I do not own.
"Thanks for coming at such short notice." Beverly said to the Cricket and Tuck.
"No problem." Cricket said.
"If it is Scarecrow, you'll need all the help you can get." Tuck added.
"How did you deal with Scarecrow anyway?" Beverly asked.
"I'm glad you asked." Tuck smiled.
"Ink Check." Cricket said suddenly. She lifted her hair from her neck and a tattoo suddenly showed up.
"Woah!" Beverly was awed.
"Voice activated nano-ink tattoos." Caesar said from the controls of his Research Pod. "Clever."
"It was Rex's idea." Cricket said proudly letting her hair back down.
"Which reminds me." Tuck brought out two thin sheets from the pouch on his belt. "For you."
"What is it?" Beverly asked staring at the blank sheets.
"Ink Check." Tuck said. Tatoos appeared on the sheets.
"Cool." Beverly beamed.
"Yeah. They're temporary nanite tattoos for you guys so we can keep tabs on who's who." Tuck said.
Beverly peeled off the thin clear film on top of the sheet and put it on the back of her hand. She then did the same for Caesar except she slapped it on his cheek.
"Why there?" Caesar asked with a frown.
"So I can see it." Beverly said. "Besides, you look real hot with a tattoo on your face."
"I do?" Caesar sounded intrigued.
"Okay, so what do you want us to do?" Tuck interrupted, uncomfortable where this was going.
"Well, I will go in first to confirm that it is Scarecrow." Caesar said.
"You mean we?" Beverly corrected.
"No, I want you to stay here." Caesar said firmly.
"But…" Beverly protested.
"If it is Scarecrow I don't want you to get hurt. I couldn't take that." Caesar's eyes met Beverly briefly.
Beverly's expression softened. "Hey, I should be there too. I'll be careful and you'll be there. What can happen?"
"I'd rather not guess." Caesar stated.
"Whatever you have planned, you better figure it out now. We're approaching the launch pad." Tuck pointed out.
"Please identify yourself." A voice boomed in the cockpit.
Caesar gritted his teeth. "This is Providence vehicle alpha zero niner. Request permission to land."
There was a tense pause while they waited.
"Providence do you have an appointment?" The voice replied.
"Uh, no but we're friends of Mr. Feines. Tell him we have news about Dr. Holiday." Caesar said.
More tense waiting followed.
Finally, the voice came back with instructions. "Please dock your vehicle in section 13A."
Caesar sighed with relief as he followed directions. When he landed he turned to the group.
"I will go in first. If the target is confirmed I will give the signal and you will come in after me. Neutralize the target and we'll bring him in for questioning."
"Wow, Caesar, you sound like you know what you're doing." Cricket said impressed.
"I'm making it up as I go along." Caesar replied walking out.
After he was gone, Beverly waited all of three minutes before she started walking out.
"Where are you going?" Cricket asked alarmed.
"You can wait here if you want, but I'm going to check things out." Beverly huffed.
Cricket and Tuck looked at each other before following her out.
0o0
"Hello? Circe? Got any news?" Rex whispered into his phone. The adults were talking in low tones by the jump jet. Rex had brought them to the abandoned airfield as per Six's instructions. He took the opportunity while they were distracted with making plans to check in with Circe. His eyes got wider and mouth dropped lower as he listened to her rapid fire update.
"And to top it off, she's pregnant."
"Quewa?" Rex gasped. He quickly looked around to make sure he wasn't heard. "So where are you now?"
"I have to get back to Dr. Holiday before she gets suspicious. As it is, I've been away too long." Circe sounded like she was walking.
"You can't let her come here. They're trying to kill us." Rex said.
"Well, what am I suppose to do?" Circe snapped. "Without giving anything away."
"I don't know distract her or something. Take her somewhere else." Rex urged.
"Fine. But you guys owe me." Circe grumbled.
"I'll make it up to you." Rex promised. "Next time I call it'll be with a different number."
Circe hung up.
Rex looked at his phone before blue lines ran through it. A puff of smoke rose from it and Rex dropped it on the ground before crushing it underfoot. He walked back to the group.
"So what we decide?" He asked nonchalantly.
Six glanced at him before turning back to the group. "We are going to meet the agreed rendezvous point. Whiz is going to continue looking for a way into The Network. He can use the wifi in the jump jet."
"I actually thought of something. It might just work." Whiz noted.
"Good. Let's go." Six stepped into the jump jet followed by the rest of the group.
0o0
"Sorry, it took so long. I couldn't find it." Circe lied smoothly as she handed her the bag.
"Really? I thought I left it on the bathroom counter." Holiday frowned. Before Circe could answer, Holiday shook her head. "Never mind, let's go. We're wasted enough time."
"Um, Dr. Holiday, you don't look well. Why don't you rest and I'll fly the plane." Circe said peering into her face.
"Oh, is it that obvious? Well, maybe for a little while. Thank you." Holiday said weakly walking into the jet.
Circe strapped herself in the pilot's seat while Holiday took the back seat. She didn't look well. Circe felt guilty for lying to her. She flipped several switches and checked her instruments. She didn't set a course. Her plan was to fly around in circles until they run out of fuel. Then they would go back to base. Holiday was sure to be mad but she can feign stupidity. The jet took off. Circe flew in the direction of Monaco with Holiday monitoring her progress. Circe was hoping the flight would quickly lull Holiday to sleep so she could turn back. As fate would have it, it took her longer than Circe thought to nod off. They were more than three fourths of the way there before Holiday was finally asleep. After making sure Holiday was really out, she made a u-turn back to base. Just when she thought her plan was working, the plane lurched. Startled, Holiday woke up.
"What's going on?" She unstrapped and walked to the front. The plane lurched again and Holiday stumbled. Circe grabbed her hand before she fell.
"Doc. Go back to your seat. I'll take care of this." Circe ordered. Holiday staggered back to her seat and strapped back in. Circe turned on her monitor. There was a black plane above them. It shot at them. "I'm radioing for help." Circe told Holiday. Turning on her radio she only got static. "Crap! The radio's jammed."
"My communicator isn't working either." Holiday added.
"I guess, we'll have to do it the hard way." Circe groused. She pulled the plane up. Rolling up behind the plane, Circe shot at the plane. She got a direct hit. "Take that." She said triumphantly. But she spoke too soon when the plane lurched again. Circe checked the monitor again. A line of planes blocked her way back to Providence. They opened fire. Circe frowned. "Unless they are all terrible shots, they're not trying to hit us." She muttered under her breath. It then dawned on her. "They want us to go to Monte Carlo." She said.
"What?" Holiday asked from the back.
"Um, I said let's go to Monte Carlo." She turned the plane back on course. If they wanted them to go to Monte Carlo something important must be there, most definitely a trap but it means answers must be there too. Despite her promise to Rex, she decided that Monte Carlo was where they had to go. "Hang on, Doc." She told Holiday as the plane swerved.
Thank you for reading.