Chapter14: Light and Dark
With a crash of water vapor the dark shape landed on the building. Enforcers were everywhere below with flashing lights. Bright Mech Platforms hovered across the sky not daring to come closer to the museum.
Turning dragoon had seemed easier the third time. He was perched on top of the roof like a gargoyle. Rain was falling around him over his black armour and wings. Looking down below he could see enforcers lined up and a huge crowd of people below. The road outside the museum was flashing with lights. There was a flash of purple light and Megufu de-transformed becoming human again. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the sky. They hadn't seen him arrive. The weather was stormy – why was there a storm tonight? His new clothes were going to get very wet. Irritably he pulled a price tag off of the shirt and dropped it on the stone roof.
As quick as he could, he made his way across the roof to gaze down at the gardens below. Crouching he watched from above to see what was going on. Men were standing about in rain coats outside of the statue. The statue's stern face seemed even more so as the flash of lightning lit it up.
Walking round the roof of the west side of the building he found an emergency exit. This was the first time in his life that he'd been on a job, when he didn't know what he was doing. He climbed in and walked down some old steps that had not been visited for seemingly a long time. There were cobwebs on the ceiling and it felt very cold and damp.
He opened more fire doors and came out into a corridor of the museum. He hadn't been to the upper floors at all last time he had been with Lagnok. There were many windows which made the corridor flash with light every time the lightning struck. Carefully he closed the door behind him and crept along it unsure of where to go or what direction he was going in. Through the window it was pretty much too dark to tell what was going on in the gardens anymore. Bright as the lightning was it only illuminated blindingly everything for a second. The criminals were much more likely to see him up here then he was to see them down in the dark.
He tried some of the doors but most of them were locked. One door he found ajar and crept into a cafeteria on the second floor. Everything was dark and wooden chairs were up on tables – everything deserted, everything silent. Carefully he closed the door behind him and looked about him in the blackness. It was like a ghost room.
There was a noise of wind and in the opposite windows a Mech-Platform rose into view with bright headlights lighting up the room in a blinding white glow. Megufu dived and hid behind the bar as the flying machine moved slowly to the side searching the room from outside. White coated men rested their hands casually onto small metal poles ascending out of the floating metal platform. The Mech-Platform was coulered in yellow and black stripes and had two headlights pointing out of the bottom; a great blade spinning round underneath. The men were wearing black circular glasses and looked in inquisitively for awhile into the building, before one shook his head at the others and gestured pointing in another direction. The platform hovered for awhile before the men pressed buttons on the poles and went swinging away out of sight, the men being kept level by an artificial field of gravity. Megufu sighed with relief. He wasn't sure whether he should try to be seen or not.
Carefully he crept under the tables and exited through swinging double doors into the kitchens. He was met with torch light and a long row of faces at the back wall. All the tables and kitchen equipment had been turned aside and pushed either over or to the back of the wall. There was debris of a shattered plate on the floor.
"What's going on?" whispered a man sharply coming forward. He was dressed in black. A door burst open at the end of the room and two more men came in holding shinny black magi-tech weapons in black coats. One of the people crouched at the back of the room whimpered on the ground.
"Shut up you!" said one of the men, "Who the hell are you?" he said to Megufu
"There's a change of plan," said Megufu snappily, "We're to move now and go to the gardens"
"You what? Why the hell are we doing that?"
"Who is this geeza I don't recognize him!" said one of the other three
"Who the heck are you?"
"Shut your bloody mouth before I pull your teeth out!" said Megufu sharply, "If you want to stay here when they blow up this side of the building then be my guest"
"Blow it up?"
"What about the hostages?" said the one directly in front of Megufu. Megufu shrugged, "Bring them with us"
"You lot get up!" hissed another harshly – there was no response, "Come on up, quickly!" he growled pointing his weapon at one of the kneeled women. They got up nervously and came hustled together crying and distraught. Thunder and lightning flashed as they entered the cafeteria. Megufu caught his hip on a table nervously and cringed in pain trying to pretend it didn't happen. Behind him the terrorists followed pointing their weapons and cursing at the hostages. Distantly a siren hummed as an enforcer magi-wheel made its way to the scene. Megufu went first through the corridor ahead of the others.
This was purposeful. As one of the men came into the corridor Megufu made his move. The door swung shut briefly and he was left in the corridor with one of the terrorists. This was his chance.
"Let me see that," he said walking forward. The man looked up in surprise before Megufu kicked him hard in the shins and grabbed the weapon. The man wouldn't let go so Megufu swung him round in shock and smashed him through the window. He didn't even scream as his hand dribbled away from the weapon, he just fell down into the garden where below shouts went up.
"Shit!" shouted Megufu, "What the hell was he doing? He's fucking hurt bad!"
Silently he slid the bar up to 200 his hands gripping trigger at the ready.
"What's going on?" said one of the black coated man opening the door. Just as the door began to close Megufu fired a burst of electricity frying the man he stood paralyzed the electricity coursing through his body. As smoke started to rise Megufu took his finger off of the button and the man flew back down the corridor and landed in a crumpled heap. There was still one more.
"You fucking bastard you killed them all!" shouted the third from inside, "Take one more step and I'll blow the brains out of the hostages you hear me?"
"This isn't working," whispered Megufu listening to the noises of shouts from across the building, "I've really messed this up"
From his pocket he clutched the dragoon spirit and looked grimly at the floor, "It might just work," he thought silently. With a flash of purple he transformed into a dragoon the wings stretching back. He was in his element tonight with darkness everywhere.
"What the hell are you doing?" came the voice from inside. Several of the hostages cried out in fear.
Megufu would take to these black skies naturally. Running forward through the broken window he jumped out holding the gun that for some reason seemed to have become attached to his arm. Holding a metal bar that had been part of the window he flung himself up flipping through the air he crossed over the roof of the building spell fire sounding out below. There was a clang and an explosion as a burnout hit a drain pipe. The people in the garden were aiming at him.
Crossing over the roof he spun to a halt at the other side of the building and looked in on the cafeteria the same way that the Mech-platform had looked in except that as a dragoon he gave off no light. He could see the man standing in dry panicking his weapon pointed at the head of a hostage. He looked like he was shouting something at the door but through the rain and thunder it was impossible to tell what. Megufu braced himself hovering back a little. Like a dagger he thrust himself forward smashing through the glass straight towards the man. He looked up in surprise as tables and chairs were knocked clean out of sight. Megufu grabbed him by the collar and feet briefly touching the ceiling, exited through the new hole. Spinning up to new heights the man screaming he flung him letting go. The man fell down into the dark streets below cameras flashing; Megufu retreated quickly into the cafeteria before his power ran out. With a flash again he was normal holding the weapon in his hand he slumped to the ground exhausted.
The hostages didn't move scared out of their minds. Panting he tried to get up but he couldn't move. There were footsteps down the corridor. A moment later and a man ran in wearing black and pointed a Magi-Tech machine at him with a click and a hum of magic, "Don't move!" he shouted. Several more men burst in. Megufu tried the stone but it only glowed softly. He ached and there was nothing left in him to make it work. He dropped his weapon and put his hands up.
