Madison
She glanced at the clock, stretching and rising. Connor had kept his word, holding her tight for hours on end until they both felt the urge to get up, even if it was just to move. Now they were walking around the dance floor. In the late afternoon several more chairs had been rolled out and placed strategically around small tables, forming private little areas that groups of men and women—almost all dressed in business attire—could gather around. Even now she spotted seven... no, eight groups, all of them enjoying a drink or two as they unwound after the day.
Maddy doubted it was all pleasure, but nor was it all business. There was likely an even mix. She spotted one group of three men, with three women, all of whom were dressed to impress, though they were wearing evening clothing, not business attire. That was a group unwinding. But just past them, four men were scribbling on paper and making notes, constantly pointing things out to the others. Business.
“I need to use the men’s room,” Connor told her, leaning in to give her a peck and making his way across the floor.
She nodded. The movement of her head drew her gaze upward to where the heavily tinted windows were set into the wall. Up there was Flint’s lair, and the handful of serums they had captured. Connor had told her about the case that she was to carry the one filled with serum vials, and a sample of whatever had been on the knife that prevented his healing. It made her nervous. The idea that she would be carrying something so potent and potentially world-changing was enough to leave her feeling queasy, at a minimum.
You can do this.
Maddy knew she could. That didn’t make it any less terrifying from her perspective. What was she, an unenhanced human, doing getting in the middle of everything? She was such an easy target. All it would take was one Agent, Extremis or not, to bring her down. Then all of their work would be for naught.
She hated that. Hated knowing that no matter how mentally strong she might be, she just couldn’t keep up in this new world she had discovered. Connor was right; he would work easier knowing she was safe, because he couldn’t protect her forever. If she stayed, at some point her normalcy would get her captured. Or killed.
But what could she do about it?
Maddy stared at the windows, wondering if Flint was in there. He had done something about it, by creating the Underground. He was only human. She snorted at the invisible quotes around the world normal. There was nothing wrong with being human. It wasn’t until one entered the world of shifters that they suddenly became useless.
Unfortunately for her, there was no way to change that.
Or was there?
Maddy jolted as an idea entered her head. It was crazy, and stupid, and quite likely the least logical thing she had ever done in her entire life. Yet there she was, contemplating it.
“This is stupid,” she muttered to herself. Why are you even contemplating this? You know it’s just as likely to get you killed as it is to actually help anyone. What would your death do to Connor? It certainly wouldn’t help him, that’s for sure.
Another voice spoke up inside of her as she continued to wander the floor, trying to ignore the fact her “random” wanderings were bringing her closer to the door that led into the back. Where she would find what she needed.
Are you just doing this because of him? You only just met the man; you have no idea what that means for next year, let alone next week. You could be making a huge mistake, based on nothing more than intuition.
“Perhaps,” she said aloud, ignoring the look one of the nearby women gave her. “But at least I would be doing something for once,” she said with a hiss, her decision made. For too long she had lived cautiously, never taking any risks, always waiting for life to come to her.
It was time that she took life by the horns and dictated her own terms.
She made her way into the back, and then took the metal stairs that led up to Flint’s office. The door was slightly ajar, and as soon as she knocked she was given leave to enter.
“Maddy, good to see you,” he said, quickly hanging up the phone.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she told him, shrugging as sheepishly as she could.
“What can I do for you? I’m just finalizing arrangements for your transport for tonight,” he informed her.
“Actually, one of the door guys—I forget his name—saw me wandering and asked if I could ask you to come down to see him.” She shrugged her shoulders, trying to pretend like she was still new and hadn’t made an effort to memorize everyone’s names.
Flint frowned. “Did he say why?”
She shook her head. “No, he didn’t. Seemed urgent though.”
“Of course it is,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “It’s always urgent. Okay, I had better get going then.” He moved around the desk and headed for the door. Maddy followed him slowly, but not making any attempt to slow down. Flint moved down the stairs and disappeared around the corner when she was halfway down.
Maddy reached down to tie her shoe, just in case Flint noticed she had stopped, but he hadn’t. Once she was positive he was out of earshot, she raced back up the stairs and into his office, searching for what she needed.
There. It was on the shelf to the left of his desk, just like Connor had said.
She looked at it, eyeing the contents, wondering which one was which. Something caught her eye, and she picked one up to inspect it closer.
Maddy smiled. Someone had helpfully labeled them for her. There were five altogether, though only three were what she was looking for. The others were ones she had no intention of touching. She was stupid, not idiotic. Right now it was a small difference, but it was enough of one.
“Now what?” she asked aloud, suddenly getting cold feet. Pocketing what she had come for, Maddy turned and headed for the exit, unsure if she now wanted to follow through with it.
Someone will notice it’s missing.
Shit. There was no getting around that; the empty spot would be instantly visible. If she was going to do this, she was going to have to do it then and there.
Maddy closed her eyes, summoning any remaining courage she had. If Flint came back and found her, she would be in a lot of trouble. It was now or never. Helpful, or unhelpful.
Time to make a choice.