Broken
AUTHOR: Trace
*Disclaimer and other stuff in the Prologue.
Chapter One:
"Tsk,tsk, Ms. Blake. Ease away from your
desk please," Jordan said,
waving a very large .357 magnum at me.
I did what he said, sliding my hand over the
silent alarm button as I did
it, pressing the button lightly.
How the hell had he gotten that big ass gun
past everyone else in the
office? I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
"What now? You going to tie me up and
throw me over your shoulder like a
sack of potatoes?" I couldn't resist needling him a little.
Sometimes, I'm
really not too bright.
"No, I'm going to shove this gun in your
back so tight you can feel it
when you *think*, and we're going to walk out of here like best
friends," he
said.
Okay,I was definitely in big trouble here. I
was *so* not walking out of
here without anyone knowing I'd been abducted. No way in hell.
After a quick prayer that Jorday wasn't
sensitive to magick and whatnot,
I eased open the marks between me and Jean-Claude, sending him a
silent
message that I was in deep shit and needed him *now*.
I couldn't tell if Jean-Claude heard me or not,
because while I'd been
concentrating on the marks, Jordan had been talking to me and I
hadn't heard.
Apparently, that pissed him off, because he flipped the gun in
his hand and
hit me in the stomach with it.
Pain exploded in my gut, and I went to my
knees, fighting the urge to
puke on Jordan's nifty shoes. I didn't think he'd be amused if I
upchucked on
his Doc Martens.
"Get up,Ms. Blake," he said calmly.
I glared at him and stumbled to my feet,
feeling Jean-Claude suddenly
through the marks that I'd forgotten to close. I knew he'd felt
it when
Jordan hit me. I felt him coming like a cold black wave of pure
anger. I
hoped he hurried.
I didn't want Jordan to try to get my
attention again.
"Are you hurt badly?" Jordan asked,
and I knew that the answer to that
was 'no', because if I was hurt badly enough, I was useless and
expendible.
Expendible meant he would most likely kill me and kidnap another
animator to
raise his zombie.
"I'll live," I said coldly.
Jordan smiled. "Good. I'd hate to have to
replace you now."
"Fuck you."
I saw the flicker in his eyes and knew I
should've kept my mouth shut.
He reversed the gun again and slammed the butt
into my ribs.
I was on the ground twice in as many minutes.
Shit.
"I had you recommended to me because of
your talent and intelligence.
But, apparently, my source was misinformed," Jordan said,looking
a little
ticked. "You're not very smart."
The phone on my desk started ringing. I looked
at the phone and then at
Jordan. "If I don't answer it they'll know something's wrong."
"Answer it, but watch what you say,"
Jordan commanded.
I picked up the phone. "Blake."
"Anita?" It was Dolph's voice.
"This is she." Hopefully Dolph would
know that I was being listened to.
Dolph and I are never formal on the phone.
"Did you set off the silent alarm?"
"Yes, I did. It was necessary. I
apologize for the inconvenience,but it
couldn't be helped. You're more than welcome to reschedule,"
I said, using
business lingo to let Dolph know I was ass deep in alligators. Or
maybe he'd
think I had hit my head on my desk and was just being strange. Oh
well.
"Are you being held hostage?" Thank
you,Dolph!
"Yes,sir, I am. I'm sorry you weren't
informed of the situation sooner,
but it's out of my hands.I don't handle scheduling."
"Does he have a gun?" No,Dolph, he's
pointing a stick at me. Jeez.
"Yes, that's correct," I said.
Jordan was looking at me oddly. Shit.
"What kind of gun?" Dolph was trying
to get me killed.
"Just the 357 dollar consulting fee. The
rest is due after the zombie is
raised," I said. Thinking on my feet, woohoo!
Jordan frowned.
"Shit,Anita. What does he want?"
Dolph sounded frustrated.
"I'm one of the best,sir. But there are
things even I can't do," I said,
hoping he'd get the hint that what Jordan wanted me to do was
illegal.
Then again, speaking in code never was my
strong suit.
"I've got a team standing by. Is anyone
else in the building?"
"Our full staff is here until 8 p.m.
Monday through Friday. If I'm not
available, one of them can help you."
"Shit. Your boyfriend just showed up. Can
I send him in without getting
your head blown off?" Dolph hated Jean-Claude, and he
actually sounded
relieved he'd shown up. Wierd.
"Zombie raising isn't dangerous unless
the corpse gets out of
control,sir," I told him.
I heard him tell Jean-Claude to behave himself.
Good, he'd gotten the
point.
"He's on his way in,Anita. We're clearing
out the first floor and sending
in the SWAT team. If we don't hear from you in half an hour, we're
coming
in," Dolph said.
"Alright,sir. We've got your number on
file. Someone will get back to you
soon," I said, using my best professional voice.
"Get off the phone,Ms. Blake,"
Jordan said quietly.
"Is that him?" Dolph asked.
"Yes, sir.Thank you for calling Animators,Inc.
I'm afraid a client just
came in, so I'll have to get back to you later. Have a nice
evening.Goodbye,"
I said, then hung up.
"What took so long?" Jordan demanded.
"He didn't like that his zombie was
rescheduled at the last minute," I
told him, lying through my teeth and doing it with a straight
face.
"Do all your clients give you that much
trouble?" He asked.
I shrugged. "He's not the one pointing a
gun at me."
Jordan glared at me and show the penguin snow-globe
on the corner of my
desk.
I hissed as a piece of glass from the snow-globe
decided to embed itself
in my left thigh. Jesus, but that hurt like a bitch!
"Mouth off again, Ms. Blake, and the next
bullet goes in your skull.
Understand?" Jordan asked stonily.
I believed him.
"I understand."
"Good.Let's go," he said, gesturing
for me to walk in from of him.
Every step I took sent icy hot spears of pain
arcing up and down my left
leg. I had to limp to walk at all.
I felt Jean-Claude nearby as I walked out of
my office and into the
reception area.