Jace had the bulletin board set up when Sorin, Nahiri, and Kallist arrived. Chandra had yet to show, making coffee run. Sorin had a brace on his nose from where Nahiri broke it. Jace looked at him. He might not be able to do this job, he thought. They would be dealing with fire and smoke. A bad combination for someone with a broken nose, even if they were wearing a mask. He could still set the charges and drive the getaway vehicle, Jace thought. He kept running the scenarios through his mind, playing out all the ways this could go wrong. A beam could fall on one of them. They could get electrocuted. The building might not completely evacuate and one of them gets shot. It made Jace nervous, especially since they were dealing with fire.
Fire was a wild card, an uncontrollable force to reckon with. If the wind blows the wrong way, the group could find themselves trapped in the fire. The wind. That was another unpredictable force. They would have to pay attention to make sure they would get out. No, they would be inside a building! They wouldn't know which way the wind was blowing. Jace would have to keep an eye on it for them. Sorin, Nahiri, and Kallist sat on the sofa, seeing Jace deep in thought. The door opened again, Chandra entering with a fully loaded drink tray. She smiled in greeting to the others and passed out the drinks.
"Two coffees, dark roast for Sorin and a lighter roast for Kallist." She handed the dark brown mug to Sorin and a light brown one to Kallist. "Cappuccino with the works for Nahiri." Nahiri thanked her when she received her drink. Chandra then went to Jace, holding a clear cup with green slush inside. "And an ice mint tea for Jace." Jace didn't respond. "Sweetie?" she called to him. Nothing.
"He won't respond," Nahiri pointed out. "When he gets like that, there's very little that will shake him." She sipped her cappuccino. "Jace is a strategist. He likes making sure the plans go smoothly."
"He wasn't like this planning the last two heists I did with him," Chandra pointed out.
"Fewer extremely dangerous variables involved in those," Sorin told her. "With this heist, we'll blowing up the upper stories of the Senate building and running through fire. We have to avoid the Syndicate, which is right across the street. The Senate's agents might not all leave-."
I hadn't thought about the syndicate, Jace thought, listening the conversation. We'll need to plant the getaway vehicle a safe distance from there to help avoid suspicion.
"-and that's just off the top of my head," Sorin concluded, Jace having missed a part of what he said.
He sounds funny, Jace thought, somewhat amused at Sorin's funny voice.
"Okay, you've made your point," Chandra sighed. "This job is more fuckish than the last two." She paced a little before asking, "Do you think that fucker Ulamog is trying to get us all killed?"
"I know he is," Sorin answered. "He won't stop until we're all dead or in jail."
"How annoying," Nahiri grumbled, leaning against her husband and laying her head on his shoulder. She was a little tired today. She hadn't been sleeping well the last few days. Half because she and Sorin were going wild in the bedroom. The other half because of nightmares of death and loss, Edgar and Olivia destroying her family, the uncertainty of which man was Thalia's father.
"You okay?" Chandra asked.
"No, I'm not," Nahiri answered. "And I have every reason to not be okay."
"She's not been sleeping well," Sorin pointed out, sipping his coffee. "Ever since my grandfather showed up, we've been anxious. This man could ruin everything."
Another thing to consider, Jace thought. We need to keep this hush-hush. Just the five of us in the know. Well, us five and Ula, Emeria, and Kosi. But they're the ones who approved of the plan. And what if Tezzeret shows up? What if he interferes in some way? That thought made Jace's stomach turn painfully, and he made a small sound of pain and discomfort. The others looked at him.
"Jace?" Chandra called to him, her voice calm.
"S-sorry," Jace apologized. "Edgar Markov and Tezzeret are both in town, and I'm scared what they could do if they found out about this. Too much can go horribly wrong. This can all get very ugly very fast."
"Agreed," Nahiri sighed. "We need a way to keep them out of this. But we'll have to deal with that in a while. So what do you have for us, Jace?"
"Right," Jace muttered, and took a deep breath. He began. "Our target is the digital archives on the 47th floor of Azorius Senate's Federal Building here in Ravnica. I'll be running background if need be, but hopefully I won't be needed. To prepare, we need a janitor's uniform and ID to get Sorin into the building to plant the charges. Sorin, you're also in charge of the getaway and disposing the fire truck. I'm not putting you in the danger zone due to your broken nose."
