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Jason paced the length of the small room, covering the available space in a few long strides. Irritably, he turned when he got to the corner and paced back in the other direction, restless as a caged tiger.
There was only one way out, and it was closed to them – at least until their captor returned. Jason was jittery, fighting to control the tremors in his hands while he tried- and failed – to ignore the dull pain behind his eyes.
“Jase - ” Princess began.
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Jason snarled. “Don’t tell me to sit down. I can’t!”
“It’s the drugs in your system,” Mark just had to say. The G-Force Commander was standing in the centre of the room, his white cape wings drawn protectively closed around his body. “Or rather, the lack of the drug.”
“Shut up, chicken boy,” Jason muttered under his breath.
“I heard that,” Mark said, the warning note evident in his voice. Jason ignored it.
“We can’t fight amongst ourselves,” Princess said. “They’ll hear us.” She was leaning against the wall, one foot braced against the floor, the other leg bent so that one white-booted foot was up against the wall. She had her arms folded and her head drooped wearily.
Tiny Harper was also leaning against a wall, hands behind his head. Next to him, Keyop was sitting on the floor. “We can’t show weakness,” the boy said, sounding unconvinced.
“Yeah,” Tiny said. “They’ll react like sharks scenting blood.” The big pilot slid down the wall to sit in an untidy heap on the floor beside his younger colleague. “When d’you think he’ll be back? It’s been ages.”
“No idea,” Jason said. He paused in his relentless pacing and leaned into the corner. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking and the headache was starting to thump in time with his heartbeat. He took a series of deep breaths, trying to centre himself. He wanted to tear the walls down, smash the door, give rein to all the frustration building up in his system and…
And kill something.
Or someone.
Preferably someone wearing a green and brown uniform, or better yet, purple regalia, but at this point, anyone would have sufficed.
Jason’s hands curled into fists.
The tremors seemed to be intensifying.
He swallowed, his mouth dry.
“It’s getting worse,” he mumbled.
“Try to stay calm,” Mark said, keeping his voice low. “It’s important that we all remain calm.”
Keyop was staring at the door. “I can hear someone coming this way,” he said.
Jason took a breath and held it as the door release mechanism clicked and turned.
The door opened and a slight man of Asian extraction sidled in. He wore an expensive silk suit and was carrying a cardboard tray with two large covered cups on it.
“My God, I thought my intern would never get back with this stuff. Apparently there was a queue a mile – eep!”
Jason had pounced and seized upon the double caramel macchiato.
His shaking hands fumbled with the lid and finally managed to flip it off before taking a long, soothing draught.
Jason swallowed and sighed. “Ikari,” he said, “for a suit, you’re okay.”
“Thanks, Director Ikari,” Mark said. “I thought Jason’s caffeine withdrawal was going to kill us all!” He took the tray from Evan Ikari’s unresisting hands.
“Well,” the ISO Director Public Relations said, “once G-2 has less blood in his caffeine stream, perhaps we can continue on to this press conference! Chief Anderson and Secretary Claybourne have been stalling them for the last fifteen minutes!”
“Just another minute or two,” Princess advised as Jason finished his coffee and leaned back against the wall with a blissful smile of relief.
“No problem,” Ikari said. “I’d rather keep the media waiting than have to deal with a member of G-Force in caffeine withdrawal! He’s not quite as bad as Security Chief Anderson but I’d say he comes close.”
“Worse,” Jason said with a grin that put Ikari in mind of a wolf about to bring down its prey. “I carry more weapons and I’m a better shot than he is.”
Ikari smiled nervously. “There is that,” he conceded.
Jason disposed of the empty coffee cup, then picked up the second macchiato and started on it.
Mark shook his head. “Jason,” he said, “when we get back to Center Neptune, we’re going to have a long talk about your coffee addiction.”