They walked outside of the security room. "Any way you can lock this, Jonathan?" Joanna asked. "Just so we don't have to worry about it again."
Jonathan pressed a button inside the room and slipped out before the door slid shut. "It's all taken care of. No one will be able to come back in here."
They continued up the stairs and opened the door. The second floor was deserted, at least from what they could see. Joanna led the way to the fork. They looked around.
"Okay, before we get back to the core, let's see who survived from our group. Velvet, use the Data Uplink."
Velvet walked over, pulling it out. She typed into it and into the door controls. The Uplink made a loud beep, and she looked over, disappointed. "The guards locked down the doors after the alarm went off. There must be a key around here somewhere."
"Let's go down the right hallway this time," Jonathan said. They all turned down and started walking. This was empty as well. Doors were on each side, presumably more cells. A large window was on the side of the last door.
"The cells don't have windows," Jonathan commented. They put their backs to the wall, making sure no one inside would see them. He motioned with his hands, and Velvet stealthily moved to the other side of the door, still keeping away from the window. They all reloaded, and Joanna opened the door, her gun pointed out, with the other two behind her.
Inside were three guards. Upon seeing her, they stopped their conversation and held up their guns as well. Near the back was a small weapons locker. There was a table in the center, with cards and pictures randomly strewn about. Two guns were also on the table: a DY357 Magnum and a Falcon 2.
"Okay, there are three on each side here. I'm sure there's a-" Jonathan was cut off by the sound of gunfire. When the twenty-five bullets were spent, Velvet reloaded. "What the hell did you do that for?"
"They were distracted, and I don't like to wait. Besides, you talk too much…. I don't see the RCP-120 you had, Jo." She went over, got her gun, and tossed Jonathan his magnum. Looking at one of the pictures, she disgustedly tossed it aside.
Joanna meanwhile, looked over the dead guards. She stopped at the one closest to the locker, putting a hand into his jacket. She pulled out a key card. "Here we go. I bet this will unlock the prison doors." She tossed it to Velvet. "Both of you need to go out and get all of the survivors. Try your best to get them guns, too. I'm sure there are plenty lying around, even in here."
"Right," Jonathan said, and he and Velvet walked out of the room. They started down the hall when they realized that Joanna wasn't following. They turned around. "Joanna, what about you?" Velvet asked.
She came out adjusting her shirt. "I'm going after the power core. Hopefully, I can take it out and we can get the agents out of here." She looked up and saw Jonathan's face. "What? I like to have something for safekeeping, like Velvet's Uplink."
"I hope for your sake that thing doesn't go off."
"It won't, trust me. There are weapons in the locker, as I thought. More than enough for the survivors. And here, take these." Joanna tossed them each a shield. All three activated theirs. Jonathan and Velvet went to the doors, and Joanna continued down the hallway.
She turned right, went up to the door, and opened it. She found, to no surprise, the stairs to the third floor. Walking up the stairs, a guard saw her began to shoot. She ducked, ran back down, opened the door, and then hid under the stairs. The guard ran down and through the open door, and was shot in the back by Joanna.
She walked up the stairs and opened the door. Another guard was standing in the small corridor, but with his back to the stairs. She knocked him out, walked to the other door, and opened it.
This time, ten guards weren't in the room. It was quiet, except for the hum from the power core. She looked around cautiously; the room was empty, from what she could see. Every corner was shrouded in darkness, so she stayed close to the door. She tried firing on the power core, but a shield on the top stopped the bullet.
She finally heard footsteps, expecting them a long time before now. Ray walked out from behind the core. "I would clap, but I have these Cyclones in my hands," he said. "In all honesty, I didn't think you would get out. But, I knew as soon as the alarm sounded that you'd eventually be back here." He patted the side of his hiding spot. "Too bad. After all that hard work, you realize it means nothing."
Without replying, she finished her clip on him. He, too, had a shield. "Remember Trent Easton? He had a shield like this. You'd be surprised how well it still works, even after finding his body in the cold snow, about… 7 months after the Air Force One crashed?"
Faww stepped out on the catwalk from the shadowed corner. "Yes, yes. Get on with it. The sooner you kill her, the sooner we can finish starting up this weapon."
"Am I not allowed to have any fun? I simply like laughing at her while she tries valiantly to kill me." Joanna reloaded, emptied out another clip, and then angrily dropped her gun. The bullets hadn't pierced the shield. "It was cute, but now it's over." Ray raised his Cyclones and fired.
