A/N:
Hi guys! This is SallSall here. (Author of The Nanny) with my awesome tandem story partner TREX DA BEST! *Applause* Anyway, if you don't know who we are, go onto our joint profile and we have favourited ourselves to authors and also favourited our stories. Please enjoy our first chapter! (Written by SallSall-me)
Disclaimer: The word is pretty self-explanatory.
Fang Rolland parachuted down from the unearthly, mysterious night sky. How great it felt to feel the air floating around you, he thought. As he plummeted down towards twinkling city lights, he got a tiny bit irritated by his long bangs getting in his eyes.
Must get them cut later, he reminded himself. After this mission.
His black cargo pants' pockets held all sorts of useful gadgets that would hopefully come in handy this time. Last, time it appeared that he'd carried all those handy dandy fancy things in his backpack for NO GOOD REASON. It pissed him off through to the core.
As Fang neared his destination, he pulled the cord attached to his parachute and it shot out, halting his speed and stopping the contact, which would have left him a pile of gory mush.
He landed almost steadily with a slight stumble on a tall billboard with a picture of many lit up casinos and the slogan 'Welcome to Vegas, Baby!' Cursing under his breath, Fang clipped his grappling hook onto a metal rung and abseiled down quietly.
A few late nighters wandered the empty streets- most sensible people were inside, gambling or sitting in café booths. As Fang pulled off his black jacket and cargo pants, he truly felt the intensity of this cold. His black formal suit underneath was a little crinkled but no worse for wear.
Smiling grimly, Fang dropped all his gear into a hidden, waiting backpack, which he then re hid. He casually sauntered into one of the many 24 hours casinos and showed his fake ID to the bouncer. With a surprised look from the bouncer, Fang strolled in and immediately wished he had glasses. When you're in Vegas casinos, the lights are bright- freaking bright, man!
Fang climbed the stairs, ready for the worst-case scenario, and hurriedly ran up four flights of stairs. He pushed open the emergency exit to fins two teenage girls smoking with a bottle of vodka in one girl's hand. The other held a beer. They eyed him flirtatiously, batting eyelashes furiously. Fang smirked inwardly, if they were trying to impress him, they were failing miserably; he was more the 'modest' girl type.
Passing them with no more than a disgusted look, (and maybe a little half smile to tease them) Fang kept moving. He finally went back into the casino, into a hallway not many people knew about. His brisk power walking slowed to a lazy step (well, it wasn't so much a walk but a swagger) as he pushed open the final door marked 'VIP only'. His destination.
Two people; one young woman with a tight, sparkly red dress on, brown hair with natural sun streaks in it piled up in a bun, and black ballet flats and a smartly dressed, middle aged man, stood backs facing him looking at a glass window, in total silence. Even though neither looked up, Fang knew that they both knew he was there.
"Mr. Rolland. Nice 'entry' (parachuting) but you're late."
Maximum Ride tried extremely hard not to grimace. It is just a dress. Just a dress. She repeatedly reminded herself. Just a stupid, girly, too-tight, very mini, uncomfortable dress.
She pulled it on and, looking in the mirror, came up with a sadly lacking list of good things about it.
1)It was totally NOT her style, so no one would suspect it was her.
2)Well, at the moment she couldn't think up a number two.
Then, there was the LONG list of things that could go wrong because of the dress.
1)Somebody could attack her and she'd be totally defenceless.
2)It made her look girly, plus she had to wear a strapless bra. (GRR)
3)Some guy might stare and she'd have to blow her cover by whacking him.
4)She was turning into one of those 'It' girls from way back in high school.
5)She hated the look of it anyway.
6)She could get blinded by all the sparkles reflecting off something, which would then render her utterly useless. And the list went on forever.
Instead of thinking up a ridiculous plan to get into the casino, Max decided to play it safe. She called in a friend (Ella) and Ella was MORE then delighted to go dress shopping with Max for the first time. Max had grizzled and complained the whole time, but according to Ella, it was well worth the earache. Max had a new wardrobe filled with pretty things, which made Ella proud. In addition to all the clothes, she also had a fine range of make up and a few sets of earrings. – A thing that puzzled Ella was that Max had her ears pierced since she was eight but only had the one pair of studs to wear.
