TEN: ENDGAME
Sitting beside Max as she drove towards the location that Amy had provided, the silence on the car was tense. Amy was nervous, guilty and worried about what exactly that would find at the warehouse. Surely, surely, Lucy would have moved her crew by now. There was no way that Lucy would have stayed when she knew that Amy would have to relay their position to her bosses.
Max pulled the car to a stop and cut the engine.
"We all know the game plan, right?" Max asked. "We sweep the building, we arrest anything that moves."
"Zhat sounds quite simple," Dominique commented. "I have no doubt zat zis will not be so."
Amy had no doubt that it wouldn't be as simple as that either.
"Well, Amy...you're in charge," Max sniped. "What're your orders?"
Amy sighed, eyeing the dark warehouse.
"Formation Alpha Gamma Zeta," Amy decided. "Janet, go with Max. Dom, you're with me. Let's do this."
The foursome got out of the VW and stealthily made their way to the building. Not a single sound came from inside. No lights flickered, and Amy whispered a quiet prayer that Lucy had evacuated the moment she'd returned home the night before.
The D.E.B.S closed in on the front door. Amy gave a silent signal to Max and Janet to go round back. Amy and Janet waited until their team had given them a 'click' on their communication watches before entering the building from front and back.
Dominique and Amy made their way through the front entrance, watching for any sign of life. Amy led them through the hallways and down to the main common area where Scud's computers were. Except when they got there, there were no computers in sight.
Amy continued down the hall, checking rooms that she'd been in only days before, and each and every one of them was empty.
"You'd better not 'ave led us to ze wrong location," Dominique whispered.
Amy shook her head. "They were here," Amy said.
Dominique sighed, disappointed. All that adrenaline build-up for nothing.
Max and Janet met up with them in the centre of the building.
"Anything?" Max asked.
"Nothing," Dominique replied. "If zhey were 'ere, zen zey are long gone."
Janet's eyes flicked up, and her eyes widened.
"They were here all right," Janet said, gulping nervously at the thought of standing in the centre of Lucy Diamond's old hideout.
Max, Dominique and Amy all followed Janet's gaze to the sign above them which read 'The only good D.E.B is a naked D.E.B.'
Amy tried not to snicker.
Max shook her head in disgust. "Alright. Let's get outta here. I'm not wasting any more time here than we have to."
The others nodded, and followed Max out of the building, carefully checking for any traps they may have missed on the way inside. They made it out to the car without incident.
Amy looked back at the warehouse, its outline bathed in moonlight. She squinted at the rooftop when a very familiar silhouette appeared. A flash of light lit up the sky, and Amy recognised Lucy's signature 'LD' overlaying a diamond. The beam of light came from the figure on the roof, and Amy sighed, wishing they'd had even half a minute together.
The signal in the sky changed, a red heart with the words 'Amy, Be Mine' replacing the thief's signature. Amy bit her lip, trying desperately not to cry.
One more day. She just had to make it through Endgame, and then...the sky was the limit.
000000000000
"This is insane," Scud said, looking across at his boss. "You know that this is insane, right?"
"Scud, people go to their girlfriend's graduation ceremonies all the time," Lucy replied.
"Okay, yeah, I'll give you that," Scud replied.
Lucy smirked in triumph and settled back into her seat, looking forward to seeing her girl all dolled up for the final celebration of the D.E.B.S. It was meant to be the most attended event of the year, and would host guests from all different American Agencies who would be mingling in the attempts of recruiting the newly graduated agents.
"Of course, most graduates aren't spies, and they're girlfriends aren't supervillians!" Scud yelled.
"Just get me there," Lucy said. "With that many girls in the room, who's going to even notice one more?"
Scud sighed. He was just glad that he'd filled up with gas earlier in the day. Somehow he just knew that he would need to keep the motor running.
0000000000000
Amy was lead nervously to the backstage of the hall where Miss Petrie and Madeline awaited her. The spy took a deep breath before greeting her superior, who gave a fond smile at the girl.
"You look wonderful Alex," Miss Petrie complimented her.
"Amy," Madeline said promptly.
"Amy. I hope you've got your speech prepared."
Amy went white. "Speech?"
