A/N: Hey all. I'm back, and I bring with me the exotic fruit that is this chapter. I hope you all enjoy this. I'm just letting you know that I plan on finishing this chapter before I go on my yr 12 retreat, and I will let you know in the end note if I managed to do it.
I dropped lightly to the ground, the guard in front of me taking no notice. I scanned my surroundings, and, finding no other guards, swept forward and drive my hidden blade into his back. There was a slight groan before he slumped onto the ground. I took the keycard from his pocket and moved on, my black full body suit allowing me to blend into the darkness. Stopping at a corner, I slid to the ground and peeked at my next route. I saw three guards in a well-lit area. I frowned. I couldn't see a way past them, and I knew I wouldn't be able to kill all three of them before the alarm was raised. Thinking quickly, I devised an incredibly risky solution. Slowly rising from the ground, I stamped loudly. My Eagle Vision told me that all three of them had heard it, and two of them were heading this way. I mentally stored this plan away under "Never To Be Used Again". The guards were mere feet from the corner, when I made a split second decision. I dove backward into the further darkness, and dropped to the ground. The guards turned the corner and squinted into the darkness. Somewhere in the darkness behind me, a crow cawed and flew away. The guards stared at it, before one of them sprinted toward the place it had just been. I shook my head slightly.
I really hope that wasn't her.
The guard that had stayed behind stared after his companion for a moment, before turning to follow. I quickly got to my feet and pressed myself against the brick wall that ran along the length of the courtyard. The guard turned around, and crept forward slowly, a long knife in his hand. He reached my hiding place and continued walking. I stepped out and, placing my right hand over his mouth, drove my left hidden blade into his back. He crumpled instantly. I took the knife from his corpse and scurried silently back to the corner. The guard that had stayed behind was obviously getting anxious. I made a mental note of his position and turned back around, facing back into the courtyard. I spun the knife so that I was holding it by the point. Steadying myself, I took a deep breath and stepped around the corner, throwing the knife as soon as I was clear of the wall. I knew this was my only chance to get this right. I heard the surprised gasp of the guard, and a sickening THUD as the knife buried itself into his chest. He fell backward heavily, and I rushed forward. I pulled the knife from the body and continued on, relishing the heavy pounding of my heart. The heavy wooden door swung open silently at the scanning of my keycard, and I slipped in unnoticed.
I went up the staircase as quickly as I could while still being moderately silent. I reached the desired room, and I felt something I was hoping I wouldn't; the owner of the house. Peeking around the ajar door, I saw him sitting at the desk, his head hung low over the folder that I was here to take. I shook my head. Please, just go. Go to bed. But even as I thought it, I knew it wasn't going to happen. I mentally sighed, before ever so slightly pushing the door. It creaked loudly, just as I knew it would, and the man's head snapped up.
"Who's there?" he called, his voice heavy with fear and fatigue. When there was no answer, he rose from his seat and headed to the door. I positioned myself just next to the door frame, and when the door was pushed open, and the man stepped through, I grabbed him in a sleeper hold and held on. There was a silent struggle for what felt like an eternity, before he finally stopped. Without releasing my hold, I dragged him back into the room and placed him back into his chair. I looked around, and, seeing the excessively long and fancy curtain cord, pulled it down. I flung it through the rafters and tied a knot I was certain would hold. I then fashioned a noose, and put it around the man's neck. I pulled, hard, until the man's feet were only slightly lower than the seat of his chair, which I then kicked onto the floor. After saying a quick prayer for him, I grabbed some blank paper from his desk and tossed them into the dying fireplace, which flared slightly before returning to its previous sulky disposition. I grabbed the folder from the desk and strolled out the door, closing it completely, before quickly descending the stairs and leaving through the front door. There was nothing to stop me from being as loud as I wanted, as I knew that there were no guards in the immediate area. That guard from earlier must have met with an unfortunate accident. The far side of the courtyard had another brick wall, which backed onto a river. After taking a little run up, I was able to get both hands onto the top, with the folder gripped tightly between my knees. I hoisted myself up, swinging my legs over the top, landing in a sitting position, scanning the dark water below for a sign of my getaway vehicle. Seeing the little bobbing light, I grabbed the folder in my hands and kicked off from the wall. With the water fast approaching, I threw the folder toward the light, and then was submerged. I kicked my way to the surface and took great lungfuls of air. I paddled my way over to the boat and hoisted myself in. I grabbed an oar from the side and began to sweep the water, propelling the little wooden boat through the water.
After fifteen minutes of silent paddling, I stopped and turned to the boat's other occupant.
"Right, honesty time," I said, "was it you that made that bird fly away?"
Brittany's voice emanated through the darkness. "Yes, because you needed a distraction. And I killed the guard that came after me, so that he wouldn't go back and discover all the bodies you left behind."
