Damian saw Sethin back to the original room and into the elevator that would take him up to the surface and to his waiting limousine.
"Good luck, and hurry. You don't want to be late," Sethin chuckled as the doors slid shut and Damian was left by himself in the bare room with only his lighter to keep him company.
Taking it out and flicking it, he made his way leisurely back to the research lab with four minutes until the agent was released into the chamber.
Humming to himself, he passed by the mumbling scientists lying bound on the floor and went over to the vials.
Flipping one into his other hand he proceeded to go through the three cases of vials, looking for any empty spaces. In his mind he went over the events of the last few hours, most of which had been very pleasing to him. He had managed to get the most renowned six spies in the world in one place and kidnap them all without a hitch. Well, except for the accidental grenade. But he would seek reimbursement for that. He almost regretted it was over. He wouldn't have minded spending a few more hours with such entertaining company, especially if they were all together. But he had a plane to catch and an evil plot to carry through with wonderful repercussions. And the background noise was getting very annoying.
"Shut up!" he yelled over his shoulder to the men on the floor when they began screaming at him to help them and wiggling over to him.
He reached the third case, first row, and second column when he saw the empty spot, the liquid bottle missing.
He whirled to the scientists, knelt down, and ripped off their gags.
"Did one of you take a vial?" he roared and took out his gun, putting it up to the quivering scientist's forehead.
"No!" he cried, covering his face and pleading with him.
"No, not us! The others! The ones who broke in and shot out the door! They left with the vial!" another of them said and pointed towards the door Damian had come through. "They left through there!"
Damian cursed, flung the vial across the room, and ran out the door. He knew that if they had the vial, they had a way out. And he had three minutes to get it from them.
"T minus three minutes until the T-59…" the voice announced.
Trowa sighed, Julie snarled, and Mayumi frowned.
Shiris sat down and crossed her arms over her legs and put her head on her arm. She hadn't thought she would die at such a young age, even if she was a spy. She had always known she might not meet a pleasant end, but not this early in the game, not when she had so many years ahead of her! She watched her friends all lose hope and eventually slump down, utterly defeated. The two-minute marker came and went.
Trowa leaned against the wall and put his hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped. His fingers touched something cold and thin and he pulled it out. The vial. He had forgotten all about it in the commotion.
"Hey, look, I forgot, we even got some of it to bring back to the base for proof," he muttered, holding it up and looking at the ebony liquid inside.
"Great, we can end our miserable lives early, just great," Duo mumbled, his face against the floor.
Shiris watched the black ink swirl and twist and tried not to imagine what it would feel like when it hit her. She supposed it would seem as though she was being roasted, almost like a chicken. And since it was supposed to burn through anything, her clothes wouldn't protect her. Nothing would, it was too strong.
Suddenly she blinked, looked at the vial, and then at the wall. "It's a long shot, but it might just work!" she rose up so fast Trowa jerked.
"Guys! I have an idea! Trowa, can I have the vial?" she asked, her eyes bright and calculating.
He held it out warily, his eyes trying to see if she had buckled under the stress, and she grabbed it and headed for the door.
"What are you doing?" Mayumi asked, joining her.
"Sethin said this stuff burns whatever it lands on, right?"
Mayumi nodded.
"So if I can get it to burn through the door, we have a way out of here!"
Mayumi looked askance at her and raised an eyebrow. "You do realize the numerous risks involved in that plan? Namely, it might kill all of us?"
"T minus one minute thirty seconds until T-59 is released into chamber."
Shiris smiled grimly. "We're gonna die anyway."
Mayumi sighed and then nodded, backing away.
"Everyone back up. I'm going to pour this on the door," Shiris ordered, ignoring the many protests that greeted her statement.
"Shiris, are you crazy? You could be burned!" Julie cried, backing away when Shiris unscrewed the top, leaving it sitting loosely.
She looked back at her comrades, her friends. They were all watching her fearfully, some even half closing their eyes, and she took a deep breath.
"Please let this work," she prayed.
Putting the vial up against the door, she tipped it slightly to the side with trembling fingers, then quickly replaced it and backed away. The instant she had moved it, a thin stream of black swirled up out of the vial and into the air. It immediately fell back down onto the door and began to smolder, thin wisps of smoke rising up.
"T minus one minute,""Hurry, hurry!" Shiris muttered to it fervently, urging it on.
"Its working!" Mayumi exclaimed when she saw a small hole with charred edges appear on the glass.
"It needs more," Shiris said, opening the vial again. This time she let out even more, and it quickly joined the original virus and began eating away at the indestructible door.
"Hurry, we have less than a minute," Hiiro urged and moved forward, ready to dart out the door the second the hole was big enough.
The gap began to widen quickly and Shiris backed up and screwed the lid tightly shut, most of the liquid still in the container.
Within seconds it was as big as her upper body and she kicked it, the rubber on her shoe giving off a bad smell when it began to burn. A huge chunk of glass fell off and she continued to kick it, making it wide enough to fit through.
"T minus thirty seconds,"The vents around the room flipped open.
"Shiris! We have to go! Now!" Mayumi shouted, going up to her.
"Okay! It's wide enough, but its still eating away at it, so don't touch the edges of the hole. Come on!" she stepped though, ducking her head to prevent her hair from getting singed. Mayumi quickly followed, then Hiiro, then Trowa. Before Duo left, he gave a peace sign to the camera and grinned.
"We got you, losers!" he shouted and left the chamber. Julie blew a kiss at the camera, exclaimed "kiss my ass!" and ducked out, all six racing for the door.
"T minus twenty seconds"A hiss of air began to filter through the vents; air that would soon be loaded with the virus.
"Go, go, and go! We're still vulnerable if we don't get out of this room soon!" Trowa urged as Shiris threw open the door.
Damian, his eyes wild and angry and trench coat swirling, greeted their stunned eyes.
Shiris put her hands on the doorframe to prevent herself from crashing into him, raised her eyes to look into his, and instantly knew who he was.