The Suspense Is Killing Me

Franklin kicked viciously at the rope that bound her right ankle, an apparently suicidal move since it was supporting her entire weight. But time was precious, and risks had to be taken. If she allowed herself to reach such a state of exhaustion that she could do no more than dangle from the rope, her face would be just under the surface of the water. That was all it took to drown someone, as they had taken great delight in pointing out when they tied her up. It had seemed to amuse them almost as much as tearing strips off her blouse to make a gag, exposing her delicately patterned department store brassière in the process.

The rope around her ankle was in fact loosening. Should this be taken as a sign that she had an ally? Might M53 have survived the crash after all? The mangled remains of his autogyro said no, but no body had been found. Her speculation was interrupted when the rope parted without warning.

The mind-numbing cold blacked her out for a second. One boot, dragged off by the impact, floated for a few seconds, then capsized and sank into the depths. She watched it go as if in a trance. Her ruined blouse floated around her, clinging to her like seaweed tendrils. Then deeply ingrained responses kicked in. Swimming with her hands tied behind her back had been rehearsed until she could do it in her sleep. A fleeting moment of disorientation was dispelled by desperate concentration. The jetty was... Over that way. She swam for her life. The ropes around her wrists would tighten up as they absorbed water, as they had during endless sessions in the training tank. Time was still precious. Nobody would be coming to look for her. As soon as her people found the wreckage, she'd be presumed dead along with M53.


Update: the light which was visible in the original began to irritate me shortly after I'd uploaded, and became more and more annoying every time I looked at the picture. I tried to change it: I made it larger, I made it smaller, I made it dimmer, I made it more diffuse; I replaced it with a stock image of the moon. Everything I did just made it even worse, until I realised that we don't need to see the light at all. In the original 3D scene, it's positioned behind Franklin. I removed it, and I feel a lot better now; until the next thing starts to get on my nerves, anyway...