The Apprentice (Girlxgirl)

Chapter Sixty

"I can't believe I didn't recognise this room," Alex said, annoyed at herself. "I worked with my dad for a few months, and he set me up in here, doing paperwork. He moved to his new office before Tammy and I split up."

"So you know where we are?" I asked.

"Yes, but more importantly," she said, starting to whisper, "I think I know how we can get out of here."

"How?" I asked, hopefully.

"Not now, Jay, she'll see us," she whispered, looking at the camera. I nodded.

We waited, very impatiently, for some clue that Tammy wouldn't be watching us. After a couple of hours, we got what we were waiting for.

Tammy opened the door, and stepped into the room.

"How do you feel about pasta for dinner? There's that little Italian place around the corner, where we used to go. They do take-out now."

"Sounds good," Alex said. "Could we get something cold to drink please? It's really warm in here."

"Of course," Tammy beamed. She was excited that Alex was talking, and not shouting. "I'll be back in twenty minutes. I might even treat you to dessert."

Alex put on a fake smile, before Tammy left the room again. We waited for five minutes before we spoke.

"Okay, what's the plan?" I asked.

"There's a safe behind the company logo. I doubt there's anything in there, but my dad still kept these offices open for a while after he moved to his new building. He didn't trust the employees here, so he got the security company to install a new feature."

Alex stood up, and pulled the sign, from behind the bookshelf, off the wall. I still wasn't quite sure where she was going with this, but I was so excited to see the safe hadn't been removed. She started to type in the code, but the safe flashed red. She got it wrong. She tried a few more times, and failed repeatedly.

"It's okay, baby, we'll find another way," I said softly. She put the sign back on the wall, and then sat down next to me.

"We don't need to," she assured me, and I gave her a confused look.

"What?"

"The security feature that they added, was that when somebody tried to put the code in, and got it wrong three times in a row, the security company, and my dad, would be notified."

Her words gave me a sense of relief, and a smile crept on my face.

"The building has been empty for over two years, so the security company will send the police."

"Oh my god," I grinned. "You're amazing."

"She is, isn't she?"

Tammy burst in through the door, and she did not look happy.

"Tammy, what's-"

"What's wrong?" She bellowed at Alex. "What's wrong, is this."

She held out her phone to show us the screen. She had linked the cctv up to her phone, so she had a video feed of us, the whole time she was gone.

"Shit," I whispered.

"Yes, shit," Tammy repeated, looking at me. "You know, I really thought we were getting somewhere. I thought, maybe this will all work out. I thought that I wouldn't have to kill you."

"Tammy, please," Alex cried, as Tammy took her gun out of her back pocket, and held it to my head.

"This is on you, Alex. We could have left her here alive. All you had to do was stop lying to yourself!" She screamed, pushing the gun harshly into my temple. I closed my eyes tightly.

"Please, I'll do anything," Alex cried.

My eyes shot open, and I saw Tammy turn to look at Alex. My heart was racing, and I struggled to control my breathing.

"You don't mean that," Tammy said. "You're just trying to trick me. You'll just run from me, the second you get the chance."

"Please, Tammy, believe me. Don't hurt her, I'll do anything."

Alex was sobbing, and I could see that Tammy was trying to work out if she was lying or not. I already knew, she wasn't lying. I could see in her eyes that she would have traded her own life for mine. She would have gone with Tammy, and lived in an abusive, manipulative relationship with someone who she despised, to stop her from killing me. I knew this because I would have done the same, if it were the other way around.

I shifted my eyes back to Tammy, who was still staring at Alex. The gun was still firmly pressed against my head, and I knew she could kill me whenever she wanted, and this would all be over. I wasn't ready to give up yet.

I grabbed the gun, in Tammy's hand, and tried to push her away from me with both legs. She fell next to me, still holding the gun. But I still had my hands wrapped around hers, forcing the gun away from me.

"Jamie!" I heard Alex screech, as I fought with Tammy for the gun.

Tammy sent a fist flying, into my face, and it knocked my head back to the floor, but I still held onto the gun for dear life.

"Tammy! Get off of her!" Alex screamed, and tried to pull her off me.  Tammy pushed her back, and she fell against the wall.

"It's all your fault," Tammy cried, trying to turn the gun against me.

I pushed back with all the force I had, but I wasn't sure it would be enough. There was barely any space between the two of us, so I couldn't be sure who was winning the fight.

Tammy pulled the trigger, and everything stood still.