Franky Is Lucky

CHAPTER 10

THERE IS A FINE LINE BETWEEN GENIUS AND INSANITY

I walked out of the room with Dr. Molokai and Dr. Aster flagging me on either side. My cell led into another room filled with monitors, recording equipment and computers. It was cramped and dark inside that small room and I could see that I had been right about the two way mirrors. We walked on through a door in the rear of the room and out into a white and fluorescent lit hallway. This seemed to be a different part of the basement. Maybe a hidden, or extremely secure area, because there were very few doorways, and also no signs of life besides the three of us. Maybe not knowing how dangerous I was paranoid the good doctors into removing the personal. Maybe it was still Sunday and everyone was off at home. Hopefully, that was the case. Who knew how messy things were about to get.

We pressed on into the vastness of the corridor and out to the end of the hall. This was definitely a different part of the basement, because the main hallway in this section was unpainted cement. I heard a gentle humming fill the ambient noise of this section. I turned to Dr. Molokai, determined not the speak to the other evil next to me.

“What is that noise?” I asked out of sheer curiosity. I felt it was best to know exactly where I was.

“Well it is interesting that you asked, Adrian would you care to explain?” She turned to Dr. Aster. I found it funny that his name was Adrian, the meaning was very poignant. Adrian looked at me and he turned us down the hallway, the humming got louder and he opened a door to the left of us and we walked in. Inside was a large whirring mechanism. As I looked I noticed that the machine was made of a large and luminous sphere in the center with encompassing ellipses and circles twirling around in various orbits. It looked like a very large version of an atom.

“This is our perpetual motion generator.” Adrian started by saying. “This machine generates ten times more energy that a wind turbine and needs a hundredth of the amount of energy to sustain itself. We currently power the whole building with this one machine, but we could power twenty buildings this size. However, this technology is very dangerous and so it is still being tested. What do you think?” I looked at the machine in awe and suspicion. This couldn’t be it. Why was this a secret? It could solve the energy crisis. I instantly realized a huge design flaw all the moving parts were interconnected and all had to be working properly in order for the machine to function. This must have some maintenance issues, and some dangerous potential.

“What is at the core? What substance did you use to create such a strong magnetic field?” I asked. Adrian turned to me with a skeptical eye, he seemed intrigued that I had deduced the workings of the machine in such a short time.

“Well, that is for me to know and you to find out. I can’t have you knowing all our secrets.” It must be something big and dangerous or else he was just trying to annoy me. Well this was an interesting development. “Well let’s not doddle any longer. We need to get to business, let’s lead you to your comrade.” With that we walked out of the room, me with a long look at the machine.

We left back out into the hallway and followed down the lit corridor to another room. We stopped in front of a door with a small inset window made of security glass. I looked inside.

The room looked to be padded, like it was part of a mental ward. Sitting in the corner of the room was Amy. She was dressed in all white, a tunic like shirt and pants. They had even dressed her like a mental patient. She wasn’t crazy, this was an attempt to diminish her. I instantly became angry.

“Why the hell is she in a looney room?” I turned on Adrian and Dr. Molokai. I looked at the pair sternly.

“Well we can’t have her escaping or hurting herself, you make think we did it. This was the only solution.” He looked at me smugly as if this was my fault.

“Well I want to talk to her.” I crossed my arms over my chest and planted my feet, they were going to give me what I wanted or else. I starred them down for a few minutes as both Dr. Molokai and Adrian gave each other poignant looks and finally they conceded.

“Well if you insist.” Adrian moved to open the door and let me inside. I walked in and sat on the floor across from Amy reaching carefully into my pocket as I did trying to conceal what I was taking from inside. Both the demons stood in the door and watched me and I looked at Amy. I felt a knot form in my throat as I observed her. The skin around her temple was blistering from where the electrodes had been and her hair was dirty and matted. I waited to speak until she looked up at me. She needed to see my face for this.

“Amy are you okay?” She looked at me with awe. She had seen what was in my hand. I frowned at her, letting her know that she needed to conceal her expression. Her face changed slowly to fear.

She just starred at me like a battered woman. She looked worn and forlorn, there was no hope in her eyes.

“I am so sorry. I tried Amy I really did. I don’t know what to do, but they say if I cooperate they won’t hurt you. They will keep you safe.” I placed my hands clasped into her lap and dropped what I was holding discreetly into it, she was sitting cross legged so it fell into the expanse onto the floor. I then leaned in and put my hand to her face. I looked her squarely in the eyes. I wanted to convey what I was trying to get through her head in the best way I could.

“You need to do whatever you can to stay safe. If they come after you or hurt you, they may not tell me. You need to send Brent if you are not safe. He can tell me what is happening. I know that this is hard, but you have to be brave. Remember, send Brent and be brave.” I took my jacket off and draped it over her shoulders.

“Hand me that jacket, Felicite.” I heard Adrian say from behind me. I picked it up and handed it to him.

“She’s cold I can feel it in her face.” I looked at him sternly as he checked the pockets. He wasn’t going to find anything. He handed it back to me and motioned for me to give it to her. I draped it back over her and hugged her. I whispered in her ear.

“You will be okay. I promise.” And then I got up and walked out with the devil doctors. I glanced back briefly into the room as Amy just sat there a look of shock on her face. All I could do was pray that she would make it and as I glanced back into the room one last time I saw the assurance I needed, her face became determined and stony.