"Will the others be fine without me, though?" Sorin asked.
"I can try and find someone to help with this job, but no promises due to there being no pay," Jace answered. "But Nahiri, Chandra, and Kallist should be just fine. Chandra, I need you to acquire a firetruck and four uniforms. Shouldn't be too hard for you to do. Also, work on your aim. I hope you won't find any resistance while getting out, but it never hurts to be prepared."
"Right. I'll visit a range after I get the truck," Chandra promised.
"Kallist and Nahiri, I need you both to acquire two getaway vehicles and hide them a fair distance from the Senate and Syndicate buildings," Jace ordered. He looked around. "Did everyone bring a change of clothes? They'll be going into the trunks of the getaway cars. The firefighter uniforms will be going down with the truck."
Everyone nodded.
"Sounds like a solid plan," commented a cold, emotionless voice. "What will I be doing though?"
The color drained from Jace's already pale face, eyes going wide. His stomach felt like it was imploding. Kallist, Sorin, and Nahiri were on their feet, their preferred guns in hand and aimed at Tezzeret Rhoka, who was leaning against the doorframe casually. Chandra went to Jace and pushed him behind her. This man had terrorized Jace since she was a toddler. Jace brought his good hand up to his left eye and took deep breath. He felt a burning sensation in his back, reminding him of the scars Tezzeret had left on his back. He was sure he was going to throw up. Please don't let Tezzeret be armed, he thought.
"Really? After all these years? This is the greeting I get from my old colleagues?" Tezzeret asked, standing up straight. "I went to prison for ten years and finally get out to your three ready to shoot me?"
"The only reason we were colleagues was because my grandfather found you useful," Sorin answered, still aiming at Tezzeret. "Alas, I have no love for the miserable wretch, and you are no friend of mine."
Behind Chandra, Jace was still a shaking, shivering wreck.
"Can I just see my favorite niece?" Tezzeret asked.
"No, you can't," Kallist snarled. "My little sister Lavinia would readily put a bullet in your head because she knows you're a disgusting bastard."
"I was talking about Jace," Tezzeret pointed out.
"I'm…I'm not a girl," Jace whispered, his voice so soft that Chandra barely heard him.
"We don't give a damn who you were talking about," Nahiri responded to Tezzeret. "Jace is under no obligation to please you. He is free of you."
"You always were an idiot, Nahiri," Tezzeret snapped. "Jace is a girl."
"No, I'm not," Jace whimpered, this time a little louder. Chandra looked behind her to see Jace wasn't shaking anymore. He was still.
"How dare you insult my wife, you piece of shit!" Sorin snapped, shooting Tezzeret. The bullet went into Tezzeret's prosthetic right arm, making the man wince a little.
"Did you forget I lost an arm?" Tezzeret asked. "Now, I want to talk to my niece."
"I AM NOT A GIRL!" Jace finally snapped, stomping around Chandra. "I never wanted to be a girl! It wasn't who I am! I. Am. A. BOY. The rest of my family accepts me that way! Why the fuck can't you?!"
In any other circumstances, everyone might have smiled in pride. Jace had never been able to properly stand up to people. Even punching Ula had gone awry when Jace ended up with broken wrist. Naturally, the group was proud of him. He was standing up to his abuser.
"You are horrible, disgusting person and I hate you! All my life you have treated me like shit!" He grabbed Chandra's gun from her belt and aimed at Tezzeret. "Now get out of here before I shoot you!"
Tezzeret raised his hands, backing out slowly before turning to leave. Jace almost passed out. Sorin and Chandra caught him before he hit the ground. They moved him to the couch and let him rest a moment. Chandra took her gun from him with care and kissed his forehead.
"I'm so proud of you," she told him, now daring to smile.
"I want throw up," Jace mumbled.
"You can do whatever you damn well please," Sorin pointed out, grabbing the waste bin from the corner and holding it up. "Whatever makes you feel better."
Jace nodded and threw up.
