How did Evie end up here? Tied to a chair?
Her brown eyes quickly scanned the room.
This looked like an abandoned warehouse, dark, brown walls, she could hear a train outside and wolves howling in the distance, which meant her captors had taken her far into the forest. There was a window by the right that confirmed her suspicions... An escape plan crossed her mind upon seeing it.
There were two men in front of her.
One of them was a muscular man with a beard, the other one was shorter. Perhaps they were twins.
A metal door opened, and Basil entered quickly, phone in hand.
"Sure boss, I got it," he said, fiddling with something in his other hand. It was a small dart with a green liquid inside. Of course, a Dizzy Dart, the card he always played, a poison that monsters like him used as a lethal weapon without mercy often, "Fine. But that'll cost you extra. Talk to you later." Then he hung up, placing his phone and the drat he was holding on a to table by the left. Evie could see keys there, car keys to be precise, some knives, red bolt cutters, her phone, her ever-trusty grapple gun, stun gun, and belt with leg holsters. "Well, my boys finished tying you up just in time."
"You must give me your interior decorator's number, because I love the grime and rust of this place," Evie laughed, shaking her head, her body hurt, but not as much as her pride when Basil spoke.
"You became so emotional because of those boys, a real-life superhero. It was so pathetic watching you defend that guy in the alley."
Evie clenched her fists, closing her eyes.
"Fine, you are the man. I'm impressed how easily you brought me here." Evie partly lied and rolled her eyes, "Now please untie me and let me get back to work."
"Ah! Of course! Back to your precious boys, isn't that right, EV-13?"
"That's right. I think you could be empathetic with me, I mean, we're in the same business."
"High-profile nannies," Basil laughed, "One day you're on top of the world and the next you're catering to the whims of mediocre pop stars, isn't that right?"
"Your boys may be mediocre, not mine," Evie replied.
"All boy bands are just as pathetic. At least it's easy money."
"Not quite. Concerts are the worst part of the job," Evie feigned annoyance. She knew how to turn any situation to come out smelling like roses with tons of info, and manipulate her captors, a tactic used by military strategists to buy some time for their advantage. She just hoped she still had it in herself though. "It's never easy being a babysitter for your pop stars and then dealing with the Hunters."
"For you maybe," Basil laughed, "I can take care of my bosses and ruin the image of yours on live television at the same time."
Well, this was going in the right direction.
"Using Dizzy Darts? Please. That's so amateur." Evie laughed, but Basil buffed.
"It's not amateur, it's just the most effective way to do what Anton asked me to." Basil shook his head and smiled. His fangs were long and curved, nothing like Draco's cute teeth.
"Lazy." She taunted.
"There's a difference between being lazy and being the best. There's a reason I was always number one."
"Yeah, I guess lazy people always find the easiest way to do a job," Evie rolled her eyes. She needed to get this idiot to talk and she needed to think fast. "Whatever you're planning to do, I guess it's not legal."
"It never is," he replied, "But you know about that, right? As long as no one knows you pulled the trigger, you are not guilty of any crime."
"Do you think there will be a paycheck if the Opermans end up in jail, Basil? Because I doubt you were paid in advance."
"You're right, I don't get paid in advance."
"Because you're not worth it," Evie winked, "Too bad! You're going to risk your paycheck."
"Nah, I don't think so."
"Well I do," Evie smiled, "You're going to take a big risk by mixing in with all that crowd to shoot? And then what? Security catches you and you go to jail, Basil! That is what will happen!"
"Security guards? Catching me? Please! For starters, they won't even see me enter the place," Basil laughed, "Only an amateur would be stupid enough to walk through the front door carrying a rifle in his hand."
Well, the plan was to ruin Monster Mash's image on live television, using Dizzy Darts, shooting them from the shadows. Evie at least had something.
"No. An amateur bypasses the front door," Evie said in as mocking a tone as she could muster, "An expert like me? We can get through the front door undetected."
"Oh Evie. Always choosing the hard way. You always see everything from below, from your silly point of view, instead of seeing everything from above, looking at the big picture." Basil could mock all he wanted, in the end she would have the last laugh.
She still had it.
Evie had done this a lot before.
She would have to look for him with her eyes up, not among the people.