I paused, considering the validity of this statement. "Right, while I am grateful for that, you disobeyed my direct order to only observe. Your intentions were in the right place, but I have to write this up as a violation of orders." I saw her face fall in the dim light of the lantern, and I felt pity in my stomach. "But, speaking now as your friend and not your mentor, thanks for that." Brittany's face lit up, and we continued paddling in silence, desperate to reach the rendezvous point before dawn, which couldn't have been more than an hour away.
We reached the bank as the sky was beginning to lighten, and were greeted by two people in dark hoodies. They revealed their faces as we grounded, and they ran to help us.
"Did you get it?" asked Kelly as she dragged the boat out of the sand, with Chloe pulling on the other side. Brittany and I both jumped out and together the four of us managed to lift the boat and carry it into the back of the waiting van. Once the door was safely closed, with Kelly and Chloe in the cabin and Brittany and I in the back with the boat, I took the folder from Brittany's hand and tucked it down the front of my shirt. The van drove away from the shore, turning sharply onto the highway that would take us to the evacuation point.
Once we were well underway, Kelly, who wasn't driving, turned around and smiled at Brittany. "So," she said, "how was your first mission?"
Brittany was, apparently, ready for this question. "It was fine. I did what I needed to do, and it went off without a hitch."
Chloe, who could spot a double meaning from a mile away, chuckled from the driver's seat. "So, you disobeyed orders, did you?"
I decided to help Brittany out. "Excuse me, but you are to maintain silence for the entire duration of the mission." I was shot an understanding, yet dirty look from Kelly. Brittany looked thankful.
I took the moment of silence to attempt to gather my thoughts, figure out why I had a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something. Then it hit me.
"Chloe," I said, the panic evident in my voice, "hit the EMP. Now."
The three women in the van had different reactions; Brittany was confused, Kelly slapped her forehead, and Chloe hit the EMP, causing the car to die. She pulled over to the side of the road, and tried hurriedly to restart the car. But in between the spluttering attempts to get the car going, I heard the sound I had been dreading; helicopter blades, getting louder. The van finally came to life, and Chloe pulled back onto the road, driving just as she had been before.
I pulled the folder out of my shirt and, finding the bulge I had been looking for, ripped open the weak cardboard and held the tracking device between my fingers. I could see that it was trying to reboot itself, and with a quick flex, I managed to crush it. Then came the gunshot. It was near deafening in the rear of the van, and left a sizable dent in the roof. Chloe immediately picked up speed and drove with the precision that could only ever be matched by a handful of people outside the Brotherhood, and only a slightly larger handful within it. There were more gunshots, but only one made contact with the van. Maintaining my balance as much as I could, I stood and pressed the familiar button on my bracer, becoming almost immediately covered in my armour, only recently repaired from the battle at the school. The most recent addition to the armour being the shoes that Sam had given me, the ones that allowed flight. The back door flew open when I pulled the handle, and I shot out into the sky.
I flew straight up to the helicopter, aiming for the small area in the middle which was occupied by three snipers. I kicked the first one out when I landed inside, and pushed the other one to the edge when I spun around. The third one levelled his gun at me, but I pushed the barrel away from me, and the gun went off, ripping through the pilot's seat, the pilot, and even the windshield. I drove my hidden blade into his throat, and threw the corpse at the sniper that had managed to stay inside the helicopter, causing both the living and dead snipers to tumble out of the fishtailing aerial vehicle.
I pulled the dead pilot out of his seat and jumped in myself, trying to angle the helicopter away from the road. That done, I rushed back to the rear and jumped out of the open door. I kicked my shoes into action, and was immediately smacked in the leg by the tail of the helicopter, which caused a very audible SNAP, and was accompanied by searing pain shooting up and down my left leg. The rocket on the left shoe, spluttered before cutting out, causing me to descend, much more rapidly than I would have liked. The ground rushed at me, and, knowing that it was my only hope of surviving this landing, pushed my working shoe to the limit, flying at an almost 45 degree angle, aiming toward the river that ran parallel to the highway. At the last possible moment, I brought my foot around, forcing me slightly into the air before I hit the surface and went under. Luckily, the water was only slightly deeper than my height, so with a little bit of effort, I was able to reach a point where I could hobble out of the water. When the buoyancy was too little, I pulled my sword out and used it as a makeshift walking stick, which was probably more of a hindrance than a help, as it kept sinking into the wet sand. Once I reached the top of the bank, where the rail separated the road from the river, I sheathed my sword, and pressed my bracer again, returning to the inconspicuous clothes I had been wearing earlier. I took a seat on the rail and waited for the van to come back around.
