Author's Note: Definitely won't turn M/A.
This chapter is dedicated to Somebody's Dark Angel and idlehands452 for their continued support. You two are awesome!
Bam bam! Die, evil Familiars.
The Gift of Daylight
Chapter 10: Leap of Faith
"It's only after we've lost everything, that we're free to do anything."
Location: Fudgy Buddy Factory. Seattle, Washington.
Time: 2:55 PM PST
Walk fast they did, reaching the Priestess's high office in record-breaking time. The hallway to the Priestess's office was completely vacant, it seemed like the entire floor was reserved just for her. After climbing thirty flights of stairs, it seemed the hardest obstacle the pair faced was a stubborn door guard.
"For the last time," Zeke started, sounding exasperated, "I have clearance to be in here. This is my escort," he gestured to Brin. They were wasting precious time, and Zeke was starting to get anxious at this point, his palms sweating and his temperature rising. He could always set the man on fire ... but that would trigger the fire alarms.
"For the last time," the young man mimicked, "no one is allowed to be in the Priestess's office while she's away. No one."
Brin had been deadly silent this entire conversation, but that comment was the last straw. "We don't have time for this," she snapped.
"What do you want me to do then?" the guard sneered. "Just hand over the keys and face detainment?"
"No ..." Brin replied coldly. The next thing happened so fast, Zeke almost missed it when he blinked. Brin had seized the man by the collar and pulled him forward, then struck him roughly on the neck with a karate chop. He hit the floor with a thud, and didn't get up afterwards.
"You killed him!" Zeke protested, looking shocked.
"No," she corrected, reaching down to wrench the keys out of the guard's pocket. "I knocked him out."
"... Well, I guess that's okay then," he murmured as she held the door open for him. He grabbed the man by the shoulders and dragged him in, setting him firmly out of view behind the couch. "What happens if he wakes up again?" he asked.
Brin shut the door and looked at the boy, cracking her knuckles in response to his question.
"Gotcha," he said, needing no further explanation.
"What are we looking for and where would it be?" she asked, scanning the room from wall to wall. It was mostly filled with expensive looking things like an elaborate mahogany desk with ivory engraving, ornamental lamps, paintings, leather couches, sturdy bookcases, etc. Nothing in particular jumped out at her except the computer. "The computer," she pointed out.
"Already on it," he snapped to attention and circled around the desk to turn it on.
While he was busy with that, Brin examined the tall windows aligned on the wall and peered out of one. Compared to the outside of the building, the inside of this office was drastically different. It was tasteful, classy, and very out of place in a good way. About thirty feet away she saw a tall metal pool stretch upwards, with a strange flag at the top. Brin ran the flag through her memory and couldn't pinpoint what country it was for.
"Zeke?" she called out.
"Mm?" he acknowledged in response, his eyes locked on the computer screen.
"What flag is that?"
He paused to look at what she was referring to. "Our flag," he replied.
"Ah," she said, understanding.
After a few minutes passed, she spoke up again, "So how's it going with the information?"
"Locked down," he said, sounding frustrated and resigned. "Stupid computer won't let me in. You want to have a go at it, Brin?" He stood up from the computer chair and wiped some sweat off his forehead.
"Hm," was all Brin said, frowning thoughtfully at the Priestess's desk. Historically, the majority of people who were able to afford ivory furniture were wealthy politicians, industrialists, and fringe crime lords. All of whom always had things to hide ... "Let me try something," she removed the pins in her hair and approached the desk, crouching down beside it.
It took Brin less than a minute to locate the secret drawer hidden away beneath the ivory desks' writing surface. It took only two minutes long, with the help of some rather illegal tools, for her to force it open.
"Oh wow, cool," Zeke said in awe as Brin did her job. "Can you teach me how to do that?"
"No," she snapped, looking at the drawer's contents.
"Can you tell me someone who would?" he tried again.
"No."
"Well ... can you tell me the name of someone who knows someone who can teach me that?" he tried one last time.
"NO," she snapped, ending that discussion permanently. Inside the drawer were eight discs. Three of them carried the labels of official Conclave briefings: one from the European Hive, the other two from the World Council intelligence.
And the other five ...
"Make copies of them," she ordered Zeke, as he slid one of the discs into the computer. "All of them, even the official ones. We'll see what Logan can do with them."
