Smarter (an Ell Donsaii story #2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

about nine PM and if the drugs didn’t keep her asleep longer than her usual four hours, then it must be about 1AM. Partly for information and partly to irritate her keeper she asked, “What time is it?”
    With a moan, “The middle of the damn night!”
    Ell realized that her short sleep cycle represented an advantage. “I need a Tylenol or an aspirin.”
    “You aren’t getting either, go back to sleep!”
    Ell looked around the room for a weapon she could use with her hands bound together. There was a lamp but it was on the desk where the man rested his head. “What do you and Mr. Chin think you’re going to do with me anyway?” She leaned out to look at the man, raising a querying eyebrow.
    “Go back to bed!”
    Ell shuffled over to the small closet on the other side of the short hall from the bathroom and opened it. Ah, wire coat hangers and a wooden hanger rod! Ell looked at the bed, a simple double mattress. Light fixtures and night stands bolted to the wall behind it. Small dresser with a cheap monitor screen across from the bed. She shuffled to the dresser and pulled the drawers out, throwing them on the floor with a loud clatter.
    The man raised his head and stared at her, “What the Hell are you doing?”
    “Looking for my AI.”
    “Your AI isn’t in here. Get some sleep! Mr. Chin will explain everything in the morning. We just need your help for a while, then we’ll turn you loose.”
    “I don’t feel tired. Help with what?”
    “If you don’t lie down I’ll attach your cuffs to the bed.”
    Ell shuffled across the room to look out the window. It looked out at the brick wall of the next building which was only about two feet away! Fine accommodations! She shuffled back over to the bed and sat down. “Happy?”
    “Yes.” He started to lower his head to the desk.
    “What’s your name?”
    He rolled his eyes. “Call me Mr. Chang.”
    “Chin and Chang?”
    “Not our real names.”
    “First name?”
    “Chang.”
    Ell flopped back on the bed and thought about what she’d learned. Her self defense courses at the Academy had taught that escape was easiest at the beginning of captivity. The longer you gave your captor, the more secure he could make your imprisonment. She considered what she had to work with. She stretched and flopped over so her feet hung off the bathroom-closet side of the bed. Her head was feeling better. She sat back up and turned. “Chang?”
    With a groan, “Yeah.”
    “You know I’m dangerous right?”
    “Yes. But you’re bound hand and foot. I’m armed. I have backup in the next room. They’re watching you through my AI’s cameras. Please don’t try anything; we really don’t want to hurt you.”
    “That’s reassuring. I don’t want to hurt you either.” Ell, took a few deep breaths to suppress a surge of adrenalin so that she wouldn’t go into the zone prematurely. Then she got up and shuffled off to the bathroom.
    “Where are you going now?
    “Thirsty, want a drink.”
    Ell was relieved to see Chang put his head back down as she turned into the bathroom. She shut the door and pressed the latch button. She turned on the water and opened the drawer and pulled out the ancient hair dryer, inspecting it. The plastic casing was already cracked. She banged her hip into the counter at the same time as she slammed the dryer’s case against the sink. The case shattered.
    Ell picked at the remaining shell as she responded to Chang’s query. “I tripped on these damned ankle cuffs! Can’t you take them off?”
    “No! Open the door!”
    Ell placed the dryer back in the drawer and shut it, kick ed fragments of its case back behind the toilet, then turned off the water and opened the door, holding her head as if it were hurt and raising her eyebrows at him in query.
    Chang looked around the bathroom suspiciously but then went back out to his desk. Ell relocked the door, jammed a piece of plastic from the case into the fan of the hair dryer and plugged it in. In