One More Trigger
Part Thirteen: Into the Lion's Den
"Come on, Ames," said Glory Girl. "Let's get you home."
"Wait a minute," protested Amy. "I just want to go and thank them."
She waited till Armsmaster stepped away from the group, and approached them.
"Hi," she said. "Amy Dallon. Panacea. From New Wave."
Ladybug nodded, and shook the proffered hand. "We got the idea, yeah," she said. "Glory Girl pretty well broadcast it to everyone around."
Amy grinned a little self-consciously. "She is fairly protective of me, yes," she agreed.
"That's a good way to be," said Aerodyne. "So what's up?"
"I ... well, I just wanted to thank you," said Amy awkwardly. "For saving me. For saving everyone."
"Oh, you weren't in any danger," said Lisa. "We were just going to rob the place and go."
Amy glared at her for a moment. "I was still feeling threatened," she said pointedly. Then she turned to Sparx. "Why haven't you handed her over to the Wards yet, anyway?"
"Because she's voluntarily surrendered to us, and she's helping us with other matters," Sparx explained.
"And I want to join the team," added Lisa mischievously.
"And she wants to join the team," sighed Ladybug.
"And you're going to let her?" Amy's voice was incredulous.
"I think she's earned a second chance," Sparx pointed out. "A chance to do the right thing. It's not like we're just letting her go."
Amy nodded. "I guess," she admitted. "Anyway, thanks. For sending us all into the back of the bank before the fight started."
Ladybug nodded. "We try to train for various scenarios. Rule number one for hostage situations is get the hostages to safety. A stray shot during a normal firefight is bad enough. A stray shot during a cape fight can wipe out a dozen people without even slowing down."
Aerodyne grinned. Taylor had just quoted Alan Barnes, more or less word for word.
Vista looked at Ladybug with some respect. "Wow," she said. "That's a very professional attitude, and I'm speaking as someone who's been trained by the PRT. There's a lot of independent groups that just go in guns blazing, so to speak."
Ladybug nodded. "It's all too easy to screw up if you haven't thought things through ahead of time. Even if you don't train for the exact scenario, enough training can give you options or ideas on how to deal with a new one."
Vista was nodding even before she finished. "Yeah," she said. "Exactly." She shook her head, grinning. "Damn, but it's good to talk to someone who's on the same page about this sort of thing."
Sparx grinned back. "Actually," she said, "would it be possible to arrange some sort of training exercise between us and the Wards at some point? A mock combat, or even just a problem-solving exercise?"
Vista blinked. "That ... I'd have to kick that one upstairs," she said, "but it sounds really useful. The way you guys synergise is really cool; most capes I know tend to go lone wolf once the fight starts. My power works best when I'm helping someone else out."
"Yeah, well, we've learned the hard way that if any one of us tries to win on our own, we're usually gonna fall on our butts," said Aerodyne ruefully. "So we concentrate on teamwork. Even if one of us has the threat covered, the other two are scanning for other dangers. We assume something's going to go wrong, and plan accordingly."
"Because it always does," chorused Sparx and Ladybug; it seemed almost like a practised line. All three chuckled at the same time.
Lisa looked at them, and blinked. "Christ," she said. "You are serious about this training thing. Am I going to have to go through it too?"
Sparx looked her in the eye. "Do you want to be in the team?"
"Oh," said Lisa, then paused. "And the self-defence training as well?"
Ladybug nodded. "Of course. We all take regular courses. Not enough to make us into professional martial artists, of course, but enough to know how to throw a punch, deliver a kick, roll with a fall, take a hit, and run like hell when we have to." She looked at Vista. "How much of that sort of training have you had?"
"Not much," admitted Vista. "I'm too small for it to make much of a difference against an adult in a fight."
Sparx shook her head. "I think we're going to have to work on that," she said. "What if you were up against a kid your age, who was mind controlling your teammates, and your powers weren't working? What would you do? Give up, or try to punch him out before his minions got to you?"
"I see your point," conceded Vista. Wow, she thought. I guess I'm going to be learning more than I thought.
Amy watched the three members of Team Samaritan; despite the fact that Sparx was nominally team leader, she didn't seem arrogant with it, and all three seemed at ease with one another. Nor were they condescending toward Tattletale or Vista. All in all, they seemed like really nice people.
I've got a lot to think about, she decided, as she walked back to where Glory Girl was chatting to Gallant.
"Okay," she said with a smile. "We can go now."
Vicky smiled at her and nodded to her boyfriend. "I'll see you later then," she said. She and Amy left the bank side by side.
They're even willing to give Tattletale a chance, Amy thought. How about that.
Armsmaster returned to the group. "Director Piggot is willing to meet with you," he said. "I'm calling in a transport to get you to the Protectorate base."
