Black's Magic Part 4

"I know, sir. I'll contact you whenever possible."

"That is all I ask. Thank you. Over and out... Santa."

The line went dead and Addison chucked. "He always has to have the last word." She smirked wickedly. "I guess he still hasn't gotten over waking up to a shrieking maid and pine needles sticking up his b.u.t.t last year!"

Skyler woke up to the sound of the door to her room being unlocked and opened quickly. An armed guard blocked the doorway, now ready for an escape attempt. He needn't have bothered. The American was in no shape to make another attempt to get away. She ached in places she barely realized she could ache. Nothing was broken but that didn't seem to make much difference, Skyler was effectively hobbled.

Eyes shifting left and right, the guard seemed satisfied and stepped aside to admit Brodie into the room. She carried a tray with breakfast items and a small basin. Walking to the table near the bed, she deposited the items there without ever taking her eyes off the American.

"Good morning, Doctor Tidwell. I hope you slept well," Agnes said with a smirk.

"Actually I was a little uncomfortable last night. Must have been the mattress," Skyler returned.

Brodie gave a small laugh at that. "You have s.p.u.n.k, Doctor. Usually that is a trait to be admired, but I hope you have come to realize that s.p.u.n.k is a potentially painful thing to have when you deal with me."

Skyler rose from the bed, suppressing a groan as she did so, not wanting to give Brodie the satisfaction of hearing her discomfort. She shuffled to the table and dropped into one of the two chairs there. Brodie slid the tray in front of her and the delicious aroma of hot oatmeal and thick slabs of crusty toast tickled Skyler's senses. She glanced up at Brodie in suspicion.

"Go on, it's quite safe I a.s.sure you," her captor stated evenly. Skyler picked up a spoon, dipped into the steaming food and closed her eyes in appreciation of the thick, fluffy mixture. "The locals know their porridge, don't they?"

Skyler's eyes opened at Brodie's words and her line of sight was drawn to the small plastic basin. Brodie took the basin to the small sink near the pull down toilet. "Some soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste for your use. Don't waste them, you wont get more." Brodie returned to the table and sat in the chair opposite Skyler watching her eat for a moment.

"You will be allowed time to finish your breakfast and refresh yourself then I will return to have that conversation I promised you before. I hope you will be in a cooperative mood, Doctor, and not force me to repeat our little lesson of yesterday. You have cost me valuable time and I'm not in a forgiving mood today."

Skyler made no reply, just bit into the warm toast, enjoying the texture on her tongue. She felt sure Brodie had something else to tell her because she made no move to leave.

"It will no doubt have crossed your mind that by now the alarm would have been raised and that the authorities would be searching for you," Brodie began. Skyler's curiosity was piqued, as that was exactly what she had been thinking.

"Well, you would be correct in that a.s.sumption." Brodie paused here and the blonde felt an unmistakable "but" coming on. She was not disappointed.

"But, we are not unprepared for that occasion. Just in case you foolishly think you should withhold information from me because of your imminent release I will tell you we know everything about their efforts. Even now we know the government has dispatched one of their top agents to locate you. Agent Addison Black is an old friend and someone who is owed a final payment on an old debt. We have tangled before but this time the outcome will be different. British Intelligence, what a curious oxymoron! I welcome the challenge, Doctor, because we will be prepared for it."

Skyler watched the Irish woman as she spoke and was very glad she wasn't this Agent Black, whoever he was. There was definitely bad blood between Brodie and the agent.

Brodie stood and moved away from the table. "You are not dealing with amateurs here, we have sources you could not imagine. You will not be liberated until we decide you will be. Tell us what we want to know, it is your only hope of leaving here alive."

So, she finally said it Skyler thought. Talk about the Gemini project or die. What are you working on, Mom? She looked at Brodie with what she hoped was a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I see how hospitable you can be if I do something that doesn't set well with you, but what's in it for me if I help you? You have to realize I could never work in this field again once I compromised my position by giving you what you want. I would need some financial consideration. You know how important this information is," Skyler said. At least I hope you do because I don't have a friggin' clue.

