“Message as follows: Is Rex okay?”
“Why?”I ask out loud, knowing Alfie will convey my message to Mina.“What have you heard?”
Alfie puts Mina on speaker, and she says, “Turn on the news.”
Rex
Head,foggy.Pain pulses through me with every heartbeat.
Someone’s hot breath hits my cheek.I try to jerk away from their sour stench but can’t move.
I’m propped up on some sort of hospital bed with my limbs and torso tied down.I’m naked, and my head feels like I’ve been drugged.
“Not so big and strong now, are you?”my captor taunts.
My tongue is swollen, too big for my mouth.There’s no moisture so I fight to speak.“Who are you?”
“Question is...who are you?Rex Roy or something more?”He’s gloating.He’s learned my secret.“I bet Inara knows.”
At the sound of her name, I go wild.My muscles bunch, and I strain against the cords holding me.
“Oh, does that upset you?Me talking about that bitch?”
Red bursts in my eyelids.I’m fighting whatever knockout drug they used, clawing to the surface.
Then, something presses to my chest, and electricity crackles through my limbs.My lungs seize along with my muscles.
My captor’s voice comes from far away.“Settle down now, settle down.”
The pain ends, but I feel like I took a punch from a gorilla.While I fight to breathe, my captor says, “She ruined everything.He was obsessed with her, never looked at me.”
What is he talking about?Think, Rex, think.Your body is bound, but your mind is coming back online.
Just have to fight the fog...
“Maybe I’ll deliver you to her in pieces,” the man sniggers.
Who is he?The answer’s close, but then I’m falling back under...
Inara
The news showsa sky full of smoke against a backdrop of high rises.The remnants of a helicopter that exploded mid-flight litter the ground.Not only did it explode, but it showered the ground with feathers as if it were full of birds.
The silent TV screen shows black feathers raining down from the sky.
I’m supposed to panic.
I’m supposed to think that Rex was in that helicopter and that he’s dead.
But he’s not.I can feel it.When I close my eyes, I see a dark space.A room with no windows and photographs on the wall.Rex is there with the killer.
I need to trust my instincts to see this through.I need to figure this out in time to save him.
Think!What are my clues?
There was an explosion, like the ones caused by the bombs strapped to BK.
Feathers, like the birds left at my townhome and the trail of feathers in each warehouse.
