Disclaimer: As if you didn't already know I own nothing except Mindy. Oh,
and the story itself.
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"I wish I had a map," grumbled Max as he searched for Dread's office. He had only been looking for a few minutes, but his patience was thinner than usual right now.
"I wish I could help you out, hermano. Remeber, we can't leave any copies of the plans or even one of those lazers behind."
"I got it, bro. Now, if I was a power hungry villan hell-bent on ruling the world, where would I keep my office?" he asked himself. It took a while, but he eventually came across a door that looked like it was made of solid oak, rather than metal. Seemed like as good a choice as any. Max paused in front of the door and listened carefully. Nothing. No speaking, no breathing, just silence. Caustiously, he opened the door. Inside, he found a lavishly decorated room. With a huge desk in the middle. "Found it," he said proudly.
"Good. Check the computer first."
Max went over to the desk and looked blankly at the machine sitting on it. "What do I do? Type in 'deadly weapons' and see what comes up?"
Berto sighed and walked him through it. Nope. The plans weren't in the computer itself. "He must have a disk or a file somewhere."
"Terrific," muttered Max. He began to quickly go through the drawers in the desk.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Mindy, unable to sit still anymore, nervously paced her cell. She wasn't an idiot. She knew that there were a lot of guards right outside the door. They talked from time to time. Although she couldn't understand most of what was being said, she could tell there were at least five or six. Maybe more.
"Okay," she told herself aloud, "they wouldn't have bothered with all the guards if they didn't think Max would try to rescue me. If these guys are worried, it means he probably will. So, he's probably just not here yet because he's coming up with a plan first. Or he can't find me because the signal can't get through the walls. That's got to be it. Max wouldn't just leave me here. He wouldn't abandon me like..."
She stopped suddenly, realizing that she wasn't just trying to assure herself that everything would be fine.She was trying to convince herself that she could trust Max. "What am I doing? This is rediculous. You either trust Max or you don't. Now which one is it?" she asked herself.
Through all that, she had forgotten that the microphone in her transmitter was still on.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Well?! Which one is it? Max thought as he continued his search for the weapon plans.
Sensing Max's aggitation, Berto tried to clear some of the tension. "Does she do that a lot ?" he asked.
"Huh?" asked Max.
"Does Mindy talk to herself all the time?"
"Oh, that. She usually does that when she's frusterated or nervous. Or when she's pissed off, but we don't need to go there." He paused. "Ever."
"Why?"
"If you had ever seen that girl mad, you'd understand."
"I have. At the club when that girl made her spill soda on herself," Berto reminded him.
"No, that was irritated. Mindy's pretty good about controlling her temper, but, when she loses it, major scaryness."
"How bad can it be?"
"Put it this way. I would rather face Smiley, Dread, Dragonelle, *and* Electrix, at the same time, than Mindy when she's on the warpath. Luckily, she's never been that mad at *me*, but I've seen the results of when someone else pissed her off."
"Bad enough that you'd rather face four people who have tried to kill you repeatedly?"
"Yeah, well. I'll tell you more about it later."
Max hadn't found anything in the desk. "Where the hell could they be?" He turned his attention to the bookshelves that lined the walls. He wanted to hit his head against the wall. If what he was looking for was hidden in one of those books, then this was going to take a while.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
He saved you from these guys more than once. How could you possibly not trust him?!
He's a guy! Every guy I've ever completely trusted...
*Every* guy? What about Josh?
Josh is different.
How?
He... he just is!
Oh, yeah. Great excuse Mindy. 'He just is.' What a wonderful reason for doubting Max. Uh-hu. Especially since you think Max and Josh are a lot alike.
Oh, shut up!
Mindy's fear and her logic continued to argue about whether or not she should trust in her friend or not. Meanwhile, she ignored the two parts of herself that knew beyond any doubt whether he could be trusted or not. Her heart and her instincts.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Max's first thought had been that it would be faster if he tipped the bookcases over. But Berto had vetoed that idea. It would make too much noise, quite possibly drawing more attention than they needed. Besides, it would mean trying to sort through the books spilled all across the floor. It would be hard to know which he had checked already and which he had not. So, instead, Max had climbed the rolling ladder that leaned against the top of the shelves. He had started with the top shelves and worked his way down. He was checking the books as fast as he possibly could and dropping them on the floor.