"Let me try something, um, if it's all right with you," Zeke asked hesitantly. Brin was creepy in that strict, stoic, deadly soldier kind of way.
Brin simply nodded.
Zeke began tapping on the keys on the keyboard and accessed the disc. His eyes ran up and down the monitor before— "Yup, I knew it." He smiled tightly at Brin. "It's here, it's all here."
"The cure?" Brin stepped to his side and looked over his shoulder. Zeke didn't reply, she got her answer by simply looking at what he found. No, this disc didn't contain the cure, it was something else. It was there, all right: names, locations, amounts, details, and various transactions. Everything.
"It's all the evidence we need to connect the Plague to the Conclave."
"Yeah," Zeke said, ejecting the disc quickly when he heard some rumbling in the distance. "Elevator, someone's coming up," Zeke snapped.
"Shut down the computer now," Brin ordered, looking at the hidden drawer. She had done an efficient job of forcing the lock, but there was no way the damage could be covered up. The minute the Priestess opened the drawer again she would know someone had been there.
And Brin came to a decision. "Never mind copying them," she said, gathering up the discs and putting them into her pocket. "We'll take the originals."
Zeke blinked. "What? But—"
"You have a show to put on, let's go," she rushed out the office.
Zeke wasted no time shutting off the computer and darting out the room. Brin shut the door just as he exited, just in time before—
The elevator opened and they heard multiple pairs of feet march down the hallway. "Ezekiel!" a voice called out in greeting.
Zeke shot one last nervous look at Brin, before turning around, putting his game face on, and smiling. What he saw wasn't what he expected. It was a long line of people consisting of the Priestess, White, Max, Alec, and men in suits he didn't recognize. They looked especially important however.
"Fe'nos Tol, Priestess. I take it your flight was comfortable?" Zeke tried not to stare the men in suits, but was failing miserably.
"Fe'nos Tol, Ezekiel. As comfortable as it could be, I suppose." She paused to watch Brin intently.
Brin didn't seem to squirm even though Zeke did. This was going to be disastrous, he thought silently. He glanced at Max who didn't look back at him. He looked at the bloodied and bruised Alec. He looked everywhere except at the Priestess. They were all compromised and the Priestess was going to have them all executed and ...
"Well open the door, we don't have all day," the Priestess commanded Brin, who quickly complied. To everyone's surprise including Max's, the Priestess mistook Brin for the door guard. For now, they could all breathe a sigh of relief.
Max exhaled, casting a worried look at Alec. Zeke tried not to stare at either of them and followed the Priestess into the room.
"No one is to be allowed in during this meeting, is that clear?" she said to Brin.
"Yes, ma'am. Crystal," Brin replied calmly. Brin was Manticore made; she was a natural for this soldier business.
"Where's your friend?" White spoke up, looking at Zeke. "She's late."
Zeke tore his gaze from the floor and looked up at him. He opened his mouth to speak when—
"—Sorry I'm late," Rianne said hurriedly, ushering them all into the room. She shot Zeke what looked like a frown, but obviously she couldn't explain why she was frowning at the moment. Brin hesitantly shut the door, giving Max one last nod. Lingering in the back, Syl and Krit waited beside the elevator.
Max couldn't help but smirk, they were in good standing so far. So far.
"What happened to him?" the Priestess asked coldly, gesturing to the battered Alec.
"Resisted arrest," White lied, suppressing a grin.
"Right," the Priestess said unbelievingly, but didn't care enough to pursue the topic. "Into the meeting room then. Everyone get settled," she ushered. Then, amidst her audience, she addressed Rianne and Zeke. "You two have completed your mission, for that, the Conclave highly applauds your efforts. Though with high casualties, you have done what others," she paused to glance at White, "could not accomplish."
White was positively seething now, to Max's amusement.
Rianne was looking at the men in suits getting seated on the couches. She swore she knew who they were, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
The Priestess paused and followed Rianne's gaze. She immediately understood. "Oh yes, I forgot, how horrible of me. Ezekiel and Rianne, may I introduce to you ..." her voice trailed, hand pointing to each man as she introduced them. "High Councilor Camdis from the European Hive, High Councilor Tanaka from the Asian Hive ..." and she went down the line, introducing each high official one by one. Although Max wasn't a Familiar, she realized how important these men must be if Rianne and Zeke were both stunned.
