Chapter 37

Infiltrators

Espio pressed himself as deep into his chair as he possibly could. The plane shook slightly and a twang of anxious fear shot through his body. He kept his eyes sealed shut. Espio had not opened them since the clouds gathered and the turbulence started. Every facet of his mental energy was set on trying to imagine he was anywhere but twenty thousand feet in the air.

"Balance is one of the most important attributes of the ninja," Master Sakai started gravely. He paced at the top of the single step separating the fight pit from the rest of the dojo. Espio and the other students sat restlessly in the sand. Their instructors had positioned five vertical poles in the center of the arena. Espio and the others had seen their teachers position themselves on the poles and engage in spectacular bouts. They were all eager to learn how to fight while maintaining superhuman feats of balance.

"I'm not now discussing the attribute of physical balance," Sakai added. He cast his young students a disapproving look and they all turned their attention away from the balance beams and back towards Sakai. "Inner balance, the thread between spirit, mind, heart and body, is the most important connective tissue in the universe. If you were in a perfect world with fair weather and no hunger or distress, but your inner balance was distrubed then you would experience only hell. But be you in a world of terror, with horrors on every side, if your balance inside yourself is whole, then you will not be distrubed. Our inner world changes the exterior, but the outer world can not fundamentally change the inner. That is why it is most important that you learn balance. If circumstances can not sway you one way or another, then neither can your enemy."

"HEY!" Espio was brought out of the memory by Rouge. Her face was inches before his own and she was shaking him. "The pilot can't get us any closer. There is a storm over Central City. I'll have to fly us from here."

Now that he could see what was going on, Espio was immediately flushed with dread. Swollen purple clouds completely encased the plane. The darkness was only abated by the sudden flashes of lightning. Thunder rumbled the cage of clouds and made the entire plane shudder. Espio made to remove his seat belt but his body ignored the order. He felt trapped inside himself, paralyzed by his own dizzying fear.

"Come on!" Rouge insisted. She was already out of her seat and had one leg on the edge of the plane. Espio tried to take a breath but it felt as if his throat was constricting. He gulped like a fish left out on the shore.

Rouge groaned and leaned over him. She removed his seat belt and with surprising strength lifted him off his feat. "Thanks for the ride!" Before Espio could protest or do anything but scream, Rouge leapt backwards. For several, heart palpitating, gut wrenching, spine cracking seconds they fell. The storm clouds zoomed overhead. Lighting split the sky and for a split second everything seemed to freeze. Espio's fear was so pronounced he seemed to leave his body. He watched as if from a distance, his and Rouge's bodies dropping through a sky illuminated by a bolt of electric charge. The moment was surreal, as beautiful as it was terrifying.

In the next moment, Espio had returned to his body. He clung to Rouge like a child, all bravado and courage completely forgotten. They continued to plummet towards the ground. The skin of Espio's face drew back from the force of the rushing wind. This is it. This is how I die. Then there was the rush of wings. Rouge's wings fought against the wind for a second before fully extending. They caught a gust and they went from falling to soaring in the blink of an eye.

Rouge's laughter echoed over Espio. He was still too traumatized by fear to even be annoyed. "Don't hold on so tight, you're pinching me," She said. Espio kept his eyes clamped shut and relaxed his grip slightly. Rouge laughed again. She seemed completely at ease in the open air. He felt her swoop downward before twisting and flipping.

"Don't do that," Espio groaned through gritted teeth.

Rouge did not respond but she flew more cautiously after that. She kept them at a steady downward glide for the next several minutes. Espio's heart steadied and he managed to take a deep breath. He cautiously opened his eyes just in time to see them break through the storm clouds and emerge above a city.

Central City was not quite as large or choked with skyscrapers as Westopolis was. Its downtown era was distinguishable by the multitude of lights coming from the billboards and various floodlights. Rouge took them towards the heart of the downtown era. As they got closer, Espio noticed that all the billboards on the buildings were flashing the same image. It depicted a city in silhouette being swallowed by a mushroom cloud. Somber black text over the image read Pray for Emerald City. A phone number for charitable donations was scribbled onto the bottom.

Rouge landed them on the rooftop of an older looking building. As the capital of the U.F, Central City was much less uniform in its design than the other metroplotaion eras of the country. Buildings dating back almost a century were set up right beside the newest skyscraper. Espio let go of Rouge as soon as his feet were back on solid ground.