Joanna ran, trying to keep the power core between the two of them. She soon realized he was using the magazine discharge function, one gun at a time. When he stopped to reload one, she charged at him.
The bullets he fired broke down her shield, but she was still able to grab a Cyclone and kick him back. He was right on his feet, and both had their gun at the other's head. "Can your little shield stop bullets from point-black range? After being in the cold so long, I bet it's weakened."
Ray smiled. "I can't wait to find out."
"Oh, for Christ's sake, do I have to do everything around here?" Faww pulled out a Rocket Launcher and shot one off at the two. They both jumped out of the way. While the explosion burned Joanna a little, Ray's shield still kept him protected. As she got up, she realized something. The shield had stopped bullets, but not physical attacks, like the kick. She reached under her shirt and pulled out a pocket knife. "I figured that guy wouldn't need it," she muttered as she opened it.
Faww shot off another rocket while Ray fired his Cyclone. She didn't know how, but she was able to get out of the way of the rocket and strafe past the bullets. She fired at Faww with the Cyclone, and he backed off momentarily. Ray stopped firing to reload, and that's when Joanna ran at him.
She knocked the gun out of his hand, but he blocked her next punch. She smiled. He still hadn't seen the knife. She went to kick him, and when he grabbed her foot, she stuck the knife into his chest. Ray looked down in disbelief, and fell to the floor. Unfortunately, he still had her leg and she fell down as well. She heard another rocket being loaded.
"I'm sick of you messing with my plans!" Faww shot a rocket at her, but this time the doors opened and Jonathan shot his magnum, hitting the projectile a safe distance from Joanna.
"Alright, Velvet, you owe me that date. I am a better shot with my magnum." They walked in with seven other agents, who all shot at Faww with their random weapons. He abandoned his Rocket Launcher and ran out a door on the catwalk.
Velvet and another agent started to run after him, but Joanna and Jonathan held them back. "Just wait," Joanna said. "We've got to destroy this power core."
A different agent was looking it over. "This shield will pretty much defend it from all gunfire. I doubt that Rocket Launcher would do any good either." He reached in to touch it, and though the shield went up, he was able to for a moment. "I've got it! We need a lever, some type of crowbar. If we're fast enough, we can wedge it in there and lift off the shield just enough so that it stops working."
They all paused to think for a moment. Joanna then walked over to Ray's body and pulled out the knife. "I don't know how strong it is, but it's thin enough."
"Alright, stand back everybody." Jonathan cracked his knuckles. "I can take care of this one." He walked over and took the knife from Joanna, then went to the power core. On his first try, he was too slow and the shield stopped it. On his second try, his missed and stabbed his finger. Joanna sighed and reached over to take it from him, but he held back her hand. On his third try, he successfully wedged it under the shield. He pushed down on the knife quickly, and it popped up just enough to remove its defenses.
"Wow. Good job!" Velvet ran over, gave him a hug and even a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you!" Jonathan hugged her back. "But I'm still taking you out on that date."
"Damnit..." Velvet stomped back over to her sister. Joanna reassuringly patted her sister's shoulder. She turned to everyone else. "Okay, the hangar is on bottom floor; Jonathan knows how to get there. Everyone else should leave now, get down to the ships. Just save a spot for me, because I'll be taking this out. And don't start saying that I'm the lone heroine who always wants get all the glory." Jonathan and Velvet clamped their mouths shut.
"Go!" They turned and ran out of the room. Even as she walked up to the catwalk, she could hear gunshots already. She picked up Faww's Rocket Launcher, aimed it, and shot the power core. When the smoke cleared, it was still standing.
"What the hell?!" Joanna ran down and realized that the shield still had a bit of power left in it. She ripped it off of the core, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it a couple of times for good measure. She walked up to the catwalk for the last time and shot off a rocket. This time, it was decimated. "Three minutes." Joanna was about to go down the catwalk, then remembered Faww, and ran through the door he had gone into.
She groaned as she opened it. "I'm sick of stairs." She walked down them and came to a wall. She looked around, but there was no door. She inspected the wall carefully. She tapped it. "It sounds hollow…" An idea came to her head, and she ran up the stairs. At the top, she pulled out the Rocket Launcher and fired it at the wall. She walked down the stairs again and walked through the smoke.
She realized that she was on the second floor, in the one room with a window. Keeping her Cyclone close at hand, she peered out of the door. No one was around. Walking to the end of the hallway, she looked down both possible turns. The group had already come through, and was probably at the hangar. Faww was nowhere to be seen.