Brushing Max's hair into a bun, Ella wondered why Max had changed so much. It was one thing to actually go shopping, but another to get a make over. Especially when all you wear is shorts and unshaped T-shirts. What's up with Max?
Max, instead of having to show her ID, just put on her 280-watt smile, flashing her gorgeous dimples and naturally white teeth. The bouncer let her in immediately and she waltzed in, acting like she owned the place. Max got a few appreciative glances but dismissing them, she flowed into an elevator. A few people got in with her and Max studied them absently, as she was used to doing.
Trying not to recoil at the sight of a perfectly manicured nail- her perfectly manicured nail- Max pressed the number '4'. She waited patiently, lightly strumming her finger on her thigh, which was embarrassingly mostly showing; thanks to the VERY short dress thing she was wearing.
She was the first one to arrive. Without glancing at her watch, she knew she was right on the dot. "Ah, Miss. Ride. How good to see that you took it into your busy schedule to come. I am truly honoured. Mr. Burns had told me many tales about the great missions you've gone on for him."
Mr. Paul Willington: skinny, hardly ever smiling mouth, unemotional, bushy eyebrows, unnaturally white teeth with a high sheen, athletic build, very little muscle or fat on body, faint moustache and beard, a tiny bit of stubble, white suit with red tie, hard, calculating ice blue eyes, shortly cropped wavy brown hair, polished at least three times a week black shoes… All this Max imprinted into her brain with one small look.
She calmly stood by him for a few moments. Even thought the door was obviously oiled regularly and made no sound, Max noticed the slight gust of cool wind and a new even breathing in the room. She made no apparent move, but shifted her eyes to the stained glass windows she was facing.
Using their reflection, Max saw a tall, passive faced, dark, messy haired, dark eyed, even a dark suit, (Wow, this guy must be obsessed with 'the dark') mysterious looking young man. "Mr. Rolland. Nice 'entry' but you're late." By exactly 5.56 seconds, Max added in her mind with only half a snicker.
"Well! Since the other two are late, we shall start without them as I said emphasized on the 'sharp' and 'be punctual'." Mr. Willington clapped his hands loudly, Max turned around and Fang edged closer. "Since I've already chatted with Miss. Ride, I shall 'chat' with you, Mr. Rolland." Mr. Willington turned his gaze to Fang. "I hear you've succeeded with quite a few challenging missions from Mr. Blunt, there, Mr. I am quite delighted to meet you." He thrust out his hand, which Fang shook firmly.
"The reason why I have requested the FOUR of you here today is-"
Just then a lady talking loudly, almost screaming into her cell/mobile phone, burst in. She waved a fur-gloved hand at us and motioned for the others to sit down. Oh so now SHE was the boss, huh?Max wanted to know. Behind the new lady, two big burly men walked in shoulder to shoulder, their belts loaded with a sidearm each and one of both of their hands looked big enough to squish Willington flat.
Mrs. I'm-going-to-be-in-charge took an egg chair and swung around, facing Willington. Max realised she wasn't actually talking on the phone; it was the wildly coloured animal on her shoulder that was doing all the screeching.
"Squawk! Pretty girl! Dark boy! Puny guy! Squawk! Playback wants a cracker!"
Mr. Willington looked at the bird with obvious distaste. I'm sure he just LOVED being referred to as 'puny' by a parrot Max laughed quietly.
"Ms. Martinez, I'm afraid this meeting is extremely confidential; it must go no further than the four of you I invited and myself. Please ask your escorts to leave, and take that 'thing' away too."
"Val. Val Martinez will do fine, Paul. Of course, I'm terribly sorry for the late arrival, but Wes swore he saw a car tailing us, so the limo driver had to make a few additional turns to loose them. Those paparazzi nowadays! I can't go ANYWHERE-"
"Yes, thank you, Val." Wes and the other big guy trudged out the door with Val's nuisance of a pet on Wes' shoulder- who was squawking nonsense about a bird that once ate a shoe- and gobbled down the person who was wearing the shoe as well.