Nothing in the first bookcase.
Max started from the bottom of the next one. He concentrated on making sure he hadn't missed anything and tried not to think about the fact that there were still three more bookcases to go.
He was nearly finished with the top shelf of the second bookshelf. As his left hand reached out for another book, his right hand intinctively reacher across the next bookshelf to maintain balance. His fingertips brushed across a something that made him turn and look curiously at the book he had touched.
Most of the books were leather bound. Max had not come across a single paperback. This book looked like the rest. However, it felt different. It wasn't bound by leather. Not only that, it felt different than the other books. Not quite like the standard hard binding of most books. It felt... more solid than it should.
"Max, what are you doing?"
"Hang on a second, bro." Turning away from the books he had been about to examine, he pulled out the strange book. It felt heavier than it should. He stared at it for a second. He tried to thumb through it. It couldn't be done. The pages were stuck together and didn't even feel like paper. Now he knew why the book had felt weird. It was made of kevlar, not paper. Excitedly, he pulled the cover open. Sure enough, it was hollow in the middle. And in the hollow book was a computer disk.
"Check it on the computer to make sure it's the right one," said Berto.
Max hopped of the ladder and quickly complied. He had to resist the urge to let out a victory yell when he confirmed it was the right disk. He glanced at the 'book' in his hand. "A history of Napolean," he read. "The title alone should've been a givaway. Do you think it's the only copy?"
"I hope so, hermano. You'd better check the other books just in case."
"That'll take too long. I want to get this done and get Mindy out of here, like yesterday."
"Max, she's fine right now. That might not be the case if Dread has any spare copies we don't get."
"What if I just use the lighter in the desk and torch the room?"
"Oh, that won't give the team away," Berto answered sarcastically.
"Fine," grumbled Max.
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UGH!!! I *HATE* writer's block!!! The chapter would've been out sooner and it would've been longer if I didn't have writer's block. Don't expect the next chapter anytime soon. I am *sooo* sorry for not posting sooner. On the plus side, it's not as big of a cliffhanger as the other chapters.
______________________________________________________________________
"I wish I had a map," grumbled Max as he searched for Dread's office. He had only been looking for a few minutes, but his patience was thinner than usual right now.
"I wish I could help you out, hermano. Remeber, we can't leave any copies of the plans or even one of those lazers behind."
"I got it, bro. Now, if I was a power hungry villan hell-bent on ruling the world, where would I keep my office?" he asked himself. It took a while, but he eventually came across a door that looked like it was made of solid oak, rather than metal. Seemed like as good a choice as any. Max paused in front of the door and listened carefully. Nothing. No speaking, no breathing, just silence. Caustiously, he opened the door. Inside, he found a lavishly decorated room. With a huge desk in the middle. "Found it," he said proudly.
"Good. Check the computer first."
Max went over to the desk and looked blankly at the machine sitting on it. "What do I do? Type in 'deadly weapons' and see what comes up?"
Berto sighed and walked him through it. Nope. The plans weren't in the computer itself. "He must have a disk or a file somewhere."
"Terrific," muttered Max. He began to quickly go through the drawers in the desk.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Mindy, unable to sit still anymore, nervously paced her cell. She wasn't an idiot. She knew that there were a lot of guards right outside the door. They talked from time to time. Although she couldn't understand most of what was being said, she could tell there were at least five or six. Maybe more.
"Okay," she told herself aloud, "they wouldn't have bothered with all the guards if they didn't think Max would try to rescue me. If these guys are worried, it means he probably will. So, he's probably just not here yet because he's coming up with a plan first. Or he can't find me because the signal can't get through the walls. That's got to be it. Max wouldn't just leave me here. He wouldn't abandon me like..."
She stopped suddenly, realizing that she wasn't just trying to assure herself that everything would be fine.She was trying to convince herself that she could trust Max. "What am I doing? This is rediculous. You either trust Max or you don't. Now which one is it?" she asked herself.
Through all that, she had forgotten that the microphone in her transmitter was still on.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Well?! Which one is it? Max thought as he continued his search for the weapon plans.
