Part 2 of Drabble 23, requested by Aaliyah. Thank you for your kind words.
IMPLOSION
The Headmaster allowed his impassive mask to slip for a moment, closing his eyes and massaging his temples to prevent the storm of a head-ache from brewing. Jeff Morgan had always been a potential liability, a loose cannon in his perfectly created system of order, an impertinent jackal with a thirst for vengeance against those who had wronged him. Jeff's failure to stop the troublemakers before they set their plan into motion had forced the Headmaster to take away his privileges and strip him of his title. If the boy did not let the decision cloud his judgement, then he should be on his way to the Hall at that very moment, and the Headmaster hoped that his orders were being followed.
Opening his eyes behind his glasses, the Headmaster glanced at the clock. An hour until the show aired. In order for the show to go ahead, he had three objectives:
One, Release the Prefects from their confinement.
Two, Free the teachers stuck in the swimming pool complex.
He gritted his teeth at the thought of the third objective;
Capture the brats.
Rose, wondering if Jeff had updated the Headmaster on their latest discovery, stumbled to a stop on her tailing of Hunter and Glass, the Headmaster's sudden appearance alarming her. The man seemed annoyed, and Rose felt fear explode in her stomach. Perhaps Jeff had dropped her in it, thus the annoyance was aimed at her. She hesitated before addressing the Headmaster.
"Sir? Has Jeff spoken to you?"
The man halted before her and bristled at the mention of his former Deputy Head Prefect. His order of underlings, chosen specifically by himself, were now scattered in chaos. The foolish Morgan boy had jeopardised his plans, and now, he had to inform Rose of this… embarrassment.
"Indeed." He snapped waspishly. "He informed me of those troublemaker's foolish scheme and how he failed to prevent them. Therefore, I have stripped him of his Deputy Head Prefect status and have sent him to the Hall to ensure that the entertainer has arrived with no… mishaps." He narrowed his eyes. "I trust, you knew all about this foolish scheme?"
"Sir," Her heart plummeted. "Jeff and I were tailing Glass and Hunter, and we only waited to stop their idiotic plans until we had gathered all the information we could. The teachers and my fellow Prefects were locked away, yes, but I suggested straight away to go to you, so you could deal with the troublemakers, Sir, as they are ruining your plans first-hand! Jeff headed straight to your office, and…" She hesitated, unsure of how to finish her explanation. "I apologise, Sir. We should have stopped Glass and Hunter from locking the Prefects away, and prevented Fletcher and Smith in locking the teachers away. However, Sir, as I stayed behind to eavesdrop further on Glass and Hunter, I now know the locations of Robinson and the younger Hunter."
Her lip curled slightly. "Robinson is attempting to way-lay the camera crew and Hunter is trying not to blow up the building, by fiddling with the switches in the basement."
That caused the Headmaster to blink in startlement. His anger towards Rose at her deceit ebbed, only for shock to replace the feeling. Mouth dropping open, he balked.
"Harvey Hunter has been left to tamper with the fuses?!"
"Sir, he'll probably end up electrocuting himself. One less troublemaker to deal with." The full-blown smirk was lost when the Headmaster growled, snapping in response:
"Stupid girl, I don't want the boy dead. The troublemakers need to stay alive."
He whirled round, a literal bat out of hell, and stormed down the corridor, an order barked over his shoulder:
"Release the other Prefects! I will go and release the teachers, then meet me outside the boiler room to stop that little idiot before he starts a fire."
Partly amazed at how crucial it seemed to keep the troublesome wretches alive, Rose immediately obeyed her leader's orders and went to release her fellow Prefects from captivity. Using her own personal key, she unlocked the Prefect's room and opened the door, stepping in. Sarah, Sue, Peter and Simon were still standing in a circle, their relaying of their future tasks tapering into silence at the opening of the door, the irritation clear to see on their faces.
"You took your time." Sue snapped churlishly, crossing her arms over her chest.
Rose glowered at her, before delving into her discoveries. "Hunter and Glass locked you all in here, to keep you out of the way. The Headmaster has been informed and he is currently freeing the teachers from their captivity. Fletcher and Smith tricked them into entering the swimming pool complex, however soon, they will be released and we will round the troublemakers up."
The desire for revenge against the troublemakers for attempting to fight back bubbled up within the four Prefects, with even Sarah pulling a deep frown of annoyance.
Rose hesitated briefly, before revealing the outcome of the heated meeting. "Jeff went to inform the Headmaster about their dastardly scheme. However, I must tell you of the Headmaster's decision, due to Jeff's reckless decision-making, he has been stripped of his Deputy Head Prefect title."
"What?!" Peter's outrage expressed both in his facial features and tone of voice. Ignoring the lowest ranking Prefect, Rose pressed on: "Thus, when the Headmaster's plan is put into fruition, he will be looking for candidates to fill the opening."
"That's complete crap!" Peter exploded, his fists clenched. "Jeff makes good decisions! It's not fair!"
Unable to stop her eyes from rolling, Rose turned her glower onto him. "Stop acting like a petulant child, Peter. We all know that Jeff was on thin ice with the Headmaster. He slacked in his duties to torment the troublemakers and frankly, he deserves humbling after all the bragging of how 'brilliant' he is."
At that very moment, Jeff himself was striding down the corridor that housed the Prefect's room. On his way to the Hall, he had diverted to the nearest bathroom to bang his fists against the mirror, the pain radiating in his hands. Fury swelled within, and to hear his ex-colleagues speaking about him, well that was the final straw.