Max crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. She already had a bad feeling about this mission. In fact, wouldn't it be better if she just refused? She watched as Fang took a seat across from Val and waited. Val smiled, blinding Max with her unnaturally white teeth. The bracelets on both her dainty wrists jingled and jangled, irritating Max even further.
Mr Willington cleared his throat and took a seat at the head of the table. "Well, Ms- I mean, Val. I'm glad you could take time out of your busy life and join us here." He sounded a little sarcastic. "Anyway, what I'm offering you is a chance to use your fabulous detective skills. I've heard all about your previous cases and I think you would be a positive addition to our crew. I am uttermost honoured to have you here today." With that, he kissed her hand.
"And, I have gathered you here to take part in a special-"
SLAM! "Soz I'm late. Aloha dudes. I'm Forest, by the way. Forest Seaman Rockwell. Though most of my homies just call me Forest or Rocky."
Max bit her lip to keep herself from scoffing at the incredulous name this guy had given himself. Although, clad in a Hawaiian shirt with palm trees and beaches, sunglasses on a shaggy hairstyle and board shorts, the name sort of suited him. The only appropriate attire he wore was perfectly polished, lace up business shoes.
Fang's eyebrows shot up as Forest gave him a 'peace out' sign with his fingers. The corners of his lips twitched, but immediately became neutral once more. -Fang noticed the way Forest's head would be facing you but his eyes weren't trained on you and they looked kind of far off. Fang waved his hand in front of Forest's face but apart from a little confused look, he had no reaction.
Mr. Willington hurried to explain. "Ah, yes. Hello Mr. Rockwell. You are the last to come. I hope it wasn't too hard finding us?"
Forest shrugged. "Hey, W man, EVERYTHING is hard to find. So no worries there, I just asked someone where this room was. They weren't so sure but, like I said, I got here. It smells nice in here; rose. Will you introduce us all? I can hear the different sets of breathing."
Fang, Val and Max instantly knew why Forest's eyes didn't focus but they listened to Mr. Willington explain nonetheless.
"Mr. Rockwell is blind. But he has extra-developed senses of smell, hearing, feeling and taste. Mr. Rockwell, we have Fang Rolland, Maximum Ride and Valencia Martinez here this evening. They will be accompanying you on your assignment. But firstly, I'd like to say that I am pleased that you are with us now, and I've heard all about your useful 'gadgets'. Namely explosives.
"This mission will require you all to participate as it will incorporate all your different talents and strong points. You must work together and you will discover each other's weaknesses and help one another get over them."
"This mission is top secret and is for your ears ONLY. If one of you were to leak it, you could put the whole world in danger. It is most likely you will all agree, and suffice to say, I guess you won't get along with each other."
"All of your personalities are very much different but as I'm sure you'll find out, you all share certain traits and are not thatdissimilar. I- Yes, what is it Ms. Martinez?" Val had politely raised her hand and interrupted Mr. Willington's speech.
"So, you're saying I have to work with them?" She looked at Max, who even dressed up, looked tomboyish, and then at Fang, who well, maybe was a little cute and mysterious but Val wouldn't say that in front of everyone, she'd find a time later, and finally at Forest/ Rocky. She wrinkled her nose. "With HIM?"
Forest humphed a little, catching on to where this was going. "Look, lady. I ain't here to argue with you. - Don't care who you are. I'm here to receive a mission from the W man, here, and probably accept. I'll blow up an enemy lair or something but I AIN'T here to work with you- a snide little bratty posh detective. So there. I don't care what you think of me. And for the record, I can't see what I'm wearing, so excuse the casual dress."
Mr. Willington sighed. "As you can see, two of you already most definitely DO NOT get along. Anyway, as I was saying, you must move past your many differences to solve and carry out this super special mission. The mission is-"
And the rest of his sentence was drowned out by a high-pitched scream from nearby…
A/N: Hey yo again! So…feedback would be appreciated so we can improve our story and improve our writing skills. The story might get a little weird since there are two of us and we're not allowed to plan with each other. But, anyhow, REVIEW! We can't guaranty fast updates with the chapters, but it is our sole wish that you review, and that way we'll probably update faster. Mostly on the weekends. If you're are trully too lazy to review, put a * for good or a ~ for bad. And list suggestions if you say ~.
TaNdEmGiRlz. x