Riley strode down the hallway, with cyborgs Robespierre and John the Executioner in tow. They were each pushing a wheeled office chair, to which Louis and Christopher were attached.
The two men did not make it far into the facility before they were caught. Now, Riley had everyone that Alex cared about at his disposal.
Riley made sure to restrain Louis and Christopher to the office chairs with his newest invention, electroshock rope. He could control the level of shock they received from the watch he wore on his left wrist.
He looked at it, checking the time, and his step count. A small red dot indicated that the ropes were charged and ready to go. "This is going to be fun."
On a whim, he pressed the dot. Two shrill screams erupted from behind him. He pivoted on his heel and turned to face them. Christopher had recovered from the shock of being thrown up super high, and he sat with his head lolling to one side. His hair had puffed up like poodle fur. He rolled his eyes toward Riley, who grinned from ear to ear.
"Just making sure you're still alive," he said darkly. "You're far more valuable to me that way."
He led them deep into the depths of his underground tower, through several of his laboratories. Scientists and doctors in white lab coats were formulating serums at wide white desks. The concoctions smelled acrid and bitter. Riley should have been wearing a face mask, but he could heal himself of anything.
They came to the last set of double sliding doors. Riley scanned his watch against the identification panel and the doors hissed as they slid open.
Behind the door, Yvonne and Debbie were chained to a wall, unconscious.
Although the electric shocks weakened Louis, he mustered the strength to speak. "What did you do to them?"
Riley ignored his captive and turned toward his cyborg. "Robespierre, attach them to the wall of doom."
The cyborg did as his master instructed. With electricity still pulsing through their body, Louis and Christopher were unable to retaliate.
The cyborg restrained the two men by their feet and wrists.
Riley rubbed his hands together. "Excellent. Now, go grab the girls."
As the cyborg unlocked the women's restraints, Christopher pulled down on the bondage and chains that held him captive. It was of no use. He was stuck. "No! You can't take them."
Riley chuckled. "Aw, so sweet. Whoever said chivalry is dead?"
Robespierre tethered the women's bodies to the office chairs. When he stepped away, Riley nodded in approval.
"Alright," Riley said. "Let's get them to the lab."
As the cyborgs rolled the women out of the torture chamber, Christopher continued his futile protests. "You'll never get away with this, Naysmith! Do you hear me? You'll never win!"
***
Debbie shifted in the chair as she slowly regained consciousness. Wait, where I am? She thought. Why am I in an office chair?
She tried to move her arms and legs, but she realized she was restrained. She opened her eyes, but she couldn't see much. The room they were in was dimly lit.
"What is this place?" Debbie whispered under her breath.
Upon hearing the woman's voice, Riley tapped the red dot on his watch that controlled the electric shock rope. Debbie winced in pain.
"Turn on the lights," Riley shouted.
Debbie squinted as the bright, fluorescent lights switched on. As she looked around, she couldn't believe her eyes.
She was in the super soldier testing facility. There were countless humans and animals in cages. Each one was more deformed than the next. Most of the creatures were sedated, but a few groaned out in pain.
"You are sick," Yvonne said, in a shaky voice.
Debbie glanced to the side. Yvonne tied in the chair next to her. She had woken up. Her hair was still a little mussed, and a thin trail of drool had crusted on the corner of her mouth, but she stared Riley down.
"What did you say?" he demanded, cupping one ear, pretending he hadn't heard.
"You heard me," she said. "You're sick. All this suffering, and for what? An army of baby men to do your bidding? That's foul."
Riley walked toward her, head held high and shoulders relaxed. Then, he smacked her across the face. She cried out, and Debbie gasped.
The evil man snorted as he laughed at Yvonne's pain. "If I am sick, then what does that make the rest of the world? What does that make your precious Alex Ambrose? We both have the same goal: world domination. I'm just being more proactive about it."
Yvonne spat at him. "Alex is different. He's good, kind, smart, and sweet. Everything he does is for the benefit of others. You, on the other hand, are in it for yourself. That's why you're going to fail."