"Wow ... it's an honor to meet you all," Rianne snapped to attention gave them a bow, then saluted them. Zeke mimicked her actions.
"This is 452, I suppose?" Camdis inquired, his voice laced with a British accent. He was wearing a fine tailored black suit with a red tie— just like all the other High Councilors were. Camdis cupped Max by the chin and gazed into her eyes to get a better look. He was clearly unimpressed. "So much trouble ... from such a young lady," he murmured.
"Bite me," she retorted, shaking his hand off.
Camdis blinked a few times and eased off. "... Charming," he snorted, moving away and back to his seat.
The Conclave leaders seemed to be struggling to hold in their laughter.
"Priestess, a question," Zeke spoke up.
"Go ahead, Ezekiel," the Priestess was still looking at Max.
"What has happened to Elena?" If all had gone according to plan, Rianne, Syl, and Krit had rescued her and she was waiting in the hummer with Gem. Hopefully the Familiars would notice she was gone, rush the Medical ward, and give the group a window of time so they could escape ...
From the side, Rianne shifted in place. She tried to catch Zeke's attention, but his attention was steadfastly focused on the Priestess.
"Oh yes, your girlfriend," she recalled, frowning a bit.
"Um, my colleague," he corrected, his cheeks warming to that word.
"Same thing," she dismissed. The Priestess let out a heavy sigh before continuing, "Ezekiel, I'm afraid to report that ... yesterday evening, Elena succumbed to her disease. Right after you reported in with us. She was a great soldier and young woman. Her death is a great loss to this Conclave," the Priestess declared, looking distressed.
Max could see through the false sincerity without blinking. She hoped that everyone else could too.
Zeke absolutely paled. He froze in horror, feeling his legs buckle from the shock. So that's what Rianne wanted to tell him. "No, no, no ... that's impossible," he breathed, looking at Rianne, hoping for her to tell him otherwise.
But Rianne simply shook her head in sorrow.
"Zeke, I know this must come to a shock to you, to you and Rianne both, but—" the Priestess cut off her sentence when Rianne came to his side and set a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
To everyone, it looked like she was giving him a hug. In actuality, however, Rianne was preventing Zeke from drawing his gun. Rianne led him to the corner where the two of them talked privately, both of them looked like they were locked in an embrace, but really, she was struggling to keep him from losing control.
The performance was so convincing, everyone dismissed it.
"Well then, let's get this over with," Camdis reached into his suit pocket to draw a .44 magnum. He pressed it against Max's forehead.
"Wait!" The Priestess interjected. "We need 452 alive, that was the deal. What about Seth?"
"To hell with your son, Scarlet," High Councilor Grayson snarled. "Do it, Camdis."
"You promised," she bit out, swatting Camdis' arm to lower the gun. "You promised," she insisted.
"We all did," Grayson sneered, gesturing to the entire Council. "But promises are easily broken, Scarlet. Camdis, do it," he encouraged.
"Oh bloody hell, Scarlet, Grayson's right. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can move on," Camdis raised his arm again.
The Priestess's eyes darted around the room, as if looking for support. "That doesn't matter," she ground out. "A promise is a promise. White, White! Think about your son!" she shrieked. "You need 452!"
"I am overriding the Priestess's command. Stand down, Ames White," Grayson commanded, gritting his teeth.
White seemed to hesitate for a second, torn between the two commands. He finally made his decision, rushing forward to tackle Camdis to the ground. The other Councilors seemed shocked by this outburst, and froze in place.
"Treason!" Councilor Tanaka shouted, slamming his fist against the table and standing to act. The other elders did the same.
"The punishment for treason is death, Agent White," Grayson bellowed.
"Go to hell," White spat. He kicked Camdis's gun away and ran over to Grayson.
"I have a better idea," Max spoke up suddenly, amidst the chaos. "How about ... you all go to hell," she shouted. On cue, the door burst open and three of the X5's entered with their rifles drawn.
"Cavalry's here," Krit shouted, taking aim at the stunned High Councilor of South America and taking him out. Brin drew her two handguns and fired at Grayson, who caught four to the back immediately. White was struggling with the Councilor up until that point. When he realized the Councilor was already dead, he pushed the body off.
