Chapter Seven
June 21st, 11:03 PM
Margot sat in her car on the street outside of Hammerson's mansion, her binoculars trained on the ornate building's ornate door, and waited. What she was waiting for, she didn't really know-- she had no idea if Erin was being held here, and she still didn't know the extent of Sunny's involvement with the Blue Lynx's abduction. But as long as she had a clue, she would follow it. Erin's life depended on it.
She sighed. She'd been here for hours, just like she'd been last night. She had already put on her Black Bobcat outfit, assuming she'd want to be ready as soon as possible if in fact she saw Erin, Sunny, or any other shady characters milling about. She was prepared for a fight-- she desperately wanted to avenge whatever humiliations were being performed on Erin-- but there was nothing at Hammerson's house to suggest she would be fighting, tonight. Which wasn't to say she hadn't made some kind of progress: while she was sitting tight yesterday, she found a way to hack into Sunny's Donator page. Within minutes, she had shut the website down completely. There was nothing like putting your degree to use.
But even if the Blue Lynx's public embarrassment might have been (temporarily) prevented, the Blue Lynx herself was still missing. The questions of if she should ask for help haunted Margot. As far as she knew, she was the only one aware of the fact that Erin had been kidnapped. This wasn't like last time, with the Fearsome Five and the tape they had sent to the media. The cops, the public, Erin's dad: they were all completely in the dark regarding the Blue Lynx's fate. If Margot told them what was going on, or at least gave them a sort of head start, their combined resources would making finding Erin a cinch. But Margot knew that Erin would never, ever forgive her if she compromised the Blue Lynx's identity, even in a situation as dire as this. Erin's superheroine career was her life-- the only question was, would Erin have a life to live after this most perilous predicament?
A buzzing sound. Margot's phone was vibrating. She rummaged through her purse and pulled it out.
Erin was calling.
"Oh my God," Margot whispered.
She immediately put the phone against her cheek and answered. "Hey!" she said. "Are you okay?"
"Hello Margot."
The voice was low, sinister, menacing. And definitely not Erin's.
"Who the hell is this?" Margot asked, but she already knew.
A laugh crackled through the speaker. "Me? I'm the bad bitch who beat the Blue Lynx."
"Sunny," Margot growled.
"Bingo," Sunny said. "And since we're on a first name basis, I guess I should also be calling the Blue Lynx by her real name: Erin Steele."
Margot gasped. She had hoped against hope that somehow Sunny had delayed taking off the Blue Lynx's mask. Everything she had feared was now confirmed: she knew Erin's most closely guarded secret.
"How did you get this number?" she stuttered.
"Simple: I asked for the passcode to Erin's phone. And wouldn't you know, Miss Erin gave it to me." Sunny laughed. "Me and your friend Erin have been learning a lot about each other the past couple of days. She's really opening up to me. Really... Squealing."
Margot tried to ignore these comments. She had to stay focused. She took a deep breath. "What do you want?" she finally asked.
"Simple," Sunny replied. "I want you to reverse your stupid hack, that's all. I want you to put my Donator page back online."
"I'm not doing that."
"You will do that," Sunny said. "Or I'll do something to your little friend that's far worse than taking off her mask."
Margot heard an electric hum in the background, followed by the slightly muffled sound of a young woman screaming. Erin!
"Stop!" Margot yelled. "Don't hurt her!"
"Well, it's too late for that," Sunny said. "The question now is whether or not I kill Erin Steele. And you're going to determine the answer, MAR-GO."
Margot could feel her fingers squeezing into balls. She should've known her efforts would've attracted Sunny's attention. She had probably tortured Erin for hours, trying to get Margot's name and Erin's phone password. And now, Margot had to make an impossible choice... A choice with only one realistic option.
"Okay, okay," Margot muttered. "You win, Sunny. I'll put the page back online."
"You better," Sunny said. "If I'm not able to satisfy my paying customers by tomorrow evening, I'll put an end to the whole show. Permanently."
Margot sniffled. "You... bitch."
"I know," Sunny laughed. "Good night, Margot."
She hung up.
Margot threw the phone on the floor and slammed her hands into the steering wheel. "Damn it!" she screamed. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
The audacity of that... that... woman. Hammerson was awful, but at least he had a motive, a reason for his evil. Sunny seemed to only want to hurt Erin, to demean the Blue Lynx. To call her on Erin's phone... To use the Blue Lynx's own tools for her nefarious bidding... To...
Margot blinked. The tracker!
She scooped up her phone. Erin's phone was still on. Her location could be mapped!
Margot pressed a button, and a red dot appeared on her screen. The dot was not in front of her-- not in Hammerson's mansion-- but across town.
Margot wrote down the coordinates. She couldn't count on the phone being awake for long. But as long as Erin and Sunny stayed put...
"You're gonna pay, bitch," Margot said. "You should never called the Black Bobcat."
On to Chapter Eight
No comments:
Post a Comment