Brodie stared at her as if trying to determine the honesty of the words. "Certainly, Doctor, I will check on what can be arranged. I'm glad to see that you have decided to be practical about the situation." The redhead leaned over the table and ran a fingertip softly down Skyler's cheek. "At least I hope you are being practical and that this isn't a ploy to gain a little time." Brodie turned her finger and ran the nail down the same place she had just caressed and extended it to lightly slash across Skyler's throat. "It would be a pity to have to mar such a lovely face."

She stood abruptly and moved toward the door. "Who knows, Professor Tidwell, perhaps when all this unpleasant business is concluded we could get to know each other better, maybe even become...friends." She knocked sharply on the door, spoke in Gaelic and turned to rake Skyler's body with a look that made the American feel somehow naked and dirty. "Yes, very intimate friends." The door opened behind her and Brodie exited.

Alone in the room, Skyler shuddered in revulsion. A woman, yes... that woman? I'd rather swallow my own tongue. Realizing the tongue in question was beginning to feel a little fuzzy, Skyler slowly got up from the table. Moving wasn't quite the agony it had first been and she made her way to the small sink without too much difficulty. Turning the faucet on she waited as the water warmed. She unwrapped the hotel-sized soap and wished there was a mirror in the room. On second thought maybe that's not such a great idea, G.o.d only knows what I look like.

She brushed her teeth and washed her face, feeling much better afterward. She glanced back to the door wondering how much time she had before Brodie reappeared and what she was going to do when the redhead did.

In the office, Brodie toyed with the knife she had pulled again from her desk as she talked on the cell phone.

"Yes, I understand. That's perfectly clear. No, there will be no further delays." The other party hung up and the redhead clenched her jaw in frustration. There would be no money for Professor Tidwell unless it came out of the money Brodie had been promised. One thing Brodie did not do well was share and under no circ.u.mstances did she share money. Sorry, doctor, you'll have to do this with other means of persuasion. A fly buzzed by her head, breaking her concentration but reminding Brodie of another annoyance. Holding the cell phone in her left hand she punched in the now familiar number.

As the connection was made she came directly to the point. "What's happening there?" She listened without comment as information was pa.s.sed.

"When did she leave?" Receiving the answer, Brodie consulted her watch and calculated how far her nemesis might have gotten in the allotted time. "d.a.m.n! Well, it makes no difference, even if Addison can find us she'll be too late." She broke the connection and decided it was time to get back to the doctor and begin the process of extracting the information that was required.

"Alas, Addison, by the time you get here, and I have no doubt you will, it will sadly be too late to save the late Doctor Marlene Tidwell. Of course I'll be here to greet you and I have such a welcome planned." With an almost invisible flick of her wrist, Brodie sent the knife hurtling toward the far wall where it stuck deeply into the plaster and neatly divided the unsuspecting fly in half.

Skyler had freshened up as much as was possible given the limited resources at her disposal. She sat at the table waiting for Brodie's return and hoped her new plan would work out. Delay, delay, delay until this Agent Blackjack or whatever gets here. The way my luck is going he'll be more like Inspector Clouseau than James Bond. I need to be ready to try and make a break for it again, even if it kills me. Skyler shifted on the chair and knew that a move to leave might very well lead to her death, but figured the redhead's revelation of earlier meant she was dead anyway. Brodie is bound to realize soon than I don't know anything about Project Gemini. Or will she? Thoughts began to fly through the scholar's head.

The opening of the door interrupted her plans. As earlier the armed guard scanned the room first and relaxed after spotting Skyler sitting meekly at the table. He stepped aside and nodded at Brodie who was standing behind him holding several tablets of paper and box of pencils in her hand. Moving past the guard Brodie entered the room.

"Bad news, Doctor Tid..." The redhead's words were cut short by her scream as her right foot slid completely out from underneath her. The tablets in her hand didn't allow her to reach out and grab the door for balance and her left foot followed the right. She flipped backward and landed hard on the ground, striking her head on the painted concrete floor. Skyler never moved as the momentarily stunned guard recovered enough to move to Brodie's side and check his superior. She was quite unconscious.

He glared at Skyler who merely held her hands palm up and shrugged her shoulders, portraying the perfect picture of innocence. The guard kept his gun trained on the prisoner as he used his free arm to pull Brodie from the room. As the door shut and locked, Skyler couldn't keep a smile from her face and let out a quiet whoop of victory.