Joanna decided to turn and go down to the bottom floor. She opened the door to find that Faww was trying to sneak through this hallway. "Looking for someone?"
He jumped at hearing her voice, but then turned around. Her RCP-120 was in his hand. "I'm not worried about anyone that's still in here. They can't find me if they can't see me." He smiled and pulled the trigger, cloaking himself. A few seconds later he uncloaked, walking down the hall. "What the hell?"
Joanna laughed. "Ran out of ammo?"
Faww dropped the gun and pulled out a Crossbow. "Shit. I doubt that's just set for sedate." He turned and shot at her. She jumped to the side to avoid the first bolt, but the second hit her dead in the chest. She tried to pull up the gun as she fell, but he shot another bolt that hit her again. She fell to the ground, and he walked over, standing above her body. "Too bad. You should have known not to cross me."
An agent ran up to them. "Joanna, I was sent to-" Faww turned and fired two bolts, killing the man. He began to walk away, but was tripped. He started to get up, but Joanna beat him to it. This time, she stood over him, gun pointed. His eyes widened.
"How the hell…? I shot you! You should be dead!"
Joanna lifted up her shirt. "Body armor. Most people think it's obsolete. You really shouldn't let your guards just leave it lying around in a weapons locker."
"You bitch!" He shot his crossbow again, but nothing happened.
"I heard you shoot off five bolts. Guess you won't have time to put in more." Before she could fire, he jumped up and punched her in the face. She staggered back and he ran back to the door that led to the hangar. Before he got there, he turned right, opened a different door, and ran in.
Joanna checked her watch. "I really don't have time for these games." She ran to the door and opened it. Faww was on the other side, and he knocked the gun out of her hand. He tripped her and ran farther down the corridor, laughing. "Just try and catch up to me."
She got up and continued the chase. When she opened the door, he was standing at the base of a ramp, which led into a ship. "I wouldn't recommend taking another step," Faww said, holding up a small, remote-like device. "In order for this ship to leave, I have to open the hangar doors. When I do, space will suck out all of the oxygen, as well as everything in the room. Including you. So, just turn around, retreat back to your friends, and I might let you live long enough to get back down to Earth."
Joanna took a step forward, her fists clenched. He held up the device triumphantly, backing into the ship. She stopped for a moment, then took out one of the bolts and threw it at Faww. It hit him, but he had no armor to protect himself. He pressed the button before he fell to the ground, dead.
The hangar doors opened slowly, beginning to suck out the air. Faww's body flew out, but before Joanna's could, Jonathan and Velvet grabbed her from behind. It only took seconds before they both lost it and let go. All three began to fly out to space. Jonathan spied a control panel against the wall, and shot it with his magnum. The doors stopped and instead began to close. All three hit the door right after it had closed completely.
After hitting the door hard, they crumpled to the ground. All three of them took a few breaths of air before they could talk. "Th-thank you." Joanna's voice sounded almost raspy.
Jonathan swallowed. "I proved again that I'm a better shot with my magnum." He managed to smile. "As much as I'd love to sit here, we don't have time. We have secured a ship, so we need to get out. The systems are already starting to overload." As if on cue, the lights sparked and went out. They got up and ran to the door. The first two opened slowly, but the door to the hangar wouldn't open at all.
"The door systems have failed completely. How are we going to get out now?" Velvet asked.
"Wait a second… all of our agents can communicate with each other!" Joanna pressed the button next to her ear. "Can anybody in the hangar hear me?"
"Sure Joanna. What d'you need?"
"The door to get into the hangar won't open. Can you do something about it?"
"No problem. Just stand back."
She was about to question what this meant when she heard a rocket go off. All three pairs of eyes widened. They ran backward as the missile hit the door with a loud explosion. The shockwave blew them back onto the floor, and they all let out a pained groan. When the smoke cleared, one of the surviving CI agents stepped through the hole. The ship behind him was pointed at it. "Y'all alright?"
"Yeah, fine." Jonathan helped the girls up. "As much fun as this has all been, let's just get the hell out of here," Joanna added.
The agent ran and the others staggered to the ship and up the ramp. The pilot fired up the engines, blasted another hole through the larger hangar doors, and flew out. They could see from behind that the satellite was taking in more and more energy, and Ray had been right: it soon imploded. The ship shook, again from the shockwave, but remained unharmed.
"Well, I'm glad all of that is over," Velvet commented.
Joanna stretched out in her seat. "All I can say is, Carrington better give me a very long vacation when we get back."