Now that he was out of the air, he was flushed with embarrassment with how he had acted. Espio had purged himself of so many of his fears, but that only made the one that remained stand out so much clearer in comparison. However, Rouge was not waiting to gloat. She had drawn out a tablet and was consulting the device. Espio walked over and saw that she was checking a GPS view of the street.

"The apartment is right over there," She indicated a building at the end of the row adjacent to the one they were standing on. "Every nearby rooftop is synced with its security camera. This is the closest blind spot."

"That's not a problem for me," Espio signed his signature jutsu and his skin changed color allowing him to fade into the background.

"I'll make for this rooftop." She pointed on the screen to a building right beside their target. "You go on across and replace the camera feed." Rouge handed Espio a small, sleek case.

Espio clicked it open and saw several transparent lenses made of what appeared to be thin, watery wax. He closed the case and nodded at Rouge. She handed him a comm device for his ear, and after testing it, Espio readied to start. After several hours in transit, he was finally ready to put their plan into action.

Espio raced towards the edge of the roof and leapt. He soared over the gap and connected to the sheer side of the next building. His feet clung to the edge with ease. When he was in control, Espio did not mind heights nearly so much. It was only when his fate was put into the hands of pilots or others that the fear of falling possessed him.

He ran up the side of the building and crossed over its rooftop. Espio did this several more times until he was finally on top of the Studiopolis Apartments. The roof was bare other than one access door and some water treatment devices. Espio crept towards the door. Cameras were positioned on both corners. Espio slunk behind them and opened the case. He slid two of the paper thin lenses onto his fingers. They felt like the contacts humans put in their eyes. With deft precision, Espio covered the cameras.

Rouge insisted they could not destroy the cameras and hacking into the security system would take computer skills beyond what the two of them possessed. Instead she suggested the use of these lenses which when placed over a camera would freeze them on a still image without the guards noticing anything on their monitors. '"I've taken the door cameras," Espio whispered.

"Check the water heaters. They might have hidden some over there," Rouge answered.

Espio checked and sure enough he found three cameras hidden in odd spots. Once they were all covered he alerted Rouge. Seconds later she emerged out of the darkness beyond the edge of the roof. She led him over to the access door and pressed her ear against it. "I don't hear any alarms, so I think we're good for now." Rouge reached into her boot and retrieved a long, metal needle. She positioned it within the lock of the door.

"This isn't a security door?" Espio asked.

"Smith doesn't like to rely on one approach." Rouge knelt beside the door. With one hand she moved the needle and with the other she gently adjusted the handle. "If someone had somehow managed to hack the system then he would be vulnerable. He wanted to ensure there were other…more primitive security measures in place. In this case, a computer whiz would be useless if they didn't have a key to get in. Fortunately…" Click. The lock sounded and the door opened forward with a low creek.

Rouge stepped aside to allow Espio to enter. He faced a dark stairwell descending into the blackness. "After you," She said pleasantly. Espio started and was immediately met with a blast of artificial cold. He shivered and goosebumps traced down his arms and back. Espio warmed himself by summoning a kunai and gripping it tightly in his hand.

At the bottom of the stairs, Espio was met by another door. Rouge picked this lock as well and it opened up to a long dark hallway. "Elevator is at the end of the hall." Rouge hissed. She leapt upward and clung to the ceiling. Still invisible, Espio continued straight ahead.

After all the cautious planning and Rouge's certainty that they would face fierce resistance, Espio thought the plan was moving on without a hitch. They were halfway down the hall when the lights suddenly turned on. Espio heard a thud as Rouge pressed herself flat against the ceiling. Espio had nowhere to run or hide. All the doors around him were shut and he heard footsteps echoing from up ahead. All Espio could do was lay prone on the carpet and hope he would remain invisible. Men in black suits appeared up ahead. They stood beside one of the doors that suddenly flung open. A gray haired man stepped out. He whispered something to the men in black suits then followed them out of the hall.

Espio remained still. He did not dare to move until he was certain the coast was clear. Five minutes later, the lights turned back off. Thud. Rouge dropped from the ceiling. "That was Smith," She whispered. "I think he is going down the elevator. He must have a meeting. Come on!" She hurried forward before stopping at the door, Smith had left. To Espio's surprise, the door was ajar. Rouge pushed the door open and her pin fell out of the crack.

"How did you?" But Rouge only winked at him before slipping inside the room. They entered a spacious apartment that appeared hardly lived in. There was a bar in the kitchen, a single sofa, one bedroom and another door that seemed to lead into an office. To Espio's surprise, Rouge stood upright and walked calmly into the living room.