I pressed on with the two in front of me. I looked to my left and right trying to find anything that might be useful in my half of the escape plan. I searched vainly until we reached a corridor. I saw sitting against the wall in the hallway a cart full of equipment. On it sat several flasks, vials and beakers. One of the stopped vials had a diamond on the outside. I reached out and grabbed the vial quietly, since my captors were in front of me they didn’t see me and I placed the vile into my pants pocket. I looked down to see if it was noticeable and it wasn’t. I kept walking.

We walked until we got back to my cell and we stepped inside the room with all the electronic equipment. I leaned against the wall as the two doctors sat in office chairs and pulled up files on the various computer screens. I looked around for what I needed and I found it. Just then Adrian started to speak.

“If you will turn to the monitor on the wall and look we have your first mission ready.” I turned to the wall he pointed at, inset into it was a large television. It illuminated the room as it turned on.
A picture of a girl with rust red hair and pale features appeared on the screen. She looked to be in her mid twenties. Her smile was dazzling and her eyes were a light green. I did not recognize her which was a relief.

“This is Haley Weinstein, she is of great interest to the company, we need you to ascertain her services willingly or by force and bring her here.” I looked over at Adrian his head was propped on his clenched hands and his elbows propped on the desk in front of him. He starred at me. I had to play the part.

“Why do you want her?” I thought that was a good question.

“Well we she is of great interest to us, she seems to possess the ability to control electrical current.” He looked at me with great zeal, he was excited I could tell. I hated him.

“She seems? As in you don’t know for sure? Why would you send me after someone if you don’t know for sure what they can do?” This made me angry, how many people were they watching? How many people were they unsure of? How many files of women and men did they have just like this one?

“Well that is why we are sending you. We hope that your apparent gifts will give you an advantage. Here is your bag back minus anything to help you escape and the dossier. We will give you twenty four hours to study it. Now if you will go in to your room and allow Dr. Molokai to give you a shot we would be very appreciative.”

“A shot of what?” I said holding my ground and looking skeptical.

“Why my silly girl you didn’t think we would let you leave without a way to find you? Dr. Molokai has created one of the smallest tracking devices known to man. So small in fact that it can literally be injected into the blood stream of a living person.” They were going to track me! I needed to act now.

I looked at him. I pulled the vile from my pants pocket and looked at it for a second it said Nitro methane, and then I hurled it to my intended target, the electrical hub on the floor, As the vile broke and the chemical inside was released a huge flame rose in the middle of the room, it was enough distraction to turn and run, and that is exactly what I did.

I ran, I ran as fast as I could. Making turns down the twisting corridors to my next stop. I sped up as I heard the whirring noise ahead of me. I reached for the door to the room and I entered. In front of me was the perpetual motion machine. I looked around the room and found one of the light fixtures on the wall. I reached up and using my body weight, yanked it down. With the light fixture in my hands I turned back towards the machine and counted to ten.

I knew this was suicide, I knew it but I had no other choice. Brent had been right. This wasn’t just about me anymore, this was bigger than that.

Eight. Breath.

Nine. Breath

Ten. One last breath.

I hurled the light fixture into the rotating blades and I turn and reached for the door. I flung it open and dove onto the floor, sliding into the hall way in front of me. I got up to start running, just in time.

The explosion rippled through the hallway and the shock waves ripped through my body, I fell onto the floor and flung myself against the wall curling up into a ball with my hands over my face. Shrapnel flew all around me, but none of it touched me.

It was over as soon as it began and when I opened my eyes it was pitch black. I waited for my eyes to adjust. They didn’t, it really was completely dark.

I had to get out of here but how?

I couldn’t go back the way I came and I was unsure as to how long I had before the building collapsed. I am sure it didn’t blow apart the whole building. Then again the machine was located in the basement so the structural integrity of the building was definitely challenged.

This was not my best idea.

I was on my feet by this time and as I walked and felt against the wall lights popped on. They were dim but they still hurt my eyes. A backup generator? I hadn’t planned on that even though I should have. Well this was a stroke of both good and bad luck.

I looked around at the destruction I had caused. Down the hall where the machine had once been was a massive hole in the concrete. Exposed wiring and rebar stuck out along the edges of the expanse. Lights were hanging from the ceiling some of them still flickering. Debris was everywhere. It looked like a scene from a movie and yet this was less than I had expected.

I stumbled down the corridor to the hallway I knew I needed to be at. I was hoping I had been right. I was hoping she was still there. I reached the corridor where Amy’s cell was and I looked inside the inset window and there she was. Huddled in the corner with the leather jacket over her head and torso. I slammed on the door, trying to get her attention and not anyone else’s. She peaked her head over the coat and beamed at me. She looked so happy. She ran over to the door and forced the key car underneath the padding through to the bottom. I saw it protrude from the bottom just a sliver and pulled it the rest of the way out.

Once the key card was free I slid it through the lock and the door opened. She was free. She bolted out of the room slamming the door behind her.

Then we started running. All I could here was our breath and the soles of my shoes and her slippers skidding down the corridors till we made it back to the exit. We were at the beginning the place where I had started.

I felt my heart skip for joy as I reached for the door. Just as my hand touched the knob I heard Amy scream.