixty-seven. Mazarine. The words flashed in Patrick’s mind again. What do they mean? Was it information that would help them escape? He’d have to worry about it later.
He took her hands and helped her off the gurney. She wobbled slightly as she gained her balance.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “I’ll be fine. It always takes me a minute or two to get going.”
Patrick saw she was wearing a robe and probably little else underneath. He hadn’t even thought about clothing. Her scant attire might pose a problem if it was cold outside. If it was, he could always give her his shirt and the lab coat.
After making sure she could walk, he led her over to the door. He stuck his head out and checked in both directions. He could still hear voices down the hall, but there was no one in sight.
“Let’s go,” he whispered.
He led her quietly down the hall. After arriving at the door, he pushed the bar handle, half expecting an alarm to go off. The only noise was the click of the mechanism as the door swung inward.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Danielle asked.
“Other than down? No, I don’t.”
The stairwell was dark, lit only by a sliver of light coming from underneath the doors on each floor. After easing the door back into place, he signaled Danielle to follow him down. When they arrived on the next landing, the sound of footsteps carried up from below.
Someone was coming.
He pulled her back against the wall. Should they run back up or stay where they were? Just as he was about to go back up the stairs, he heard a loud click, followed by a brief splash of light. He exhaled in relief. Whoever it was had gotten off on the floor below.
As they continued down the steps, Patrick found himself counting the number of floors they passed. The task came naturally, as though he was used to monitoring his surroundings. Now that he thought about it, even unlocking the cuffs had been instinctual. Did all of it have something to do with his past?
They reached the bottom a minute later. He’d hoped to find a door leading directly to the outside, but instead the only door led back into the building. That meant they’d have to go inside and look for another way out.
Remembering Danielle’s programming, he asked, “Have you been down here before?”
“They’ve taken me to several different rooms in the building, but I had no idea where I was. Some of the rooms had windows, and others didn’t.”
At this point, they’d have to hope an exit was close by. Patrick pushed the door open carefully and peeked out. They were at the corner of the building, with a corridor directly ahead and another leading off to the right. A man and woman in lab coats sauntered down the one directly ahead, sipping from Styrofoam cups as they talked. Patrick pulled back slightly so as not to be seen. The two eventually turned down a side hall, disappearing from view.
Once the voices faded, he eased out again and looked to the right. On the far end of the hall, a sign glowed above a door. He couldn’t read it from where he was standing, but he guessed it marked an exit.
He pulled back in. “I think I found a way out, but we’re going to be exposed for a minute or so and need to move quickly.”
She nodded that she understood.
He looked down the hall again. As best he could tell, it was empty.
They stepped out and walked briskly toward the exit. Patrick thought about what he’d do if someone came around the corner. If that happened, there was really only one thing he could do. He would grab Danielle’s arm as though escorting her to another part of the building. He’d have to hope that not all employees knew one another.
They had traversed about half the distance to the exit when a loud chirp came out of a room just ahead. Patrick recognized the sound immediately. A radio.
They both froze in place and listened.
Whoever was holding the radio spoke into it with an authoritative voice of someone in charge. “This is A Four. Go ahead.”
“We have a problem,” someone said through the radio’s speaker.
“What is it?” the leader asked.