Chapter 15


Despite the fact that her limbs still felt as if they had suddenly morphed into concrete, Barbara’s head was clearing at an even faster pace. She figured it had to be adrenalin. If her entire body were currently awake she was sure she would be feeling all over right now. Just the act of watching this angel of death was more than enough to trigger that kind of reaction.
She could not see his face. The huge cloak he had on was much too encompassing. She did managed to get a quick look at his hands when he pulled her up on the wooden platform. After that, about all Barbara could do was rock her head from side to side, just a little bit. She could not see what this dark figure was doing to her. She could not even feel it at the moment.

Barbara began to realize, that with her mind suddenly coming into sharp crystal clarity, she could try to use the one weapon she had left. She began to talk, “Roger, what are you doing? Honest to god Roger, if this about that thing at the hotel room, I’m sorry.”

The cloaked figured actually stopped what he was doing for a second. He looked down at her but, said nothing. Finally he went right back to whatever it was that he had been doing all along. After that, Barbara gave up on reason, “you sorry…!” The list was a lengthy one after that. Barbara could swear that she actually heard the guy giggling when she finished. Did he really think all of this was funny or was he just laughing at what she said.

Barbara rolled her head over without even realizing that she could. She wanted a better look at this cloaked psycho so she could figure it all out. That’s when she saw the thick metal bar. Her eyes followed it to where her right hand was clamped down under it. Barbara huffed out, “oh shit.”

Suddenly the man in the cloak spoke, “I can’t take this anymore.”

When he pulled the cloak back to reveal his head, Barbara already knew it, “you’re not Roger?”

This guy had a whiny, nasal like voice, and his face was pretty pathetic too. If he was not walking around a dungeon in a holocaust cloak he might actually just be any other, nameless, faceless, middle aged paper pusher. The guy leaned over the platform and pointed at Barbara, “why of course I’m not. You, however, are pretty damn funny. So tell me, what happened at that hotel to make Roger this pissed at you. Sounds good.”

The feeling was starting to return to the rest of Barbara’s body now. It was enough that she could start squirming and testing out her range of motion. She was pretty shocked to find out that she did not have much more than before her nervous system started working again. It was both of her arms and legs that were clamped down.

With more than a little anger, Barbara snapped at the guy, “sorry mister, but I don’t generally tell people that kind of stuff.” She added as afterthought, “at least I don’t when I tied up.”

That sent the man to howling in laughter again. “Yeah, well, sorry about all of this lady. It’s just business.”

Barbara took a deep breath and then asked, “um, exactly, what kind of business?”

“Well,” he said, “for you, the not so good kind. Like I said,” he pointed upwards and said, “sorry about that.”

Barbara did not know why she had not noticed any of it before. Her head had been laying there, practically paralyzed, and she could do nothing but look up for several minutes. She had noticed that the ceiling was high and, in fact she was not even sure she could really even see it. Now that she was thinking a little more clearly, the word she would pick to describe what was above her would be a shaft. It stretched upwards and upwards and the end of it got lost in the shadows.

Even now, Barbara did not really notice the movement. It was only after she heard the loud metallic clanging of a deeply pitched bell that she realized where she was. She was directly under that clock tower. Then she realized what the movement was. Barbara gasped and then panicked.

“Look, um,” Barbara thought for a minute. She suddenly remembered what had gotten her here in the first place. She remembered the name, “Dorsey, right? Dorsey Pendleton?”

“You win a cracker,” he replied as he finished dumping his robe. He also complained, “I know Roger said to ware that till I got out of here but, I just can’t. It itches like an old burlap sack. In fact, that’s probably what the damn thing is.”

“I’m a Colonial Agent,” Barbara snapped at him. “This is conspiracy to commit murder Mister Pendleton. Do you really want to bring the CG down you like that?”

The man really laughed now. He walked over and patted Barbara on the shoulder when he did. The guy even sounded somewhat sympathetic when he told her, “I’m sure you’re serious about that sweetheart but, let’s face it, when’s the last time the Colonial Government ever did shit about anything? Besides, there is nothing that good old Hard Ass Crass could do to me that would be worse than the reason I got desperate enough to deal with Roger in the first place. Now those are some scary dudes. Makes this light show here look like Disney.”

