Villains Rise

Chapter 3 -- Great. This again.

Waiting for Owen to return again is worse than standing in line for a popular rollercoaster. Maybe he forgot about me. He could just be covering his tracks, though. The other villains may not agree with me being released.

Or he could just be looking for my leash.

"I'm back. We have to be quick about this, though." Owen jogs down the small corridor and unlocks my cell.

I clear my throat, "If you'll take the cuffs off I promise it'll be the quickest walk of your life."

He scowls at me before opening the door, "Nice try. We need to hurry up because the board needs to speak with me."

I don't reply because I'm honestly tired of trying to sass him. I just want fresh air and to be able to see the outside world. The quicker I get out there the better. However Owen seems to be taking his sweet, precious time despite his previous rush.

"Put these on." He takes off a pair of black sunglasses that were hooked to the front of his white t-shirt. He places them in my hand and I slide them on my face with a little difficulty.

"Can we go now?" I plead. I'm still in my tank top and gym shorts I wore to bed.

He takes off a ball cap he wasn't wearing earlier and pops it on my head, "Now we can." His light brown hair ruffles upon removing the hat.

"Is all of this necessary?" I swipe away his hand but leave the Braves cap on.

His eyes meet mine and for a split second I think I detect empathy. What could he possibly be thinking?

"Yes, it's a mess out there without you." He replies, avoiding my eyes now. He grabs my right wrist which automatically drags the rest of my body along.

"What're you talking about? How bad could the town be in one night?" I don't typically answer to stress calls in the night anyways. How could the town be a mess?

Owen snaps his head left and right before leading me up the stairs to the main floor of the hotel. I suppose my walk is a secret after all. It's rather peculiar that my kidnapper is also my accomplice.

He guides me to the left, down a hall that I recall led to the bathrooms. We're not going out the main doors? I guess that would be rather obvious.

At the end of the hall there's an exit and he pushes against the door with barely any force. For some reason I expect an alarm to go off, but that would be troublesome for us for sure. What I want is for someone to catch us, though.

All of a sudden we're out in an alley and Owen has let go of my wrist. He trusts me to walk on my own? He begins to peer around the corner and then ushers for me to walk behind him.

As we take a few steps on the sidewalk in broad daylight, he loosens up a bit and I can see his shoulders slump in relaxation. His statement from earlier is still prying in the back of my mind. As calm as he looks, it can't last.

"So why is the town a mess?" I ask, though as I look around I don't see any evidence to back up his statement.

He snaps his head to look at me. Did he forget I was here or something? "You'll see when we get farther into town. Just a day after your epic battle with Red Raven and the town goes ballistic when you don't show up for duty." He finishes with a roll of his eyes.

"A day?!?" I screech, but manage to keep my voice down before I cause any glances this way. No one was paying us any attention anyways. You'd think my handcuffs would be an eye catcher, but with Owen in front of me, I assume my hands are covered from the public's eyes.

Owen nods his head, "Yes, a day."

Good grief, why has no one come for me?!?

A tear slips down my cheek, and I struggle to wipe it away. In my silence, Owen turns around to spot the streaks flowing down my face.