"Hey, I don't want to do it either," a male voice said. "But Drake said to make sure she doesn't try anything funny while he's out."
Kenzie peeked through her fingers and saw Electra and Rocky sitting on the sofa that Spike and Lionle had been sitting on before. Her camera still sat on the table next to them.
Kenzie stood up and walked to the latched chain door. "What's Drake doing while he's out?"
As if she expected an answer, but maybe she'd be able to figure something out if she talked to them.
Electra looked at her and sneered. "What's it to you?"
"If I'm not getting out of here alive, I'd like to at least know what he's planning."
"He didn't tell us," Rocky replied. "He just said to keep an eye on you while he goes out and deals with that blonde chick."
"That blonde chick happens to be my best friend. And she didn't do anything wrong."
"Other than rat us out," Electra snapped.
"She didn't," Kenzie argued. "I found out on my own because I went through her mail. She didn't tell me anything."
"And we're supposed to just believe you?"
"What have you got to lose? It's not like I can go anywhere. But you two seem like really nice people; do you really want to throw your lives away by being in a gang and have a murder on your hands in addition to robbery?"
"What are you talking about?" Rocky asked.
"Well, if Drake says I'm not getting out of here alive, it's pretty obvious he's going to kill me. Or have you guys do it for him so you go down instead of him. Right now, all you have on your records is robbery, and maybe breaking and entering. Trust me, that's nothing compared to a murder charge. I would know."
She could see that these two didn't have the brains that Drake and even techie Lionle did. Maybe she could even persuade them to let her out. If they did, she could maybe get to Jillian in time.
But these two were a little smarter than she gave them credit for, since Rocky said, "If he wanted us to do the dirty work, why would he be going to deal with Blondie by himself?"
Kenzie thought quickly. "Is he going by himself? Or did he take someone with him?"
"Actually, Destiny went with him," Electra said thoughtfully. "Of course, that's probably because she's trying to impress him as usual."
"Man that gets old," Rocky said. "He obviously don't want her, so why can't she take the hint and leave him alone?"
"I guess it ain't in her nature."
"I have a third suggestion," Kenzie cut in. "Maybe Drake invited her to go with him so she could do his dirty work. Maybe he's trying to get her to prove herself."
"No way," Rocky said. "We all proved ourselves when he gave us that test to let us in here, that Electra was babbling about earlier. He wouldn't do it again."
"Maybe he just wants Destiny to prove herself, and if she does, he'll go out with her. And by the way, if that's the case, and he does start going out with her, she'll be second in command. She'll be Drake's favorite and you guys will just be henchmen."
"I don't even want to think about coming second to Destiny," Electra whined. "She's bossy enough as it is."
"Tell me about it," Rocky agreed. "She acts like she's the leader of this gang instead of Drake. It drives me nuts."
Just then, Buck came in carrying a drink.
"What's going on?" he asked, as if he were just talking about what was on TV.
"Our little prisoner brings up a good point," Rocky replied. "We're starting to wonder if Drake's going to make us do his dirty work as usual just so we get busted."
"That makes no sense," Buck said as he took a gulp from his glass. "He's been doing the same things we have, just not as much since he mostly picks the houses we hit and he does the selling part. But he still does as much as we do. If we got caught, he'd go down too. He wouldn't be stupid enough to do anything that would get him caught. The fact that this chick got in here was dumb luck."
Oh darn. There was a smart one in the group. And Electra and Rocky were more likely to listen to Buck than to her.
This called for a different approach.
"Um, excuse me," Kenzie said, making her voice sound genuinely embarrassed as she scratched her head awkwardly.
"What?" Buck asked, facing her.
"I have to use the bathroom."
Buck raised his eyebrows. "Good for you. Use the bucket in the corner."
Kenzie cringed and looked in the corner. There was no bucket.
"Um...there isn't a bucket there. And even if there was, I couldn't go with everyone staring at me."
"What do you mean there's no bucket there? Spike was supposed to put one in there."
"Why does Drake ask Spike to do anything?" Electra asked. "His Mohawk is bigger than his brain."
Kenzie tried not to laugh at the truth of that statement.
"Just wonderful," Buck said as he finished off his drink. "Well, use the corner then."
Kenzie looked appalled. "I'm not an animal. If I'm going to die here, I want to at least live as comfortably as I can for what little time I have left."
"Just get her a bucket, man," Rocky said. "We'll keep an eye on her. I'd rather it be in a bucket than on the floor where we can all see it."
"No way. That was Spike's job, and I'm making sure he's doing it." Buck stomped off.
Kenzie's stomach churned as she anticipated what was going to happen. She had it all prepared in her mind, and luckily, Spike appeared to be the scrawniest of the guys. Electra would be easier, but this would work.
Or at least, she hoped.
A few minutes later, Spike showed up carrying a white bucket. He didn't look pleased.
"Why do I always have to do the lousy stuff?" he whined as he began to unlock the padlock.
"If you'd done it right the first time, you wouldn't have to worry about it now," Rocky said as he stood up. "I'm going to join Buck for a drink. Electra, keep an eye on her, will you?"
"Oh of course," Electra said, rolling her eyes.
Spike got the gate unlocked, but before he walked into Kenzie's prison, Electra stood next to the gate and crossed her arms.
"No funny stuff," she warned. Kenzie just nodded and held her hands up as if in surrender, her heart hammering in her chest.
Spike walked into the cage and closed the gate behind him, but he didn't latch or lock it. He walked to the corner, bent down, and set the bucket in the corner.
As soon as his rear end was exposed, Kenzie thanked her lucky stars that she'd studied Sim Fu when she'd gone to China. Her skills, though not as high as some, helped her a great deal when she kicked Spike square in the tailbone.
Spike yelped in pain as Kenzie then kicked him a little lower than the tailbone, right between his legs, and then karate-chopped his neck, making him hit the floor. Then, she ran.
No comments:
Post a Comment