Lisa looked at him suspiciously. "So this isn't a trap to arrest me all sneaky-like once I'm on board that base?" she asked.
He shook his head. "As much as I'd like to arrest you, Director Piggot first wants to know what you know."
"And then ...?" she pressed.
"And then," he gritted, "if it checks out, we will accept that you are sincere with going straight, so long as you stay with Team Samaritan, with Vista to keep an eye on you."
"Cool," she said. "I can't wait."
His lips set in a straight line. She responded with a cheerful grin.
The helicopter set down on the landing stage of the Protectorate base; the force field re-established itself over the top of the base once more, lending the light a slight rainbow effect.
"Wow," said Sparx. "I've been through the PRT building and met the Wards before, but this is awesome." Ladybug and Aerodyne kept quiet; while they had been the ones to tour the PRT building with Sparx, this had been before Taylor had gotten a proper handle on her powers, or Madison had gotten hers.
Tattletale kept quiet also, but her gaze flicked here and there, apparently at random.
"When we're done here, I can give you the tour if you want," offered Vista. "It's pretty neat."
"That would be cool," agreed Ladybug.
"Let's get this over and done with first, shall we?" said Armsmaster bluntly.
Two PRT guards were waiting outside the conference room. They saluted Armsmaster, and allowed him to enter with Team Samaritan and the others in tow.
Director Piggot was already sitting at the table, waiting for them. Flanking her were Miss Militia and Velocity.
Armsmaster paused to lock the doors, then the Director pressed a switch on a small grey box on the table. An irritating teeth-on-edge buzz began to sound throughout the room.
"This room has a Faraday cage," the Director said, "and that noise is specifically designed to thwart any attempt at sound pickup from outside the room. We are, in other words, secure. Speak your piece."
Armsmaster nodded. "Team Samaritans interrupted a bank robbery by the Undersiders earlier today. Tattletale negotiated allowing the others to get away empty-handed in return for her surrender. She claims that she wishes to leave her life of crime –" even with the irritating whine, the lack of belief in his voice is clearly audible, " – and join Team Samaritan. She also wants to assist us in taking down Coil."
Director Piggot frowned. "Coil?" she said. "He's not a big enough fish to worry about. Small time only."
"Big enough to have the Travellers and the Undersiders doing what he wants," Tattletale retorted. "Also has Faultline's Crew on speed-dial. Oh, and he's got people inside Empire Eighty-Eight – and the PRT."
Piggot remained relaxed and calm right up until Tattletale dropped her little bombshell. Then she sat forward, her eyes fixed on the villain.
"You had better be joking," she said ominously.
Tattletale shook her head. "Not a joke," she said earnestly. "Coil's got a snake on his costume, but I think of his name more in relation to an octopus's tentacles. Because he's got one everywhere. Including," she leaned forward, knuckles on the desk, "inside your precious PRT."
The Director slitted her eyes. "I've been given a heads-up on someone that might – repeat, might – be a mole," she said slowly. "Investigations are ongoing."
Tattletale dropped into a chair. "There you are, then," she said cheerfully. "But you'll have more than one."
Armsmaster tensed slightly; the butt of his halberd clinked against the side of his armoured boot. Piggot looked at him. He nodded slightly.
"Presuming this to be so, we won't stop after we verify the first one," she said.
"Good," said Tattletale. "You won't regret it. Now, about the other thing ..."
"If he considers himself a big enough player to infiltrate my PRT with his agents, then he's a big enough player to take seriously, and perhaps take down, in the proper time and place," the Director noted.
"Which means you're not interested in doing it right now," Tattletale responded in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Once we get the names of the plants, we can isolate them and feed them the information we want Coil to know," Piggot told her. "After, of course, careful consideration and consultation with the upper echelon of the PRT."
"In other words," reiterated Tattletale, "not right now."
Director Piggot met her gaze. "No," she said blandly, "not right now."
"Just incidentally," said Tattletale, "I'm under threat of death by the man. And he has powers. So I take this threat quite seriously."
"I would be interested in learning of the details of his powers," hinted Piggot.
Tattletale sighed. "So that's how this is to go. I sit here and tell you everything and the best case is that you thank me, pat me on the head, and let me go off to join the Samaritans. To be assassinated in a day or a week or a month, because you're letting Coil do his thing while you feed him bad info."
She leaned forward in the chair. "And the worst case is that you arrest me, despite Armsmaster's assurances to the contrary, and I'm locked up awaiting trial, and then I'm found dead in my cell, because Coil has men inside the fucking PRT!" She screamed the last bit at the top of her lungs, making everyone jump.
Armsmaster took a step closer to her chair; at the same time, Sparx, Aerodyne and Ladybug did exactly the same thing.