"I'm sure you'll be wonderful," Miss Petrie said. "Now, let me introduce you to the rest of the D.E.B.S, and then you'll walk across stage and accept this wonderful honour."
Amy nodded, and gave a weak smile.
"That's the spirit Ashley."
"Amy," Madeline said, but Miss Petrie had already started walking across the stage to the microphone.
Amy closed her eyes, pinching herself, wondering if she would ever wake up from the nightmare that this night had turned into. Why couldn't she have just graduated quietly with the rest of her squad, rather than being singled out like a lamb to the slaughter.
Amy barely even heard Miss Petrie's words of introduction, though she did hear her name being called. That in itself was surprising enough, though she realised that a large electronic banner at the back of the hall was blazoning it for all the room to see.
Amy crossed the stage and stepped in front of the microphone.
"Thank you all, for that very warm welcome," Amy said. She glanced out over the sea of faces, and saw her team. Janet was beaming proudly, Dominique was placid as ever, a cigarette between her lips, and Max seemed torn between pride and annoyance.
"I just want to say how much I've learned, not just from the Academy and its fine teachers, but from the wonderful women in my team. They taught me about loyalty, and about friendship. And even about family."
Amy looked again at Max, who seemed to have softened. The squad captain smiled at the Perfect Score and nodded, the first time in days that Max had even met Amy's eyes, let alone smiled at her.
"One of the very first things that my squad captain said, back when we were very young, very naive first years, was that D.E.B.S stick together. And when things were tough, and when missions went bad, we were still there for each other. That we could do anything as long as we were together. I still believe that it's the best lesson that any of us could learn."
A movement from the upstairs balcony caught Amy's eye, and the D.E.B of the Year couldn't help the smile that curved her lips into a wide grin. Max followed Amy's gaze and rolled her eyes. Janet looked to, and gulped nervously before smiling tentatively. Dominique wore a surprisingly soft smile. "Ah...l'amour."
"But what I've learned in the last week is that you can find trust, and honour and love in the strangest of places. That you don't have to be looking for it, but it will find you. And that when we're truly honest, and truly open, sometimes who we thought we were was the lie all along."
The gathered D.E.B.S and they're dates stirred, muttering and murmuring, wondering where Amy was going with her speech.
"I love my country, and I'm proud of this organisation. But if I've learnt one thing in the last few days, it's that there's someone that I love even more. Which is why today is my last day as a D.E.B. and my last day as a spy."
The murmuring became even louder, though Amy couldn't hear it. Her eyes were fixed on Lucy's as the lover of her life stared proudly at her.
"So the last piece of advice that I have to give you all tonight, is to follow your hearts. They may lead to insane places, but...they won't steer you wrong. Thank you."
Amy walked calmly away from the podium, leaving a very stunned crowd of D.E.B.S in her wake. Max turned to her teammates her eyes wide.
"Did that just happen?"
Dominique just smiled. "You cannot control matters of ze heart. It is madness to try."
Max sighed and shook her head. "Well...she said she'd wait. And I did say I didn't care how many master criminals she dated after that."
"You said fucked," Janet corrected.
Max rolled her eyes.
"What? You did!"
Dominique took the younger girl by the arm and lead her away from Max before the squad captain could pummel their naive friend into tiny pieces. But Max could only smile. Her team really were one of a kind.
00000000000
Lucy was waiting out in the parking lot, her arms folded casually as she leant against her car. Amy came racing out, her eyes scanning the darkened area until they finally met Lucy's.
"Hey pretty girl...wanna ride?" Lucy called.
"My mom always told me to watch out for girls like you," Amy said with a smile.
"Californian parents are so progressive," Lucy grinned.
Amy chuckled and reached out to grab hold of the lapels of Lucy's jacket. Lucy pulled her closer, soaking in the scent, the feel, the very taste of Amy Bradshaw, enjoying the beautiful girl's presence as they stood together.
"Why'd you quit?" Lucy asked softly. "Why'd you choose me?"
Amy kissed her softly. "Because I feel more like me when I'm with you, than I do...when I'm with me."
Lucy blinked away tears and hugged Amy as tightly as she could.
"I still can't be a criminal," Amy warned.
Lucy laughed. "Baby, there are plenty of ways that I can be bad."
"Show me?"
"You can count on it."
END