Hey guys! Sorry for the late upload. I know it's been almost two weeks now. The beginning of my summer has been crazy. I'll be gone all next week and won't get back until Friday, so sorry to make you guys wait. Although the place where I'm going does have computers, so I might bring this along in a flash drive and work on it there. So to start off, I'll answer some reviews. guest: Great! Glad you enjoy it! congoalien009: I recognize that too. The problem is I have to get the characters with almost no dialogue (ex. Adamus, Malcolm) some roles so the characters you mentioned kind of get neglected. I'm working on it though. Opticflammingo: the passages are on the fan site for I Am Number Four. The web address is .com. You can find the passages and a lot of other cool stuff there. setrakusra999kill: (spoiler not really) I'm not gonna resurrect Two and Three. What I have in mind is something so crazy it's probably illegal. I'm not gonna tell you now, you'll just have to wait and find out ;) lorien fan: Don't worry, I'm not gonna make it 70 chapters or something. I'll group a lot of the attacks in just one paragraph saying they've attacked these bases. So here's chapter 26. Another attack on a base. More action, from Sarah, Nine, Marina, and Eight POVs. Hope you like it! Thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 26
"Ay yo! Where'd my Beats go?"
"Don't ask me! You're the one that's always throwing your stuff around!"
"Those are like, 300 dollars! I just got them two weeks ago!"
"So? We have millions of dollars! Buy another pair!"
"You don't get it! Those are LIMITED EDITION!"
I groan and open my eyes. I slip out of bed and stumble into the suitcase that John and I share. I peek out of the door. Nine and Six are arguing. I shake my head and get dressed.
We're gearing up for a little trip. We won't be back in San Francisco until about three weeks later. Patricia planned a route around the state that lets us take out all the bases in California. There are some major ones but most are pretty small. At least, that's what she told us.
We're leaving in an hour and plan to travel to Sacramento first. Patricia says there's a minor base stationed in the city. It's a lot harder assignment than our first one. We have to shut down the base without blowing it up. She says every Mog has to be killed and the base left standing.
We pile into the van. John and I are with Lucy and Nine, squished uncomfortably in the back with the luggage. I lean my head back and wince as I accidentally bang my head against a suitcase.
"Watch your head," John chuckles.
"You don't have to tell me that," I grumble.
Time passes in the van. Ella practices her telekinesis on small objects. I play cards with Lucy, Nine, and John. It's a two hour drive to Sacramento. Nine won't stop flirting with Lucy. I groan. Now I see why everyone was sick of John and me.
We finally arrive in Sacramento. Patricia drives to the building. It's a base disguised as a business building, with multiple floors. Patricia drives into a nearby parking lot and stops.
"This is the closest we'll be able to get," Patricia explains. "We all remember what to do, right?" Everyone nods.
"Good. Let's hurry up, I wanna make sure we check into our hotel in Chico on time tonight."
As planned, Six and Nine go ahead while the rest of us stay behind. We watch as Six takes Nine's hand and they become invisible. I go over my role quickly in my mind. Second rodeo. Hopefully it'll go a little bit better this time.
"Your hand is really soft and smooth."
"Shut the fuck up."
"Okay, I'm sorry." I almost put my hands up in innocence until I remember I have to hold on to Six's hand. I grin inwardly. What can I say? Old habits die hard. Lucy shouldn't worry though. I'm working on it.
We wait for a break in the automatic doors. Two Mogs go in and the automatic doors open. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the camera swivel towards them.
"Now," Six whispers. We silently enter behind the Mogs. I take a look around. The building's almost too straightforward. A lobby with couches and plants, a fountain, and reception desk. The receptionist even looks human. I wonder how much the Mogs paid her to do this. We enter in the elevator behind the Mogs.
The Mogs get off on the wrong floor. We're gonna have to wait until some Mogs get onto the right floor. There's a camera in the elevator so we can't press it ourselves. Just then, the door opens and a horde of Mogs stroll in. I curse silently and pull Six into the corner. There's just enough space if she leans on me. One of the Mogs walks into the corner and she has to press herself against me. I grin, and then think about Lucy and quickly push the thought out of my mind.
