65 NOT A PRISONER (2/2)
”So I am a hostage to ensure that my father complies?” Hu Lei grasped the important point immediately.
”Hostage is such an ugly word, but essentially, yes. No harm shall come to you, you can rest assured.” The woman spoke with an eerily bright smile. ”Do not think of this laboratory as a prison. It is a safe zone for you. If you take a step outside this building, you will be dead in a matter of hours.”
”You were able to bring me here quite easily, so there must be a way out.” Hu Lei challenged with a glint in her eyes.
Helen Brown laughed at her as if she had heard a funny joke.
”Bringing you here was not easy. It took almost a month to get you from Argentina to this point. If it was not for advanced pharmaceuticals keeping your body in suspended animation, you would not be alive or in good shape. Moreover, right now, it is spring, so the weather is quite good. If you step out of the building in winter, you will not last for half an hour.”
Hu Lei could not help the cold shiver in her heart as the word sunk in. She had been out for a month? That explained the overwhelming stench of her body. She did not dare focus on what the information meant for the more important aspects of her life. If she did, she might not be able to keep it together.
”I would have had my people help you with your ablutions and clothes, but as a woman, I did not think you would appreciate handling by strangers.” Helen spoke when she noticed her distaste at her smell.
After a considerably lengthy walk, Helen finally stopped at a door labelled Room 30. She opened the door and indicated for Hu Lei to step in.
”This will be your room for the length of your stay with us. It has everything you need.”
”What about my father?” Hu Lei had not forgotten about Hu Ming.
”You can meet with him once you have taken a shower. It would not do if you smell like that when you join him. He might think that we have mistreated you. Someone will come to get you in about thirty minutes for dinner.” With that, Helen brown strutted away in her pantsuit.
Hu Lei entered the room and closed the door. When she looked at the space, she had to admit that it was better than she expected from a secret lab built in the ground at the South Pole. It had a comfortable-looking bed and a simple cabinet with drawers. She opened them and found clothes similar to those that the private military men were wearing.
Inside the room, she found another door leading to a basic bathroom with a shower and a toilet. It seemed that these people had not forsaken plumbing in favour of a covert lab. She closed the entry door and went to the bathroom for a shower.
There was no need to rush anything. It was not like she had anywhere to go for now. She would deal with the other matters once she cleaned up and talked to her father. Everything would be clear then, and she could think of how to deal with the situation afterwards.