The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag 00 - Swept Under the Rug

turned, squinting into the darkness in hopes that I’d spot an exit. A clinking noise, like metal on metal caught my notice and I headed in the direction of the sound, feeling my way along the damp walls to orient myself better.
    “Hello? Is someone there?” I called out, stumbling over a crate I hadn’t noticed in time. The clinking grew louder and blood roared in my ears as my pulse rate kicked up beyond jogging levels. I walked for what seemed like forever, the basement bigger than I had first realized. My hand hit a pipe and my eyes abruptly adjusted to the dim light. I’d reached what looked to be a large cylindrical tank with several pipes leading out like a mechanical spider with crooked legs. Deciding to back away and go around the tank, I stumbled and screamed as my ass met the concrete.
    My teeth snapped together with such force that I saw stars. I groaned and pulled my feet underneath me, ready to start out again when I caught sight of what I’d tripped over. A woman was handcuffed to one of the pipes, a gag tied around the back of her head. Scrambling forward, I reached behind her to untie the fabric. The light was too dim to make out her features.
    “Maggie, you’ve got to get out of here!” Her eyes were wild as she glanced from me to the far corner of the room. “He’ll kill you!”
    My fingers followed the handcuffs that wrapped around the pipe, seeking a spot of rust or some other weakness that I could use to free her. “Who did this? Who brought you here?”
    She yanked away from me, sliding down the pipe as far as she could go. “Leave me! Just get yourself out of here, now!”
    I grabbed both of her secure wrists and tugged against the resistance of the pipe. A pop sounded, followed by a slow hiss and my vision was again obscured. Steam billowed from the tank and choking smog filled the air. I cringed away while keeping a hand on her.
    “Who’s doing this?” I asked again, tugging on her arms. She cried out unintelligibly, and kicked me away with her foot. Some distant voice told me I was doing more harm than good, but I ignored it while I scrambled toward her. “I won’t leave you! Help me get you free!”
    A high keening sound pierced the air and my gaze shot to the tank a second before the pressure reached critical….
    I jolted up in bed, breathing hard, shaken to the core. Damn my overactive imagination right to the depths of Dante’s Inferno.
    “You okay?” Neil’s deep bass rumbled in my ear and he put his arms around my heaving chest. I nodded and rested my head against his shoulder and focused on taking even breaths. “Just a dream.” I mumbled inanely.
    He stroked my back. “Candie Valentino?” He asked.
    “You know me too well.” I mumbled. “There’s no mystery left in our relationship.”
    “Is that a bad thing?” Neil kissed my neck and I sighed and shook my head.
    He really was too patient with me and I felt compelled to apologize again for ditching him last night. “I’m sorry about dinner.”
    He pulled back and searched my eyes for a moment. “Yeah, me too. I feel so cheap and used after yesterday morning….”
    I chuckled. “You do not so quit trying to guilt me. Besides, I promised you a rain check and my agenda is clear for the next forty-eight hours. How about tonight?”
    “Sounds like a plan.” Neil agreed, then groaned when the alarm on his phone sounded. “God, I hate this!” He reached over and silenced the noise.
    “By this you mean…?”
    “This damn schedule. I don’t mind the twelve hour shifts normally, but I’m starting to believe I should just sleep at work until this damn project is resolved.”
    I didn’t like that idea at all. “How much longer do you think—?”
    “No frigging clue. It’s like all the engineers have us running around chasing our tails while they dither about minutiae that gets us nowhere. The back-up power supply, the electrician, the frigging color of the processor for chrissakes. Borrowing trouble and squandering time if you ask me.” He rose gracefully from the air mattress but for once I wasn’t fixated on his backside.
    “Power supply?” I asked my voice faint and hollow in my own ears. “Which company are they using?”
    Neil pulled a T-shirt over his head and stepped into a faded pair of blue jeans. “Changes from minute to minute. The bid went to Safari, but there have been a few glitches with the latest model for upgrades and the higher-ups are nervous; don’t want to take the