Chapter 10.
The address turned out to be that of the Agency headquarters. The next few hours were spent on planning out what would be done. The agent in charge, who's name I had yet to hear, seemed to think we'd be fine with sitting on the sidelines while they led an attack. That presumption was quickly done away with as we all stated our intentions to be involved in Fintan's rescue. Zach's dad was more than willing to share all he knew about the warehouse but the blueprints that the Agency had on file turned out to be a bigger help. There were 24 hours left on the ultimatum when we were finally ready to put our plan in action.
"Good thing I reminded you guys about your outfits huh?" Quincy said with a smile as we all changed in the girl's restroom at the Agency headquarters. She took her hair out of its braid and put it in a high ponytail.
I glared at her reflection. I couldn't help but be jealous of how good she looked in her completely spandex uniform. She might as well have been the hero on our team rather than the supposed sidekick.
Maj and Layla exited the stalls in almost perfect unison. They both wore purple or green wedge-heeled boots that doubled as jet pack transport. Their outfits were identical spandex suits of swirled dark purple and green and looked a bit psychedelic. The crazy tie-dye was covered by cloaks and arm guards. Magenta's were dark purple and Layla's were dark green. Neither of them wore masks, unlike Quincy and I, but they did have their hair up in sleek ponytails. It surprised me that two completely different people had been able to come up with something that suited both of them.
"Are we ready?" Layla asked with a cheering smile.
"As ready as we'll ever be," I answered solemnly.
We were loaded up in one of the Agency's nondescript vans only a few minutes later. It was a little crowded with all the monitoring equipment as well as three agents and our growing superhero entourage. I had never really stopped to question why so many superheroes were involved in this issue- or even how they knew Fintan. All I knew was that he was very, very important for some reason, not only to the Agency but to the entire super powered community.
"Here are the communication devices- they fit inside your ear and are relatively undetectable. They also adapt to a person's power," the agent sitting in the back of the van with us handed the communicators to all of us. "Now you all know the plan- first stage is surveillance. We need to find where everyone is inside the building. Preliminary reports show that all the entrances are heavily guarded. But according to Mr. Lumen," he nodded to Zach's dad, "And our blueprints, there is a small entrance into the ventilation shaft on the roof."
"Hence the guinea pig girl being of use," Magenta said sarcastically.
"Aviator will carry Morph and Shrink up to the roof, taking out any security there and then Morph and Switch will enter the vent."
Will straightened his shoulders. Quincy and Maj glanced at each other and nodded.
"After you two retrieve information on the enemy's location and Fintan's location we will be able to go from there."
We all rocked slightly in our chairs as the van stopped. To be careful we had parked a down the block from the warehouse, right next to a carpeting store. While the operation continued, Zach's dad and Mr. Boy would (slowly) load a couple rugs into the back just to verify the van's presence. It was a pretty quiet area anyway, so there wasn't much chance of passer-by curiosity. We were also right by an alley which would serve as a safe place for Will to take off from.
"Alright," the agent looked at Maj and Quincy, "If anything helps just tell us- the communicators will shrink with you."
They nodded with serious expressions. Quincy shrunk before our eyes until she was only about five inches tall. I shook my head, wondering again at how the heck she'd been sorted as a sidekick. Magenta morphed shortly after and was replaced by her chattering, guinea pig self. Will pulled out the backpack we had cushioned with blankets and held it up to them. He had to help Maj in but Quincy jumped. After making sure they were alright (and wrestling with his cape), Will put the backpack on and gave us the thumbs-up.
Layla jumped up suddenly and kissed Will hard on the lips. He looked dazed for a few seconds after but the agent with us cleared his throat. He hopped out of the back of the van and hurried to the alleyway. Layla sat back down beside me. Zach took Maj's abandoned seat and sighed deeply.
"Things unsaid huh?" I asked him quietly.
He nodded, "I can't even remember what we were fighting over that made us break up dude- like seriously I should have at least said good luck."
I patted his knee. Zach's dad and Mr. Boy got out to proceed with the rug-work. Josie and Steve listened carefully for any transmissions. Mr. Medulla, Knight and my father all sat towards the back, poring over the legal documentation. Shyla had stayed home because of her pregnancy and my father's insistence, but Taylor sat across from us looking like he might fall asleep. It seemed like too much time had gone by, but I tried to tell myself that it was just my imagination. Somehow, Layla, Zach and I had all ended up holding each other's hands. It felt a bit childish, but I didn't let go.
There was heavy breathing in all of our ear-pieces. "Alright," Will was panting, "There was one guy taking a smoke, but that was it. He's out cold now and I tied him up. The girls are getting out now."
We all let out a sigh of relief.
"This vent is really small," Magenta squeaked through the transmitter, "I know my butt isn't that big."
"That's my girl," Zach said excitedly and bounced up and down in his seat. The agent glared at him through his sunglasses.
"We're in," Quincy stated.
"I'm coming back," Will said a moment later.
The first stage of our plan was in full swing.
