Chapter 18: Return
Once outside Peach's office, Alex activated the roller-blades component of his shoes with the simple 'Blading Away' command, and braced himself to be thrown off balance, but it never happened. The shoes had managed the transition smoothly, and within seconds, Alex tore down the corridor with great speed, startling the passer-bys, on his way to Charlie's office.
Although Alex had arrived in record time, the office was devoid of the person he was looking for. He paused, balancing carefully on his wheels, and called up Charlie.
"Charlie, where are you?" Alex asked once he picked up.
"In my lecture room," Charlie replied.
"I'll meet you there. Finish your lesson ASAP."
"Sure."
Alex went back into the corridor and headed towards Charlie's lecture room. Halfway down the hallway, he met up with Don and sixteen other men waring ordinary civilian clothing, but Alex didn't doubt that there were weapons hidden beneath.
"Peach was in her office when I last saw her, Munchie's in the lab. Charlie is in his lecture room, not his office. I'm going there to meet him now," Alex reported.
"OK. You two come with me and Alex to Charlie's lecture room. Colby, you and David take the rest of the men to Peach's office. We'll meet you back there in a minute," Don ordered.
"Just a slight problem Don," Colby said. "Where in the hell is Peach's office?"
"We don't know where Charlie's lecture room is either," David added helpfully.
Don sighed. "What about this? We all go and see Charles, then go down to the secret laboratory together."
"Yes sir," the agents chorused.
With that, Alex and Don led the group down the hallway and into Charlie's lecture room.
By the time they arrived, the were almost trampled by the stampede of students that were just dismissed from class.
"Don, Alex, men…" Charlie said when he saw them, and the students were out of the way.
"Charlie, you stay here with these two men," Don said swiftly, indicating Charlie's new body guards.
"If it's alright with you Don, I'd rather be in my office," Charlie said.
"Then go to your office, and stay there," Don ordered.
"Yes sir," Charlie piped promptly.
"Look after yourself Buddy," Don said softly.
Charlie nodded, and left with the two agents escorting him.
"The rest of you come with me to the lab," Don turned to his men.
"Yes sir," they chorused.
"Lead the way Alex," Don said without looking at him.
Alex headed towards the exit.
"What! We're following a kid?" David asked outraged.
"Yes," Don said firmly. "Alex, if you will."
"Why?" David continued.
"Do you know the way?" Don responded. That shut David up. "No more questions."
Alex led the sixteen strong group into Peach's now empty office.
Don pointed at three of the agents, and signalled for them to stay, in the unlikely event that Peach returned to her office.
Alex opened the entrance to the concealed laboratory, and Don raised his eyebrows as the doors slid open.
"Neat," he whispered.
Alex gave a small smile and led the remaining thirteen men, including himself and Don, in. He produced his ID card and electronically unlocked the cells he had brought the agents to. Which caused Don to raise his eyebrows once again.
"Microchip integrated, to unlock swipe doors," Alex explained, continuing along the corridor.
The FBI agents gave Alex a shocked look then entered the opened cells, to coax the terrified teenagers out. The teens were sent out of the lab; Alex had opened the door, in groups of five to the three men standing guard in Peach's office. But just as the third, and final, group got to the door, Munchie appeared with a spray vial of hydrochloric acid.
"Don't move, or I'll spray the undiluted HCl over you!" she shouted.
"What is it with you and undiluted hydrochloric acid?" Alex scoffed. "That's the third time you've threatened me with it today."
"You…you…you have tested my patience long enough," Munchie spat at Alex, only having just noticed him.
Don had taken Alex's play of distracting Munchie to quietly herd the remaining teens out.
Munchie started to approach Alex.
"You are going to die today," she snarled.
"You have the higher chance at death today," Alex said, approaching Munchie as she did him.
"Don't you want to go through my laptop?" Alex continued talking.
They paused in their approaching.
"Of course I do," Munchie replied wistfully.
"I might tell you the password Jane," Alex said. "Depends though…"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" David hissed. "Leave the talking to the pros."
"Shut up David," Don shot back quietly.
Alex ignored them and continued to speak, "Tell Peach to come out, and I'll tell you my password."
"Why?" Munchie queried suspiciously.
"I've go all the stuff that I found out in that laptop," Alex stalled.
"Alex!" a voice suddenly exclaimed for the right. Peach had appeared.
"Back again?" she asked, suddenly hostile.
"I'll kill all of you. Rider, just give me the code," Munchie yelled, as her brown eyes flashed with an insane glint of light.
It was the first time she had called him by name, Alex noted.
"You're not to touch it," Peach ordered her assistant.
"I don't care Peter," Munchie answered, turning to face Peach with the spray vial of hydrochloric acid. "I've listened to you for so long, deliberately letting you take charge, and subtly playing out my plans. I've poisoned your mind. But no longer. It is about time I had my fun."
Munchie backed off to find Alex's laptop.
The agents were watching the play between Alex, Peach and Munchie with interest. When Don finally came to his senses, he snuck up behind a flabbergasted Peach and cuffed her.
"Peter Peach, you are under arrest for the murder of Amy Collins and James Willows, and for the abduction of eighteen teenagers and holding them against their wills."
At that point, Munchie took up the vial of hydrochloric acid, and sprayed it in the general direction of Peach, having just located Alex's laptop. Fortunately, the acid droplets landed short of the group, but where they did touch, small craters had appeared in their place.
"Code! Tell me the code!" Munchie cackled like a witch.
"Three-one-nine-seven-two-eight," Alex answered calmly, it was the same code as the security entrance to the lab.
Munchie stopped her maniacal laughter, sprayed the acid once again and turned on the laptop. Then typed in the password.
There was a pause of one second. It seemed to be all eternity.
Then…
A brilliant flash of light appeared, consuming the laptop and Munchie. All that was left of them was a pile of ashes and a single message from Smithers.
"Alex old chap. What have you done now?"
There was a stunned silence, that was eventually broken by Don.
"Colby, seal off the crime scene," he ordered. "Team, lets do our jobs before heading back."
A/N: One chapter left