"I hate wrinkly old men hell bent on global destruction," Max growled, slipping her hands free of their bonds. She took Camdis by the wrist, who had long since retrieved his gun and aimed it at her. Max roughly twisted his arm back and broke it, then wrenched the gun free and tossed it at Alec, who had also just freed himself from the cuffs. Alec looked barely conscious but he mustered enough strength to catch the gun and shoot the retreating African Hive leader in the back of the calf twice.
"Where's White?!" Alec shouted suddenly, still crouching on the floor, and wiping the blood that was gushing profusely from a cut above his eye. Alec's eyes darted around the room but there was no sign of good 'ol Ames.
Two of the remaining Councilors attempted to run out the room as well, but Brin and Syl stepped in their way. Syl simply kicked one in the kneecap, breaking it, then threw him against the other Councilor. The two men got tangled up, and in the process, tripped over the coffee table. The African Councilor, who had staggered to a stand clutching his bleeding calf, limped towards the door. In the ruckus, all three blundering Councilors slammed into each other and roughly punched a hole through one of the large windows. All three had clumsily fell to their death, or at least, to a painful fate below.
"Wow ... Good job," Brin stated, staring wide-eyed over the edge of the window. Thirty stories down, she could see the pile of bodies.
"... Yeah," Syl said breathlessly, acting as if she meant to do that. "Nothing to it."
By now, all the High Councilors were either down or dead. Bottom line, they longer posed a threat.
"... And where do you think you're going?" Krit asked as the Priestess ran by.
Alec held out a foot for her to trip on, and down she went, tumbling hard onto the floor.
"ZEKE. RIANNE, DO SOMETHING," she shrieked, struggling against Alec's vice grip.
Up to this point, the Elements had stayed out of the battle and said nothing ... up to this point, of course.
"... You killed her. Just like that, just like an animal. You killed Elena." The words had come from Zeke, but his voice was so distorted as to be almost unrecognizable. "You're a murderer."
"... What?" she looked at the two of them, pulling herself to her knees. "I don't know what you're talking about." Her eyes darted between the two Elements, gauging their allegiance. "She's the enemy, you kill her," she jabbed a finger accusingly at Max. "Don't have any seconds thoughts," she warned threateningly. The Priestess was clutching her side for some reason. When she lifted her hand a bit, everyone caught a glimpse of two bullet wounds.
"No ... you're a murderer," Rianne spoke up timidly at first. Then, mustering more courage, she continued, "the Professor confessed it all."
"Impossible," the Priestess breathed, knowing that she had been caught in a lie. "Don't be absurd," she dismissed Rianne's statement. "This is a direct command, Ezekiel, Rianne! You will comply or face the consequences." The Priestess's eyes seized on Max. "She's threatening everything we've worked for! Your past, your present, and your future."
"Lady, you've got your facts seriously screwed up," Max protested, raising a brow and looking annoyed.
"Regardless, they're still Familiars," the Priestess was now shouting her point at Max. She waved her hand towards Rianne and Zeke. "They're not your kind, they're not genetically brewed trash—" the Priestess spat.
"—He's sounded the alarm," Brin interrupted immediately, running back into the room and shutting the door with her boot. "Syl, the couch, quickly," she gestured to it.
Syl didn't need to be told twice, moving the couch over to barricade the door.
"White?" Max asked suddenly, tearing her attention from the Priestess.
Brin confirmed it with a nod. "I'm guessing he's pulled the alarm, the Familiars should be en route."
"Good 'ol Ames. Damn, this is bad," Alec murmured, taking Syl's hand to stand up. He put his weight on the other X5 and struggled to rise.
"Bad? You mean your condition or the situation?" Krit asked, retrieving a bundle of tissues and pressing it to Alec's forehead.
"Both," Alec conceded.
"We need to get the hell out of here before the reinforcements come storming in. And trust me— they will," Brin noted, looking out the shattered window and seeing all the clamor below. "They're aware. We need to do something ... Max?"
To that, everyone peered to their appointed leader.
Max snapped to attention, rising to her selected position. They had gotten so far, and she would not let them down. "First off, Brin, do you have the discs?"
"Positive," Brin patted her back pocket.