Sensing Max's aggitation, Berto tried to clear some of the tension. "Does she do that a lot ?" he asked.
"Huh?" asked Max.
"Does Mindy talk to herself all the time?"
"Oh, that. She usually does that when she's frusterated or nervous. Or when she's pissed off, but we don't need to go there." He paused. "Ever."
"Why?"
"If you had ever seen that girl mad, you'd understand."
"I have. At the club when that girl made her spill soda on herself," Berto reminded him.
"No, that was irritated. Mindy's pretty good about controlling her temper, but, when she loses it, major scaryness."
"How bad can it be?"
"Put it this way. I would rather face Smiley, Dread, Dragonelle, *and* Electrix, at the same time, than Mindy when she's on the warpath. Luckily, she's never been that mad at *me*, but I've seen the results of when someone else pissed her off."
"Bad enough that you'd rather face four people who have tried to kill you repeatedly?"
"Yeah, well. I'll tell you more about it later."
Max hadn't found anything in the desk. "Where the hell could they be?" He turned his attention to the bookshelves that lined the walls. He wanted to hit his head against the wall. If what he was looking for was hidden in one of those books, then this was going to take a while.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
He saved you from these guys more than once. How could you possibly not trust him?!
He's a guy! Every guy I've ever completely trusted...
*Every* guy? What about Josh?
Josh is different.
How?
He... he just is!
Oh, yeah. Great excuse Mindy. 'He just is.' What a wonderful reason for doubting Max. Uh-hu. Especially since you think Max and Josh are a lot alike.
Oh, shut up!
Mindy's fear and her logic continued to argue about whether or not she should trust in her friend or not. Meanwhile, she ignored the two parts of herself that knew beyond any doubt whether he could be trusted or not. Her heart and her instincts.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Max's first thought had been that it would be faster if he tipped the bookcases over. But Berto had vetoed that idea. It would make too much noise, quite possibly drawing more attention than they needed. Besides, it would mean trying to sort through the books spilled all across the floor. It would be hard to know which he had checked already and which he had not. So, instead, Max had climbed the rolling ladder that leaned against the top of the shelves. He had started with the top shelves and worked his way down. He was checking the books as fast as he possibly could and dropping them on the floor.
Nothing in the first bookcase.
Max started from the bottom of the next one. He concentrated on making sure he hadn't missed anything and tried not to think about the fact that there were still three more bookcases to go.
He was nearly finished with the top shelf of the second bookshelf. As his left hand reached out for another book, his right hand intinctively reacher across the next bookshelf to maintain balance. His fingertips brushed across a something that made him turn and look curiously at the book he had touched.
Most of the books were leather bound. Max had not come across a single paperback. This book looked like the rest. However, it felt different. It wasn't bound by leather. Not only that, it felt different than the other books. Not quite like the standard hard binding of most books. It felt... more solid than it should.
"Max, what are you doing?"
"Hang on a second, bro." Turning away from the books he had been about to examine, he pulled out the strange book. It felt heavier than it should. He stared at it for a second. He tried to thumb through it. It couldn't be done. The pages were stuck together and didn't even feel like paper. Now he knew why the book had felt weird. It was made of kevlar, not paper. Excitedly, he pulled the cover open. Sure enough, it was hollow in the middle. And in the hollow book was a computer disk.
"Check it on the computer to make sure it's the right one," said Berto.
Max hopped of the ladder and quickly complied. He had to resist the urge to let out a victory yell when he confirmed it was the right disk. He glanced at the 'book' in his hand. "A history of Napolean," he read. "The title alone should've been a givaway. Do you think it's the only copy?"
"I hope so, hermano. You'd better check the other books just in case."
"That'll take too long. I want to get this done and get Mindy out of here, like yesterday."
"Max, she's fine right now. That might not be the case if Dread has any spare copies we don't get."
"What if I just use the lighter in the desk and torch the room?"
"Oh, that won't give the team away," Berto answered sarcastically.
"Fine," grumbled Max.
_________________________________________________________________
UGH!!! I *HATE* writer's block!!! The chapter would've been out sooner and it would've been longer if I didn't have writer's block. Don't expect the next chapter anytime soon. I am *sooo* sorry for not posting sooner. On the plus side, it's not as big of a cliffhanger as the other chapters.