Avacyn and Gideon were been spending quite a bit of time together. There was a powerful attraction between the two. He was the perfect specimen of humanity to her and she was like a beautiful angel to him. He was the one to help her finally decide on becoming an elementary teacher. She loved children, and her favorite subject had always been English. Sure, she disliked math; everyone did though. It was something she planned on improving. Now, she was looking through college and scholarship applications. It was a bit late to get the important classes she needed, or wanted. So she planned to take the rest of the year off to relax and start school in the spring semester and play catchup in the summer. Teysa and Lavinia came by to help her. The latter proved excellent at finding scholarships.
"So, education major?" Teysa asked her cousin.
"That's right," Avacyn answered.
"You should volunteer with children," Lavinia pointed out. "It would help get scholarships and looks good in college applications."
Avacyn nodded in agreement. "I hear Ravnica University has a daycare that hires students to help them pay for books and supplies," she muttered. "But I don't know if they'll take me."
"And Ravnica is a Top 10 school," Teysa stated, removing her leg brace. "Stupid piece of crap…" she grumbled. "Vinnie, can you fish the wrench from my purse?"
"Sure," Lavinia responded, setting aside her blue laptop. She went and grabbed wrench from Teysa's purse.
"Are you allowed to do that?" Avacyn asked, watching as her cousin made a few adjustments to the brace.
"Don't know, don't care," Teysa answered. "The stupid thing keeps locking up on me and I'm too cheap to get a new one." She then set it aside. "I hate wearing it; it's a pain in the ass, especially when I need to maintain it. And I don't want to oil it; the oil will stain my clothes and my wardrobe is very limited right now."
"You just have a hundred problems, it seems," Avacyn commented, smiling softly.
"And not realizing my little sister is making out with a boy in the next room isn't one of them," Teysa pointed out.
Avacyn gasped and jumped up. "She isn't!" she exclaimed.
"I spotted them on her bed when I was coming back from the bathroom," Teysa told her. "A real looker, him. Black hair, strong shoulders…"
"Odric?"
"Oh, is that his name?" Teysa asked. "He's cute."
Avacyn went and checked on her sister to make sure she and Odric weren't having sex. She felt relief when she saw that they were just making out. She slipped away and back to her room where she flopped onto her bed.
"Okay, how about this for a scholarship…" Lavinia started.
Sorin and Jace were staking outside the parking garage for the Senate building, waiting for a janitor named Myc. The janitorial staff worked for a separate company that was contracted for the job. The young man they were looking for was learning his father's business. Sorin leaned on the steering wheel, watching the cars come out and waiting for Jace to give the okay. Finally, a small car from out.
"That's him," Jace reported.
Sorin drove after, remaining a couple car lengths behind. "You sure this kid will cooperate?" he asked Jace. "You said his mother was some sort of cop."
"A highway patrol officer, but yes," Jace responded. "But who wants to willingly work for Ula? I hear he's refusing their terms for the contract renewal. Jarad Savod is not pleased with the matter and would probably love to see the Senate taken down a few notches."
Sorin nodded. "Right." They followed Myc to his apartment and waited for him to start up the stairs. Then Sorin got out and followed him inside. The young man jumped in alarm. "I just want your ID and spare uniform," Sorin pointed out. "I'll be doing your job for a while."
"Really?" Myc asked. After a moment of consideration, he asked: "Are you going to pull something on the Senate? Go right ahead." He handed over his spare uniform and ID. The uniform would need to be adjusted for it to fit Sorin. Chandra's mother could probably help with that. Sorin thanked Myc and left.
"You were right," he told Jace once back in the car.
"Told you."
Across the city, Chandra was getting the firetruck and firefighter uniforms. A firetruck and the firefighters inside left. Hopefully they had extra uniforms and an extra truck inside. She smirked over the fact that she was that lucky. She gathered the extra uniforms into the truck and drove out. It was the easiest job she'd ever had. She drove the truck to the warehouse, hiding it under the overpass next to the building. She knew everyone else would be getting the getaway cars and stashing them. She then went to the shooting range.
Tezzeret was there, almost as if he had been waiting for her. He looked up, glaring. Chandra ignored him and went inside to practice. He followed and watched. She was working on her aim. Tezzeret was wondering who she was to Jace. After she was done, she found she was a better shot. She left, continuing to ignore Tezzeret. Finally, he stepped in her path and demanded, "Who are you?"