"Aren't their cameras?" Espio asked, while checking the corners of the roof.

"Not here. Smith loves spying on other people, but enjoys his own privacy. Perks of his position, I suppose."

"Why are we snooping around his apartment? I thought we needed to get into the elevator?"

"Just look around. I want to see if he left anything here. I doubt he would be so careless but you never-" Rouge trailed off as she approached the far door. She opened it gingerly and peeked inside. Espio watched her go as he made his way over to the kitchen. It did not seem like Commander Smith was the type to leave any sensitive material just lying about. There were no dishes in his sink and his kitchen looked clean enough to display at an open house.

Espio wandered over to the fridge and opened it up. There was nothing in there but bottled water. Does this guy even eat? Espio closed the fridge and went over to the trash. He looked inside but saw only an old wrapper, a bit of newspaper and an apple core. If only Vector were here. Espio had watched his friend work hundreds of times, but Espio had never been able to mimic his friend's power of deduction. Many times he had solved a case just by walking through a person's kitchen and having a sniff at their trash. Espio meanwhile, learned nothing from the clues other than Commander Smith preferred a clean apartment.

"Check this out," Rouge's voice called from the other room. Espio went over and found her standing beside a desk. She was reading a heavily folded piece of paper. Rouge handed it over to Espio. He scanned the letter quickly. Espio felt his heart sink.

"His daughter?"

Rouge interlocked her fingers and pressed them together as if trying to wring out some uncomfortable feeling. "They must have died in the explosion. His daughter and his grandson."

Espio placed the letter back onto the desk. "That won't make him any more reasonable will it?"

Rouge shook her head and bit her lip. "Who knows what he will do now? I…" She looked around the office looking somewhat dazed. "Come on, we should go."

They left Smith's room and headed back down the dark hallway. At the far end they reached a set of twin elevators. Rouge called one up and they waited for it to arrive. Ding. The doors opened and Espio had the briefest glance of staring down the wrong end of a barrel. Flash! His kunai left his hand before the man could pull the trigger. The blunt end of the kunai struck the man in the temple, rocking him backward. Rouge leapt forward and ripped the gun out of his hand. Espio followed up by striking him in the throat, preventing his attempt to cry out. The man staggered backward while Rouge quickly jammed down the close door button.

Espio made a complex series of gestures with his hands. He felt a surge of heat rise inside his stomach. "Nasai!" A blast issued out of Espio's hands and struck the guard. He immediately slumped over.

"Did you kill him?" Rouge asked with mild interest.

"He's just knocked out."

"They must have sent him up to see who had called up the elevator," Rouge guessed.

"What do we do now? They'll know someone is here if he doesn't come back."

"I guess we are on a timer now aren't' we?" Rouge replied with a smirk. Without hesitation, she bent down and took a pen-like device out of her boot. She clicked the top and a flash emitted out of the end. Rouge stabbed the flashing end onto the elevator floor. Within seconds a small hole had burned straight through the elevator. Espio paced nervously while Rouge made a hole big enough for them to squeeze through.

When it was ready, Rouge dived in. Espio followed after her. The elevator shaft was dark, dusty and full of pulleys and ropes. Espio groped blindly for a means of reaching the walls. Rouge grabbed his hand and flew him over to the side. His feet stuck to the sides and Espio let out an exhale of relief. He could see the lights of Rouge's eyes shimmering a few feet from his own. "Shall we descend?"

It took several minutes to descend the twenty levels of the apartment. When they reached the ground floor Espio noticed that the elevator shaft changed completely. Beyond the first level, the elevator car would not be supported by ropes but by an electromagnetic rail. Rouge's assessment back at her hideout, proved to be accurate. No human could have safely descended the shaft without the use of the elevator car. Even Espio had to go slowly and had to crawl to avoid slipping on the smooth surface of the walls.

At last they reached the bottom. A door awaited the elevator car but it was sealed shut. Rouge indicated a vent above the door and managed to pry it open. It was a tight squeeze but they both managed to fit themselves through. It was painfully obvious that G.U.N had spent all their money and energy preparing for human intruders.

Espio followed Rouge through the vents and soon he heard the muffled sound of voices. Rouge tracked them down and eventually Espio found himself looking out through the grates of a vent pushing air into a white room. Men in black suits were standing around a large table. A map of the world was displayed on the far wall. Espio noted Commander Smith sitting at one end of the table. Across from him stood a man, Espio recognized at once. His throat tightened and he heard Rouge let out a small gasp. It was the President of the U.F.