"I would advise you to calm down," Piggot told her. "And I need that information about Coil."
"Why the fuck should I?" asked Tattletale bitterly. "I thought that maybe going to the good guys to take down a bad guy might just work. But all you're interested in doing is getting all the information from me and then not doing a fucking thing."
"You haven't told me anything we didn't already know, or couldn't find out shortly," pointed out the Director.
"And now you want me to tell you something you don't know, for free," Tattletale retorted. "No deal. You gotta give something to get something."
Piggot looked at Armsmaster. "Do you happen to have this information?"
Armsmaster nodded. "She said he has probability manipulation."
She looked interested. "Large scale? Small?"
"Enough to cause ten coin flips out of ten to end up heads," he replied.
"Thank you," said the Director. She glanced at Tattletale, with a twitch of one eyebrow. "Was there anything else?"
Tattletale looked her in the eye. "Yeah," she said. "The location of his secret fucking base."
For a moment, there was silence in the room, save for the irritating buzz.
"Armsmaster?" said Piggot at last.
"Yes, she knows, and no, she hasn't mentioned it in my presence," replied Armsmaster.
"You know something?" said Tattletale to Armsmaster. "I let you know that, just to see if you'd really give me up when you knew it was my life on the line. And now I have the answer. Fuck you very much for that, by the way."
She turned to Piggot. "I know where it is, I know how to get in, I know most of the codes ... and I'm not saying a single fucking thing until I've got more than an 'oh, we'll do something someday' assurance out of you."
Piggot glanced left and right. "We need to have a conference. Would you mind going to the other end of the room?"
Tattletale rolled her eyes and stalked to the other end of the room; Sparx, Ladybug and Aerodyne followed, with Vista trailing behind.
As the heroes gathered in a huddle with Piggot, with the irritating buzz drowning out even the slightest chance of hearing their lowered voices, Ladybug leaned in to Tattletale and said quietly, "You really know where his base is?"
She nodded. "Damn right I do."
"You think they'll decide to take him down?" Aerodyne wanted to know.
Tattletale laughed harshly. "Fuck no. Right now, they're embarrassed that we know they've got moles. They're in full cover-your-ass mode. They're sure as hell not going to stick their necks out for little old me."
Ladybug and Aerodyne looked at Sparx, but she simply rubbed her chin and looked thoughtful.
"Well, I think it sucks," said Vista unexpectedly. "They're not even giving you a chance."
Tattletale grinned and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, kiddo," she said quietly. "I appreciate that."
Director Piggot cleared her throat loudly, and the five girls looked back toward where the heroes were gathered around the table.
"We have reached a decision," announced the Director as they returned.
"No deal," replied Tattletale.
Piggot looked daggers at her. "You haven't heard it yet."
"Don't have to. I tell you all about Coil's base and the man himself – about whom I know precious little, unfortunately – and you let me walk, so long as I stay with the Samaritans, and I have no farther contact with the Undersiders. That about right?"
From the way Velocity and Miss Militia traded glances, she had pretty well hit the nail on the head. Director Piggot's expression turned even more sour.
"You are not in a position to negotiate," she snapped.
"Sure I am," replied Tattletale cheerfully, seating herself on a corner of the table. "Here's my counter-offer. I give you chapter and verse on Coil, his base and his men, everything I've been able to find out or figure out, and you do the following for me."
She ticked off points on her fingers. "One, you clear my record. Two, if any of the other Undersiders decides to go straight, they get the same deal. Except for Chariot. He's an asshole, and he's one of Coil's, anyway. Three, you leave the Samaritans the fuck alone for helping me out like this. And four, if we happen to go after Coil ourselves, if you can't help, stay the fuck out of our way."
Armsmaster glared at her – or at least, it looked like he was glaring; the visor on his mask hid his eyes from view.
"You do not get to make deals for murderers," he snapped.
That last word hung in the air for a long moment, while Sparx, Ladybug, Aerodyne and Vista all looked at Tattletale.
"Don't care," she said blithely. "Given a fair trial, each of them would have a good chance at pleading emotional distress, or straight-out duress. Now, do you play ball, or do I walk out of here now?"
Another long moment, then Director Piggot ground out her answer. "Fine," she said. "You have your deal. Now, the details on Coil, if you please."
"The deal, in writing, if you please," retorted Tattletale. "Signed, with a copy to my friends here as well as myself. It's amazing what can get forgotten when remembering deals is inconvenient."
"You don't think we'll keep our word?" snapped Armsmaster.
"In a word?" asked Tattletale. "No. Right now, more than one of you is trying to work out loopholes in what I just said before. How to get around it. And if you'll do that, you'll ignore if it it's not held over your head." She nodded to Armsmaster. "Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I'm lying when I say that my power is telling me this."