Paybacks are a b.i.t.c.h, aren't they Brodie? She thought as she tossed the bar of soap in the air and moved to clean up its residue from the floor. Poor baby, I guess she didn't know most accidents happen in the home. Skyler used a discarded towel to scrub away the last vestiges of soap then she gathered up the tablets and pencils.

Taking them back to the table, Skyler started fleshing out her next plan in her mind. When she had most of it clear in her mind she began to write. Line after line was filled and she stopped only long enough to think, you better hurry up Agent Black, I can't keep thinking of things forever. She turned her attention back to the tablet and began writing once again.

Chapter 6.

It was obvious the further up and into the Highlands Addison drove, the colder it became. Clouds hung low in the sky and the agent had been driving through them for the past hour of her journey. She had been given clear information on the location of the abandoned mines, so she had a good idea of where to begin. There were four entrances. Each was connected by a maze of underground tunnels. It had been over a hundred years since the mines had been closed down. Records stated that some of the conduit tunnels had become unstable and after a serious accident in which over one hundred men were buried alive, the mines were permanently abandoned. It was, however, presumed there were still rich deposits of coal within their caverns.

With one hand guiding the steering wheel, Addison rechecked her map. She was almost a mile away from the southern entrance. It was time to hide the jeep as the rest of her journey would be on foot. Scanning the terrain for an ideal place to hide the camouflaged vehicle was not a problem. Addison spotted a small outcropping of coniferous trees to her left. They were shaped like two sides of a triangle and lightly cloaked by a mist of cloud, providing adequate cover for the jeep.

"Perfect," Addison mumbled. She turned the vehicle towards the trees that reminded her of bare Christmas trees. They swayed in a firm breeze that drastically increased the cold atmosphere.

"Why couldn't she have been taken and held on some remote tropical island?" Addison steered into the tree's cover. "I much prefer working in a warmer climate." Turning off the jeep's engine, Addison pulled the key from its ignition. It slid out with a metallic 'clink'. "I can think of a couple of more exciting ways to obtain rigid nipples, that's for sure."

As Addison opened the vehicle's door a howling wind greeted her. Its biting force rushed over the undulating crests of hills, rustling through crops of overgrown heather. Above her, the sky seemed indistinguishable through the grey mist of acc.u.mulated clouds. Evening was closing in and the temperature was rapidly dropping. Addison was positive that as night arrived it would dip below freezing; a weather condition she most despised while working.

Climbing from the jeep, Addison closed the door. A resounding slam echoed over the hills and disappeared into the foggy distance. Addison looked around her, unable to see more than thirty feet ahead. An almost ghostly silence surrounded her, only fractured by the sporadic gasps of wind. From high above, an unexpected clap of thunder rumbled through the sky. Addison looked up towards the grey atmosphere.

"Typical!"

Striding around to the back of the camouflaged vehicle, Addison swung open the boot door. Quickly she reached inside and pulled her equipment closer. Venturing further, she pulled the backpack and weapons from the pa.s.senger seat. Opening her bag she added some packed ration food, a set of basic tools and spare combat jacket into the remaining s.p.a.ce.

Once loaded with all necessary items, the agent closed and locked the jeep. Another clash of thunder ricocheted through the sky above her and Addison detected the change in the air. Rain wasn't far away. Around her she heard the squawks of unseen birds as they fled the open s.p.a.ce in search of shelter. Casting a cursory glance over the electronic map and compa.s.s, Addison set off to the northeast. She made sure her radio was switched off; she couldn't risk detection at this point.

She had been walking for almost half an hour when something captured her attention. She stopped suddenly. Her vision was severely limited due to the increasing fog and low clouds upon the highlands, so Addison had to rely upon her other senses. There was a particular scent in the air that seemed familiar to her. It was the aroma of cheap cigars, the kind her father used to smoke. Addison knew she was nearing the southern entrance of the mine. The agent proceeded with care. Using increased stealth and expertise, Addison followed the acrid scent in silence. It wasn't long before the aroma was accompanied by voices. Addison frowned as she crouched behind a large boulder. She could identify just two men, but what perplexed her was the fact they were speaking in Gaelic. Addison was familiar with many languages and was fluent in seven, but Gaelic was not one of them.

Kneeling close to the boulder, Addison looked over the grey stone. She studied the two men standing on either side of the mine's entrance. They were both dressed in Air Force blue uniforms and carried decent weapons. Each man held an Uzi submachine gun and had a high-powered pistol strapped to their right thigh. It was obvious to her that these men had some form of military or advanced arms training.

