I patted some more and found another one. This one was shorter, thicker, but much better. At least with it I couldn't be as easily unarmed. I tried not to think about the fact that April was right. I had no idea what the plan was other than to get the hell out of here. I had no idea just how angry our captors would be once they discovered we were not inside anymore. I knew nothing except that we were sitting ducks where we were. But if we could get out of here, at least we had some kind of fighting chance. I gingerly tiptoed back to April, trying to ignore whatever sticky goo was on the soles of my feet. "Okay, I have a weapon. We need to get to the door, hide behind it, and then make noise to alert them to come. I'll crack open the first person who walks through."
Her jaw unhinged. "You're going to hit someone with that?"
If she didn't shut up, I might hit her with it. I forced that thought aside. "Yeah, that's the plan. Unless you have a better one."
April held on tight to my arm. "We should wait. People will be looking for me. They'll come."
I pinned her with a hard glare. "Is that before or after someone rapes or murders us?" I didn't want to scare her, but she didn't understand the reality of the situation.
Her eyes went wide, and her lips parted on a shocked breath.
"Look, I'm sorry, Okay? You can be scared, but fear is going to get us nowhere. So work with me, please. Come on, stand over here."
I led her to the metal sliding door, placed her where she'd be out of the way without giving me away too much, and then said a prayer. This had to be the craziest, dumbest idea I’d ever had, but I had no other choice.
I turned to her. "Now scream. Call for help."
“I'm scared. They will kill us.”
"Jesus Christ, I have to do everything myself." I turned back, wielding the pipe like a baseball bat over my shoulder, ready to go. Feet planted, legs shoulder-width apart.
Batter up, assholes. "Help! Somebody, help us. Help us now!"
April tried to grab my arm. "Stop it. They'll kill you."
I shook her off. "I am not staying here to see what happens. I'm taking my chances. If you want to stay with our captors, go back to the chair and tie yourself up. I'm getting out. Help!"
I thought she'd protest more, but she'd backed up, leaving me room. Finally, I heard footsteps outside the door, followed by some angry chatter. I kept screaming. It wasn't ideal, but at that point I was committed to the plan. "Help me!"
Finally, I could hear the chain rattling on the other side, followed by the door unlocking, and I braced myself.
As luck would have it, when the door was shoved open and the light spilled through like high tide on the ocean, it was short and stocky who came through first. And I'd gauged his height correctly. He was my height, which meant when I swung the pipe with every ounce of strength I had, it clocked him right in the face.
There was a sickening crunch combined with a smooshed feeling. He gave one singular howl and then went down with a thud. His nose was caved in just a little bit, his face misshapen somehow.
Oh God. My stomach lurched.
Now is not the time to be a soft touch. He assaulted and kidnapped you.
I reached out for April as she stood frozen, staring down at him. I grabbed her upper arm and growled, "Run!"
But I’d hesitated just a second too long. I should have hit him and then run, and God help April if she didn't follow me. But that precious second was enough time for one of the taller men to shove his way through.
"Aleksio," he said.
I lifted my makeshift bat again and then swung it, but all it hit was belly. Jesus Christ. He grunted, but he didn't go down. Instead, he got furious.
To April, I yelled, "Run. Run as fast as you can and get help."
The tall one reached for me.
From the corner, April finally made noise, though not the helpful kind. “No. No. No. I'm not with her. You can have her if you’ll just let me go."
My weapon hadn't worked so well the second time. I tried to wield it again, but he grabbed the end of it. And even though it was short and thick, he jabbed it back toward me, causing me to trip over my own damn feet. He launched at me, and I rolled out of the way, kicking out my foot and hitting him in the ankle. He howled. Then I kicked my foot up, my instep connecting with his groin.
He huffed, but he still didn't go down. My other foot aimed for the one target I had left, his knee. My heel collided perfectly with the side of his kneecap. There was a sickening crunch, and as he fell over, he reached for me, but I crawled away quickly.
Once on my feet, I glowered at April. "You are literally the worst."
With both my attackers down, I rose to my feet and stared. What the hell happened? And then I saw. The tall guy had fallen on something jagged that impaled him through the center of his chest. Oh, hell. He was alive though, and I could hear him groaning.
Even though April had tried to negotiate with my life, I grabbed her hand and pulled her through the doorway. I dragged her as we ran down the hallway. At the far end, I could see we were in some kind of a warehouse, but I didn't go straight for the open door on that end. I didn't know how many guards would be waiting outside.
I pulled April inside what looked like a small office and searched frantically for a window. There was a small desk with a laptop sitting on it. The desk looked like barely more than a card table, but it might be strong enough to hold our weight.
I was still wearing my fitted evening gown, but the laptop was travel-size and no larger than a small tablet. I grabbed it, not really sure what would be on it, but I knew East and Telly would need to go through it later. I shoved it down the front of my dress as April gawked at me. "Now you're stealing from them? You're one of the thieves, aren't you?"
"Stop being an idiot. This is evidence for the police when we get to them."
Her brow furrowed as she suddenly reassessed my level of intelligence. "Why do you even know how to think like that?"
"Look, this is a hard situation. And we will get out of it. But I have no intention of letting these motherfuckers get away with this. I fully intend to make them pay. Somebody big and ugly is going to welcome them to prison."
I shoved open the window and noticed that she was moving sluggishly. It was possible shock was setting in. Or worse, there really had been some kind of sedative in the water they gave her. It could be anything. She was older. Fifty-five or so. Maybe this was just too much stress for her.
Don't be stupid. She's clearly in shape. Probably has a trainer for yoga, or Pilates, or whatever.
Since she didn't look like she could walk very well, I helped her out of the window, and she complained the moment she saw it was a two-foot drop. "What if I break my ankle? Then I really can't run."
"Fine. Then get out of the way so I can get out. You can take your chance with them."
She glowered at me, but then she jumped the two feet. Nothing happened. I climbed out with her and saw there were several cars in the parking lot.
I ran to the nearest unobtrusive looking one. It was a muddy tan color, older model, and rusted in spots. It wasn't the kind of car that would call any attention on the road.
Back when my Mom had a post in Washington DC, there were some kids in my school that may or may not have been into stealing cars. Bored rich kids. I’d never gone so far as to steal a car, but one of the kids did show me how to boost one, and I remembered him talking about how much harder newer ones were to steal because of all the electronics. The older models were much easier.