The Golden Couple (The Samantha Project Series, # 2) (22 page)

“Just keep waiting. I’ll go see if the woman at the desk knows anything.” Jack came back right away. “Well that didn’t work. She doesn’t speak English.”

As we waited, a man wearing a maintenance uniform came out of a room behind the desk. He went up to Jack. “Sir? Could you help me with something? It won’t take long.” He said it in perfect English.

Jack turned to him. “What is it? I’m waiting for a car.”

“I’m trying to fix a leak in the ceiling back there.” The man pointed to the room he’d just left. “I can’t reach this one spot. If it’s not fixed soon, that leak could do some real damage. They’ll fire me for sure. I need this job. Please. It’ll only take a minute.”

Jack walked behind the desk and stood outside the room. “You mean where you’ve got that ladder? I can’t reach that either. It’s too high.”

“Well, maybe he can help.” The man pointed to Colin. “He’s very tall. Please. It will only take a minute.” The man seemed desperate.
 

Jack sighed. “Colin, come here.” Colin went over to Jack and listened while the maintenance man explained the situation. Colin followed the man into the room. Jack went over to Erik. “We’ll be right back there.”
 

“All right, but hurry up,” Erik said.

A few minutes later, a black limo pulled up. “A limo!” Brittany yelled. “Oh my God! I’ve never been in a limo! I’ve gotta see this!” She ran outside and into the limo.
 

“Brittany! Wait!” I ran after her, followed by Erik. We poked our heads into the limo and found her already seated at the far end. Erik and I stepped in to grab her. “Brittany, get out,” I yelled at her. “You don’t even know—”

The door slammed shut behind us. “Erik, open the door,” I said, pulling on Brittany. “The wind must’ve slammed it shut.”

Erik went to open the door, but it was locked. He pressed the unlock button but it didn’t work. I tried the door closest to me. It was locked, too. We both tried the remaining doors. All locked. Then just outside the limo we saw a man in a dark coat and hat who appeared to be the driver.
 

I banged on the side window to get his attention. “Hey, we need to get out! There’s two other people back there!” I pointed to the airport building.

The driver saw us but didn’t react. We watched as he walked to the front of the limo and got inside. Erik pounded on the piece of dark glass that divided us from the driver. “Wait! We need to wait for two more people!”
 

The driver ignored him and started driving away from the airport with the three of us trapped in the back.

“Erik, make him stop!” I screamed. “This is the wrong car! They didn’t even ask for the code word.”
 

Erik banged even harder against the glass divider. “Hey! Stop! Let us out!”
 

Brittany and I kept trying to open the doors and windows but they were all locked. We heard a loud bang and looked back to see a bright, fiery light in the dark night sky. It was coming from the airport building. Part of the building had exploded, leaving fire and plumes of smoke in the air.

I moved closer to the back window. “Oh my God! Erik, look!”
 

“What the hell? This can’t be happening!” Erik beat on the glass again, trying to get the driver’s attention. “Who are you? Let us out! I swear I’ll break this thing!” But the glass wouldn’t break. It didn’t even crack. If we still had our abilities, Erik would have broken the glass without a problem. But now both he and I had normal strength, which wasn’t enough to help us.

“They’re in that building!” I screamed. “Colin and Jack are in there! We have to go back!” Brittany and I pounded on the back and side windows.
 

Erik sat back. “You can’t break it, Sam. It’s reinforced glass.”

I stopped, frozen in disbelief as I watched the airport get farther and farther away. “It was a set up. The whole thing was a trap. That guy asking for help at the airport? They wanted Colin and Jack separated from us.”

Erik stared out the window at the now distant flames. “I don’t know how this happened. It was so fast. We were only in here a second.”

“It was my fault.” Brittany was crying now. “I’m sorry! I’d never been in a limo before. I thought this was the right car.”

We looked at her but neither one of us was in the mood to comfort her or tell her it wasn’t her fault. Because it
was
her fault. And now we were trapped in a limo, not knowing who was up front or where we were being taken.

“How did they know we were coming here?” Erik asked.

