The Assembly of a Turnabout
Author's Note: Wassup! Thanks to SecondAttemps for rekindling my intense love for this story.
Disclaimer: Blah de blah de blah
Chapter 21
"Ground rules," Riah said, irritated and pointing to the Yatagarasu's new charges. Arielle and Andrew stood at attention, staring up with big, brown eyes. "You are not to touch anything. I am going to take you to the lair, and you are going to sit in a chair, and you are going to stay in that chair unless I tell you otherwise." The two nodded, Arielle's red curls flopping as she did so. "You are not to talk during the robbery unless spoken to. Reese needs to concentrate." The two nodded again, continuing to watch their temporary guardian expectantly. Riah sighed and, deciding that she was done, pulled on Robin Hood and opened the way.
Andrew and Arielle immediately dashed in, of course. The youngest clutched my leg, and I laughed and picked her up. The brother stood marveling at the computers mounted to the wall, and Eric knelt down to tell him about what Ian and Reese were capable of with them. The strategist tried to focus on setting everything up, but she seemed distracted by the children and Ian was too busy laughing at mine and Arielle's impromptu dance to help her.
"Alright, alright," Riah said with a sigh, pointing to the biggest chair in the lair. "Both of you. Stay there." Obediently, the children climbed into the seat, their mouths pressed together.
"Alright," Reese sighed, glancing at the children and then at the team. "Kay, go ahead and get the cloak on. You, Eric, and Ian need to be at Tyson in half an hour. Recite the plan really quick."
"First we go to Tyson," I said, wracking my brain for her exact words. "Cody said the Director of Sales is most deeply involved with the drug cartel-"
"Drugs?" Andrew asked, eyes wide. He immediately clamped his hands over his mouth when everyone turned to him. Arielle followed suit.
"So I'll go to his office first. Ian, you've got that thingamajig that'll let me bypass his firewalls, right?"
"Yeah," my friend replied, his hands in his pockets. "It's far from perfect, and will leave a computer trail, but it should get the job done tonight."
"That's fine," I replied with a wave of my hand. "You said the trail doesn't lead to us, so it's fine. Anyway, after that, we head to the warehouse where Cody was taken and take some pictures of all their cargo. Then we book it back here."
"Right," Reese confirmed, examining her headset. "Get ready. You've got five minutes before you've got to leave."
"I'll help you get your tech stuff in the van, Paperboy," Eric offered, gathering some hard drives from Ian's full arms.
"I'VE GOTTA GO TO THE BATHROOM," Andrew shouted, rushing out of the room. Riah looked like she was about to yell after them, but instead opted to shake her head disapprovingly. Turning, my detective saw that Arielle remained, her hands still over her mouth.
"Will you do that?" Riah asked the child, cocking her brow. Arielle shook her head, not daring to move her hands. "Good."
"Here we are," Eric said, parking a block away from the Tyson building.
"Street cameras are scrambled," Ian reported, squinting at his laptop. "Front door is locked electronically... Not anymore. Go."
I grabbed my small pack and my cloak and dashed in the direction of Tyson. It took a minute to reach, and I wrapped my cape around me and entered. I had known that the security system was electronic from my visit to the building, so Reese had decided not to take any risks with unlocked windows and decided I would do best going through the front door.
"Please tell me you were looping that footage," I whispered to Ian over the bullet.
"I was."
"Don't try and be dramatic," Reese scolded.
"I know. Where's the office?"
"Second floor. Ian, how do I pull up those blueprints of the building you got?"
"It's in the file titled 'Tyson'," he explained. "The images are sorted by floor."
"Yeah, but it's not showing- never mind, I got it. Okay, go to the right, then the left, then you'll be at the stairs."
"I've got security footage," Ian reported. "There's hardly any guards. They must all be at the warehouse or something."
"Good to know," I whispered, following Reese's instructions.
This wasn't the difficult part of the robbery. We all knew that it wouldn't be. With Ian's little flash drive device, breaking into the Director of Whatever's computer and finding sketchy sales documents was a breeze. Needless to say, I didn't need to jump out of any windows, and I was back in the van after fifteen minutes.
"That went well," Eric laughed.
"Do you have your stuff for the warehouse?" I asked, panting and pulling the cloak off.
"Yep," Eric replied, tapping the little gun in his cup holder. "Full of tranqs in case any drug dealer stops by and wants a piece of you."
"My hero."
"Yeah."
"The address we have is another fifteen minutes away," Ian interrupted. "No one's around, though. I think you can step on-"
There was a little sneeze.
"Bless you," Eric said instinctively, not realizing what just happened. Ian spun around, checking the back of the van. He turned back towards us with a groan, and Andrew's head popped up over the seat.
"Hi!" he greeted, guilty but still smiling. I thrust my bullet back in my ear.
"Reese, where's Arielle?" I asked urgently.
"In the exact same position as when you left," my strategist answered. "Why?"
"Do you notice something missing?"
