Today I am going to probably finish up the hostage situation part of the story so I can get to some of the other stuff I have planned, so this one will focus mostly on Jake Long.
Jake snuck silently along the corridor. The thin sound of a slowly rotating rusting fan could be heard, softly echoing through the empty corridor.
He slowly approached the doorway and felt the knob. It felt rusted, like much of the rest of the musty corridor around him.
"I assume that the front lobby is across from here. Spud, can you tell me where the robbers are?"
"One is standing next to the hostages with a gun. There seems to be 11 hostages including Trixie. Oh shit!"
"What?!" Jake said backing from the door.
"One is headed right toward you right now! Hide, hide!"
Jake swung his head around violently looking for anything to hide in. A small cramped janitor's closet was partway down the hallway and he ducked into it.
The rusty door opened with a creek. Jake could feel the disgusting wet mop dripping bits of water down his head. The smell of chemicals overwhelmed him.
Chow reached down for his walkie-talkie and looked out the window. "Helicopter in position Ratso?"
"Affirmative. Meet up in the side window of Hallway J8."
Chow leaned out the window. He gave a thumbs up to something a few stories above him.
Chow walked back down the hallway and into the lobby. Jake caught a quick glimpse of the hostages.
The door shut softly. Jake waited a second and shoved the closet door open gasping for breath. He took a few heavy breaths and then sighed.
"What happened?" Spud asked through the earpiece.
Jake felt a little dizzy from lack of oxygen. "One of the men was talking about the helicopter meeting up with them a few stories up." He stumbled forward a few steps. "I think it is still using the cloaking device."
"After you get the hostages out, try to intercept the helicopter. We need to get whatever they are using to make it invisible. At least make sure you get a tracking device on it."
"Got it Spud."
Jake snuck silently through the door and behind a small display case. Above him were rafters up in the ceiling.
Looking through the glass he could make out Trixie and the other hostages sitting up against the wall.
He crawled across the ground to a small shadowy corner. Backed up against the wall, he slowly flew up to the rafters.
"What should I do with you guys?" Chow said keeping his gun trained on the hostages. "I could just leave you here while we escape. Or maybe I can take just a few of you and just hold you for ransom. What price should I put on you guys? Maybe 1 million apiece."
"Or maybe I can just give you 1 million pounds of pain instead!"
Jake swooped down and kicked Chow with a flying kick to the head.
Chow smashed back into a wall. "What the hell?!..."
Jake landed on another rafter. "That sounded so much cooler in my head…"
Chow jumped up pulling out his AK-47. "Eat this demon!"
"Why do you guys keep calling me…?"
Chow pulled the trigger. The gun rattled to life and a spray of bullets shot towards the shadowy figure in the rafters.
"Woah, not cool man!" he yelled jumping out of the way and coming in for another dive bomb on Chow.
The attack missed and the dragon rammed into a wall. Chow wildly flung his gun back toward him. Jake scrambled out of the way, inches from getting hit with machine gun fire.
"What is going on?!..." Valmont said looking out from the bank vault. A piece of glass flew at him, hitting him in the gut.
The machine gun rattled the hall. Jake ran up the side of the wall, jumping and flying off of it. He aimed his fist at Chow.
"I have a little present for you!" Jake yelled ramming his fist into Chow. Chow felt the blood flow quickly through his mouth as he flew back through the air and over the railing. He landed with a huge crash one story below through a small stand.
Jake flew quickly to the rafters, nothing more than a blur to the hostages. "Go Trixie! Get them out of here!"
"C'mon people move it! Get out while you can!"
The people rushed quickly toward the exit. Nine of them ran out the exit.
The final man was about to push the door open to get out when he was grabbed by Valmont.
"Not so fast sir."
Trixie ran up to punch Valmont. Valmont pulled up his pistol and shot her.
The force of the blow knocked her back.
"Let's go or I'll do the same to you." Valmont said to the shocked patron, putting a gun up to his head and backing into an elevator.
Jake flew down and helped Trixie up. She looked a little sick.
"What did Fu say he put in that potion again?" Trixie said.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, go save the last hostage. I'll go get Fu to bring the car."
Jake ran back to the stairwell and began to fly up it. He saw floor J and flew down the hallway to the side window.
"C'mon Ratso let's go."
"Not without Chow." Ratso said at the head of the chopper.
"Let's go before we get caught!" Finn yelled at Ratso clutching his head with his hand.
"Not without Chow!"
"Give me the controls you goof!" Valmont said grabbing for the controls.
"No!"
They struggled for the controls and the snake talisman slipped out of the dashboard and fell out the window of the chopper.
"Dammit! What did you do Ratso?!"
"What did you do?!"
The police down the street noticed the helicopter.
"There they are!"
Captain Black looked down the side street. "After that chopper!"
The police ran down the side street toward the chopper.
Jake raced toward the window as fast as he could. He saw Chow running toward a window on one side of the corridor.
The helicopter slowly began to back up from the window.
"Wait! Wait for me!" Chow yelled as he reached the window.
The helicopter flew back and Chow jumped out grabbing the landing skid with one hand as it took off toward the freeway.
"You're not getting away from me!" Jake said as he jumped out the window spreading his wings and flying toward the helicopter.