Will jumped back in the van a moment later and pulled one of the back doors shut to lend us more privacy. Mr. Lumen and Mr. Boy were yet to come back with one of the carpets. Josie and Steve hugged Will, much to his embarrassment. The rest of us were quiet, still listening. There was a sudden noise that sounded a bit like static. We all were worried in the two seconds before we realized that it was just Taylor snoring.
"We're past the first opening. There's a room below us that they're using for some sort of hangout. There are a couple of guys talking," Quincy was whispering, "The room next to it is just an office sort of place, no one's in there."
"Would you stop talking," Maj said. Her voice was cute even when irritated.
"Sor-ry," Quincy shot back, "We're coming up on the next room, it's really bright, just a second."
Suddenly there was a piercing noise. Most of us tried to take our ear pieces out, but the sound stopped.
"What the-" Taylor began, but was silenced by a wave of the agent's hand.
There was silence.
"What's going on?" Steve whispered.
The agent in the front seat of the van turned around, "Either they've been discovered, or the Ministry has some sort of scrambling signal blocking communication."
"Testing, 1, 2, 3, 4," A familiar voice began to speak in all our ears. Many pairs of eyes turned on me as we listened.
"This is the Ministry," Warren's voice was frighteningly cold, "We have discovered your presence in the building. You have ten seconds to surrender before we close off all vents and gas them."
Zach's dad and Mr. Boy started loading the first carpet, but paused as they heard Warren's ultimatum.
"Give up your location. Ten, nine, eight, seven-"
"That son of a-" Steve began before Will slapped his knee and shook his head.
"What are we going to do?"
The Agent pulled a gun off the wall and checked it.
"Four, three-"
"We give them our location. What else can we do?" he answered
"Two-"
The last number was drowned out by our hasty clambering from the van. The agent somehow pointed to several people to remain behind in the van. I wasn't one of them. We ran towards the building and there was no more talking. We could only hope that we had reacted in time. The Strongholds broke off, going for one of the top floor windows and breaking through with relative ease.
"Shouldn't we be as non-combative as pos-possible?" I panted as they disappeared in a smash of glass.
"Non-combative? Let me give you a little lesson," the agent said as we came closer to the main entrance, "If the Ministry says that they're going to gas someone in ten seconds it means they probably already have- if they have a hostage exchange they kill the person as soon as they get what they want."
"Magenta and Quincy are dead?" Layla almost shouted.
"Not necessarily, they could have been bluffing. Who knows- but we won't find out unless we attack them right now."
"So much for all that planning," Taylor added sarcastically. His red eyes flashed behind the red half-mask that he wore with his superhero outfit.
The agent nodded and we sidled up to the door, "None of you happen to be able to open doors at a click of your fingers or something?"
Taylor, Layla, Mr. Medulla, my father, Mr. Lumen and I shook our heads no. At this point it might have been convenient to have one of the Strongholds with us. The agent sighed but suddenly jumped back as bullet fire sounded from inside. Taylor ignited his red force fields in case a bullet was aimed at us. Layla stepped forward with a determined look and raised her arms. The bushes from either side grew massively and tore away the doors in a second. We stood in stunned silence until more gunfire brought us to the present.
Layla had tears in her eyes. "Lydia if it's Warren."
"He's not really doing this," I retorted, wanting to believe it.
"If it is, we have to do what we have to," a tear slipped.
I nodded.
"We're entering the main lobby," Mr. Lumen said loudly, "There are two sets of doors. The ones on the right lead to the stairs. The ones on the left lead directly into the warehouse area. There will be lots of cover there- probably where they've concentrated most of their force."
The agent nodded and motioned us forward with Taylor in front struggling to keep his shields up as bullets hit it. The room was pitch black.
"I thought they were supposed to be super-powered," he said through clenched teeth, "What's with the guns!" he shouted to whoever remained hidden in the darkness, "Can't face us on your own!?"
The gunfire didn't stop, but the room grew steadily lighter. Mr. Lumen was using his power to light up the room. He was so bright at one point that none of us could even look at him. Once the room was lit it was time for me to use my own abilities. I quickly paused time, being careful not to start going backwards. All around me the world froze. A bullet that had somehow passed Taylor's shields was floating only a few inches from Layla's head. I took it out of the air and set it on the floor wondering at how I would have reacted had I paused a second too late.
Shaking my head I ran up to the first agency member. I was glad not to recognize him. I punched him soundly and winced at the pain in my knuckles. "Ow, not such a good idea," I muttered to myself.
In a few minutes the five Ministry members in the room were without their guns. My hands and arms ached from wrenching the weapons out of their hands. I piled them all up behind the desk when the headache began. I could feel time slipping through my fingers. I looked across the room and then back at the doors that led into the warehouse. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe it was egotistical. But I knew that I could make it faster if I didn't wait for them. I didn't want to get there a minute late and watch Fintan, or Maj or Quincy die when I could have saved them. So, for whatever foolhardy reasons, I barged through the doors in the last second of paused time.
And ran straight into the slowly moving arms of Warren Peace.
AN: YAY! Two chapters in two days- that's got to count for something huh? Hopefully I'll be moving faster now that we're nearing the end ;) Thanks for all your wonderful reviews!!!