I must have been in that cage for two hours while Irwin worked downstairs. When he finally took me back down there, I discovered he'd taken care of the little escape route I'd created. Not only had he pulled out the desks and torn up the place looking for any more hidden surprises, he'd also re-padlocked the utility door, and also wrapped it shut with a chain. From where he set me on the desk, I could also tell he'd nailed the paneling down in the corner, which would make it very difficult if not impossible to get back up into the ceiling.
But had he fixed the computer? That's what I really wanted to know, because as near as I could tell, that was the only chance I'd have to get away again any time soon.
"All right," Irwin said, putting his hand on the cage, "I've fixed the door, as you can see, and some other things, too. Still, though, before I let you out, I want your solemn promise you won't try to escape again, Ashley."
"Very well," I said honestly, "I promise I won't try to escape." And it was true. I wasn't going to run away--I was going to get someone to come rescue me!
He opened up the cage and I stepped out. "Good," he said with a half-hearted smile. "Now let's enjoy the rest of the evening, shall we?"
"I guess so," I agreed, but only weakly.
He made a good effort that night to make up for the punishment he'd dealt out. It was obvious from the first that he felt guilty about it. My dinner was much more lavish than anything else so far, an actual chunk of steak as well as a sip of wine. Then we played a couple of board games and some pool, and I'm certain he let me win a game of nine-ball, missing a shot that he'd have made any other evening.
Finally, when the news came on, he sat with me and watched TV, stroking my hair and even squeezing my shoulders a couple of times. I spoke rarely, if at all, and accepted his caresses without comment or reciprocation. If he wanted to think of me as his pet, fine. He was obviously delusional, so rationalizing with him wouldn't help.
When it was time to go to bed, he set me up on my desk as usual. "I'm sorry I had to discipline you earlier," he admitted. "I hope I never have to do that again, Ashley. Good night."
"Good night," I replied, and watched him go upstairs.
Though I wanted with all my might to rush over to the computer, I held off for just a few minutes, listening. I was sure I hadn't heard him go out the back door earlier, and now, I waited with trepidation to hear the creaking floor as he walked to his bedroom.
Finally he did, and I got down off the desk and hurried over to the computer. I felt so excited I could almost have leaped onto the chair from the ground level without using the ladder.
I climbed up quickly, flipped on the machine, and waited for it to boot. Then, with trembling fingers, I triggered the Internet connection, remembering what happened last time I was in this situation. I'd been disappointed then, and this time, if it didn't work, I wasn't sure what I'd do. It would probably have crushed me completely.
This time, though, it worked!
I probably should have jumped up and down and run around the table excitedly, but instead, I just smiled. I wasn't out yet, after all, but I was getting close, and of course I'd been disappointed before. Besides, it'd be just my luck to start whooping with joy and have Irwin come downstairs to see what I was up to.
Though using the mouse was difficult at my size, it wasn't impossible. I logged in to my personal account quickly as I could, typing the password by leaning over the keyboard and pushing down with both hands. It was slow going, but after a couple of minutes I was in. I think my heart actually skipped the proverbial beat when I saw that glorious word "CONNECTED" splash across the screen.
Unfortunately, I couldn't log into the FBI network directly because my site wasn't registered as a secure location. This was simple hacker protection, actually, so I wasn't surprised. Instead, I hooked into my mail server and sent Mark a message telling him to trace back the sender and come to its location in the city registry. For an FBI agent, this sort of search should be no problem at all.
At this point I could probably have just turned off the computer and sat back to wait, but there was always a chance Irwin had masked his connection somehow, so I wanted confirmation. Besides, if Mark had his email notification deactivated for some stupid reason, it could be hours before he got my message, or perhaps even the next day, or longer. I wanted to talk to him immediately, dammit!
It occurred to me then where he was most likely to be, so I logged into the Virtual Shrinking Center and entered the SW Clubhouse. As usual, the system remembered my default settings, causing my Valerie avatar to appear in the entrance room.
Immediately I spotted several people over near the fireplace, and the Jim Belushi lookalike was unmistakable. I walked over as quickly as I could using the giant keyboard controls and stopped next to him.
"Hey, Casino Girl!" greeted Talon amiably, noticing me almost at once. "Here for some more shrinking lessons?"
"Oh, is this the one you were telling us about?" asked someone in a business suit, whose title bar marked him as "JSL." "The one from the Sidewinder?"
"One of 'em," replied Talon. "This is the scared one."
"Cool," said the metal-skinned Ironman, whom I'd met once before. "Nice to meet you, Casino Girl."
While they were talking, I was busy trying to type as quickly as I could. "You have to help me," I entered. "I've been kidnapped!"
"Hmm, sounds like an interesting RP idea," Ironman replied, and his avatar smiled.
"Yeah, we're in," said Talon. "Who's kidnapped you, Val? How can we help?"
Sheesh, it was just like them to not realize how serious this was! I had to convince them somehow that I really needed help. "It's not RP," I asked quickly. "It's real. Have you seen Tallguy?"
"What, is he the one who nicked you?" asked Ironman. "I can kick his ass if you want."
"No, need help from him," I replied. "I need help IRL." Hmm, these shortcut abbreviations were more helpful than I'd thought.
"Funny you should mention that," said Talon after a moment. "The other day he was in here saying something about letting him know if you showed up. You or Dollgirl, he said."
Dollgirl? He meant Heather, but what did she have to do with anything? "Can you reach him fast?" I asked, trying to get my message across with as few letters as possible. It's tough typing when you're only ten inches high!
"Yeah, he gave me an IM number to buzz if you showed," said Talon. "Hang on a sec."
There was a lengthy pause, and then, finally, Talon said, "Got him."
Before I could type in a thank-you, the Tallguy avatar popped into existence next to me. He turned to look my way, then said, "Is this the real Casino Girl? I have to be sure, you understand. If it's really you, who are you in real life?"
Finally! "Just come get me, Mark!" I replied, barely able to stop myself from shouting at the screen.
Even though he was just a computerized avatar, I was sure I could hear a note of surprise in his voice. Damn, if only I could've been there to see his reaction! "How the hell did you know it was me?" he demanded.
"Never mind that," I replied as quickly as I could type. Then I stepped on the caps lock key and shouted, "JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!"