"Alex, Alex, Alex," he said. "I'm so sick of hearing about Alex Ambrose. I think you need to learn when to shut up."
Riley raised an eyebrow and looked up at Robespierre.
The cyborg understood the silent command Riley had given him. He grabbed a handful of Yvonne's hair and pulled. Her eyes widened in surprise. Robespierre continued to pull, wrapping Yvonne's hair around his hand as he did so until her face went bright red with pain. She opened her mouth in a pitiful wail and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.
[SFX: hair ripping]
Yvonne fell forward, breathing heavily, tears falling down her cheeks. There was a large patch of skin where the hair had been torn out. It was red, and blood beaded on the scalp.
Riley bent down so that he was speaking into her ear. "Let that be a warning. A taste of what is to come. Keep your mouth shut."
For good measure, he slapped her again, leaving a massive red handprint on her cheek. Yvonne refrained from spouting a slew of profanities at the man.
"At last," Riley said, hovering over the woman. "You have decided to cooperate. Such a shame you couldn't do it earlier." He turned toward the robots. "Okay, I have a bumbling idiot doctor and a demon leader to take care of. In the meantime, the cyborgs are going to ask you some questions. Be nice and answer, or you'll end up locked in a cage. Good luck, ladies."
Idiot doctor and demon leader? Oh, no… Christopher and Louis, Yvonne thought.
After Riley left the laboratory, John the Executioner pulled a syringe of super soldier serum seemingly out of thin air. "If you do not comply, you will be turned into a super soldier."
Yvonne glanced over at Debbie, who was fidgeting in her seat, trying to get loose from the electric ropes wrapped around her.
Yvonne took a deep breath. She wasn't typically one to lie, but how hard could it be to fool a cyborg? "Fine. What do you what to know?"
"Where did Alex Ambrose go when he left his house in the forest?" The cyborg asked.
Yvonne thought for a moment. She actually had no idea where he went. Perfect. She didn't even have to lie. "He didn't tell us where he was going."
The cyborg shoved the syringe a centimeter away from Yvonne's nose. "You're a liar. Lying will result in termination."
Yvonne scoffed. She was actually telling the truth, but she didn't feel like pleading her case to a robot. She thought of a fake story on the spot. "Okay, you win. He went to the Baltimore General Hospital to try and discover a cure for the infected super soldiers." She tilted her head, gesturing to all of the creatures in the cages that surrounded them.
Pleased with the response, John the Executioner removed the syringe from Yvonne's face. He turned toward Robespierre. "Transmit the information from the captives to Riley effective immediately."
"Yes, monsieur," the other cyborg replied.
John the Executioner went back to his interrogation. "What is Alex Ambrose's next plan for his business?"
Once again, Yvonne technically didn't know. Alex was very secretive, especially when it came to his strategies for Ambrose Pharmaceuticals. However, she figured that wouldn't be a good enough answer for the killer robot. "He is developing a way to, uh, replace surgery. He wants to eradicate surgeries and only use drugs to heal the body. He has drugs that could heal broken bones and patch up organs. He calls them the ultimate miracle drugs. That's what he's, uh, doing."
The cyborg picked up on the slight trepidation in Yvonne's voice. He looked toward Debbie for confirmation. "Is this true?"
Debbie was caught off guard. While focusing on attempting to loosen her restraints, she hadn't been listening. "Uh, yes. Of course, it is." She tried to recall what Yvonne last said. "The miracle drug. He talks about it all the time."
The cyborg crossed his arms. "Alright then. Who told Alex Ambrose that Mr. Naysmith's pharmaceutical practices were unsafe when Alex reported him to the health board and the police?"
Yvonne knew the answer to this question. She knew Christopher uncovered Riley's shady business weeks ago, but she wasn't about to sell out her friend, especially when Riley was already holding him captive. "It was one of the media outlets," she said, lying through her teeth.
The cyborg brought the serum-filled syringe up to a vein in Yvonne's neck. "We have confirmation that statement is untrue. Prepare for immense pain."
"MEOW!"
A small, black figure flashed in front of Yvonne's eyes. Budge, Riley's cat, knocked the serum out of the metallic hands of John the Executioner.