That would definitely make things easier.
Well, maybe this was enough. Maybe it was time for her to get out of here.
"Well, you're right," she admitted, or at least pretended to, "You win. You were always smarter than me."
"Thank you very much. I'm glad we can continue." He crossed his arms and cocked his head, taking three steps closer, leaning to be face to face with her, "Damn. I am not sure if I have enough materials to torture you for taking everything from me. There's a price on your head, and all the unemployed Hunters are looking for you now that you're somewhat famous."
"Am I?"
"There are thousands of pictures of you taking care of your boys' asses in public places," Basil licked his lips, "You put yourself in the spotlight because of your obsession."
Shit.
Real agents like Evie, unlike spies in movies, were anonymous and not famous at all, too bad she had some bad reputation that now took away her anonymous status, and a job that involved lots of paparazzi.
"Do you really believe I am obsessed?" she let a discrete smile escape "Please! They are mediocre artists, I don't give a shit about them. I only do all this for the pay."
"As far as I am concerned..." Basil said, walking closer to the table. "You risked your life to save a talentless singer. Paul is his name, isn't it?"
"No idea, Your clients are soooo famous that I barely remember their faces," Evie replied.
"It was fun playing superhero I guess. Saving Paul from his nepo-baby boss."
"No, I just have a grudge against your boss. If my bosses lose money because of Anton and his slaves, I do too, it's that simple." Evie replied, her heart racing inside of her chest.
"If you want to keep lying to yourself, who am I to wake you up from your fairy tale?" Basil laughed with his hands on his hips. "After all, it's not like you're going to be their princess and they're going to be your princes. You'll probably be their toy someday, but nothing more. If that hasn't happened yet, of course."
Evie felt cold running through her body, but tried her best poker face.
"How about you betray your bosses? As was your custom when you played double agent." Evie offered with fake confidence, "When it's not your war, you join the side that's going to win, and my employers are far more famous and experienced than yours. The pay is good and there's room for one more bodyguard on my team. You can ask LI-05 about the benefits and salary the next time you see him."
"You mean there's room for... Me?" Basil half-shut his eyes and licked his lips, placing a finger in the division of his pectorals.
"You can change your business card if you come with me." Evie grunted. "You can still have money without having to stain your expensive clothes with blood."
"Did you just shoot yourself on the foot, EV-13?" he had that stupid know-it-all smirk on his face, "All those fancy clothes you're wearing in those photos? Even if the monkey dresses in silk, it's still a monkey, and you're as much proof of that as I am."
"The only difference is, I actually look good in high heels."
"Now you have a sense of humour," Basil said, grabbing the bolt cutters from the table by his right, "I guess we can start now, after all, it's not like any of your many charming princes are going to come and save you."
"Funny," Evie chuckled "You haven't stopped thinking that I do this because I'm in love with six bags of steroids with legs. Maybe you're jealous?"
"Maybe you don't know that people don't usually get along with their cheating exes." Basil frowned, his eyebrows so close to each other it seemed painful, his eyes wide, almost burning. "And you cheated on me, with Rubinstein."
"Yet, you are obsessed with me."
"I'm angry, frustrated. Because of you my life is miserable."
"You didn't need me for that," she fluttered her eyelashes seductively, "You were always miserable, you just have someone to blame now."
"Savage, huh? So cute."
"I mean," Evie chuckled, eyeing the other two men in the room, "Look at you! You are working on your own now! I bet you got these two guys from Teddy Fuzzbear's Pizza Academy!"
Evie hated making fun of people, and even more so humiliating others this way, but sometimes the job required this. Sometimes you had to kick the anthill to make the ants leave. Sometimes it was necessary to have the enemy close enough to strike the first blow and escape.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but you are miserably in love," Basil said, closing in, placing the bolt cutters close to Evie's left hand, threatening to cut her index.
"What if I am?" Evie bit her lower lip, "It means I am more human than you."
"No, you are weaker," Basil said, "You have come to me willingly, and I will make sure you leave in pieces."
"Maybe I'm weaker, but I'm also smarter than you," Evie flashed a smile, "Who tied me to this chair? You? Or one of your rookies?"
"Why?"
"Because they forgot to tie up my legs."