"Fuck you; it's none of your damn business," Chandra answered. "And if you come near Jace or our family at all, I will set. You. On. Fire." Her face was cold, her voice dead serious. This man could burn in Hell for all she cared, for how he treated Jace.
"A family, you say?" Tezzeret asked, curiosity piqued.
Chandra took a step toward him and got in his face. "You want to go, fucker?" she snapped.
Tezzeret stayed where he was, ready to fight. He took a step back, turning slightly. Chandra thought he was backing down. Then he swung his prosthetic arm and slammed into the left side of her face. Chandra swung to the right and hit the ground. That was going to leave a bruise, but at least Tezzeret threw the first punch and the shooting range had it on camera. She jumped up and tackled the man. She clawed his face, in the event he killed her or left in her state where she would be incapable of telling people what happened. She got a DNA sample, as she broke the skin. She knocked him down. People stopped, some gathering to watch the fight, others calling the police. The two started beating the crap out of each other.
Nahiri and Kallist were walking back to the warehouse, talking, when they saw the fight. They didn't need to say anything before jumping in. Nahiri got ahold of Tezzeret and pinned him to the ground. The right corner of Chandra's lips was busted up, bruised, and bleeding. The left side of her face was bruised and swelling a bit near the temple. Kallist took her and held her up before her knees gave out. She slung her arm over his shoulder and held her upper abdomen. Tezzeret and managed to punch her multiple times there.
"You come near our family again, I'll fuck you up, tool!" Chandra snapped. She reached up and wiped blood off her chin.
Nahiri gripped a fistful of Tezzeret's dreadlocked hair and smashed his face into the concrete for good measure, just as Sorin and Jace pulled up. Jace was frozen in his seat, as seeing Tezzeret was enough. Sorin got out.
"What happened he asked?" he asked.
"Fucker is a creepy stalker," Chandra answered. Sorin helped her into the backseat. Kallist got in beside her. Nahiri followed after the others were in.
Sorin drove them to St. Selesnya Hospital where Dr. Emmara Tandris saw to Chandra. She was a five-foot-eight beauty on two inch heels in a shining, peridot green color. She wore her soft blond hair in a high ponytail and had kind, silvery-green eyes. She wore a baby green button up shirt and white pencil skirt under a white coat. She was the doctor who worked with Chandra and Jace. She took one look at Chandra and groaned.
"I am so grateful you never needed facial reconstruction surgeries," she pointed out, taking in the beaten redhead.
"I'm just lucky I don't need new teeth after this," Chandra joked. "Seriously, I can get cleaned up at home." She looked to the others. "Why did you bring me to the hospital?"
Emmara groaned, rolling her eyes. "Chandra, there's swelling near your temple," she told her. "Do you remember how you got that?"
"Yeah; Tezzeret whacked me in the side of the face with his stupid, fakeass arm," Chandra answered.
"Tezzeret? As in Jace's uncle Tezzeret?" Emmara asked.
"Yeah, whose also a creepy stalker," Chandra answered. "Seriously, that guy has some issues that would make Alhammeret quit his job."
Emmara took a look at Chandra and bandaged her up. "Right, well don't push your luck, okay?" she chided.
Chandra grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it."
"Somehow, I don't believe that."
While Avacyn looked after Vesper again, the crew was making final preparations for the Senate building. Sorin was standing still as Pia made the final adjustments to the janitor uniform. She wasn't happy about this.
"You make sure they all get out of this alive, you hear me?" she demanded.
"I've known Nahiri, Jace, and Kallist for years; they'll take care of Chandra," Sorin assured, "and after the last few jobs I've done with Chandra, I know she'll be okay."
Pia sighed nodded. "Well, you're done." She pulled away and looked at her handy work. "Looks better.
Sorin nodded. "Thank you." He rejoined the others, and listened as Jace went over the plan again. He was nervous, exhausted. He leaned in to ask Chandra, "Has he been sleeping lately?"
"Since Tezzeret showed up her and dented my face, his anxiety is through the roof," Chandra answered. "Even with Luna, Vesper, and me in the room with him, he won't sleep." Jace finished talking and took a gulp of coffee. He was jittery. Chandra went and rubbed his shoulders. "Calm down, hon, we got this," she assured him.
"I'm sorry," Jace apologized, sniffing rubbing his left eye. "I'm just really feeling the pressure here."