Addison watched them as they conversed and laughed with each other. The agent was biding her time. She hoped that when the rain came it would encourage both men to seek shelter. Addison knew in any operation such as this, at some point the alarm would be raised to an intruder's presence, but she wanted it to be when she was ready.

It took only five minutes for the rain to start and during that time Addison had tried to a.s.sess Skyler's situation. She knew Agnes Brodie was definitely not a second rate 'wannabe' in the world of terrorism. The armed men guarding the mine's southern entrance were testament to that. The taller of the two had used a remote, handheld radio to keep in contact with four different people during those brief minutes. All but one of the conversations was in Gaelic. The operation was well planned. It seemed that every so often each soldier on watch would call in to maintain open links and a.s.surance of presence at station. During the one English spoken conversation, Addison had discovered Agnes Brodie was actually present within the mines. A slow smile of satisfaction spread across her lips. Addison had unresolved issues with the Irish woman and she was more than willing to bring those matters to a head. However, Skyler Tidwell's safety was her primary consideration.

The rain started as a gentle patter. It did, thankfully for Addison, quickly gather speed into a heavy downpour. As the large droplets fell upon her head, the agent watched and waited. She was a little annoyed to see that only one of the guards entered the mine for shelter, but then considered it a good fate. It meant the retreating guard was leaving the post completely and only one would remain. It also happened to be the guard who held the radio. With only one man remaining, Addison realised it was in Skyler's best interest for her to get into the mine as soon as possible. That meant taking out the first guard.

Addison studied the mine's entrance. It was a wooden framed hatch, built vertically into the large gra.s.sy mound. Formulating her plan, Addison stepped out and around from the large boulder while the guard was facing the opposite direction. She jumped up onto a higher boulder on the hill and further still onto an even higher rock before leaping across and vaulting off one final flat stone. Addison jumped through the air and landed no more than a foot away from the guard. Hearing the movement he spun around, only to find his jaw connecting with a solid punch. As he stumbled backwards Addison struck him again, breaking his nose and then spinning around to deliver a roundhouse kick to the side of his head.

He collapsed, unconscious, to the ground.

Rolling her eyes, the ebony haired agent ran a hand through her wet, s.h.a.ggy hair. Knowing she couldn't leave the guard in view she grabbed his legs and began to haul him behind a rock.

"You know..." Addison stated as she dropped his legs and unloaded the Uzi, throwing its ammunition into the distance. "If your mates are as easy as you this will be a breeze." She threw the machine gun in the opposite direction, and then pulled his pistol from its holster. Addison checked the clip and found it fully loaded. She slipped it into her remaining empty pocket. As a flash of lightening lit up the sky, Addison knew it was time she entered the mine.

It seemed apparent that the mine had undergone some major alterations. Addison wondered how long it had taken Agnes Brodie to secure the narrow pa.s.sages and what had been her original intention for doing so? Had the abduction of Marlene Tidwell been a long standing and highly thought out plan? Who else was involved in this and more importantly, why?

Addison walked cautiously down the narrow, dugout pa.s.sageway. Wooden beams reinforced the structure and along each side of the wall were recently installed, electric light fittings. They brightened up the underground tunnel considerably, though she supposed there was nothing that could be done about the dank aroma of the stagnant and sweet moist soil.

With her H&K set to burst mode, Addison kept to one side of the tunnel, the submachine gun pointing ahead as she approached a single door. On closer inspection Addison realised it was in fact an elevator. Releasing the gun to her side, Addison took a large chisel ended screwdriver from her backpack and pried the door open. She didn't want to electronically open the elevator in case it captured unwanted attention.

The shaft door separated in the middle and opened smoothly. Bending to her knees, Addison wedged the screwdriver into the bottom of the door and jammed it open. Taking a small but powerful flashlight from a clip on her belt, Addison shone it into the shaft. There was at least a thirty-foot straight drop to the top of the elevator's roof and it seemed the only pa.s.sage to take. Half way down the drop, there was another shaft but it was boarded up, Addison noted, from the inside!

