The Diamond Agenda
Part one: Idyllic Summer, cont'd
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Los Angeles
Max Brewer was pissed. This in itself was nothing new, she was occasionally angry, and occasionally annoyed with Janet. This isn't any different, but to be fair Janet wasn't the only reason Max was angry.
It had more to do with them hanging on a rope in the midst of certain death but it didn't change the fact that Janet was annoying her.
"I swear, I planned to tell you—"
"Janet!"
"—it's just things kept getting in the way—"
"Janet!"
"—and now it seems like we're going to die—"
"Janet!"
There was silence, then. "Um. Yes?"
"I know."
"You… know?"
Max struggled with the chains on her wrists and looked down at the melted metal pooling below. It had gone from orange to fiery orange with an extra bonus of popping heat bubbles or whatever they were. God, her legs were all sweaty and her arms were killing her. She did not like the feeling. She hated hanging from chains above a vat of melted steel.
Why the hell do damned super villains prefer factories anyway? "Of course I know. Please. Do you think after what happened to Amy, I don't keep tabs on your love life? I know that you and Scud are still seeing each other."
"Oh." Max heard Janet jangle her chains. "Am I going to be suspended?"
"No. You are not going to be suspended but you are going to die, if you don't shut-up and help me swing to the damned platform. My fucking arms are killing me."
"Oh. Okay." Then much more brightly. "Come on!"
"Good. Follow my lead." Max waited it out, measured the distance, then: "Now!" She kicked out and they swung from side-to-side, the metal chains dug into her wrists, killing any circulation that Max had.
Max kicked out some more, increasing the pendulum swing, just a little more… then thankfully she caught the railings with her legs, holding them in an awkward position, arms above their heads, and legs on the railings. Thank God, they weren't required to wear the plaid skirt anymore.
"What now?"
Max ignored Janet and concentrated in getting the pen on her shoulder pocket, after much effort, she got the pen between her teeth, angled it just so… the thin red laser shot out of the pen and suddenly the pain on her wrists subsided, only to have her falling over backwards, Janet's weight bringing her all the way back. Max locked her legs tighter on the railings and in the nick of time, caught Janet's hand before she fell on the vat of hot metal.
Later, after considerable time negotiating getting off the railings and on to solid platform, and refraining from the urge to kiss the rusted platform, Max pulled Janet up, grabbed their guns Davros, the arms dealer, had neglected to dispose of because of his stupid assumption that his metal vat death trick would be enough to hold a couple of D.E.B.S.
God, she loved stupid criminals. Max looked at her watch and smiled grimly. "Right on schedule."
"Schedule?" Janet asked, "What schedule?"
Sounds of gunfire and shouting rented the air. "That schedule. Come on, we have to get to Davros before he escapes."
"There was a schedule?"
Max turned around and focused an annoyed glance at her and signaled for quiet. Max ran down the steps, checking for snipers and surprises every once and a while and trusting Janet to cover her back.
When they were close to the Davros' office, Max crouched on the nearest box crate.
"Why didn't anyone tell me there was a schedule?" Whispered Janet.
Max rolled her eyes. "You were out all night! I couldn't very well tell you the whole plan in the five minutes you got to HQ!"
"Well, you could have called me."
Max eyed Davros as he scrambled into his office, she signaled Janet to get ready. "I could have but I didn't want to mess with Scud's proposal." She turned back and saw Janet's stunned expression. "C'mon Davros' in."
Two guards had hung back, on their toes and alert and ready to kick-up a storm with a gun battle. Not that would help them any. She did plan on getting caught but she still didn't appreciate getting all chained up and hung over an extremely hot metal vat. There will be hell to pay.
It's game time. Max cocked her favorite sidearm and rushed the door, the guards turned, saw them and began shooting, Max didn't even blink, squeezed the trigger a couple of times, felt the recoil of the gun, ducked behind a steel pillar, shot up ten more, felt a bullet whiz over head, and continued shooting. Janet was right beside her all along, not even flinching, Max almost grinned, to think she once thought Janet was a wuss.
Max glanced at Janet, saw Janet finish reloading her gun and nodded at her. The two guards were scrambling to reload their weapons, Max breezed by them, shooting them twice on the leg and arm to incapacitate them. The two hulking guards fell like logs, Max kicked at the door, felt a bullet graze her arm, registered it by pulling to the side and squeezing the trigger.
Davros screamed, falling on his knees and screaming at them in Russian. Max didn't bother to translate. Max secured the area and smiled for the first time when she saw the cybernetic vault was almost done decoding.
"Janet!"
"Yes?"
"Help the nice vault get open faster please."
Janet glanced at the shifting numbers on the gun metal gray safe. "Wow. You really did plan this."
"Janet."
"On it."
Max watched Janet kneel down, wiggled her fingers and began to unscramble the code then turned her attention to Davros. She kicked him on the leg. "And you scum bag, have the fucking right to remain silent and stop hanging girls on goddamned chains."
When the clean-up squad finally arrived, Max was sitting on the cybernetic vault, watching the clean-up squad swarm in apprehending henchmen her team had already taken down.
"It was a very good plan, yes?" Dominique said, her accent still thick with French, but after seven years in America, she finally learned to stop interchanging English with French. Dominique flicked the lighter, lighting another stick and blowing it out with a satisfied smirk.
"Well, I didn't even know there was a plan." Janet said, leaning on the vault.
"Oh, keep your whining, love." Tina said, taking the lighter Dominique was offering her. "You weren't home last night. I'm thinking" Here she lighted her own cigarette, then grinned, "you got some."
Max sighed. This was fun, if a bullet didn't kill her second hand smoking will.
"Good work team."
Max turned her head and saw Mr. Phipps materialize before them. "Hey, Mr. P."
"Good Morning, Mr. P!"
"Bonjour, Mr. P!"
"Morning, Mr. P!"
Phipps took it all stoically. "Good morning girls, another job well done I see."
Max knocked on the vault, "I say, more than well done."
"Is that—"
"The prototype of the nano bullet? The so-called 'perfect assassin'?" Max turned to Dominique. "You think this is it?"
"Well… It looked like nano bullets." Answered Dominique, waving her hand, a trail of smoke following the hand.
"Feels like nano bullets, mate." Put-in Tina.
"It must be nano bullets." Finished Janet.
A broad smile broke out, then he let out a gusty laugh and shook one meaty finger at them. "This is why I like you girls."
Max knocked on the vault again. "Can you say Best International D.E.B. squad, Mr. P?"
After another gusty laugh, he shook his head and said. "I certainly could. Expect the commendation on your desks when you get back." Then just like that, Phipps vanished.
"Now, Janet," Janet turned to Max, eyes wide at the stern voice. "You ever gonna let us see the ring?"