Recap: An unexpected sound surprised us, and the professor emerged from the hidden door. "Come on, kids," he said seriously. "It's time to get a move on."
Spoiling A/N: It might seem to be a peaceful little talk, but DON'T YOU DARE think that the action and drama ends here!
Chapter 12:
The six of us descended into the door to join the remaining three. The door's shadow blanketed our heads as the professor pulled the hook down, and we began to move forward. Boxes and cobwebs decorated the corners, and, as always, the surroundings were gray.
"So what is the plan exactly?" Buttercup wanted to know as we crept along.
The professor looked behind at us and smiled. "Ms. Bellum was able to convince the guards of our arrival. Force will be held back for a little talk, and Dr. Saragossa is waiting now in the room you two were formerly held in." He looked at Blossom and I, then glanced forward at Ms. Bellum's back.
Somehow I didn't feel reassured with this little plan. Something felt missing, but I said nothing as our path began to ascend. Soon the low ceiling soared and we came to one of the upper floors. The sides held guards in rows, giving us eerie glances as we climbed our way up. It wasn't long before we came to the sliver doors that separated as we stepped in front of it.
And there, sitting on Blossom's vacated chair but not strapped down, was the man that stared at us with narrowed eyes, a hairy chin resting on his palm, and right ankle over his left knee. "Utonium," he muttered. On his lips, the word seemed venomous.
"Saragossa," Mr. Utonium said back. "Are you ready for our little talk?"
"Quite a crowd you've got there." A malicious smile graced the man's lips, and he sat back on the silver seat, looking comfortable and amused. "You just gonna have them stand around like a cluster of clumsy soldiers?"
"Well, since you haven't had the courtesy of preparing seats…"
Six chairs looking the same kind as the ones that held down Blossom and I, rose from behind us.
"Hey!" Butch said loudly. "You think we're dense enough to be strapped down by those things?"
"Sit down, Butch," the professor said, not looking at him. "All of you. I know what I'm doing."
I trusted him, so I took my seat beside Blossom. Thankfully, the straps did not bind us down. Mr. Utonium crossed his legs on the stool in front of Saragossa and Blossom leaned toward me.
"Brick," she said in a hushed voice, "where's Ms. Keane?"
I looked around. Bubbles, Boomer, Buttercup and Butch sat on the chairs to my right, and Ms. Bellum stood a few feet away from the two men. Ms. Keane was nowhere in sight. That must have been the missing feeling I experienced earlier, I realized…
But before my brain could gear up a few theories to explain her absence, the Utonium began to speak. I needed to listen in on their conversation.
"Ned," he began in his deep voice, "I'd like to make a deal with you. I am informed of your creation of Blossom, and I would like to gain custody of her and Brick's freedom. In exchange, I will give to you any amount of money you desire."
"Even a million dollars?"
"Even a million dollars," the professor answered without hesitation.
Dr. Saragossa, who had been leaning his elbows on his thighs, bent back on his chair again, this time both hands on his knee. He continued to smile amusedly. "What about Ms. Bellum then?"
Mr. Utonium's face did not falter, but he paused for a few seconds. This was going to be a hard decision to make. Ms. Bellum had never been a helpful secretary. She had only deceived the professor, but, being the kindhearted man he was, could he bear to surrender her to the man she said she truthfully hated?
Finally, he spoke. "That will be her decision to make."
Ned burst laughing. "Her decision! She was mine in the first place," he cried. I side-glanced at Ms. Bellum. She writhed irritably where she stood. "How about you give her to me, and I give to you your beloved Ms. Kate Keane?"
It was then that I began to understand. Ned took in Ms. Keane as a temporary hostage to ensure that Ms. Bellum and the professor come back with all of us. As expected, he used her to his advantage.
All of a sudden, a frazzled looking guard entered the room. "Sir!" he cried out. "There is an ambush—" But he was cut off. Blood spurted out from the middle of his chest, and his eyes rolled over. His body landed in the ground and the sound of combat boots hitting the floor was heard like stormy weather attacked weak roofs.
The sounds and noises that were heard signified that a fight was going on outside, but six men carrying heavy guns marched into the room. They weren't dressed in the uniforms Saragossa's recruits were wearing, and I seemed to recognize them. They separated into two rows and my eyes widened. I knew this scene. And I knew who was going to walk slowly between the lines carrying a pipe between two fingers.
Boss.
Saragossa jumped up from his seat. "Clyde Browner," he said, frowning deeply.
"Ned Saragossa." He blew a circle of smoke in the air. "Damn, you revealed my true name in front of the kids." He pretended to look pained, then winked at my expression. At first I had looked ashen, but as he walked in through the door it formed into frown.
He moved his gaze to the professor. "Oh, and…hmm, John Utonium wasn't it?"
"What business do you have here, Clyde?" Saragossa demanded. He lifted his chin and looked at Boss with half lidded eyes.
"Oh, not much really," he replied, sucking in the tobacco once more. "I just want my little assassin back."
"He was never yours," Ned argued. He was apparently irate, but made an effort to maintain his cool. "He was mine; you stole him from me! And now that I've got them all back, you come marching in and attempt to claim him!"
"Yours?" the professor frowned. "Allow me to remind you that I am offering you a large amount for their freedom!"
