Chapter 7
When they turn the corner into the narrow hall leading to the housing unit Mikey is perched against the wall waiting for him.
He places his thumb onto the small pad next to the handle and waits for the three clicks.
He opens the door, and gestures for Liz to enter, Mikey keeping a safe distance behind.
He goes slow, giving her time to go into the dark room on her own terms. Riley sees her hesitation, hears her breathing quicken like she’s on the verge of a panic attack.
He doesn't let her get to that point before he reaches around her and flips a switch on the wall next to the door, illuminating the small, apartment-like room. She takes a single step and looks around the space, taking in every detail.
There’s a small couch in the middle of the room with a kitchenette behind it, a small wooden table and three chairs against the back of the couch, and a window on the wall opposite the main door.
The last wall has a TV mounted between two doors.
Three beeps chirp out as the door gets locked from the inside.
Riley clears his throat, pulling her from whatever thoughts are running loose in her head. Striding over to one door, he turns the handle, and swings it open.
“This will be your room for now,” he says, walking into the room and flipping the light on, Liz follows close behind. There isn’t a lot to see: a small bed, a nightstand, closet, and another door.
“It’s not much, but it’s better than the cell Scott wanted you tossed in,” he says, walking to the other door and opening it to reveal a small bathroom, a sink and toilet on one wall, shower on the other, and a second door directly across from the one they are standing in.
“We have to share a bathroom, but both doors lock from the inside,” he says, engaging the lock.
Instead of opening the other door leading to his bedroom he ushers her.
His focus shifts from showing her around to making sure she is handling the tour alright.
He knows the feeling of adjusting back to a regular life after going through some shit, Riley can only hope she will place even the smallest kernel of trust in him to help her.
Riley steps out of the room and walks to where Mikey has made himself comfortable on the couch and turns on his heels.
“I have access to all these rooms, locked or not, so please don’t do anything stupid.
” He starts for the door, stopping just as he steps out.
“Oh, and one more thing, the doors and windows need my code to open them. If you set that alarm off an entire military base will end up at my door, so please just behave and let me work on getting you out of here.” The door closes slowly behind him, leaving Liz to poke around the room.
Riley walks over and plops down on the couch, entirely too exhausted to deal with his friend. His head rolls back, resting on the plush cushions of the couch, eyes drift close while a sigh escapes his covered lips.
“Do you think she’s going to be okay?” Mikey asks, getting up and heading for the kitchen. He opens the fridge and digs around. Finally finding what he is looking for, he grabs two beers, handing one to Riley before plopping himself back down.
“I don’t know. She’s been through a lot.
I ran her prints while I was getting patched up and couldn’t find any record of her.
It’s like she doesn’t exist.” He takes the beer before sliding his mask down to take a long sip.
He sighs again, knowing he will need to get more information from her before the general will allow her to leave.
“I mean, if anyone is going to help her through what happened it’s you. Does she have any family? She’s gotta have someone out there looking for her,” Mikey says, watching as Riley shakes his head. “How the hell is there nothing? You think she could be working for him?”
They look at each other, wondering if they made the right choice in trying to help her.
Riley walks over to the door leading to his room.
“I need to wash this blood off, keep digging. I’m taking a few days off to keep an eye on her.
Let me know if you find anything,” Riley says before walking into his room and shutting the door.
He strips off his ruined gear and tosses it into a messy pile on the floor.
Thinking about what he just got them into, he paces over to the bathroom.
Seeing no light on, Riley walks in and turns the shower on.
He checks the temperature of the water, making sure it’s warm before stripping off his mask and briefs and getting in.
He turns the knob and lets the scalding water run over him, washing away the dirt and dried blood.
He makes it fast in case Liz needs to use the bathroom, although he has a feeling she won’t even attempt it if she hears life anywhere in the small apartment.
He steps out, wrapping a black towel around his waist, going right to the sink to brush his teeth.
Once he’s finished, he quickly leaves the bathroom, pulls a new pair of briefs out of his small dresser, and puts them on before collapsing into bed.
He lays face down for a while, unable to keep his thoughts from drifting to the woman in the other room. He hadn’t even given her a toothbrush.
With a loud groan, he forces himself up and over to the closet, his large footsteps too loud in the empty apartment.
He digs up an extra toothbrush, then walks back to his dresser, grabs another undershirt and pair of sweatpants before walking to the bathroom.
He sets the supplies in a pile on the sink, hoping she will understand it’s for her.
Satisfied, knowing she will at least have a change of clothes, he walks back to his bed and climbs in, sleep taking hold in an instant.
When the sun rises, Riley lightly knocks on Liz’s door.
When she doesn’t respond, he opens her door and quietly steps into the room.
He looks at the bed, expecting to find her still asleep, but the bed is still untouched.
He starts to worry, scanning the small room, not seeing her anywhere.
What if she left in the middle of the night and he didn’t hear her?
No, he would have heard. Years of combat and near constant attacks had made him hyper-aware of any noises, and if he did miss it, the blaring alarms would have woken the entire base.
