Page 59 of Mitch

Chapter Twenty-Two

Autumn glancedat the man holding some sort of semi-automatic weapon on the outside door of the small make-shift lab. Her nerves frayed with every second she spent in this room with her baby not six feet from the dangerous chemicals.

When she’d set foot inside the silo earlier that morning, she’d been unable to hide her awe at the scale on which the operation ran. What’s more, it was entirely under the radar of the authorities.

It was a vast warren of tunnels with labs, storage, even a small kitchen and bathroom with bunks to the left of it. Full electricity ran through it—powering the fridges, along with equipment she knew cost thousands of pounds.

It also told of the brilliance of the man who stood with his arms crossed at the far end of the lab where she worked. Allen was a bad person, he may not have done the things she’d thought he had, but he’d done some nasty shit. Murder, assault, kidnap, extortion, and drug dealing to name the ones she knew of, but she couldn’t help feeling some small bit of empathy for him.

Linton Allen had set this up with nobody knowing. She could only imagine what he could’ve achieved with the right support. He’d also been considerate of her needs since he’d kidnapped her, which was in no way a compliment, but he could’ve been cruel, and he wasn’t.

He’d set up a cot for Maggie in a bedroom where he’d made sure she had food and water. The door was locked, but it was clean and dry, and Maggie had been none the wiser thank god.

A phone rang, and she turned to look at Allen. He frowned as he walked to where she was pretending to mix chemicals.

“We need twenty-four hours.” He hung up and his face was harsh with anxiety. “Mitch needs to move. Verena is putting pressure on to find the formula or she’ll outsource it. She has a biochemical weapons expert flying in tomorrow, and if you haven’t done as she’s asked, they’ll kill you.” He glanced at Maggie, his jaw flexing. “And her.”

“No, you have to do something.”

“I can’t fucking do anything. Mitch needs to come through.”

“Just call him. They can help us.”

“No, I told you that’s not how this goes down.”

His tone was final, and she knew he wouldn’t relent. This was the play he was making for better or worse, and she just had to pray Eidolon was as good as she believed. She had to try another tactic. “What did you want to be when you were a kid, Linton?”

Allen glared as he crossed his arms again. His body turned so that his back was partial to the door. “I don’t remember.”

“Oh, come on, indulge me. You’re putting the life of my baby in danger for your pride. It’s the least you can do.”

“I don’t owe you anything, lady.”

“No, maybe not.” She shrugged as she brought up the analysis on the screen in front of her. “But you were the one who brought me here, brought my sweet innocent child into this mess. You could have left Maggie behind. Could’ve just taken me but you didn’t, you took her too. If something happens to her, Mitch will kill you.”

Allen stared at Maggie. “She was a means to an end. Not a person but a bargaining chip I could use to control you.”

“How can you look at life in that way?”

“Because anything else will make you weak, will make you vulnerable, and I can’t afford that weakness.”

“Love isn’t a weakness. It’s strength.”

“Not for everyone.”

“You never been in love?” She was running out of options now of trying to get him to see a different way out.

Allen was silent, and Autumn sighed in defeat, perhaps there was no getting through to him, maybe the human part of this was gone.

It wasseven hours later as they walked back down the tunnel that linked his home to this underground weapons plant that he answered her.

“I wanted to be a doctor, a kid’s doctor.”

Autumn cocked her head as Maggie snuggled against her shoulder. “Yeah, I think you’d have been good at that.”

Allen chuckled humourlessly. “Nah, kids are scared of me.”

“Maggie isn’t,” she stated. “She fell asleep in your arms yesterday.”