"I-" It took a second for Reese to figure it out. "Oh no."
"This is why I hate babysitting!" Riah yelled in the background. "I just thought he was constipated!"
"I'm sorry!" Andrew apologized, jumping into the seat next to Ian and nearly landing on a hard drive. "It's just that Aunt Dessie and Uncle Ronnie like to talk about robberies, and I wanted to be a part of one."
"Andrew," I murmured into my hands, unable to finish my sentence.
"Listen kiddo," Eric stated, "this is a pretty dangerous one. There will be lots of danger where we're headed."
"I can do danger!" Andrew assured, eliciting a laugh from Eric.
"I bet you can. That's why you'll stay with me while Kay works her magic."
"What?" I exclaimed. Eric was to stand watch his new tranquilizer gun in case someone decided to make a midnight deal. Besides mine, it was the most dangerous place to be.
"I'd feel better if I had him in my sights," Eric explained. "No offense, Paperboy, but I don't think you're as qualified to fight off an attacker."
"You're right," Ian agreed.
"I can take care of myself," Andrew argued.
"We'll see. Hopefully, neither of us will have to take care of anyone."
Back in the lair, Cody was reading one of the comics he had gotten from Ron's house, and Riah was sketching, while Reese wrote wildly on a piece of paper all the possibilities for the robbery she could think of, and the best way to her out of any bad situations. It was quiet, since they had resumed radio silence with the rest of the team.
Then an end table flipped.
"BLOODY-" Riah dropped her sketchbook and Reese end up scribbling over some words, and the two quickly turned in Arielle's direction. Cody was so absorbed he hadn't heard a thing.
"What?!" Riah yelled as Reese caught her breath.
"You said not to tawk unwess you said," Arielle explained, "but I have to go potty."
"You did say that," Cody grunted.
"Alright, go potty," Riah sighed.
"Aunt Dessie usuawy heps me."
"Well, Aunt Dessie isn't here."
"Riah," Reese interrupted, "take her potty."
"No!"
"I can't do it," Cody reasoned.
"And they're getting close to the warehouse," Reese added.
"I- ugh!" Arielle jumped out of the chair and rushed to Riah, hopping up and down to signify her drastic need to go. When Riah opened the bookshelf, Arielle grabbed her hand, and my detective decided that it was too much trouble to shake it off.
"Why is your voice funny?" Arielle asked as she climbed onto the toilet.
"Because it's from Britain," Riah replied, leaning against the wall.
"What's Bwitain?"
"Britain. Learn to pronounce your r's, child." Riah considered for a moment what the best way to describe a country to a three-year-old was. "Britain is... my home. We speak differently there."
"Home?"
"Yeah."
"Why awen't you home?" The way the toddler phrased the question, the innocence that dripped from her voice, is what made Riah consider for the first time in a long time why, indeed, she wasn't home.
"It's... rainy," Riah said, trying to find an answer.
"Wainy?"
"Yeah."
"It's wainy at my house," Arielle replied, simply stating a fact, not purposely toppling Riah's flimsy answer.
"I... guess it is."
"Is my daddy's home in Afca?" Arielle asked, reaching for the toilet paper. Riah got her a few squares.
"Why would you say that?"
"He never comes hewe." Riah's eyes looked down.
"No, sweet, this is his home." Arielle jumped off the toilet, pants still down, and tossed the toilet paper into the yellow water. When the redhead couldn't reach the flusher, Riah did it for her.
"Awe you going home?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
"So maybe he come home?" Dang it, why did she have to ask so many questions? Riah lifted the girl up once again, this time so she could reach the sink.
Truth was, based on what she had heard, Riah didn't think Arielle and Andrew's dad would come back. He sounded irresponsible, not fit to be a father. Ron and Desiree would be better parents, the same way America was a better country for Riah. But how do you tell a three-year-old that?
"Maybe."
"Hm." Such a grown-up sound from such a little girl. Arielle would be a sharp one.
"Tell you what," Riah told her, feeling guilty for giving the girl hope as well as leaving England behind. "If I go home, you can come, too. We can see all sorts of homes." She turned off the water and set Arielle down.
"Okay!" As Riah opened the door, the redhead grasped her hand once more. This time, my detective squeezed back.
Tyson's warehouse has to be one of the scariest places I've broken into to date. The security was much heavier there, and a slip on a shelf would not bode well for me, even if I didn't break my leg from the fall. There was no need for fancy cameras when they had big guys with big guns, so Ian was of no use. I was alone.
But Dad had indirectly taught me well. I tread lightly at the top of the shelves, using Riah's fancy night-vision camera to silently take pictures of the shipments. The cloak hid me when I got scared. I wasn't seen.
The only time that I really started to fear for my life was when I heard Ian, who was connected to Eric, frantically asking what was wrong.
"What if a cop comes?" Eric quizzed his charge.
"I run," Andrew answered.
"And a drug dealer?"
"I run faster."
"Good man."