After about five minutes of the elevator, some Mogs finally get off on the right floor. Six and I sneak out with them. We turn and find the camera room. It's behind a door marked PERSONNEL ONLY in the middle of the hall. A Mog technician walks out and we sneak in before the door slams shut.
"So what now?" I ask. "Slit all their throats?"
"For once, yes," Six whispers. "At least cut off their vocal cords before you kill them. We don't want anybody hearing their screams."
"I got ya," I say. "Make sure the door's locked. I'm gonna make them suffer real long."
Six bolts the door shut. The Mogadorians look up in confusion. One quickly realizes what's going on and pulls out a gun. Looks like these techies are brighter than the dimwits at Yosemite. I let go of Six and put on my best malicious grin. They see us and start yelling frantically. Some of them pick up their communications headsets. I pull out a gun and blast every single piece of equipment I see.
"Uh uh uh," I say, wagging my finger. A Mog growls and shoots. I extend my staff and deflect the shot back. It bounces around and the Mogs have to jump out of the way to avoid it. Man, these techies are way out of shape.
"Nine! Stop wasting time and get it done!" Six yells.
"Come on, can't I have my fun?" I protest. But I get on it. The first one gets his head taken off with the staff. I blast the next three. The remaining ones try to surround me and I laugh. I swing my staff in a huge circle and knock them all down. I blast the ones in front of me while they're on the ground.
I feel something behind me and instinctively swing my staff around. Six catches it and looks at me coldly.
"You know, I was gonna kill that one behind me," I remark. "The one that was about to get up. Why couldn't you let me get them all?"
"Can you take this seriously for once?" Six scolds. I shrink my staff, hold my hands up and walk to the end of the room. Six turns her headset on. "This is your clear. Hurry up and get up here so I can be relieved of this idiot."
"Okay, we're clear," John says. "Marina, Adamus, and Sam, come with me. Eight, you're taking Sarah, Ella, and Lucy, right?" Eight nods. "Okay. Let's go."
"You know, the one weakness Mogs have is that there's no one to watch the camera room. What if something goes down there?" John jokes as we stroll over to the building.
"That's definitely a problem," I laugh.
"Yes," Adamus agrees. "My race isn't known for their intelligence. Maybe I'll tell you someday about how many times I had to do Ivan's homework for him."
"So if Six and Nine have done their job correctly, we can just walk in here and nobody will know?" Sam asks. We've arrived in the lobby.
"Theoretically, yeah," John answers. "Of course, if a Mog spots you, you're still gonna have to kill them before they blast you."
"So we'll take care of the upper floors?" I ask.
"Yeah, all of the Mogs from floors 7-12 need to be piles of ash," John answers. "But we're gonna have to leave the building standing."
"Won't people notice that suddenly there's nobody left in the building?" Sam points out.
"This was never a popular office anyway," John responds. "But you're right, eventually they will notice. That's why we're taking on 17 bases-all of California-in 21 days. We have to move quickly before the Mogs catch on to what we're doing."
We reach the elevator. John pushes the button for the seventh floor.
"So pretty soon we'll have Mogadorians chasing us again?" I ask.
"I'd say in about a month or so," John says. I groan. "I know. But hey, it's just like the old days. Only this time we're all together, and we're a team." I smile.
The door opens to the seventh floor. We walk out into a seemingly normal-looking office. There are cubicles (at least that's what I think they're called) and desks.
"Never thought Mogs to be the smart type," John mutters. "No wonder no one comes here."
A Mog turns the corner and sees us. He stares at us in shock, then points at Adamus and yells, "Kill them!" John chokes him with telekinesis. However, the others have heard and are investigating to see what happened.
"Anything that comes at you with a gun, kill it," John says grimly. Adamus and Sam pull out their Mog cannons while John lights up his palms. I take a couple of breaths and get ready.