Skin blotchy red in anger, Jeff curled his aching fists and stormed past the Prefect's room, not bothering to confront Rose for her attitude. No doubt, Peter would defend him, he was loyal, but he needed to take his rage out on something. Anything.
Someone.
Wanting to track down his intended prize, Jeff flattened himself against the wall and peeked around the corner. Fletcher and Smith were walking away from him, up the corridor, too engaged in their discussion to check if anyone were around to eavesdrop.
"I hope Harvey is alright doing the switches. Maybe it would have been better to put two people on the lights, it'll be confusing."
"We'll help him." Smith piped up. "He's not stupid, Mands. Lloyd and Dinah will be on their way to help him, and I know Ian's probably dealt with the camera crew. You know he can talk his way out of a room with no doors."
"I can't believe it's going so smoothly. I keep expecting the Headmaster to pop out at any time."
"Don't jinx it! Come on, the sooner we get to the boiler room, the more time we have to delay the show."
Upon hearing the location of his favourite victim, Jeff allowed the cruel smirk to grace his lips. Not only would Hunter be there, but the rest of the merry gang would be there too, his vengeance against those who had cost him his coveted position would be sweet.
In the boiler room, Harvey pulled at different switches, the light shining bright from his torch. He shifted on the chair, grateful for an essential height boost. Behind him, he heard footsteps and spun round, torch beam rotating wildly, his feet skittering on the chair.
"Relax, Harv-Harv! It's only us! Do you need help?"
Seeing Ingrid and Mandy, Harvey sagged in relief, nodding at his girlfriend's offer. "Please. I'm not sure what ones to pull. I've pulled two, but there's three left and I don't want to mess up."
"You won't." Mandy smiled warmly as Dinah and Lloyd approached them. "We'll do it together."
"How's it going, H?" Lloyd came up to his younger brother and pushed up on his toes. "Shine the light, H, on the fuses."
The light jostled back onto the switches, chair creaking at the change of position, the five children analysing the plugs.
"Jesus, Eddy's difficult to stop." Ian rushed in, patting Lloyd on the shoulder in apology for causing the children to flinch in surprise. "He's probably already here, but I locked the camera crew behind the gates. I feel bad for them really, but we can't let this show go ahead. Everything good?"
Assuming his leader role, Lloyd puffed out his chest and nodded proudly. "Prefects and teachers are locked away. The Headmaster is most likely raging because of the delays, but he will definitely lose it when the power is fully gone. Harvey's started pulling the plugs, so if we all work on this, the power will be out in no time."
"Oh, will it?"
The venom dripped from the voice of the figure shrouded in darkness. Instantly, SPLAT tensed and as one, whirled round, the torch light darting shakily onto the sneering face of Jeff Morgan. Harvey gasped in shock and almost dropped the torch, as Lloyd stood in front of his brother, stance defensive.
"Wheezy," Jeff drawled cruelly. "Put the fuses back. We all know that you lot won't win. Do it now, and I'll be merciful. I won't punish you, I promise."
Lloyd snorted. "He's not going to listen to you, Jeff. Harvey's not afraid of you anymore, are you, H?"
The trembling figure behind Lloyd made Jeff arch an eyebrow. "Not very intelligent, are you, Hunter? That fat weakling has always been afraid of me."
"Leave Harvey alone, you prick!"
Jeff's expression snapped into one of pure rage. "Shut it, you stupid cow! Always yapping away, like a dog begging to be kicked! No-one's listening to you, Ingrid, you're an insignificant troublemaker!"
"You dare-"
"I told you to shut it!" Jeff's gaze swept onto Dinah, who glared defiantly back at him. "Now, you clever clogs, you're a fool to waste this opportunity. The Headmaster regards you highly… you should have leapt at the chance to develop your skills, expand your knowledge and have all the power you've ever imagined. And you wouldn't have these fools dragging you down." At the word 'fools', he curled his lip at Ian.
Ian glared and folded his arms. "Look who's lecturing us, high and mighty Deputy Head Prefect. Where's your back-up then? At least we're a group, a team, where's your fellow Prefects? Too busy to stop us?"
The mention of his former position enraged Jeff and he roared in fury, SPLAT shielding together in alarm. Ian threw his arms out to push the group behind him. Jeff seemed to be targeting him, and if he was to be the one set for pain, then so be it, because he was a strong boy and boys didn't-
The punch was expected, but Ian felt no impact. Instead, Mandy's head rocketed back and she staggered back towards her group. The rest of SPLAT gawped at her, Lloyd quickly pulling her into the fold of the group. She had squeezed herself in front of the six-strong shield and taken the impact of the punch to protect her friends. Her right cheek stung and her upper gum seemed to taste metallic-like, blood, yet she had protected her friends and judging by Jeff's expression, catching her in the face had put him off-balance.
Before anyone could do or say anything, the Headmaster exploded onto the scene, the Prefects flocking behind him. He examined the scene before him, covered eyes narrowing in on Mandy's sore cheek, the hand cupping the skin, and promptly targeted Jeff.
Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, he snarled:
"I demote you, and order you to the Hall, yet you still disobey me! You still have not stopped the troublemakers from interfering with my plans! I shall deal with this by myself!"
Pushing him back to stand with the Prefects, the Headmaster turned his attention back to SPLAT, as Ingrid clapped her hands sarcastically.
"Best decision you've ever made, Sir!"