"What about teenagers?" Andrew asked, sitting up a little higher.
"Um... probably run. Running is usually a good option. Wait." Eric shot up from his reclining position. "Why?"
"We should run." In the distance, a teenager was cycling towards the warehouse. He would be on them in a moment.
"Uh oh," Eric muttered. He fiddled with his bullet, still not quite sure how to work it. "Raven? Paperboy? Can you hear me?"
"I can," Ian answered.
"We've got a problem."
"What's wrong?"
"Someone's coming. A teenager, looks sober. Something's about to go down." Ian let out a little gasp, and I heard him address me from my frozen position.
"Someone's coming," he reported. "Uh..."
"Ian briefed me," Reese chimed in through the bullet. "Kay, this is bad. I'm taking a risk and saying that everyone will be preoccupied in the first, say, ten seconds of this kid's, or whatever he is, arrival. You need to get close to an escape as quickly as possible." I took her advice and began to silently rush to the window I had come in through. "As soon as he comes in, bolt. Just... Eric says that he's heading in now. Get ready. God, please be ready." I was ready. After a complex knock the door opened, and I slipped out of the window unseen.
"I'm good," I sighed into the bullet. The relief was evident through the static. "Eric, am I clear?"
"You're good," he affirmed. "Start heading this way."
So I did, even after the gasp I heard from him.
"Eric!"
"God, Andrew, are you trying to-" The football player stopped when he saw what the redhead was pointing to. An older man was headed their way. As in, he was right on them. And since he was right on them, and I was just turning the corner, he was even more on me.
"Raven-" Eric started, prompting a turn from the man. The two sentries sunk deeper into the bush they were hiding in, and I was blissfully unaware that I was about to walk into a drug dealer. We would be finished. God, we'd gotten one robbery done, what kind of legacy was that? An unacceptable one.
So, before Eric even considered pulling out his tranq gun and blowing our cover, Andrew threw a rock.
It arced over the bush and dropped to the sidewalk with a thud, soft but enough to make the dealer turn again. Seeing what his companion was doing, Eric, who had a much stronger arm, took another rock and sent it smashing into the sidewalk. The dealer jumped, looked around suspiciously, and rushed towards the door, passing me. A combination of his panic and my cloak must've been what kept him from spotting me, still unaware that he was even there.
"You two look like you've seen a ghost," I said when I reached them, pulling off the cloak and already in running position.
Eric and Andrew looked at each other, sighed, and laughed.
"You're kidding," I murmured after Eric described the incident, with a few embellishments from Andrew.
"Every bit of it is the whole truth," Eric swore, hand over his heart, causing the van to swerve ever so slightly.
"Even the part where you tackled that bodyguard to the ground?" Ian questioned, brow raised.
"I did that!" Andrew argued.
"It's true. The kid has a future as a linebacker."
"Well aren't you my hero," I cooed, snuggling him. Andrew was blushing almost as much as Ian does most of the time.
"I can't believe you almost got caught by a drug dealer," Ian muttered, flipping through my bright green pictures.
"Are they any good?" I asked, ignoring his statement.
"Good enough," he replied. "One of them has a Tyson logo on it."
"Are you kidding."
"No. Look." Sure enough, one of the boxes I'd snapped had the logo. Probably only had shoes in it, but combined with the computer data and its surrounding drug crates, it was pretty incriminating.
"That's pretty stupid," Eric laughed. I joined.
"It is. Quick, Ian, get me the envelope. That one big newspaper you picked out is up ahead."
We didn't get a hero's welcome when we returned this time, either, but we did hear music coming from the lair. After trying a couple books and me pushing the boys aside to pull Robin Hood (duh), the bookshelf swung open to reveal a party happening before our eyes.
Reese cracking up at the video playing from one of the monitors, while Riah had Arielle on her hip and danced with her. Cody was flailing his arm in the same fashion he had at our last party to the musical masterpieces of the Wiggles. Arielle, who must've chosen the playlist, seemed to be enjoying herself, but not as much as (surprisingly) Riah.
"You didn't greet us again!" I scolded, throwing the cloak on a chair.
"We're busy," Cody said, doing what I believe was the Sprinkler.
"Busy!" Arielle echoed, throwing her arms back and making a laughing Riah pull her back in.
"That's new," Eric noted, brow raised.
"She's delightful," Riah laughed. "I'm surprised I didn't see it before."
"Is this our substitute for Slender?" I asked as the song ended and Reese scrambled to find another one.
"I saved the day!" Andrew exclaimed, running to his sister and tugging her leg. She wiggled and Riah set her down.
"You did?" my detective cooed. It was weird.
"Yeah! I threw rocks."
"Wocks?" Arielle asked, head cocked and red curls tumbling to the side.
"That's the best way to save the day," Reese attested.
"What's your bed time?" Ian asked, brow furrowed.
"Heroes don't have a bed time!" I exclaimed, scooping Andrew up and dancing with him. And, based on what time we went to bed, thieves didn't, either.