Barbara looked back up and, sure enough, she caught a glimpse of it as it swung out of the shadows. It was a blade and it was dropping, right at her. When she looked back to Pendleton he was already walking out of the room. Barbara began to panic and called out, “Mister Pendleton, Dorsey, you can’t do this to another human being.”

He did stop, turned to look at her, and replied, “I’m not doing it, Roger is. All I’m doing is getting paid lady. Hell, this is not even the main thing I’m getting paid for. It was more like a request, ok, a threat from Roger.” Then he explained further, “you see, I can’t be bought and I can’t be threatened but, if you put the two together, I’m your man.”

Barbara’s eyes kept drifting back between the steadily falling blade and Dorsey. She played her next card, “I have a daughter! I can’t let her grow up without me. I’m all she has!”

“I’ve got a family too lady,” Dorsey replied rather quickly. “I have to protect them first so…”

“Barbara!” She shouted at him. She then shouted again, “my name is Barbara Reilly!”

“OK,” he waived the notion off, “have it your way, Barbara. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve spent too much time this dump already. I have to say it’s been a damn site unusual and I don’t plan on coming back. Goodbye.”

She yelled at him for as long as she could hear his footfalls. That was not for very long. Now, suddenly, with no one else around, Barbara was feeling the full impact. The reality of the situation was starting to eat at the back of her mind. Barbara told herself that things like this did not happen in the real world. The only problem with that theory was that the blade was now out of the shadows, swinging steadily from side to side, and it looked very real to her.

The bell chimed again. Dorsey Pendleton had grown a might agitated with that stupid clock. He kept having to dig at his ears every time it went off. His only consolation was that he was about to get out of here. He had to take a couple of extra turns, and back track once or twice but, he finally found the place that Roger was talking about. Dorsey knocked on the metal door and it slid open just as Roger had said it would.

What Roger had also said was that he would be waiting for Dorsey in this room. Dorsey found a collection of computers, screens, and a few chairs. The only good thing to say about this room was that it was in stark contrast to the rest of the house. The room did not exactly look modern but it was way ahead of the “medieval urban renewal” that was the main theme elsewhere in the mansion.

“Roger!” Dorsey exclaimed into the room.

The man’s image popped up on video screen and he seemed a bit disturbed when he told Dorsey, “you don’t have to scream. My hearing is perfectly fine.”

Dorsey shrugged, “what gives? I thought you were going to be here?”

“I’m here enough for you Dorsey,” replied the condescending little twit on the screen. “Do you have it?”
That brought a smile to Dorsey’s face. He pulled the old styled thumb drive out of his pocket and proclaimed, “just like I promised! I’m as good as my word.”

“Oh very well,” Roger told him from the screen. “Just plug it in to that adaptor board on the middle console.”

Dorsey became a bit more serious but, he was having a hard time hiding his joy of being near the end of his journey, “um, so when do I get my money? Where is it? Do you think I’m stupid or something?”

Roger sighed in agitation and suddenly the screen came on next to the one with his image. Dorsey walked over to it, put on his glasses, and read all the fine print. Roger grunted, “I am a little busy right now. Can you please hurry?”

“All right,” Dorsey replied to the monitor, “let me get this straight. I put this drive, in that socket, and as the data downloads to you, the money transfers into the account I gave you. Is that correct?”
“Time,” Roger irritably stated. When it was clear the man was not going to move, Roger uttered, “yes! Now will you please do it!”

With a huge grin, Dorsey slid the drive in the slot and watched the status bar on the screen. He was constantly making noises that sounded more like he was having sex than making an account deposit. When the status bar read ‘complete’ the man was in pure ecstasy. He was all smiles as he bid himself farewell, “nice doing business with you Roger. I hope you, um, get your tint problem fixed. I’ll show myself out.”

That proved to be a bit more complicated than Dorsey had originally thought. He turned one corner after another and was sure he had been on the right track. Had the walls moved? When he found himself at a dead end he turned to back track once again. Then he found himself at yet another dead end. Then he noticed that the walls really were moving and he was right in between them.

Dorsey sneered, stomped his foot. He yelped, “well crap!”