Page 130 of CHOICE Lover
Sable only shrugs. “She already knows. Besides, Wanda and I are friends now. Right, Wanda?”
Wandafrowns. “I already have a FRIENDS group.”
Sable waves her off. “No such thing as optimal balance. Res6 and I just became friends, and neither of us have exploded.”
Wanda ignores her. “The point is, some rules are more important than others. For instance, the illegal fighting ring wasn’t a concern for public safety until we learned of a possible instance of coercion. Now there is an active investigation.”
“See! You’re warning me so I don’t get caught—just like a friend would do!” Sable cries. “It is uncanny how incredibly likable I am.”
“You’re definitely something,” Res6 agrees. A little frightening, if he had to put a word to it. “So what do we do now that we’ve isolated their location down to a building in V Quadrant?”
“I’ll have my team start reviewing the footage. I want to know what they’re up to. With that, I want to move forward with sending the ransom demands and see if we can get them to release her as promised.”
“But we know where they are,” Sable says.
“True,” Wanda says, covering a yawn with her hand. “But if this is larger, this lead might be the break we need to take the entire operation down. I need to be strategic about this.”
“What about Lextr?” He feels a stab of guilt over assuming his long-term employee had anything to do with Electra’s abduction, even if the man had no qualms about decommissioning her. Was firing him too rash? From this vantage point, it feels too rash. Shit. “Can’t we demand his release, too?”
“Electra’s life is the one at risk. I’m guessing they know he helped you bring Electra back, so they won’t kill him. They abducted him for a reason.” Wanda picks his device up off the desk. “I need full permissions.”
Electra is gone, and he has no control. He’s spent his life thriving on control. Now he’s going to have to give up more? His stomach twists painfully. “Why?”
“Once we get the files from Sable’s friend, my team will handle the information transmission along with allcorrespondence.” He must look like he’s about to argue because she says, “You want her to live, right?”
He nods, rubbing his tired eyes, and thinks the command: Time Check. 3:18.
She gives him a tight smile, approving of his answer. “Then let the experts do their jobs.”
45 – Things that Cut
Electra
“Let go of my hair!” she screams, lashing out, trying to get her nails on any exposed piece of flesh. She makes contact with the man’s neck and digs her claws in. The man grunts, yanking her head back, and she cries out.
He drags her into a room and shoves her against a wall so hard the air whooshes out of her. She clutches her stomach, bending over as tears prick in her eyes.
“Stand up straight,” he commands.
A woman wearing an unnecessary full-face respirator enters. Through the glass, she can make out her light brown skin and vibrant yellow eyes, which in her time would make her easy to identify, but now are a fairly common feature. Her matching yellow hair is tied back with a black and white checked bandana. She comes to stand next tothe man. Her white lab coat and the medical scanner she holds remind her of Lextr. Is she a scientist too?
The man who brought her in rubs at the angry red scratch marks on his neck. “What makes you think he’ll give up his company’s information in exchange for this little hellcat?”
The woman’s eyes flash with irritation. “I told you we’ve been watching them. Hold her still while I run the scan.”
The man’s right, isn’t he? Res6 said he’s in love with her, but he won’t give up CHOICElover for her . . . will he? She can’t think like that. Even if he comes for her, she needs to fight for herself. Her gaze darts around the room trying to find anything she can use as a weapon. There’s no way she can take on both of them, but every female character she’s ever written found a way to fight back. She has to do the same.
The room is mostly empty other than a small metal cabinet holding a handful of medical-looking containers and a set of packaged tools like at the dentist. The rounded toes of a black pair of shoes peek out from between the wall and the cabinet—just below a face staring straight at her. The man’s distinctive orange afro is instantly recognizable. “Lextr?”
Shit. She’s distracted. The big man moves so fast, grabbing one hand and then the other, lifting them over her head, and pressing them into the wall. “Hurry up,” he grumbles.
The scientist lifts the scanner, and the blue line of light makes several passes over her body. He watches the screen for a moment before a light turns green. “Got it. Now we just need to get the tissue samples.”
Her stomach turns to lead. They are not getting tissue samples. She knees the man in the groin. Except her knee doesn’t land in his groin. It hits the meaty flesh of his thigh.
He grunts in mild irritation. “I’m going to need some help.”
“Get off me!” she screams, flailing. “Lextr, do something!”
