02:06
Episode 2: When You See Daylight
Part 6
Now
Violet stepped through the Laurel-sized hole in the sheet rock wall. The room beyond was absolutely dark. As she stepped inside a hand slid out and wrapped itself around her mouth.
“Shhhh,” said Laurel and Violet stifled her urge to bite the fingers nearest to her teeth.
The robot pulled Violet from the opening and in to deeper shadow. Without warning and without removing her hand from Violet’s mouth she gently stuck the index finger of her other hand into Violet’s ear. Violet recoiled until she heard something.
“Stop being a baby and hold still.”
The sound, barely a whisper, came from the tip of Laurel’s finger. Violet steadied herself.
“I’m going to remove my hand. Shut up and keep still. We’re not alone in here.”
Laurel removed her hand from Violet’s mouth but not from her ear. Violet sighed.
“Yeah, I know. You’re going to need a drink after this.”
Violet nodded.
“I have night vision, too. There are two guys with shot guns standing against the far wall.”
Why would two guards be standing in an empty, dark room? Violet thought.
Laurel continued. “They don’t have night vision goggles and they didn’t hear us. As long as we don’t move….”
There was a flash of brilliant light from the center of the room. Both women flinch away from the light and Violet slipped from Laurel’s hands. Then, as one, Violet, Laurel and the two guards all turned and aimed their weapons at each other. As brilliant as the light had been its radiance only faded but did not disappear. Violet and Laurel stood side by side aiming their weapons at the guards.
“Is this where we blow stuff up?” Laurel asked.
“Yes,” Violet said and pulled the triggers on both colts.
Nothing happened. Laurel’s trigger finger worked furiously.
“Oh for Pete’s sake!” She dropped the pistols into hammer-space and stepped out towards the middle of the room. A wave of pressure like a truck made of Nerf slam her back against the wall where she fell to the floor.
“Holy Fucking Penguins!” shouted Laurel.
A figure stepped out from the light and walked towards the girls.
“Don’t be alarmed,” it said. “I was keeping those men safe.”
“You could be a little more worried about me,” shouted Violet.
The figure resolved itself into that of a tall and very curvacious woman with long, black hair flowing down over her jade green satin dress. Laurel stepped between the woman and Violet, glaring at the intruder.
“Who the fuck are you?” she asked.
The woman smiled. She placed one long green-nailed finger to her red-black lips and looked at the ceiling as if she were considering the matter.
“Who am I? I suppose you could say I am your liaison. Your case worker. Your repaire mère if you would.”
Violet leaned close to Laurel and whispered “repair wha…?”
“Den mother,” Laurel whispered back.
“Very good, Laurel. You have a talent for languages.”
“Naw,” interrupted Violet. “She Googled it.”
Laurel nodded enthusiastically.
The woman arched an eyebrow at them both, then sighed.
“Yes. Well I suppose that is an asset as well,” she continued. “In any case T&T reminds you that you are a guest.”
Violet smiled. “That’s what I’m here about.”
The woman looked directly at Violet now. “Violet Capagio, isn’t it? Lynda’s unfortunate choice in hired help?”
Violet glared at the woman.
“From all reports you conducted yourself quite well. I suppose that is why T&T are interested in the both of you.”
“What the hell do you want from me?” asked Violet.
“Yeah! You can’t keep her here,” said Laurel.
The woman folded her hands and brought the knuckles of her index fingers to her downcast chin.
“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear.”
She inclined her head towards the two guards who now came to stand just behind her.
“You are guests of T&T.”
The guards pumped their shotguns, chambering a shell.
“And these two gentlemen have working weapons.”
“You expect me to be afraid of shotguns?” asked Laurel. “Lady, you haven’t done your homework.”
“Those two shotguns hold a total of six shells and in the event f a battle all six shells will be fired at Violet’s head. She has shown some interesting recuperative powers but do you really wish to test those?”
Laurel sagged.
“Have it your way,” she said under her breath.
She brought the laser rifle up and pointed the barrel at the woman so that the end was only inches from her forehead.
The woman rolled her eyes.
“Come now Laurel. Surely you realize…”
The woman was cut short as the barrel of the rifle was shoved through her forehead like a large and particularly effective hole-punch. At the same time the lights in the room went out and Violet yelled “Duck!”
The two guards fired where Violet had been standing. There was a crunching sound, the thud of a body hitting the floor, another shotgun blast (not aimed at Violet this time) and another crunch and thud.
There were footsteps away from Violet and room lights came on. Laurel stood next to a door across the room.