Armsmaster's lips formed a straight line, and he said nothing.
Aerodyne, Sparx and Ladybug glanced at each other, but kept quiet. This was not to say that they weren't conversing.
Gestures, some evolved during training, others borrowed from the Ameslan sign language system, allowed them to pass simple concepts to one another without appearing to do so. It was quicker than using Morse code, but required line of sight.
Sparx: Armsmaster didn't ask.
Aerodyne: Noticed that, yes.
Ladybug: He wants to break deal?
Sparx: Looks like it.
Aerodyne & Ladybug: Asshole.
It was only when Tattletale turned a snort of laughter into a cough that they realised that she could probably read their gestures as well as they could. Vista, on the other hand, was oblivious to the silent chatter.
"So yeah," said Tattletale. "Gonna need the agreement typed up or written out, three copies. One for you, one for me, one for the Samaritans. Also, get me a standalone laptop in here, and I'll give you all the details I've got. Good enough?"
An hour later, it was done. The agreements were printed out and conveyed into the room, along with coffee (at Tattletale's request). She had gone over them to ensure that there were no accidental slips of phrasing, and had declared them workable. Then, once the copies had been signed and handed out, she had gone back to working on the laptop.
At the end of the hour, she stood up from the table. "It's all there," she said. "Every last detail I know or think I know."
Armsmaster was already scrolling through the information. He paused a couple of times, and nodded. "This fits with what we already know," he said. "Looks like the information's on the level."
Tattletale rolled her eyes. "I told you," she said. "I'm playing this straight." She paused. "Just remember – don't let that information on to the PRT database. Moles and all that."
Piggot nodded. "Is my personal system secure enough for you?"
Tattletale raised an eyebrow. "I'd give it a seventy-five percent chance. Right now. Dropping every day. Coil would love to read your mail."
The Director pursed her lips. "I'll take that under advisement," she said. "All right. You're free to go."
Tattletale grinned her vulpine grin. "Excellent. Warm up the chopper, James."
"Oh, no," said Director Piggot. "I said we'd let you go. I never said we'd give you a lift back to the mainland."
"Thus stranding the Samaritans here as well?" pointed out Tattletale.
"They have a member who can fly," Armsmaster pointed out. "I would be surprised if they haven't practised flying as a group."
"We have," confirmed Aerodyne. "But carrying four others will be a real strain. I won't be able to hold it for long."
"So wait," said Sparx. "You agreed to the deal, and then you're going to break it on a technicality?"
"Vista, we'll give a lift to," said the Director smoothly. "She's a serving member of the Wards."
"No," said Vista. "I'm their liaison. I go with them."
Tattletale grinned. "I think we've got it covered."
"This, I've got to see," said Velocity.
Aerodyne stood in the centre of the group. Sparx stood behind her and a little to her left, hair extended and wrapped around each of the other four. Vista and Ladybug stood to her right, Tattletale to her left. They faced off the edge of the platform, a mere three feet away. The transparent rainbow swirl of the force field stood between them and the open air.
"Ready," said Sparx. Armsmaster, standing by, didn't do or say anything, but the force field winked out.
Aerodyne exerted her power. Air began to swirl around them, faster and faster, forming a vortex, drastically lowering the air pressure above them. They began to lift into the air, rising faster and faster, moving toward the distant shore.
However, they were only moving at a walking pace at best, which was liable to tire out Aerodyne before they came anywhere near the shore.
"Any time now, Vista," said Tattletale.
"You knew I was going to do this, didn't you?" asked Vista. She didn't sound annoyed; more amused than anything.
"It is kind of my power, yes," confirmed Tattletale.
Vista exerted her power in turn; the effective distance to the shore reduced rapidly, until the combined group was over the beach and then the Boardwalk, with barely ten yards' of forward motion. The squeezed space behind them sprang back into shape, and Aerodyne let them down on to the Boardwalk.
"Well, that was fun," said Tattletale. She grinned at her new teammates. "So, why don't we get something to eat, and then Sparx can tell us her big plans."
"Big plans, huh?" said Ladybug.
"You made plans without including us?" asked Aerodyne, pretending to sound hurt.
"What big plans are these?" asked Vista, sounding a little annoyed at being the last one to know.
"Taking down Coil, duh," said Aerodyne, putting an affectionate arm around her shoulders.
"Wait, we're doing that?" asked Vista. "But the Director said ..."
"Director Piggot," said Sparx firmly, "has other priorities. But note that she didn't tell us not to go after Coil on our own."
"Oh," said Vista. "Wow."
"And talking about priorities," said Ladybug, "what should we have for lunch? Chinese, Greek or Italian?"
Vista took her time deciding. This, after all, was an important decision.
End of Part Thirteen