Most of the Mogs aren't equipped for fighting. They're the ones that do research and update the computers. They scramble to pull their guns out, but we've already turned them into ash by the time they get to. I use telekinesis to choke Mogs and throw them against walls. Out of the corner of my eye I see BK scratching Mogs with his eagle talons.
We quickly get rid of all of the Mogs on the floor.
"John, do you have a drive?" Adamus asks.
"I should," John replies, rummaging around in his pocket.
"Some of these computers might have useful things in them," Adamus says. He goes to the nearest one and begins typing. We crowd around him.
"These are basic Mog files," Adamus murmurs. "Found in every computer. That won't do us any good."
"What's that?" Sam asks. We look at where he's pointing. Adamus opens the file.
"It looks like an anatomy chart," Adamus says. "It doesn't look like a kraul or piken though."
"It looks pretty scary to me," I comment. The animal's skeleton is showing, with razor-sharp claws outlined. Mogadorian numbers align with the lengths and widths. It looks like some kind of bear or lion.
"Patricia and Malcolm can probably figure that out," John says. "I found the drive, so let me plug it in and we can download all of the files." We move to the side and he plugs the little drive in. It whirs and beeps as it does its work. Finally it finishes.
"Patricia, this is John checking in," John speaks into his mic. "We've just cleaned up on the seventh floor and I've downloaded the files from a computer. We're moving on to the eighth floor."
"Great," comes the response. "I'll check in with Eight's group and see how they're doing. In the meantime, keep doing what you're doing."
"Okay, guys," John says as he turns to us. "We'll clean up the rest of this building and meet up with Six and Nine on the twelfth floor. They should be working their way down here. Let's get rolling."
"Whoa, watch yourself," I say as I catch Sarah. She stumbled over a piece of cubicle.
"Thanks," she says, propping herself up.
"So on to the third floor then?" Ella asks.
"Yeah, we should probably go," I say. I look around at the destruction. "Um, maybe we should be more careful next time. People are going to come here, after all."
"Funny coming from the guy who turned into a gorilla," Lucy says, smirking.
"Ha ha ha," I say sarcastically. "Let's move on." We get in the elevator and go up. When the door opens a Mog waits there, snarling with a gun. A laser comes from behind me and I sidestep. The Mog turns to ash and Sarah brushes off the cannon.
"I see you're getting better with your aim," I remark.
"I try," she answers. We step out into an identical floor. Don't Mogs have any creativity? I shake my head.
"Hey, Eight," Ella perks up. I turn to her.
"Yeah?"
"Can I try something?" she asks. There's a glint in her eyes.
"Fine by me," I say. "I'm all for having fun. Just don't get yourself killed."
Two minutes later Sarah, Lucy, and I hide around the corner. Ella goes out in the open in the guise of an old lady.
"Are you sure she won't get killed?" Sarah hisses.
"Relax," I whisper. "Mogs are stupid. And it gets really boring if we have to do our business the same way every time."
Ella walks down the hall lined with cubicles. She turns at the first one and walks into the office. I see a Mog head over the top of the wall.
"Excuse me, young man," Ella croaks. "I seem to have lost my way."
"What are you doing here?!" the Mog growls. "This is private property!"
"I was just taking my stroll to the chiropractor," Ella says in her old woman voice. "I seem to have walked into the wrong building."
"There's no chiropractor around here," the Mog says flatly.
"Oh really? Those taxis are really getting worse these days. Would you mind taking me down there?"
"I have no time," the Mog dismisses.
"Please, I beg you. I need someone to help me cross the street. And I know those strong muscles of yours will protect me."
"Well, they are pretty big," the Mog says proudly. He flexes in front of Ella. I snicker. He's scrawnier than a stick.
"Let me see how strong they are," Ella says. She reaches a hand out and grabs onto the Mog's arm. She starts squeezing. The Mog smiles.
Suddenly the Mog starts coughing. He reaches his other arm to his throat.
"Oh, dear," Ella says. "Am I squeezing too hard?"
"No, no," the Mog coughs. "It's fine."
"You look sick, dear," Ella says tenderly. She puts her other hand in front of the Mog's throat. The Mog starts coughing even harder. Other Mogs start coming out of their cubicles to see what's going on.
