The Adventure Continues

[abrightboy]

For thatsfascinating.



The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

Comments

[thatsfascinating]

"Were there abandoned silos in those towns?" she asked, looking up at him.

[abrightboy]

"This is farm country. I bet there was one central enough that he could access it from any of these places. They're not that far apart," Malcolm told her.

[thatsfascinating]

"We should find out where it is!" If that's where the girl was, they needed to get her as quickly as possible.

[abrightboy]

"We need to find a map," Malcolm told her. "Of the whole area. Maybe at the bookstore?" he suggested, leaving the file on the table to head for the door.

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa tucked the photos back into the folders out of respect for the victims, then got up to follow him.

"We could ask someone. Well...you could ask someone..."

[abrightboy]

"They won't be able to narrow it down. I need to see the area. I can figure it out if we can get a map. That's how I f...."

How he found her.

"That's how I work."

[thatsfascinating]

She could guess what he was going to say, but she didn't voice it. It was better for both of them to leave her ordeal as separate as possible.

"Okay," she said with a nod. "We'll get a map."

[abrightboy]

Over at the bookstore, Malcolm bought a map of the region and sat on a bench along the main street next to Edrisa with it unfolded across their laps.

He examined it for a few minutes.

"We should check this area here," he told her. "It's close by; that's probably why he took someone from here. Opportunity."

[thatsfascinating]

She sat close enough so her shoulder pressed against his, taking comfort in the contact. She leaned down a little when he identified the area, looking closely at the map.

"Great, let's do that. How far is it?"

[abrightboy]

"Just down around there," Malcolm said, pointing. "We could walk it. I'll send a message to the detective, but there's no reason we can't go check it out."

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa nodded. "It looks like a nice walk, too. Do you have the detective's number?"

[abrightboy]

"Yeah, I'll just text him," Malcolm said, absently shooting him a text before tucking the map in his pocket and heading in that direction.

[thatsfascinating]

She walked next to him, holding his hand tightly.

"It's really beautiful," she noted quietly, looking around at the fields surrounding them.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm's eyes were scanning everything around them, watching faces and looking at closed doors and all the buildings they passed.

After a while, he noted a squat stone building off on its own, a little ways from the road. He looked down the road in each direction, then started walking towards the building with a scrutinizing eye.

"Maybe not a silo. A silo stands out. But this would have been used for storage..."

[thatsfascinating]

The building was surrounded by high grass and weeds, clearly not having been used for a long time. Edrisa looked around, seeing no one close by.

"Huh. I wonder if it's harder to hear someone scream if they're inside a stone building..."

[abrightboy]

"If there was anyone around to hear it to start with."

He approached, walking slowly around the building's perimeter.

[thatsfascinating]

"Right. Seems a little sparse..." She stayed in the front as he circled, looking at the area, then at the area in front of the door. She tilted her head.

"Someone's been in here..."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm returned around the front and noted the crushed grass near the door, where she indicated.

He was about to say something to her, but the door opened suddenly and a gun was pointed at his face.

"You," he said to Edrisa in accented English. "Get in here."

"No," Malcolm told her. "Run back to the village. Go."

"I will shoot him in the face!" the man sputtered.

"The police are already on the way. If you shoot me in the face, you'll never get away in time. Leave us alone and run. It's your only chance," Malcolm said in a calm, even tone.

"GET IN HERE!" he screamed at Edrisa.

"NO! RUN!" Malcolm shouted, turning to look at her. When he turned his head the man cold-cocked him with the pistol, sending him to the ground unconscious.

The man pointed the gun at her. "Get in here."

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa froze when the man appeared, and when Malcolm told her to run she shook her head, not moving. "I'm not leaving you," she said, her voice quiet and tense. There was no way she'd just run away when his life was in danger. He told her again to run, and she shook her head, harder...

Then the man hit Malcolm and he fell.

"No!" she cried out, falling to her knees beside him. "Bright!" she called urgently, patting his cheek, trying to wake him up...

Then the gun was pointed at her.

She raised her hands and slowly stood. "I'll do what you want," she said, stepping closer, trembling. "Just don't hurt him."

[abrightboy]

"You don't have a bargaining position," the man said, grabbing her by the front of her dress and yanking her through the door, giving her a push once inside the room.

There was grain on the floor.

He grabbed Malcolm's arm and dragged him inside rolling him onto his stomach so he could tie his hands behind his back, then leaving him there, tucking the gun into his waistband to advance on Edrisa.

[thatsfascinating]

He pushed her, and she fell hard onto her hands and knees, her hands going into the grain with a small puff of that whitish dust she had seen in the autopsy photos. She made a small, strangled sound at the knowledge that this was likely where those other women died. Likely where they were going to die.

She flipped over so she was facing the man as he tied Malcolm's hands, breathing hard and shaking, tears of fear leaving tracks on her dusty cheeks.

"He was telling the truth," she said, trying to sound brave and mostly failing. "The police know where we are. They'll...they'll be here any minute..."

The man started advancing on her, and she pulled herself back, whimpering. Her hands were sinking into the mess of grain on the floor, and suddenly she had an idea. Quickly she took a handful and whipped it into his face, toward his eyes, then lunged forward to try to grab for the gun in his waistband.

[abrightboy]

She was smaller than him. Much smaller. He did stumble backwards when the grain went in his eyes but he grabbed her with one hand while the other swiped grain from his face. The moment he could see at all, he grabbed her by the throat, his hand wrapping around it easily.

"Try to scream now," he snarled.

On the floor, Malcolm was coming around. When he saw the man had Edrisa by the throat, he lashed out with his feet, aiming for the man's knees as hard as he could.

[thatsfascinating]

She clawed at his hand, kicking her feet uselessly, trying desperately to breathe, her vision starting to grey...

Then the man let out a yell of pain and dropped her, and she fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air, trying to crawl away.

[abrightboy]

The man stumbled, almost falling, but Malcolm wasn't in a good position to keep up the assault. He wriggled, trying to get closer to kick him again, but the man pulled the gun from his waistband. Before he had it pointed at Malcolm, Malcolm managed to wriggle his way close enough to kick at the man's hand and send the gun flying.

"EDRISA! GET THE GUN!" he shouted, trying to aim another kick at the man's legs.

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa looked up to see the gun skitter across the floor, and she flung herself toward it, reaching out...and just barely grabbed it. She twisted around, her back on the ground and her head up to see the man whirl round and charge toward her...

Edrisa had been trained in firearms when she joined the NYPD. Some MEs carried a gun, but she never did. Still, she had been to a firing range, had fired a number of guns of different types, and wasn't that bad of a marksman. But firing a gun in a real, live situation? She had never been sure she could do it. Killing someone terrified her, especially after what happened in med school.

She had no choice. This man would kill her. He would kill Malcolm. As he bore down on her she lifted the gun and began firing, not going to stop until he was down or the clip was empty.