Fleur Di Lis

Chapter Twenty Seven

"Soo," Rik began lightly.  "How's that escape plan working out for ya?"

I exhaled, looking around the semi-darkness helplessly.  My brain was utterly fried.  Though Baxter's visit had obviously rattled me, Alexandria's betrayal worsened the blow.  To think that she'd been behind the plan to get us to New Orleans all along, feigning that her life was in danger, Nate falling into the trap...  My blood boiled.  How the hell could she do that to her closest, oldest friend?  The one person who'd trusted her with everything he'd had; who had treated her with such adoration, like she was part of his family?  The one person that she had claimed to have loved so much that it hurt her?

How the hell could she betray him like this?

"I'm working on it."

"Well, hate to hurry ya, but...  can you hurry it up a little bit?  I don't want any more bones broken than I have already."

"I'm trying."  Despite the anger about Alexandria's betrayal eating away at me, I couldn't allow it to distract me right now; I had bigger problems to deal with and anger wasn't going to help me with them.  I had to be smart about this; I had to think of a way to get out of this hangar with an injured Rik in tow with as little destruction as possible.  The stealthier I was about it, the easier it would be to sneak away.

Rik was right; I had to be quick about it.  

Like everything seemed to be these days, that was easier said than done.

"Rik?"  I called out, an idea coming to mind.  "When Bax came into the hangar earlier, you didn't happen to see what seat I was sitting on, did you?"

"It looked like a wooden one," he answered.  "Though, not being an interior designer, I can't be entirely sure.  Why?"

"Because I think I got an idea."

With that, I started to swing.  Lightly at first, side to side, gaining momentum.  Then, I allowed it to teeter over to the side.  I braced myself as the clatter of the chair falling over reverberated throughout the hangar, and pain shot up my arm as my body connected with the concrete, causing me to wince. 

 Please don't let anything be broken... 

Please don't let anyone hear that.

"Nicki!"  Rik exclaimed, panicked.  "You okay?"

I squirmed, relieved to find that Rik had been right: the chair, which had indeed been made of wood, had broken into pieces when it collided with the concrete.  I could now walk freely in the hangar and I also had a weapon at my disposal if I needed it.  Though my hands were still tied behind my back, my legs were free.

That was a good enough start for me.  

"I'm okay," I assured him, clambering to my feet, which was harder to do with hands behind my back.  "I'm on my feet.  That's something, at least."

Rik let out a laugh that was filled with relief.  My chest bloomed with the same feeling.  We were getting there.  For once, I was optimistic that we were gonna get out of here alive and this whole nightmare would be over.  

"Atta girl.  Okay - I'm gonna keep talking.  Follow my voice,okay?  I'll get your hands loose."

"What?  How?"

"I'm caged up, not tied up.  Sick bastards like me to fight before they kick the shit outta me."

My stomach churned.  If it was a fight they wanted, a fight they were gonna end up getting.  And, it wasn't gonna be an easy one.  Nevertheless, I did what Rik told me and followed the sound of his voice until I walked into what felt like huge cage bars.  A pair of warm, calloused hands gripped my shoulders, squeezing them reassuringly.  Tears stung my eyes, a smile spreading across my face.  To hear Rik's voice was one thing, but to feel him?  To feel that he was alive?  That was something different. 

It was real. 

"Hey, kiddo," his voice was shaking, filled with emotion.

"Hey," I sniffed.  "Shit...  C'mon, get these damn things off me."

I turned around, feeling his fingers fumble with my restraints.  He cursed.  "They're zip ties."

"Perfect!  You know how to get them off, right?" 

He scoffed derisively.  "What do you take me for, an amateur?  Course I do.  Just gonna take a little longer..."  He trailed off, his fingers continued to fumble.  Suddenly, my hands fell to my sides as they came loose from their restraints, the release almost making me heady.  I whirled around and held my arms out through the bar gaps, feeling Rik's body close to the bars.  He winced as I squeezed him tight, but I didn't really care.

Emotion ripped through me; a hard lump forming in my throat.  Thank God.  Thank God he was alive.  

That was one less thing to worry about.

"Okay," I stepped back.  "Step two, get you out."

"There's cage keys in this hangar somewhere," he supplied.  My steps echoed as I hurried blindly around the hangar.  "Those thugs who attack me, they don't hide them very well.  Think they're on the other side of the hangar.  Get them, get me out, and we can get the fuck outta here and leave this world of crazy behind us."

I said nothing.  As enticing as that sounded -- and believe me, nothing sounded more enticing than leaving this whole shit-show behind me -- there was still the small matter of stopping Baxter from raising his undead girlfriend an wrecking havoc on the world, which in turn would stop the Fleur Di Lis from turning up.  From what Kai and Bree told me about them, having them turn up wouldn't be the best of outcomes.

I couldn't walk away from that.  No way.  I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn't see me.  "No."

"'No'?"  He repeated incredulously.  "Nicki...  We know who killed the women in New York!  We call for backup, we get the guy, case closed.  There's nothing else to it."

God, I wished that was true.  "This is so much bigger than the NYPD, Rik, than us.  Than New York, even!  This is about saving the world; saving the natural order."

"Nicki, what the hell are you talking about?  What has a serial killer gotta do with saving the world?"

"I'll explain later.  Just trust me.  Please?" 

"Like that was up for debate." 

"First?  Keys.  Get you out."

"Good plan."

I continued to fumble blindly in the dark, blood rushing through my ears, until I felt a block of concrete that felt like it careered upwards into the sky above us.  A pillar.  That was a good sign.  Sliding my hands upwards, I felt a hard metal box that had a lip over it.  My heart skipped.  A box.  No doubt, the keys will be in there.  Feeling along the lip, I curled my fingers inwards and pulled; the lid opened easily.  Reaching inside, I felt the cold metal of keys against my palm.  The sound of the jingling keys echoed in the cavernous building.

"Nicki?"  Rik's voice was filled with hope.  "Nicki, did you get the keys?"

"I got them," I reassured him, a smile forming on my lips.  "We're getting out of here."