"I know; you've run over the plan like a hundred times, we've got the stuff, it's now or never," Chandra pointed out. "Have faith that we can do this."
Jace nodded, and they moved out. He hacked the 911 operating systems to delay the fire departments. Nahiri, Chandra, and Kallist waited in their fire engine. Sorin went to the senate building in a stolen car. Jace brought up interior maps after bypassing the building's security with his special program: Cloud Sprite. It was an experimental program, and today it was a test run. They were large viruses with that hid mini viruses that slipped in through the holes the larger ones made and went back to the larger survivors with data and information and they came back. It was successful.
"It worked!" Jace cheered, jumping up abruptly and throwing up his hands. Pia's eyes widened at this. "This program was totally experimental!"
"We put our faith in a program that may or may not have worked?" Sorin demanded from his earpiece.
"Shut up, it worked!" Jace snapped, giggling madly.
Chandra giggled.
Sorin pulled up to the Senate building. "Fuckin' Christ," he grumbled, stepping out of his car. He went up and inside, using the altered ID to get past security. Jace guided him to the floor he needed to be, and then to the janitor's closet to get the mop bucket. Sorin went through, planting the charges once the cameras turned so he was out of sight. After he was done, he returned the mop bucket and left the building. No one paid him any mind. He then took out his phone and made a four-way call to each charge. His phone rang and the charges detonated. Jace alerted Chandra, who flipped on the sirens and lights. Nahiri sped through the city. They met Sorin out front. She, Chandra, and Kallist jumped out, high-fiving him. Sorin got into the engine, getting equipped just in case he had to run in.
The three ran inside. Chandra moved rubble off a guy and pulled him up. The man thanked her and ran out. My good deed of the day, she thought, before following Nahiri and Kallist. They got in the elevator, except Kallist, who stared at them in shock.
"You're joking right? This building is on fire!" he pointed out.
"So?" Chandra asked.
"You don't get on an elevator in a burning building!" Kallist answered.
Nahiri rolled her eyes and grabbed Kallist by his jacket, yanking him inside. Chandra hit the button for the floor a few below the danger zone. They made it there safely. They then made it up to the digital vault. Most of the place was on fire, but they retrieved the hard drive they needed.
"You know what just occurred to me?" Kallist asked.
"What?" Nahiri responded.
"We could have just let the fire destroy the fucking thing!"
"Yeah? Well we already got it, so let's get the fuck out before we're burnt to a crisp!" Chandra snapped.
They bagged the hard drive and started escaping. The structure of the floor they were on and the ones above were severely weakened now, which meant floors, ceilings, and beams collapsing. Nahiri was leading the way, carrying the bag with the hard drive. Chandra was behind her, a gun in hand. Kallist brought up the rear, until the floor collapsed under his feet. He grabbed the edge of the hole.
"Kallist!" Chandra exclaimed, stopping in her tracks upon hearing Kallist's shout. She spun around and went to try and pull him out. Fire roared beneath him. If he fell, he would die a horrible death. She heard a groan and crack above them and looked up. The ceiling was about to collapse on them. She looked behind her. A wall of fire. Nahiri was nowhere to be seen. "Nahiri?" she whimpered. The ceiling crack more, dust and bits of debris falling on them. Chandra kept trying to pulling Kallist out.
"Chandra, can you make it?" Kallist asked.
"Not without you. Jace still needs you," Chandra answered.
Kallist smiled up at her. "He…Has you now." He let go, but Nahiri came and grabbed him. Chandra grabbed him again and they pulled him out.
"No, he has us," Nahiri pointed out. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
"Clearly," Chandra groaned.
They pulled Kallist out and ran before the ceiling collapsed on them. They made it out of the building and to the fire engine. Sorin looked at them with worry. Nahiri got him beside him.
"Drive!" she barked. Sorin didn't need to be told twice. As he left, the real fire departments arrived. He drove to the parking garages where the stolen car were. They hopped out and changed hurriedly. Kallist and Chandra took a car and drove away. Nahiri followed Sorin as he drove out of the city and into the desert. He blew up the car and got in with his wife. She smiled at him and drove them to the meet-up spot where they were to meet Emeria, Ula, and Cosi…