Placing the torch between her teeth, the agent rose to her feet. With a light jump she leapt silently onto the lift's centre cable. It was a st.u.r.dy metal pulley designed to lift the elevator's weight. Feeling her muscles strain against the material of her shirt, Addison began lowering her body down the lift shaft.

The agent was slow and deathly silent. The only noise that greeted her ears was the sound of her own controlled breathing. It didn't take her long to reach the top of the lift. Addison stepped quietly onto the metal roof. She knelt silently and listened for any nearby sounds or voices. There was nothing. Confident the area was clear, Addison released the roof hatch. It lowered down into the lift, away from Addison. She leaned forward and looked through the compartment and out into a narrow pa.s.sageway. That too was bathed in artificial light. Thankfully, it was empty. Holding on to the edge of the hatch, Addison leaned upside down and slipped into the lift. She flipped over and landed squarely on her feet. Readying her H&K, Addison stepped into enemy territory.

The first notable difference in this lower tunnel was the air quality. It seemed a lot thicker and a little less tolerable to breathe. The agent had no idea how miners had spent entire days down in places such as this, and in much worse conditions. Addison had been potholing for leisure twice, but it had never felt like this. It was as though the souls of all the men who had died so many years ago, lingered still.

"Okay, Skyler Tidwell," Addison mumbled. "Let's get you and get the h.e.l.l out of this ancient grave."

The door to Skyler's room burst open with such force that the k.n.o.b slammed into the shoddy concrete wall behind it. Skyler winced at the sudden noise and though she didn't look up from the writing tablet immediately, she prepared herself for the outburst she felt sure was to follow.

When no outburst was forthcoming she hazarded a glance toward the door. Brodie stood on the other side of the threshold, inspecting the portal closely. Satisfied there were no further perils to impede her progress into the room, she moved toward the scholar with a determined stride. Now attired in olive drab fatigues, Brodie resembled every inch of what she was, a heartless mercenary.

Brodie maintained a neutral expression on her face as she approached the table where Skyler sat but her eyes gave away the fury within. Reaching out to the scientist, Brodie grabbed a handful of blonde hair and pulled backward forcefully. Skyler shrieked out in pain as her scalp was used to force her face up to within inches of a furious and deadly redhead.

"I don't know how you pulled that off, Doctor, but n.o.body plays Agnes Brodie for a fool. I've taken out people for less than that and as much as I want that information, I won't hesitate to kill you if you try anything like that again." Brodie punctuated her threat with the appearance of a large knife with a wickedly gleaming blade. She traced the cold metal slowly down Skyler's face and under her chin where it moved across her throat.

"Of course there are worse things than just dying outright," she murmured. "It would be such a pity to mar your lovely face, but don't push me Doctor Tidwell because you will find that it wouldn't bother me in the least to punish you in that fashion." Skyler trembled a little then but it had less to do with Brodie's words than the glimmer of excitement she saw in her eyes. Brodie would not only disfigure or kill her with ease, she would enjoy it as she was doing it.

"I don't know what brought this on, Brodie," Skyler said, "but I thought we were going to work together on this. I thought we were talking about you arranging a financial arrangement for me in return for my cooperation. Maybe your accident made you forget that?" Brodie released Skyler's hair and her head bobbed forward with the lack of traction. The redhead straightened up and sneered down at her captive. The American could only hope her face showed the innocence she was trying to project. Brodie stared at the blonde and Skyler knew she had to pull her last ace out of her sleeve.

"I mean, here I was, not sure if you were terribly injured or not and yet to show my good faith I started working on the information as you requested." Skyler pulled the writing tablet closer to her so Brodie could see what was written there. Skyler was about to take her last chance. If Brodie had any scientific background she was sunk and she knew it. She barely breathed as the redhead scanned the papers.

"What is all this?" Brodie questioned. "I can't make heads or tails of it." Skyler almost giggled in relief but schooled her features. She cleared her throat and took on a scholarly tone as she said, "What is it? Well, obviously it is the heart and soul of Project Gemini. I thought you would have been more familiar with my work." Brodie looked uncomfortable with the criticism and Skyler decided to try to intimidate her with as much scientific babble as she could muster.