“Come on,” she yelled to Violet.
Violet stepped over the guards who now lay on the floor, their heads lolling at biologically impossible angles to their necks. The woman lay on her back spread-eagle on the floor. The rifle stuck straight out of her forehead like a macabre umbrella stand.
“Damn!” she said to herself and jogged to join Laurel.
In the next room they found twenty tall, white tanks around the walls. Each tank had a four-colored diamond on the side. Each tank was labeled ‘Liquid Oxygen’. From the other room the girls could hear guards approaching.
Violet reached behind her back and produced an M4 and tossed the weapon to Laurel.
“Don’t hit the tanks,” she yelled.
“Gotcha,” Laurel yelled back.
Laurel ducked behind a work bench and Violet overturned a table and squatted down behind it. They both peek out to watch the guards enter through the door.
As soon as the first guards were in sight Laurel opened fire. The first two guards dropped to the floor. Violet took the next two as they attempted to drag their compatriots back to safety. The remainder stayed back inside the other room.
For a full minute neither side fired and then a small, round object arced out of the doorway and bounced across the floor. It bounced and then rolled coming to a stop under one of the tall, white tanks. Violet’s eyes widened.
“Oh shit,” she yelled. “Laurel, get out of there.”
It was too late. The grenade went off blasting a hole in the bottom of the tank. The tank exploded as the now heated oxygen expanded and punctured the tank next to it. Laurel’s bench turned cart-wheels across the room and Laurel went with it landing in a sprawled heap in the center of the room. The floor, drenched in liquid oxygen, banged and cracked as it froze sending up geysers of grey linoleum. The remaining guards took this as their queue and charged into the room, guns blazing and bullets slamming into both Violet’s barricade. Laurel recovered, turned and fired into the intact tank closest to her.
“I said don’t hit the tanks,” Violet shouted at her.
“I thought you said ‘hit the tanks’.” Laurel shouted. “Sorry.”
The ruptured tanks burst spraying liquid and gas into the room. Four guards screamed in agony under a shower of super-cold liquid and the rest dropped their rifles and began coughing uncontrollably.
It was then that Violet realized Lynda stood next to her.
“Are you two quite finished?” Lynda asked calmly.
Another tank ruptured and Lynda waved her hand. All of the tanks stopped leaking and the coughing guards slowly recovered.
“It wasn’t our fault,” Violet whined.
Lynda rolled her eyes.
“It most assuredly was your fault,” she said. “In any event my superiors have suddenly reassigned me to your case.”
Laurel approached from where she had landed. “As our den mother?” she asked.
Lynda took a step back from the robot.
“No. Very much no,” she said emphatically. “T&T would be your clients.”
Violet stepped back next to Laurel.
“’Our’ clients?” she asked Lynda and then turned to Laurel.
“Do you remember going into business together?” she asked the robot.
Laurel shook her head.
“You would be trouble consultants, on retainer,” offered Lynda.
“How big of a retainer?” asked Violet sharply turning to face Lynda
“You trust her!?”
Violet shushed Laurel without turning from Lynda. She smiled broadly.
“How would $2000 a month be?”
“Plus expenses?” asked Violet.
“Plus expenses when you are working a case for T&T.”
“Violet! You can’t be serious!” shouted Laurel.
“Just one moment while I consult with my partner,” Violet told Lynda and turned back to Laurel.
“What is your problem?” she asked the robot.
“They locked me up, for starters. And can I remind you we just killed their employees?”
“What ‘we’? You killed their employees. So far I don’t think I’ve killed anyone.”
“Arrrgh!” shouted Laurel. “Missing. The. Point. These assholes wanted to ship me off to fuck knows where and now you want to work for them?”
Violet placed a gentle hand on either of Laurel’s shoulder and looked her softly in the eyes.
“Sweetie, in real life you can’t afford to burn your bridges. This is a chance to get you out of here and make a little money while we’re at it.”
Laurel blinked at Violet for a moment.
“Money? You mean I’d have my own money to spend?”
“Sure,” agreed Violet. “Eighty-twenty split.”
“Fifty-fifty,” Laurel told her without missing a beat. “Could I have a credit card?”
Violet dropped her hands to her sides. “One thing at a time, okay sweetie?” She turned back to Lynda who stood where she had been left.
“We’re in. Do you have a contr….”
Lynda interrupted Violet, thrusting a previously non-existent document – and a pen – in her face.
“Standard terms,” Lynda rattled off. “Twenty four hours notice. T&T agrees to cover any and all expenses occurred in the normal course of your work. Travel, food, lodging.”