Letting go of his composure, Saragossa growled and slammed the button on the table between him and Mr. Utonium. Fortunately, Blossom and I recognized the churning of machinery, and we jumped up. Seeing us, our siblings imitated the action.
"Oh no!" Bubbles cried out. She had gotten out too late. Her right wrist was latched onto the chair's arm.
Cursing, Boomer attempted to destroy the silver binding, but it was near indestructible.
"Get those two!" Boss—or as I will refer to from now on as Browner, commanded. It was evident that he was talking about Blossom and I. The first man threw a punch, but I ducked and kneed him in the gut. A few sly moves and the man in front of me was kicked to the side. The scene I saw behind him made me let out a shout. Two of them had lunged toward Blossom.
Ducking low, I tore through the clusters of chaos. The number of men had risen as the soldiers outside were defeated slowly. Butch and Boomer had joined in the fight, and I had to hop over several limbs that came my way. The distance between Blossom and I seemed to widen, but I was nearly there.
But it was too late.
"Hyaaaaah!" a girlish scream ruffled my hearing, and my red orbs paled.
But Blossom shouldn't have been underestimated.
Her legs were high in the air as she screamed. Her wrists were held back by the surprised man behind her as she kicked her way up and twisted over his head, landing on the ground softly and with a perplexed expression. She blinked a couple of times, and so did I. "Hi, Brick," she said, finding nothing to say.
A grunt sounded behind me, and I let the guy fall to the floor with a crash. "Ned's gettin' away with Keane!" Butch huffed. "Get him!"
I broke into a run almost immediately as soon as the words left his mouth. Several people closed in, but my sight aimed only for one person in the crowd. A few hops above several heads, and Saragossa was right in front of me. I grabbed the back of his collar. "Where do you think you're going?" I asked in monotone.
His head turned mechanically, sweat running down his face. His glasses were slight fogged up, and under his arm he hauled the unconscious body of Ms. Keane. Panting, he held a smile. "You again," he muttered in a deadly voice, but on his wet face he continued to smile like a maniac. It was evident that he had gotten a shock as everything started to slip through his fingers so suddenly, and he looked as if he was now on the brink of keeping sane.
And yet… this expression seemed familiar. I've seen it several times on the pale faces of different people I was just about to… assassinate, but it was as if I had seen this before on Ned's face. It was… years ago… I was smaller. Was it when I ran away? Was it when I was just the unmixed ingredients waiting to be born?
That wasn't very important now. Before he got a chance to continue, I gripped his lab coat. "We'll team up, just for now," I told him. "None of us want these guys here, and I'm pretty sure that you'll keep your promise on this matter." My eyes looked up at him, but my lips faced straight ahead.
His facial appearance seemed to fade and desperation was clouded in his green eyes. "Fine," he agreed.
It wasn't as difficult to get the word out to everybody. I instructed Ned to call up his men to hide in secret, and with the special abilities given to me I was able to find Boss—or Browner I should've said, in the chaotic mass of human warmth. Ned was showing reluctance at being ordered around, but I knew he was a good actor, so I assigned him expressly for a certain job…
It took a while but peace and organization started to take place. Suspicions were still on guard, but Browner still complied. Pretty soon, surrounded by men from both agencies, Dr. Saragossa, Mr. Utonium and Clyde Browner sat in a circle-like triangle.
The six of us youngsters sat in front of the seats we were formerly seated upon, but Bubbles stood tautly, one knee bent before the silver chair that latched her wrist down. She continued to receive assuring glances from Boomer while smiling nervously back at him in return, but it was apparent that she was still very uneasy with her current situation. I did not immediately ask for her freedom as I knew that it would be idiotic to mention something not as large as the deal we made. I trusted my senses. Things would come in due time, I was sure, so we all looked on at the men surrounded by the thick, serious aura.
Ned continued to sweat, but his appearance remained calm. He leaned forward, the tips of his fingers touching the finger pads of his other hand. "Gentlemen," he smirked, "This contract is like an auction now isn't it? Only it's an auction announced against my will."
"Your so-called items don't seem to want to stay with you," the professor side-commented through narrowed eyes.
"Nor do you have a particularly good use, or pertinent intention for them," Browner added. His comment was unexpected, especially judging by the sudden, brief reaction that crossed Saragossa's eyes. Looking satisfied, Browner swished his pipe in the air, weaving a thin ribbon of smoke that spiraled higher and faded away at the top.
I glanced briefly at the imprisoned Keane and the suppressed, but anxious looking Bellum whose knuckles trembled; both at the side cloaked in velvet darkness.
I glanced at the worried looking Bubbles—and my youngest brother Boomer who knew very well that his constant, assuring words were uncertain; the tough, durable Buttercup who looked scared and uneasy for the first time.
I glanced at my younger brother who always seemed to find the casual, slipshod part in every situation, but now seemed at loss.
I turned to my side, and glanced at the girl I loved who stared back at me with her big, pink eyes… the one who I'd give everything for, the one who always thought nothing was my fault, but now had no words to say. I wondered if words at that exact moment were even relevant.
Everything was planned, but like in every plot, something unexpected was to happen.
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Annoying A/N: Sorry that took so long!! DX I was having a bit of trouble with this chapter because of all the action-y stuff so it comes out somewhat short… I know it's the freaking summer but the Internet's gone wacko and I've got freaking piano lessons… so… sorry again!