“I don’t know. But I don’t think we should talk anymore. You know they’re listening to us right now.” I checked the inside of the limo for hidden microphones. “Yeah, we know you’re listening!” I yelled into the air.
 

We didn’t speak the rest of the way, except for Brittany who continued to cry and say how sorry she was. The limo finally came to a halt at a gated entrance. The driver rolled his window down and mumbled something to a man at the gate.
 

We drove into a parking garage. The limo stopped again and the door next to Erik unlocked. He bolted for the door but a large man opened it and pulled Erik from the car, cuffing his wrists with zipties. Another huge man stood next to the first man. He pulled me out, cuffing my wrists as well.
 

Brittany refused to move from her seat at the back of the limo. “This one won’t come out,” the first man said.

“Then go around. Get her from the other side,” the other man ordered.

The guy went to the back of the limo and yanked Brittany from her seat.

I scanned the parking garage for any markings that might indicate our location. I couldn’t see anything other than rows of luxury vehicles. Whoever parked there had money.

The men led us into an elevator. It went up just one floor before stopping. When the elevator doors opened, we were greeted by two men wearing black uniforms. They yanked us out of the elevator, then stood close behind us, pushing us forward.
 

We entered into a vast and opulent room that appeared to be the main floor of an office building. It had marble floors and pillars and an intricately carved, circular marble desk sat in the center of the large space. Huge tapestries hung on the walls, the type you might see in a European castle. The room was so long that it seemed to go on forever.

As I took it all in, trying to figure out what this place could be, I turned around and realized that Brittany wasn’t behind us.
 

“Brittany!” I called out. “Brittany? Where did you go?” I scanned all directions looking for her but she wasn’t there. “Erik where is she?”

His eyes searched the room. “I don’t know. I thought she got off the elevator with us.”
 

“What did you do with her?!” I screamed, whipping around to face the man behind me.
 

He grabbed my shoulders and turned me forward again. “She’s going to a different floor,” he said calmly.

“A different floor?! Then I’m going to a different floor!” I tried to run but the man grabbed my coat and yanked me back.
 

“Sam, stop,” Erik said, motioning me to look behind. The guard that had Erik was holding a needle that would soon be in my neck if I didn’t behave.
 

Not wanting to be drugged, I moved along, keeping pace with Erik. “If you do anything to Brittany, I swear—”
 

“Quiet!” the man behind me said. His voice was so loud it echoed in the room.

We continued to walk forward through the lobby, past several large marble statues. The first one was of a beautiful woman and the next one was a perfectly sculpted man. They were like ancient Greek statues you would see in a museum. Off in the distance I could see a third statue, which looked like a globe. And after that was a wall of windows, likely the entrance.
 

The men steered us left down a long hallway. It was lined on both sides with large black doors that had giant chrome numbers on them. We stopped at a door numbered 402. Within seconds, an old, slender man with white hair opened the door. He was wearing a tuxedo with tails. “Welcome,” he said, smiling at Erik and me. “Come in.”

The two men pushed us into the room, then left, closing the door behind them. The old man kept smiling, as if the situation was completely normal.

The room was spacious with very tall ceilings. Large, deep red velvet drapes hung on the walls. Dark wood panels covered the floor. There was a large fireplace on one wall, next to a four-poster king size bed covered in a velvet, cream-colored comforter and layers of crimson-colored pillows. A couple black leather chairs and a velvet-covered crimson sofa sat against the other wall. Behind them were floor to ceiling bookcases filled with leather-bound books.

The old man approached us, his face still grinning from ear to ear. “I’m Walter, by the way. I’ve been longing to meet you both.” He stepped back and stared at us, putting his hands together as if he might start clapping. “Ahhh, such a lovely couple. You will certainly make them proud.”

“Make who proud? Where are we?” I demanded. With the other men gone, I felt it was time to release my anger again.

My reaction removed the smile from the old man’s face. “Yes, well, I’m sure you have many questions, my dear. The answers will come in time. Be patient.”
 

Erik butted his face up against the old man’s. “Answer her questions. Now!”

