The soft, almost imperceptible sound that followed the noise of the knife block making contact with the cabinet below the flat screen was accompanied by the latter shifting down ever so slightly, before it snapped open in the middle with the two sides moving apart to expose what had been hidden.
The silent change broke the whole momentum mustered by the woman who had been teased to the point of becoming angry. She froze, dazedly taking the sudden change and the concealed scene behind the cabinet. And her appearance made Alex unable to suppress his amusement:
"Pfft!"
The chuckle came out muffled, but the effort to keep it in was what actually made it worse, especially with the knife block now dangling in the air after losing the support that had not even lasted a second.
For a moment, she really had them, the momentum, the apparent determination to do what needed to be done, like an actress deep in her game, only for a prop on the scene to collapse and burst her bubble, leaving her frozen in the act. Alex really couldn't keep his composure at that moment.
The 'black-haired' woman in black snapped out of her surprise and glared at him, before she turned her 'black eyes' to the safe that had been revealed. Alex smiled, and followed her gaze to also look at his safe. But he still didn't look worried. When the black eyes returned to him, ruminating on something, he cooperatively explained with a friendly smile:
"It is as you are thinking. What you want is inside that safe. You just need a code to open it."
The woman looked at the grating smile of the playboy and frowned:
"You are taking me for an idiot?"
The question came out with firm affirmation, and got a smirk in response:
"I said you are inexperienced, not that you are an idiot. I can't be sure of the latter…"
"You–"
Alex continued, interrupting the retort and leaving the anger he had casually provoked stifled:
"...but you need my hand to open that thing, so at least my arms must be freed and brought forward if you want me to put my hand on the screen. And don't even think about cutting it, though I doubt you are able to do that. The data needed includes body temperature, pulse, magnetic field and a slew of other details. You have no choice. Unless you are not only unprofessional and inexperienced, but you are also afraid? Of me?"
"Who would be afraid of you?"
She finally managed to snap at him, but more reflexively than consciously, irritated by how easily he was always managing to get under her skin. But beyond that, she had to keep her expression in check to avoid showing the fear that just sprouted in her heart.
Alex Lenner was dangerous. That was what she felt, what chilled her, beyond the superficial anger that added to the bite in her tone. Not everyone could smile while tied to a chair in the middle of the night, especially at home, where one was supposed to be secure. She did not pay much attention to that before, but here he was, bringing up the possibility of having his hands cut off without any flicker of apprehension, or fear. And he was not faking it! She could see it in his casual, almost amused smile.
The dread she was feeling at this moment even surpassed the fear she had felt when she had received the message that had started everything. She suddenly wanted to be done quickly and leave this devilish place sooner, then put an end to everything and return to her life as it had been before it all began.
She took a few continuous breaths to calm her palpitating heart, then put the knife block down beside her backpack. She walked to the safe, and turned to Alex:
"Give me the passcode first."
He met her gaze with a smile in his eyes, one that seemed to see through her and the thoughts in her mind, almost making her avert her eyes out of embarrassment. But she suppressed that reaction and waited for his answer.
After a moment, he made himself comfortable against the backrest of the chair he was tied in, and nodded:
"Alright, let's start with the code. You should know phi, right? The golden ratio."
"Of course, I know. Who hasn't been to school?"
Alex looked at her, and raised an eyebrow:
"I knew that before going to school."
The smile he had on his face seemed like an invitation to help him with a facial remodeling treatment, but a deep breath managed to make her push that desire to comply aside, while he continued:
"Type it to eight decimal places."
She frowned, bent down, then hesitated, and turned to Alex:
"What is its value?"
She forced down the embarrassment at the meaningful smile Alex looked at her with, and managed to resist until he calmly replied:
"1.61803399."
*Beep*
The slim gloved finger moved on the screen of the safe, making the latter produce a short sound of notification in the end. Heaving a sigh of relief, the woman in black straightened up, and looked at Alex. She ignored the smile he had on his face, and walked to him, before carefully, very carefully moving to his back. Only when he didn't react, did she calm down and push him to the safe embedded in the wall below the flatscreen.
Once there, she lowered the seat of the chair, put his back toward the wall. She adjusted his tied hands, twisting the one on the outside to align with the screen of the safe, then went in front of him. She took a deep breath, forced herself to ignore his teasing gaze, then pushed him backward. She felt him make contact with the wall, and as she was expecting, with the screen of the safe, and waited. For a few seconds. In vain.
Even the silence that followed all her complicated maneuvers seemed to be mocking her.
Alex looked at the masked face a few inches from him, breathed in lightly, and grinned:
"Not the left hand, kitty."