“Nothing in there about first born or our immortal souls, is there?” asked Violet with a smile.
Lynda’s brow furrowed and she came around to Violet’s side to read through the first page of the document. When she was finished she returned Violet’s now faded smile.
“No. Not in this contract. Just standard terms. Just sign at the bottom of each page.”
Violet signed.
“And now you, Laurel,” Violet told her.
Laurel came up but Lynda snatched the contract away before she could sign.
“I’m afraid it’s just you, Violet. Technically Laurel is only ten years old, and what judge would ever agree to a legally binding contract between a corporation and an a computer?” She looked over at Laurel who was looking at the little woman as if trying to focus eye lasers on the most vulnerable spots of Lynda’s skull.
“No offense,” said the diminutive woman with a forced smile.
“She signs,” insisted Violet, “or there’s no deal.”
Suddenly there was a forty-five caliber pistol in Violet’s hand pointed at Lynda’s head. Lynda rolled her eyes and waved a hand and the pistol vanished.
“I’ve been very patient with the two of you so far but I’m afraid you’ve already signed the contract, Violet.”
“It hasn’t been notarized, Lynda,” Violet said in a mocking tone. Where the pistol had bee Violet now held the contract — and the pen.
Lynda sighed.
“Fine, although I don’t see how this could possibly do you any good.”
Violet handed the pen to Laurel who signed the contract under Violet’s signatures. Lynda snatched them back and vanished the paper into thin air.
“Hammer space?” Violet asked her.
“Is that what you call it? It’s called the Cailleach Hifreann to most of us with that power.”
Cayleech hal-what? What the fuck does that mean?” Violet asked Laurel.
Laurel smiled her most reassuring smile. “Just call it hammer space,” she told Violet and patted her shoulder. “Can we go now?” she asked Lynda.
“By all means. I’d arrange an escort but we’re a little under-manned today.”
All three looked down at the two dead guards. Laurel shrugged at Violet.
“I can find out way out,” the robot said.
“I’m sure you can. No one will bother you but don’t enter any of the other rooms, please. You understand.”
“We gotcha,” Violet told her. “Thanks for the use of the hall. If there’s anything we can ever do.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Lynda said.
Violet and Laurel walked out of the room back through door through which they had entered.
Lynda stood holding the freshly signed contract, the sounds of klaxons going off and barriers being raised in the background. She produced a radio of the type the guards had clipped to their belts and keyed the microphone.
“All personnel this is Agent Allingham. Stand down from alert status. Agents Capagio and Swanson are now leaving the campus. They are not to be approached. I repeat they are not to be approached.”
Lynda blinked and when she opened her eyes she stood before a wide stone plinth with an ornate chair atop it. In the chair sat a beautiful young woman with raven-black hair in a pale blue dress that hung down past her ankles.
Lynda shot a quick glare at the woman and then closed her eyes, giving a courtly bow.
“In the future I hope you take my plans into consideration,” the woman told Lynda. “That device may be the most important thing in this universe.”
“Yes m’lady,” answered Lynda. “And in the future I’d hope that if you doubt the veracity of my plans you would come to me directly.”
The woman did not reply for some time and then only with a curt nod.
“You are not my equal,” the lady told her.
“No,” answered Lynda. “and I support your plans and not those of the Other. The girl needs a friend. I believe the Capagio witch has her best interests at heart.”
“After a fashion.”
“As you insist,” answered Lynda. “They are on a leash. I gave them a stipend and a contract. Breaking the contract will result in the girl’s return.”
“You refer to it as a girl,” said the woman. “It is only a device created by the Other. She is very cunning and her artistry is deep and subtle. Do not be fooled.”
“As you insist, however I do sense a soul within her. Perhaps one was caught in the web of the Other and entangled in the construct?”
The woman laughed. “That would be amusing, if you are correct.”
She looked at the plinth for a moment and then back at Lynda.
“Report to me any changes in her behavior. I want to know if life in the real world creates the monster we have foretold or the angel the Other has promised.”
“Yes m’lady. As you insist.”
Lynda blinked again and found herself back in the room. The guards were gone. She snapped her fingers and appeared in the coolness of her own office on the lowest floor of the deepest building. Through the bank of narrow windows set high in one wall, golden afternoon light streamed. Lynda climbed into her high seat behind her desk and began entering text into a book by speaking the words aloud.
“Violet Capagio and Laurel Swanson have performed as predicted. The Lady wishes me to be their minder in the world – and still I wonder what would happen if they were to escape?”
She closed the book and leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