Before Basil could react, Evie moved her right leg up fast, hitting between his legs, making him bend over and drop the bolt cutters. She headbutted Basil then, making his nose bleed.
He fell on his knees.
Both men behind him took out their handguns, aiming at her, but Evie was fast enough to push herself sideways, rolling while tied up to the chair, grabbing Basil's neck with both legs and pressing tightly on the floor.
"Put them down!" Evie ordered, pressing harder, making Basil cough, gasping for air, "Or he dies!"
Basil reached back and held the legs of the chair with his hands, standing up fast with a furious scream, carrying Evie over his shoulders, jumping and slamming her against a wall, breaking the chair. Evie screamed, falling to the floor, the ropes around her torso loosening up. She was now partially free, so she managed to slide the ropes away and stand up while Basil recovered his breath.
Gunshots echoed, and Evie ran for dear life with her hands still tied behind her back, running closer to the window, sliding on the floor as the bullets passed above her, cracking the glass.
She smiled, her plan had worked just fine.
She stood up fast and jumped, the window exploding into shards as she landed outside, rolling on the ground, hearing Basil yelling at his men to capture her.
She turned down and picked up a shard of glass, and then ran through the dark forest, among trees and bushes, hearing the sound of water nearby, a river for sure. If she was near the Franken River, that meant she was at least a mile away from the strip club.
She hid behind a tall bush and used the shard of glass to get rid of the ropes.
She looked around, all she could see was darkness and tall trees.
She heard rustling behind her, they were after her, chasing her. She looked around, finding a flat rock, big but not too heavy.
"Find her!" Basil yelled, "I want her alive!"
Evie carried the rock over her shoulder, walking in a straight line until... The Franken River! She knew what to do now!
She threw the rock into the water, the splashing sound was loud enough for her pursuers to hear it.
She got confirmation.
"She jumped into the water!" she heard Basil's voice in the distance, "You are such a fool, EV-13!"
"Yeah, we'll see," Evie turned up, seeing a tree with strong branches that could certainly resist her light body, so she didn't wait and ran closer, ready to climb up, "Wish I had my grapple gun."
"Where is she?!" Basil shouted, appearing from among the bushes. Both of his men were back to back, handguns up and their fingers on the trigger.
Evie observed them from above.
She waited, patiently, until Basil and his men walked further down the river, and once Evie was sure they were not around anymore, she climbed down the tree and walked back to the warehouse.
When she jumped inside through the broken window, she looked around and found what she was looking for...
A single Dizzy Dart was there, on the table, along with the keys of Basil's car.
It took her a moment to grab both, put on her belt and holsters, grab her grapple gun, stun gun and phone. It took her another moment to walk out through the front door and open the blue Camaro, and another moment to place the Dizzy Dart on the passenger seat and start the vehicle.
By the time Basil noticed she was gone with the Dizzy Dart and his car, Evie was already half a mile away, driving quietly along the road towards Hallow Woods.
"The car must have a tracker," she told herself, looking into the distance at a huge dumpster behind the diner next to the gas station.
She clutched the steering wheel with both hands, her palms sweating.
Evie wasn't really used to feeling nervous, but she tried not to be bothered by her body reacting like that.
Her own emotions didn't scare her anymore. They used to, in the past. She would lose control every time she felt something different than pain or silent numbness, but that's how she was raised after all.
She was not that person anymore, or rather, she was a person now and not the monster.
Monster Mash's patience and determination over the last few years, the job that gave her life a purpose and all the people that felt comfortable around her, trusting her with their lives and calling her their friend made her believe she could be human, and to be human meant to have feelings and be capable of working with them.
She didn't even think love was for children anymore.
"I have to pull over and look for the tracker. It's probably under the car," she told herself and wished this was a true.
Evie's phone started ringing as she parked the car next to a gasoline dispenser.
She picked up quickly.
"Talk to me Boss."
"I need you to make a special delivery urgently," Zeth said, "I have a bracelet in a silver briefcase in my room, go get it. SM-13 will give you all the details and location of Paul Ter Gheist's house."
"Got it," she said, hanging up, "So, Paul... It seems there is something special about you. Oh well!" She unbuckled her seatbelt, "No rest for the weary."