Disclaimer: Glee and its characters belong to where it legally belongs, i.e. not me.
Chapter One: Mission Possible
It is exactly 2:00 a.m.; two hundred hours in military time. She has approximately one hour and thirty minutes to accomplish this mission, and she figures that the allotted time is more than enough.
A glance to the mirror on her right showed how ready she is for this. With the aid of the dim light emitting from the bedside lamp, she scrutinized herself, mentally checking for any flaws. She decided to be a cliché and don an all black ensemble: black tights topped with a black skin-tight long-sleeved shirt and black socks (for extra stealth) as her footwear. A black beanie completed it all and she knows she's ready to go.
Satisfied, she tore her eyes from the mirror and into the metallic clutters of gizmos and gadgets scattered on her bed. She carefully picked it all one-by-one, inspecting it for flaws at whatnot - she wouldn't want anything to not work in the middle of the mission - before putting it all in a black bag that she "borrowed" from Jacob.
Well, except for one device.
A satisfied smile graced her lips as she picked up the object: a military-issued night vision goggles that Alexis managed to get for her. She then wore it and watched as a greenish hue tinged her vision. Satisfied, she slung the black bag on both her shoulders and nodded to herself.
And with that, she's ready and she's confident that it'll be a successful mission.
She padded towards the exit door of her headquarters, reaching out for the doorknob and carefully turning it with a firm determination on her face.
It's show time.
The hallway is predictably dark, but that's not a problem with her night vision googles. The environment is tinged with green, her vision perfectly revealing all the nook and crannies. Very carefully, she started to tiptoe towards her mission place, mindful of every step.
With the aid of her sock-covered feet, she practically made no noise against the floorboards. And with ninja-like grace aided by the goggles, she managed to avoid the occasional lamps, statues, and potted plants that are scattered here and there.
Her glow-in-the-dark wristwatch told her that five minutes have gone by as she now stood at the mission entrance: a wooden door at the far end of the hallway. She drew in a big breath and stood still while counting ten seconds backward, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do.
Slowly, she unslung her bag, reached inside, and oh-so-carefully extracted what she would need: a set of lock picking tools. Remembering those three days of non-stop practice, she patiently worked on the door's lock until she heard that satisfying 'click'.
Phase one complete.
She carefully put the tools back inside the bag and slung it again on her shoulders. She then carefully opened the door and held her breath as the door's hinge creaked slightly. Slowly, she managed to slip inside without being detected before carefully closing the door behind her.
Her eyes surveyed the inside of the room, taking in the greenish hue that is provided for her eyes. Right now, she can't exactly pinpoint any colors adorning the room, but she knows the layout enough to see the big picture: light cream walls with red and gold.
It's always red and gold, and it never changes.
A little smile tugged at her lips at the predictability. It's comforting and yet limiting.
And it has to stop.
Back to work.
Across the room, there's a door: the mission door. She tiptoed toward it, but not without bypassing the queen-sized bed in the middle of the room. A tuft of light-colored hair is peeking at the top of the blanket, coupled with a gentle rise and fall of breathing that indicates deep sleep. Her ears strained to hear a familiar sound that should accompany the sleeper: a light snoring.
After a brief pause, she nodded in satisfaction when she detected it. Carefully, she tiptoed towards the mission door, and as she reached for it, she cast another look at her wristwatch.
Fifteen minutes have gone by.
Gently, she opened the door and was met with tiles in greenish hue. Closing the door behind gently, her eyes swept the area, noting for any discrepancies that could potentially endanger the mission. And when there's none, she then focused on looking for her target.
Ah, there it is! she thought with a smirk as she padded towards the shower. She paused and stood, looking up at the shower head with gleeful smile on her face.
Phase two complete
She unslung her bag again and noiselessly dropped it on the tiled floor. Unzipping it, she took out an improvised mining helmet that she put together at the last minute, although it's not so much of an helmet as it is just an inch thick around the head with 2 small flashlight stuck on either side of the ear.