Making quiet, controlled steps around the room, Riley scans everywhere to find her.
Hidden in the corner, blocked by the small bed is Liz, curled into herself on the floor.
If it wasn’t for the shallow rise and fall of her chest, he would have thought she was dead.
Unsure of what to do next, he walks over, hoping his footsteps are enough to alert her to his presence.
When that doesn’t work, he gently nudges her with his booted foot.
Liz startles awake, shooting forward, hands up like she’s ready to fight whoever dared wake her. Her breathing rapid, she scans the room, recalling her surroundings. She looks at Riley, her eyes wild and filled with a mix of panic and anger.
“What the fuck is your problem?” she says to him, taking a wobbly step to where he stands. Riley throws his hand up in surrender, smiling under his mask, happy to see she still has some fight left, even if she is just fighting him.
“Sorry,” he says with a soft chuckle. “I knocked, but you didn’t answer.
I wanted to make sure you weren’t dead.” He takes a step back as he lowers his hands.
He looks her over, trying to make sure she’s okay.
His eyes dart to her wrists, then back to her face, lingering on her split lip.
Guilt hits him like a truck. She had been through so much, and he attacked her like every other man she had encountered in the compound.
“Mikey is here, with food,” he says. “He’s going to stay with you while I’m gone.
” He turns to walk away but stops himself and turns back.
“I’m not going to force you to be around us, but I hope you will at least get some food.
” Turning back, he walks through the door, shutting it softly on his way out.
The second the door clicks, Liz rushes over and locks it, more for her peace of mind than keeping them out.
She leans against the door in an attempt to steady herself.
Feeling like an idiot for using the small amount of energy she had to run across the room.
She slides her body to the floor and lays back down, hoping the men in the other room won’t come knocking again.
After twenty minutes of waiting for Liz to come out, Riley gives up the small kernel of hope he had. He gets up, grabbing his gym bag. He crosses the small living room and punches in a code, disengaging the first lock.
“Just give her space,” he says to Mikey, turning the little knob of the second lock. “She looked pissed when I went in,” he adds before unlatching the third and final lock.
He pulls the door open and steps into the bright hallway, the heat of the base instantly making him break out in a sweat. He looks back at the door with the woman behind it, before his door swings shut.
Mikey lets out a sigh, getting up and walking to the small kitchen.
He reaches into the cabinet above the sink and takes a plate out before deciding against it and puts it back.
He goes into the cabinet next to it, hoping there are still some paper plates from the last time Riley fed their team.
He moves a few things around, and right next to a stack of red solo cups, he finds the small stack of paper plates.
He pulls both out and starts piling on food.
Not knowing what Liz likes, he just puts a little bit of everything before grabbing a cup and filling it in the sink.
He walks across the room and gently knocks on her door, hoping he doesn’t startle her. “Hey, darlin,” he says to the door. “I know you’re not going to come out, but I brought food,” he says, praying she will answer him.
He stands in the silence for a minute before walking over to the table and picking up the plate he made. He walks back and sets the plate on the floor, then the glass of water. He knocks one more time, knowing she won’t answer.
“Riley is gone, so it’s just us. I’ll leave it next to the door if you change your mind.” He wonders if she can even hear him. In one last attempt to get her to open up, he says, “I’m going to step out to make a call, don’t die while I’m gone.”
Liz listens to Mikey plead through the door, wondering why they care so much about her eating. She knows they will just lock her back up for not knowing anything about the man they are looking for, so eating will only slow down the inevitable.
She listens to his steps as he crosses the room, straining to hear anything else.
One lock, then two. She pushes against the floor, forcing herself to sit.
Once she hears the third lock, she reaches for the door.
She pulls it open just enough to see the plate of food through the crack, closing the door quickly before Mikey can return.
Liz lowers herself back onto the floor, falling asleep to the sound of her stomach rumbling.
She wakes some time later to the sounds of talking.
Pressing her ear to the door once again, she listens.
“How is she?” Riley asks.
His eyes go right to the door, hoping Liz is still alive. He tosses his gym bag into his empty room.
“She didn’t touch the food I left, so I’d say not good,” Mikey responds, watching Riley from the couch as he walks over to Liz’s door, lifting his hand to knock before deciding against it.
He walks back and throws himself onto the soft cushions of the couch, letting out a deep groan.
“If we can't get her to trust us, the general will have her thrown in a damn cell with his guys watching her 24/7,” he says to Mikey, still watching her door as if he can see her behind it.
“You got her to talk to you last night,” Mikey says.
“Just do that again.” He stands, pulling his phone out of the pocket of his jeans.
5:18 p.m. Mikey starts for the door. “Scott’s not going to let this arrangement last for much longer.
If she stays quiet, he’s going to use that.
We both know he will turn her fear into an admission of guilt then let his men do what they have to do to make her talk.
You need to get her to tell you something,” he says to Riley before opening the door and walking out.