Chapter 3:
Something glinted as I opened my eyes. Where...? Right, I was
kidnapped. Again. Twice in on day was a record I hoped would not be broken. I was in a room, - a
living room, maybe- lying on a soft brown couch. My throat was dry, and my lips
seemed stuck together. I needed water. So, I sat up to look for some, but my
head started spinning. Instead of sitting back down, I waited for the pain to
pass before examining the room. The couch was against the yellow wall, on the
far side from the door. In front of me was a glass coffee table, and on the
other side of that, an identical couch to the one I was sitting on. Nothing
else.
Knock,
knock. Jim entered the room with a bottle of water and a stack of
papers. He sat on the couch and looked me in the eye before placing the water
on the table.
“We want to propose something to you.”
“You’re taking me home with an apology? ‘Cuz otherwise, it’s a
no.” My voice was a little groggy, so it didn’t sound as annoying and heroic as
I wished it did.
“Actually, it’s not. See, to put it bluntly, we wish to hire you-”
“Gee, great way to hire somebody. It warms my heart, each time
some jerk kidnaps me.”
“You’d start getting paid properly if you were still working for
us at sixteen,” he said, ignoring my comment. “Until then, you would probably
get what you’d call special treatment. Pocket money, nice meals, plus gifts on
birthdays.”
“I already had that stuff before you came along. Really, that isn’t what I would call ‘special
treatment’.”
“Oh, so you’re familiar to having a couple hundred in your
pocket?” Jim asked, an amused smirk playing on his features. “In that case, you
already have a laptop. Wouldn’t like eating from our buffet either, I reckon.”
“You’re trying to bribe me.”
“That’s how all business is done.”
“Well, stay out of my
business, because it’s not done that way. Besides. Child labor laws- I don’t
work for anyone.”
“Katie,” he said, which was creepy, “you know you’d only be drawing.
We also have excellent lawyers.”
“I never told you my name.” I cross my arms and glare at him,
hoping I looked mature and experienced, instead of a three-year-old not getting
their way.
“Fine. We’ll talk again tomorrow,” and he left. Well, good
riddance. If I ever see him again, it’ll be too soon. Wait- did he say ‘we’
have a proposal? I doubted it was Kimberly. Didn’t yesterday they said
something about ‘they changed the
password again’? Maybe something bigger is going on- like a secret underground
organization. What did Jim say about Drew? If
we need him? This could be a trap. Drew needs to know about the possible trap,
the possible plot, he needs to know the password- Argh! I hate being unable to talk to him. I drink some of the water
Jim left on the table.
I need a second opinion on this. Otherwise, I’ll overthink myself
to death. That’s it: I’m overthinking everything. There isn’t any plot- the
‘we’ is probably just Jim and Kimberly. Who else could it be? Jim is probably
just some rich guy trying to get richer. Maybe I haven’t been careful enough,
and he pieced a few things together. Then he assumed my powers were cooler than
Drew’s. For some reason, people often do that. Usually, one of the last things
they assume about him. He comes back quick.
A trap? Please, this isn’t a movie. What was I thinking? Except,
I’m a superhero, and they’re only supposed to exist in movies. . . But I’m not
some fiction film. I am Katie Rien, and I’m going to make this Jim-guy wish he
never thought about using me.
---
Three days. That’s how long it’s been since I last saw Drew, or
dad or anybody- three whole days. And
they’ve been exceedingly boring days, too. Each morning Jim would try to hire
me, I’d decline, and have the rest of the day to run out of things to think
about. The door is always locked. The windows are too high for me to look out
of, even if I push the couch over, and I’m not especially short. I must be in a
basement, because where else would you install windows like that?
Knock,
knock. Why...? Jim had already come this morning. It couldn’t be Drew,
could it? If it is, he certainly took his time, since he had seeking-powers.
Nope. It’s Jim.
“I told you, you can’t hire me.”
“Exactly. So, we’re going to force you instead.” My heart dropped
down somewhere around my shoes, and it started pattering quickly.
“Y-you can’t. You don’t have anything-”
“How about anyone?”
“Who?” A single word. The only thing that mattered- who.
“She cares. How touching. Maybe he would survive if you’d accepted the job.”
“Tell me who you villain!”
“After
you help.” He could be bluffing. I hadn’t been shown any proof. But what if he
wasn’t bluffing? If Drew was really being held captive. . . If they were going-
going to- Maybe, it was somebody else. But I couldn’t let them hurt some innocent
kid- Or was it Dad? Neither would want me to accept. . . but I couldn’t stand
it if- if they. . .
“I’ll
do it.”