Walter stood still, unnerved by Erik’s outburst. “Young man. You do not frighten me. Please step away.”
 

Erik backed off, keeping his eyes on the man.
 

“This room, you see, is very secure so there’s no need to expend any energy trying to leave.” The man pointed up. “The ceiling is infused with a chemical that will render you powerless if activated. Should you decide to act in an uncivilized manner, the minuscule holes lining the ceiling will open and release the toxin. And we don’t want that, now do we?”

His smile returned. “Now that we have that out of the way, let me release you.” He pulled a scissor-like tool from his pocket. “And just so you know, the guards are still outside the door. And cameras are placed throughout the room.” He cut my zipties then went to remove Erik’s.

“Are you gonna tell us anything?” I asked him. “Anything about where we are? Or why we’re here?”
 

“That’s not my role. I don’t deal with those types of questions. I am in charge of hospitality, a much more pleasant topic. Now, let me show you around.”
 

Walter went over by the bed. Erik and I remained by the front door. “Well, don’t just stand there,” he scolded. “Come over here.”
 

He waited for us to join him, then continued. “The fireplace turns on and off on its own so don’t try using it yourselves. As you can see, next to it is this beautiful bed. This bed was hand-carved in Italy centuries ago by artisan craftsmen. Isn’t it majestic? The linens are a finely woven silk blend, soft and sumptuous. An excellent choice, I must say.” He ran his hand along the turned down sheet.
 

He walked over to the other side of the room. “If you have some reading time, there are some marvelous books on these walls. Classics, of course. Not the rubbish they publish now.”

We followed him across the room again. “The bathroom facilities are right through here.” He pushed on a door which opened into a huge bathroom with white marble floors and counters. There was a walk-in shower and soaking tub at the far end of the room. Stacks of thick, white towels filled a tall open cabinet. It was by far the largest and most lavish bathroom I’d ever seen. “All your toiletries are in the side cabinets. His and hers.”

He paused as if running through a checklist in his head. “Oh yes, your clothing. It’s all in the armoire and the closet.” He walked briskly to the closet and opened the doors. “Everything is the proper size for you both. I think that’s it. Any questions?” He paused. “Let me clarify. Any hospitality-related questions?”

“How long are you keeping us here?” Erik asked.

“Perhaps you didn’t hear me, young man. I said hospitality questions only. Your length of stay is not my decision. But with a room like this, who would ever want to leave?”

“Where’s my sister?” I knew he wouldn’t tell me but I had to ask. “Why isn’t she staying with us?”

Walter glared at me. “People like her have separate quarters. They don’t allow her kind on this floor.”

Rage overtook me and I lunged at the old man but Erik held me back as Walter pointed at the ceiling again.
 

“It’s quite toxic,” he said with a sickly grin. “I’ll let you two get settled. Why don’t you freshen up before heading to bed? I know it’s late but I took the liberty of ordering you a light snack. I wasn’t sure if you would have eaten already.”
 

There was a knock on the door. “Oh, there it is now.” Walter opened the door, then rolled in a cart that had a tray of fresh fruit and a carafe of water on it. “Just a light snack. One shouldn’t have a heavy meal before bed, you know. Goodnight, then. Pleasant dreams.”

Walter left, closing the door behind him. Erik immediately ran up to it, trying to make it open. Then he ran to the drapes, desperate to find a window. But the drapes hid a solid wall.

“Erik, you heard him. It’s a waste of time. The place is built like a prison. I guess that confirms where we are.”

Erik collapsed on the bed. “GlobalLife. Must be another one of their genetic research facilities.”

“Why does it look like an office out there and a hotel in here?” I scanned the room again. “This is so freaky, Erik. I feel like I’m in some alternate universe. This is nothing like the facility in Minnesota. There, they locked me up in an all white concrete room and strapped me to a metal bed. This doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s probably just one of their psychotic mind games. Put us in some fancy room tonight and then tomorrow they’ll lock us up in a room like you described and torture us.”

“Great, now I’ll be worrying about that all night. Thanks, Erik.” I sat on the bed with him. “But why would they put us together in the same room?”