"And Rianne ..." Max called out, hesitantly approaching this topic, "it's too late for Elena, right?"
"Right," Rianne replied quietly, while Zeke cringed and looked away.
"Then our entire team's here. All we need to do is get out," Max peered out one of the windows and looked down at the large courtyard, then the passed the flagpole, the apartment, the school, the parking lot, and ... Gem! "Krit!" she called out.
Krit was by her side in an instant. "Yeah?"
"Grab a mirror or a piece of glass to send a message to Gem. You can catch the sun if you stand on that side of the room. Tell Gem to bring the cars into the courtyard below."
"I'm on it," and Krit went to work.
"Brin," Max called out.
Brin snapped to attention.
"Make sure that stays closed," Max jabbed a finger at the door, which was currently being held shut by one couch.
Brin nodded and swiftly busied herself with moving furniture.
"Syl," Max called out. "You're the med girl, you keep an eye on Alec, got it?"
"Got it," Syl replied.
Max shifted her gaze to look at his bloodied face, her face expressing a sisterly type of concern. "You okay, tough guy?"
"I'm hanging in there," he replied through a thick bundle of tissues pressed to his nose.
"You know I couldn't tell White where his son was," Max explained. "Or he would've killed you on the spot," she said, feeling some guilt bubble up.
"I know, don't worry about it now," Alec dismissed weakly. "But when we get out of this, you really owe me, Max," he chided with a smirk.
"Done," Max flashed him a tired smile and looked around. The only people left were Zeke, Rianne and ...
"Hold it right there," the Priestess called out, a gun had suddenly appeared in her hand. "Transgenic trash, even if I die, at least thousands of years of breeding won't go to waste," she cocked the trigger, and a gunshot rang through the room.
Max took a reflexive step to the side. If the bullet had come her way, it would have been easily dodged. The thing was, the Priestess wasn't the one who fired the gun. Rianne had.
The Priestess gasped loudly, taking a sharp intake of air as her eyes bulged out in pain. Then, in a neat fashion, she crumpled back onto the floor, displaying the damp crimson dot spreading outwards on her back to everyone.
"Thanks," Max said, a little taken back.
"... Yeah, no problem. Besides, she was rambling again, I had to shut her up," Rianne replied with a wry grin, dropping the smoking gun to the floor.
Max nodded, looking around at her battered team. For a group of X5s trapped on the thirtieth floor of the enemy's HQ, they were in fairly good shape. Fairly. "Anyone have any ideas how to get out?" she asked.
"We're thirty stories up," Syl spoke up. "Long way down."
Max grimaced. "True. But given the givens, I'd say we've been through worse."
"I agree," Brin said.
"Me too," Krit spoke up. "Though ... at the moment, I can't think of a particular time ..."
"—Wait, there is a way," Rianne's anxious voice interrupted.
Everyone seemed startled to that statement, pausing whatever they were doing to gaze intently at the Element.
Rianne squirmed but continued explaining. "But we'll have rotten odds."
"Last ditch options are like that," Max said quickly, urging Rianne as courteously as possible to hurry up and get to the point.
"Well, I can sort of levitate off the ground," Rianne said. "I can't carry a lot of weight so one person at a time will have to go with me. I can hover one person down at a time."
"Rotten odds?" Krit pointed out in question.
"Well, it's exhausting for me. If something goes wrong midway, you might ... erm, plummet to your death?"
Krit twitched. "Ah ..." he said, understandingly, "yeah, rotten odds."
"Plus it'll take a long time," Syl pointed out.
"Better if a few of us survive than none at all," Brin retorted with a foreboding feeling in her stomach. For some reason, she predicted that their luck was about to run out.
Max was staring quietly at the Conclave flag throughout the discussion, following the pole's length down to the floor. An idea clicked in her mind. "I've got it."
Syl simply craned her neck to the side and furrowed her brows. "Go ahead," she invited, wiping more blood off of Alec.
"It'll work, I'm sure of it," she replied with a hint of newfound hope in her voice.
Everyone perked up to this.
"All right, gather around, people. Here's what we're going to do ..."
Author's Note: What better way to get back at the Conclave than to throw their leaders out a thirty-story window?
All right, bad stuff happens in the next chapter, but that's all I can say.