She clicked the little switch on the side before taking off her goggles. She then wore the improvised helmet, the flashlights emitting enough light to illuminate without being overly bright. When she's comfortable with it, she carefully extracted all the things that she would be needing.
And with a glance on her wrist, she was set to an hour-long work.
Commence primary mission.
Forty minutes later and it's all done. She then looked at her wristwatch and grinned when she realized that she managed to accomplish the mission perfectly within the allotted time-frame. Carefully gathering the tools and putting it all back in the bag, she took off the helmet before putting her goggles back on. She then turned off the helmet's light before carefully reopening the door.
Now back outside the mission door, she's having an internal debate about something that she thought of doing before going back to her headquarters. It's not something she gave much thought, just slight intrigue of what the consequence would be.
With that in mind, she absentmindedly went towards the bed in the middle of the room. She tiptoed to its right side and stood still, looking down at the occupant. The figure is still fast asleep, indicated by the soft snores that reached her ears.
Tilting her head slightly, she regarded the person with idle curiosity. With a greenish hue still veiling her eyes, she scrutinized the slumbering person before her who somehow moved the blanket away from her body.
As with the room, her vision at the moment doesn't provide her with an accurate scrutiny. But years of observation gave her enough to accurately describe the occupant. She knew of the blonde hair - lighter than her own strawberry-blonde hair - that is sprawled on the pillow. She knew of the hazel eyes - same shape to her own light blue - though the other person's eyes are closed at the moment.
Quinnie looks a lot like her.
Her internal debate still ongoing, she noiselessly rummaged through her bag and found what she's looking for. Mentally ticking off all the pros and cons of her would-be-felony, she arrived at the conclusion that the pros definitely outweighs the cons.
Plus, curiosity is the foundation of great scientific discovery and achievement, she thought, although at the back of her mind she knows that curiosity kills the cat. In her case, it happened a lot more than she cares to admit.
But curiosity is still strong and will always win.
Resigning to her inevitable fate by tomorrow, she raised her hand that's now clutching an object. It got closer and closer to Quinnie's face, and she then started to unleash her very own artistic talent.
Commence side-target mission.
A few moments later and she was thoroughly satisfied with her work. Standing upright, she looked at her watch and noticed that she still got five minutes left to spare. With that, she turned around and started tiptoeing towards the exit.
Now in front of the door, she carefully turned the door knob, pushed the lock, and stepped outside, the door softly shutting behind her with the lock clicking in place.
She stood for a minute with a smile, relishing her success while musing at the inevitable apocalypse tomorrow. She tiptoed towards her headquarters, pensive.
It has to be done, she mused to herself. Quinnie needs change, but will never do it herself. So, someone has to step up and do it for her.
She sighed. And it has to be someone who's not afraid and is perfectly fine to cross her if necessary, she thought.
Opening the door to her headquarters, she stepped inside and quietly closed it behind her. She stood still with her back against the closed door as she closed eyes, still pensive.
She just hopes that tomorrow won't be too bad.
With a quick look at her wrist, she realized that she only has three and a half hours allotted for sleep. Quickly, she changed into her jammies, tucked away the midnight ensemble in the back of her closet, and placed her tools in a place where she knows it cannot be found.
And as she closed her eyes and readied herself for sleep, one thought flitted through her mind:
Charlie: 20 points, Quinnie: 18 points
It is now exactly 3:30 a.m.; three hundred and thirty hours in military time. Charlotte Fabray slept with a smile on her face and a curiosity of what later will bring.
To be continued...
A/N: Yeah... I know I should be working on my multi-fics, but I got bored with it for a while. (Sorry! :P)
This is a side-project (like furthest corner kind of side) that just sprouted out-of-nowhere.
Wait, I lied. This is actually a year older than the prologue of ACN. I don't think this will yield many chapters though (three or four maybe?).
Comments, criticisms, suggestions, and even violent reactions are welcome. Go crazy, mate. :)