Codename: Aconite Chapter Fifty-Two

Codename: Aconite Chapter Fifty-Two

I lower the mask from my face, breathing in – somewhat – fresh air as I lift my goggles onto my head. Carefully I pick up one of the capsules from the tray in front of me, holding it up, admiring it with the pride and joy a mother would have for their child. Over a year of failure after failure has led to this moment, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

One of the things I love about chemistry is that it teaches you how much good can come from failure. Failure isn’t the absence of success, but merely a stepping stone on the path to it. Through my many failed experiments I discovered so many new ways to mix and bind proteins that have now become useful with many of my other poisons. I learned even more about the plants I was working with on a molecular level, and while week after week things may not have gone my way, I never gave up and I’m glad I didn’t because if I had I wouldn’t be holding the future of science between my fingers now.

I place the capsule down, remove my gloves and throw them in the trash. As I take off my mask and goggles completely, I stand up and stretch out my back, sighing in relief when I feel a pleasant pop every now and then. I glance up at the clock and realise I’ve been in the greenhouse for two hours without a peep from Silas, which isn’t all that surprising. He’s learned I don’t like to be disturbed when I’m in the zone.

I exit the greenhouse and make my way back down to my apartment. As I approach the door I slow my steps when the sounds of crashing and commotion float up the stairs from the other side of the door. Now on high alert, I cautiously approach the door, pressing myself against the wall as I slowly pull on the handle and open the door just a crack so I can peer in. Adrenaline courses through my system as I witness Silas struggling as he takes on six assailants, each one covered head to toe in black and their faces obscured with ski masks with three already laying either unconscious or dead on my living room floor. While they work to subdue him, there are even more men racing around the apartment, no doubt looking for me.

Silas is holding his own, but the numbers soon overwhelm him. Two assailants drop him to his knees, holding his arms to keep him in place, while a third gets him in a chokehold from behind. Silas continues to struggle and thrash until a fourth assailant stalks forward, punching him with enough force to knock him out cold. My eyes widen when as the masked man strikes Silas, his sleeve lifts just enough for me to notice a tattoo on the inside of his right wrist. My heart races when I immediately recognise the design. It’s the exact same one on the seal of the letter Sathariel sent me that started all of this…he’s found us.

“Get him to the car,” says the one who knocked out Silas. “And find Aconite. The bitch has to be around here somewhere.”

I carefully close the door, pressing my back against it as I quickly think over what I have to do. There’s only one way out and they’re blocking it. I’m a strong fighter, but I know I can’t take on that many men. I only have minutes before they find me. They didn’t kill Silas, so Sathariel must want us alive. Maybe, just maybe, there’s a way to survive this.

I race back up the stairs and quietly shut the door to the rooftop. I pull a large terracotta pot containing my manchineel tree over and press it against the door. As I look at the blossoming tree, another idea comes to mind. I race into the greenhouse and grab a jar of sodium, a bottle of diethyl ether and my bottle of water. I race back out to the tree, open the jar of sodium, grab the smallest piece I can and place it at the root of the tree. I carefully pour a tiny amount of diethyl ether – hoping my measurements aren’t off – onto the sodium. I open the water bottle and carefully drip a few drops onto the sodium. If this works, it might slow them down.

I run back into the greenhouse looking around at my workstation and send out a prayer to the universe. I open a drawer and pull out a stunning silver locket with a large emerald gemstone on the front, open it and place one of my newly prepared capsules inside. I clasp it shut and place it around my neck, tucking it under my top just as I hear the sound of the rooftop door being broken down.

I glance back towards the doorway to see that a fire has ignited at the base of the tree, engulfing the deadly plant in flames. The men push their way through the doorway, caught off guard by the burning fire but as the smoke from the tree begins to intensify I see the men begin to stumble, the sounds of their coughing and choking reaching me as I see them rub and clutch their eyes in pain.

“My eyes! My eyes!” One cries out, much to my satisfaction.

I may not make it out of this alive, but best believe I’m taking as many of these fuckers down with me as I can. They picked the wrong bitch to mess with.

I grab a nearby syringe and spot a vial of my oleander concentrate. I plunge the syringe into the vial and fill the syringe just as I feel strong arms grab me from behind.

“Nice try bitch, but I’ve got you now,” the man gloats cockily.

“Guess again,” I say saccharinely as I plunge the syringe into his thigh and push down on the plunger.

My attacker yells out in anguish, letting me go as he clutches his thigh, pulling the syringe from it and tossing it aside.

“What the fuck did you…do?” he says, as he starts to sway before dropping to the ground and convulsing.

I smirk with victory as another masked assailant launches himself at me. I brace my hands against my workstation, using the desk as leverage as I use both legs to kick him into the guy behind him. As another guy approaches me, I grab a large beaker from off the desk and smash it against his head. As he groans and clutches his head, I grab his shoulders, pulling him down as I drive my knee up into his nose feeling it break from the impact.

A whoosh of air is expelled from me, pain rippling through my back as I feel a powerful jab to my kidney that has my knees buckling as I clutch my desk for support. I look up at the masked figure responsible for the blow just as he takes a firm grasp of my hair and slams my head into the countertop. Pain ricochets through my skull as I drop to the ground, my skull pounding as I feel something warm and wet against my skin.

I look up at blurry figures hovering over me, but I manage to summon enough strength to lift my leg and land a solid kick to this son of a bitch’s balls, and I can only hope I’ve kicked him hard enough to give him erectile dysfunction for the rest of his life. As I scramble to get up, my head throbbing and the room spinning, I feel something cold and hard strike the back of my head causing everything to go black.