"Gah! I'm going to kill that stupid cat!" the cyborg said.
As John the Executioner turned his attention to Budge, Debbie freed herself from her restraints. She quickly picked up the office chair and threw it at Robespierre, knocking him onto his back. Then, she untied Yvonne.
John the Executioner noticed the commotion behind him. "No, you don't. Return to your chairs."
Yvonne ran up to John the Executioner and kicked him in the chest. He didn't flinch. Instead, he grabbed her arm, ripping open the skin. Yvonne screamed as she bled profusely.
Then, Budge knocked over a tray of vials in the lab. Distracted, John the Executioner threw down Yvonne and ran toward the cat.
Debbie picked up Yvonne, and the two made a run for it.
The women had no clue where they were, but they ran down the hallway hand in hand. They came across an open door to a dark room. Debbie pulled Yvonne inside.
"Let's hide here," Debbie whispered.
The women heard the sound of robotic footsteps running down the hall. Their shoulders tensed as the robots neared the room they were in.
"Where did they go?" John the Executioner asked, still stalking the hallway.
"Check the stairs," Robespierre replied. "It is impossible for the woman to have strayed this far away."
The cyborgs ran in the opposite direction.
Debbie breathed a sigh of relief. "Hopefully that will throw them off our tracks while we hatch a plan to escape."
Yvonne nodded, clutching her arm. "Oh, god. It hurts."
Debbie gently lifted Yvonne's arm. Even in the darkness of the room, she could see how horribly the wound was bleeding. "Oh, my gosh. We need to patch this up with something. I'll rip off a part of my dress."
She reached down and attempted to rip the fabric, but when did, something crashed on the other side of the room.
Both of the women jumped, grabbing onto each other.
"Who's there?" Debbie asked, scared of what the answer might be.
After hearing the pitter-patter of little feet, Debbie saw Budge the cat sitting in front of her, holding a box in his mouth.
"What have you got for me, little guy?" Debbie said as she held out her hand.
"Do you trust him?" Yvonne asked, her voice laced with pain.
Debbie shrugged. "Well, he did knock the serum out of the super soldier's hand, so there's that."
Budge dropped the small box into Debbie's hands.
When she examined it, she discovered that Budge brought her a first aid kit. She was shocked. "Wow, buddy, a first aid kit? You sure are our little savior today." She lifted up the cat's name tag. "Budge. That's a cute name."
Debbie opened the box up. There were bandages and ointments inside. While she didn't trust any Naysmith medication, she would gladly wrap Yvonne's wrist.
"Okay, hold out your arm, Yvonne," Debbie said.
Yvonne grimaced in pain as she held out her wrist, and Debbie wrapped it carefully.
Suddenly, the lights went on in the room.
The cyborgs were standing at the door.
Robespierre picked up the women by their hair. "You're lucky Riley wants you alive."
***
In the torture chamber, Riley held Louis's and Christopher's ID cards. It was all they took with them to the facility, much to Riley's dismay.
"All the two of you brought were some stupid ID cards? Not even a phone? Or a wallet? You're useless," Riley lamented. "I was going to send your little friend a message. Tell him I've got his best buddies locked up in my lair."
"He's smarter than that," Christopher said. "Alex would never fall into your trap."
Riley rolled his eyes. "See, that's where you're wrong. He's fallen into my trap every step of the way so far. I may not know where he is right now, but I know how I'll find out." He grinned at the two men at his disposal.
Louis shook his head. "We have no idea where he is. All I know is, that whenever he's done doing what he's doing, he's going to kick your ass."
Riley flashed the men a facetious pout. "Oh, no! Don't you worry. I know Alex will be here to save you in no time. First, though, I plan to send him on a wild goose chase through the city of Baltimore, and while we wait for him, I think we're all going to have a little fun. Well, I'll have fun, at least, because I'm going to torture you."
Louis and Christopher exchanged an apprehensive glance. They hoped whoever it was that Alex went to see gave him all the information he needed and that he was already on his way to rescue them.