"You see this formula here?" Skyler pointed to a long and complicated chemical reaction written out in the proper symbols. "This is the basic science of the project. Without this, the rest of the work would be useless." Skyler could say this with a straight face because the very impressive first diagram was the Krebs cycle. The 'nine step Krebs cycle' was a basic component of cellular metabolism and something she had been forced to memorize in her Microbiology cla.s.s. Skyler was sure her mother would be working on something in her chosen field of Biology and there was nothing more basic in Biology than the Krebs cycle. She could tell Brodie was fascinated with the intricate circular diagram she had drawn. She pressed this advantage.

"Now here is the beginning of the whole thing, the catalyst to the project as it were." Skyler pointed to a string of interconnected letters.

H H.

H-C---- XANTHINE --- C-H.

H H.

H-C-H.

H.

She could tell Brodie had no clue that the formula was merely the diagram of a molecule of caffeine, a substance that Skyler had used many mornings as a catalyst to get her b.u.t.t out of bed.

Turning to the final page of her renderings, Skyler showed Brodie a piece of paper filled from top to bottom with chemical formulas and reactions. "The discovery of this process was a particularly sweet victory," Skyler noted, adding a tone of scientific pride to her voice. It should have been sweet, for on that paper was the chemical formulas for every ingredient in a chocolate chip cookie that she could recall.

"This is more like it," Brodie beamed. "I knew you would see the wisdom is cooperation. Cooperation with me will prove to be very beneficial." Her voice lowered, "Cooperation with me will prove to be very pleasurable." The frankly l.u.s.tful look that showed in Brodie's eyes made Skyler want to squirm in disgust, but she managed to feign approval of the redhead's interest.

"Well you've managed to convince me that it's best that I work with you rather than resist you," Skyler murmured.

A licentious smirk crossed Brodie's features. "Many women have found resistance to me to be futile, but believe me, it will be worth it." Without warning Brodie grabbed Skyler's face between her hands in an agonizingly tight grip. "I've always wanted to 'play doctor' for real," she said as she lowered her mouth to crush painfully against the American's. Skyler forced herself not to react violently to the brutish kiss even when Brodie's tongue invaded her mouth and ravaged rather than explored.

The mercenary's hand dropped to Skyler's breast and squeezed hard. The blonde moaned when the squeezing touched an area already bruised by Brodie's previous beating. Agnes smiled as she pulled back from the forced kiss, mistaking Skyler's pain filled groan for pa.s.sion.

"Too bad I don't have time to play at this moment but as I said to you earlier, I can't make heads or tails of your work." She lifted from the table the papers Skyler had written. "I do know someone who will understand it though. You will forgive me if I don't trust you, Doctor, but you need to realize something. I don't trust anyone." She chuckled at her own feeble attempt at humor as she straightened and moved with the papers toward the door.

"Don't worry, Professor Tidwell, when I receive faxed confirmation that this is indeed credible work on your behalf, I'll be back and we can resume exploring the pleasurable aspects of a partnership." The Irishwoman rapped sharply on the door and it opened immediately. Stopping just short of leaving the room she turned back to her captive.

"Of course, if you're trying to trick me or have been less than completely honest with me, I'll return also, but in that case we'll be exploring the far less pleasant aspects of your pain threshold." Brodie's smile was cold as she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

At the door's closing Skyler moved as quickly as possible to the small sink where she leaned over and lost the contents of her stomach. Rinsing her mouth and scrubbing her face with a small rough cloth, she removed the last traces of Brodie's a.s.sault.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep shaky breath, Skyler realized her last gamble wasn't going to pay off. She had run out of options and it was only a matter of time before Brodie uncovered her ruse.

"Where are you, Agent Black? Where the h.e.l.l are you?" She moved back to the table and dropped heavily into the chair as despair washed over her again.

It was the north and western parts of the mine that had caved in. That, fortunately for Addison, left her with only the southern and eastern areas to search. It was highly unlikely Skyler Tidwell was being held in the lowest level of the mine. That was, at the time, still under construction and was the trigger that had caused the collapse of the north and western caverns.

Pacing down the narrow trench, Addison turned a corner. She stopped suddenly as a cough alerted her to another presence. Addison moved up against the right wall and waited. Another man, wearing the same blue uniform, emerged from a framed doorway ahead to the right and disappeared into the opposite wooden enforced pa.s.sageway. He was armed yet carried a newspaper in his left hand. Addison followed him into what was clearly a makeshift bathroom. It was cold, dark and the aroma was less than pleasant.