It took about 5 minutes for the van to get back, during which time I ascertained that my leg had been broken in three places, and the part of the bone that had sustained the hit had been almost turned to gravel. I had to be carried into the van by Brittany and Kelly when they finally pulled up, and Chloe drove off as soon as the doors closed. Brittany got into the front of the van this time, while Kelly stayed back and attempted to salvage my leg.
"How is he?" Brittany asked, who had never turned to face the road.
"I'm fine," I insisted, and was met by an unnecessarily rough poke in the leg.
"No, you're not" Kelly said, "There's only so much I can do with this first aid kit. The sooner he gets back, the better."
"What's the worst that could happen?" I asked through my grimace, "It's just a broken leg,"
Kelly pointed to the darkest part of my leg, where I had sustained the hit. "That part of your bone is basically powder. The longer we wait, the more it will accumulate near your ankle, and then it will be even harder to fix your leg than it already is."
I wanted to argue the point further, but the pain I had been ignoring up to that point suddenly flared up, causing me to black out.
When I finally regained consciousness, it didn't feel like my leg had been broken at all. In fact, it didn't feel like I had a leg in the first place. I hoisted myself up, and stared at the mass of white bandages covering my left leg. My right leg was covered by what looked like a standard pair of hospital pyjama bottoms. I looked around at my surroundings.
The room was bare from floor to ceiling, apart from the IV drip and the heart monitor. My bracer was sitting on the table beside my bed, along with a piece of folded paper. I pulled the bracer on, and picked up the paper. I unfolded it with some difficulty, and the message read;
When you wake up, call a nurse. We need to get you out of here as soon as we can.
I recognised the handwriting as Kelly's, and there was the unmistakable rushed effect in her writing. I pushed the small red button that was hanging next to me, and thirty seconds later, Brittany walked in.
"We need to move," she said, tossing a set of clothes to me. "How's your leg?"
I flinched slightly as she pulled the IV from my arm. "I don't know, I can't feel it. But I should be able to get out of here without you carrying me."
Brittany nodded, busy unwrapping the thickest layer of bandages, leaving only the base cast. "Good, because our entire plan hinges on you being able to look healthy. Now get dressed."
I pulled the pyjamas off, and, with Brittany's help, was dressed in a set of casual clothes; and pair of jeans and a shirt advertising some music festival I'd never heard of. After Brittany had tied my shoes, we were on our way. She put her arm around my shoulder and started to cry, loudly enough to be heard, but not so loudly that it was obvious. I rubbed her back.
"It's okay," I said, wondering which ruse she was going to try and pull, "I'm here for you."
"It's just so sad," she said between sobs, "she doesn't deserve to spend her last days in a place like this." She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and blew her nose.
Ahh, the dying grandma ploy. Good choice there Brit. Let's me lean on someone without it being obvious that they are supporting me.
I kept whispering soothing things in her ear, appearing to want to calm her down. We made it to the car park with no problems, and I saw the van parked over to the side, in a spot facing the exit almost directly. With Brittany's help, I was able to climb into the front seat, and once she was in the back, we were off.
"How's your leg?" asked Chloe from the front seat.
"I think its fine, I wouldn't know. I can't feel it." I replied. We were in silence for a moment.
"How long was I in there for?" I asked.
"Two days," Kelly replied from the backseat. More silence.
"So, how did Brittany do in the escape?" Chloe asked, "Up to scratch?"
I laughed, and I could hear an indignant huff from behind me. "She was better," I said, "She tried the dying grandma act, and pulled it off flawlessly." After a moment, I added, "I didn't actually expect anything less, after what she's shown me in the past few days." Thanks to my gift, I could feel Brittany's happiness at my praise.
Chloe pulled into the airport runway, heading straight for the open end of the aircraft that I knew so well. The door closed behind us, and I heard a voice I didn't even know I had missed.
"Are we all here?" asked Morty, "Am I good to go?"
"Yeah," Kelly replied as she climbed out of the van, "Take us home."
With Chloe supporting me this time, I headed into the main cabin of the plane. I landed heavily in a seat, and sighed with relief. Brittany handed me a bottle of water, and I downed half of it in one go. My vision started to go blurry, and I dimly noted that I had just taken a very powerful painkiller. My vision darkened even more, and I blacked out.
A/N: Hey there everyone. Thanks for waiting. I didn't finish this before my retreat, not by a long shot. Sorry about that. But oh well. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed that. Stay tuned for more poorly planned writing adventures. Remember to R&R, tip your waitress, tip your cows, tip your hat… Hell, tip yourself if you want. If there are any kind people out there that would like to tip me, I wouldn't say no. Of course, it wouldn't affect my writing in any way, it's not going to make the chapters come out slower if you don't, but if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, send me a message and I'll let you know how to send your donation.