"Are you all right, dear?" Ella asks. The Mog has stopped coughing. He's choking now. I can see Ella focusing her telekinesis.
"Aargh-what's-happening?" the Mog chokes out. Ella uses more telekinesis and the Mog stops choking. He dissolves to ash and the Mogs standing around Ella are shocked.
"Who are you?" one of them asks.
"I'm just an elderly lady who's lost my way," Ella replies, and sweeps them all off their feet. They don't know who she is, but they get that they're in trouble. They pull out their weapons.
"So maybe we should help Ella now," Lucy suggests.
"Yeah, I think that'd be good," I agree.
"I have to hand it to you, Ella," I say as we walk out of the building with the rest of the group. "That was pretty clever."
"Thanks," she says modestly. "I'm glad you guys helped out. I don't think I could have taken all of them."
"You did good," Sarah says, impressed. "I see being an Aeternus comes in handy sometimes."
"You should have seen her at Stonehenge," I chuckle. "Brilliant."
"Unlike you," Marina retorts. "That was a historical artifact you ruined!"
"Ehh," I shrug. "They can always find some other big rocks to put there."
We pile into the van and Patricia looks back at us.
"Great job, guys," Patricia compliments. "I'll drive us to our hotel in Chico tonight. Rest up well. Tomorrow we'll attack some bases in the California forests." I exhale and lay on the seat. Marina leans against me. I guess I could get used to this life.
"Alright, here's our room," I say to Lucy. I open the room with the key and we walk in. Lucy carries the suitcase behind her and sets it against the wall.
"So how was it today?" I ask.
"Pretty easy," Lucy says. "Ella pulled a funny trick on the Mogs."
"Oh really?" I raise my eyebrows. "I bet I could do better than that."
"There you go again being that macho man," Lucy says sarcastically.
"But that's why you love me," I grin.
"Yeah, I suppose," she sighs. She walks outside onto the deck.
"I'm not gonna say any romantic shit like 'look at the stars', in case you were wondering," I say to Lucy. I wrap my arm around her as she gazes at them.
"Hey, I just wanted to get a breath of fresh air," she chuckles. "You're the one who has to come out here and make it all awkwardly romantic."
"How am I making it romantic?" I protest. "I said I wasn't gonna make it romantic!"
"You're so funny sometimes," Lucy says. She walks back inside and I follow her.
"Well, if you wanted to know, me and Six kicked ass today," I say proudly.
"Or she kicked your ass for flirting with her," Lucy says sarcastically.
"Who says I was flirting with her?" I ask innocently.
"Well, I know you too well," she says. "I'm gonna take a shower. Don't do anything crazy like peek through the door."
"I won't," I promise. She snorts. "Hey, come on! I'm an angel!" She rolls her eyes and walks into the bathroom. I lay down on the bed and smile. I'm living life on the run again with the Garde. We're gonna kick Setrakus Ra's ass. Too bad I'm not Pittacus, but I don't care. When Johnny boy or Eight fights him I'll join in. I got myself a great girl too. I'm livin' large.
Lucy snuggles in bed. I raise a hand and flick the switch off with telekinesis.
"Don't sit on my stick," I wink.
"I might move to the other bed if you're gonna keep being annoying like this," Lucy threatens.
"It's my personality. Nothing you can change about it. That's why you fell in love with me, isn't it?" I ask cockily.
"I was interested at first, but now it's a pain to deal with you on a daily basis. Can you learn to ever shut up?"
"Everyone's different, babe."
"Yeah, whatever."
"How about you give your hot boyfriend a kiss before you go to sleep?"
"If it'll make you shut up, then fine." Lucy flips over onto my stomach. She kisses me on the lips and rolls back.
"That made my day. Thanks, sweetheart."
"You're such a womanizer. Go to sleep."
"Whatever you say." I grin and close my eyes.
Next chapter will come either somewhere in the middle of the week or on the weekend. Eight's got some discoveries coming up. Don't forget to review!