Chapter Six
February 22nd, 12:12 AM
It happened in a second-- it had to happen in a second. The mask left Erin's face, and a shot of adrenaline rushed through her body. She whipped her head around, flinging her long, black hair over her face, and curled her body into a half-ball, bringing her knee up, fast and hard into Julia's side. Julia cried out and crumpled over, and Erin flicked her leg out, catching Julia's head with her boot. Julia spun around and crashed to the floor, face-first, giving Erin time to get to her feet. Without thinking, she darted to the desk and threw the lamp to the floor. It shattered, and the bright light was immediately extinguished, plunging the two women into darkness.
"My lamp!" Julia shouted. "You broke my lamp! You little cunt!"
Erin moved to kick Julia, but as she pulled back her leg, her opponent charged, leaping into her body and catching her by the waist. Julia's weight carried Erin to the floor with an "oof." Erin scrambled to get back up, only to feel Julia's bony fingers snatch her wrists and push her to the floor. Once again, Erin was grounded, only now she was straddled and held down in the dark.
"Don't worry, Blue Lynx, I can't see you yet," Julia laughed. "But once my eyes adjust, I've got the perfect view of who you really are."
Erin struggled, tried to push free from Julia's grip, but the reporter was much stronger than she had imagined. She guessed she had a minute, maybe a minute and a half, to escape. Her eyes were already becoming accustomed to the darkness, which meant Julia's eyes probably were, too.
"Come on, girl, use that super strength!" Julia cackled, putting additional pressure on Erin's wrists. "Don't let weak little Julia Wright pin you down!"
Julia lifted her bottom slightly as she pressed forward, and Erin immediately recognized the opening. She kicked up with her lower half, catching Julia in the groin and bucking her into the air. Julia released Erin's arms and fell to the floor. Now side-by-side, Erin rolled over and onto her foe, pinning Julia's arms to the floor, letting her long hair hang around her head and obscure her face.
"Where's my mask?" Erin shouted.
"Not telling," Julia said, with a giggle.
A moment later, Erin's fist shot out and blasted Julia in the face. She cried out in pain as blood coursed from her nose.
"Augh!" she yelped. "My face! Augghhh!"
"WHERE'S MY MASK?" Erin repeated.
"I threw it over there, Jesus," Julia cried, lazily gesturing with her hand.
Erin released Julia's other wrist, and Julia's hand instantly rushed to her face, trying to corral the blood coming out of it. Erin crawled along the floor, patting at the ground with her hands. She bumped into the chair where she had been sitting for the "interview," and underneath the seat, felt something small and soft. She picked up the mask and affixed it to her face, smoothing it out against her skin, and then turned around to look at Julia, who was still moaning, writhing around on the floor, holding her nose.
Erin stood up. "Did I break your nose?" she asked. She didn't sound too concerned.
"You did, you bitch," Julia muttered, her voice muffled under her fingers.
"Good," Erin said.
She gave Julia a small kick as she walked over her body.
"Good night, Julia," she said, strutting through the desks, eyes focused on the dark outline of the elevator where she had come in.
"No," Julia said, desperately. Erin could hear scrabbling sounds behind her. "No, you can't go."
Erin turned around. "I'm leaving. You can't stop me."
Julia laughed. "I can't," she moaned. "But my friends can."
And her voice jumped up in volume and intensity as she shouted, "CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE!"
There was a click, and the room exploded with light. Erin shut her eyes and winced. She put her hands out in front of her, instinctively. As she slowly opened her eyes, she could see two figures standing on the other side of the room, one short and squat, the other, tall and broad.
Erin heard giggling. She turned around, and Julia was still on the floor, almost rolling with laughter.
"It's a trap, Blue Lynx," Julia said, in between laughs. "It's a trap!"
Erin turned back to the two figures, and they were walking toward her. She could make out more details, now: the short figure walked with a slow, patient gait. Pieces of cloth hung from her body (Erin guessed she was a woman) in rags. The tall figure was dressed in all black, one big form-fitting outfit. His face was obscured by a mask...
Erin gulped. She knew these people.
"Blue Lynx," the short figure said, in an old, crackling voice, "Forgive us for our interruption."
She was the woman who had abducted her... The old woman... The one who had pulled down her pants, as if she were a child...
"I don't think we've been properly introduced," the old woman said. "My name is Lora."
Erin was speechless. Had they been here, in the newsroom, the entire time? Was this whole interview nothing but a set-up? She tried to puff up her chest, desperately wanted to look superheroinely. But all she could feel inside was a dark sense of dread. And deja vu.
"I think you've met my partner, Steve," Lora said, placing her hand on the small of the ninja's back. "I think you even let him borrow something, the last time you met."
The ninja nodded at Erin, and stuffed his hand in his pocket. When he returned his hand to Erin's view, it contained the Blue Lynx's mask, worn-down and crumpled up. Steve opened his fingers and let the mask drop to the floor. It landed with the tiniest of hollow sounds.
Erin shuddered. Her arm began to throb, as if in panic. She had to say something to distract herself...
"What... What are you doing here?"
It was weak. Erin knew it, and they knew it. Lora smiled.
"There's a contract out on your head, Blue Lynx," the old woman said. "And we're going to collect it, tonight."
Erin tensed up. Contract? Yes, she knew there had to be something like that. That was the reason why these goons had taken Erin Steele back in January.
"Steve would love to take you in the hard way," Lora said, pointing at her partner, who was cracking his knuckles. "But I prefer the lighter touch, myself."
Erin lifted her fists up. She took a deep breath.
"Ready, Blue Lynx?" Lora said.
And before Erin could respond, Lora flung her hands out. A dozen small pellets flew from her fingers, floating through the air momentarily, and then dropping hard around Erin's boots. As the pellets hit the ground, they burst into smoke, not unlike the Blue Lynx's own smoke bombs. Plumes of gas rose around Erin's body, encasing her in white and gray vapors. Erin coughed, and tried to brush away the smoke, but the gas seemed to wrap itself around her, binding itself to her wrists, her arms, her shoulders, her neck. Erin could feel it creep into her, tasted its burn in her mouth and nostrils. She stumbled to one side, and then the other. Her ankles buckled, and she fell to her knees. She coughed, placed her hand to her chest, fell over onto her free hand. The gas cocooned her, imprisoned her, finally drove her face first to the ground. Her muscles relaxed. Her eyes closed.
And when the smoke cleared, the Blue Lynx lay on the floor in an unconscious heap.
On to Chapter Seven
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