Breakout - Foo Fighters
I don't know how long we stood around contemplating what to do next but I think it was awhile and none of us said much. I relocated to the sofa while Luther searched around for a sheet to cover Elliott. He eventually found a blue sheet and came back to the living room. Diego finally pulled his knife from Elliott's chest and Luther covered him out of respect.
"I can't believe Elliott is dead." Luther said.
"He was a good guy." Diego said.
"I mean... He was a little weird and the things he tried to make us eat were rank but he was really nice." I said sadly.
"He deserved better than this." Diego said.
"Yeah."
"Elliott must have been getting too close to the truth. This smells like the Feds." Diego said, looking back over the banister.
"What? Are you out of your mind? If this was the government, they would take him somewhere and question him. They wouldn't do this." Luther said in disbelief.
"Actually... I've done this." I said, raising my hand. Luther looked shocked and I motioned to Elliott, "Well... not exactly this. I mean this is a little grotesque if you ask me but you forget that the FBI hired me to extract information by whatever means. I never quite got this messy but that doesn't mean there aren't others that would. That being said, I don't think this was the Feds. The Feds don't write messages in blood."
"Who then?" Diego asked.
I shrugged.
Before anything else could be said there was a loud bellowing knock coming from the back entrance. We all turned toward the sound but I was the one to get up and answer it. I went through the back door, down the stairs, and stood in front of the door leading to the alley. I glanced up to see Diego and Luther poking their heads through the door before opening it up.
My eyes widened at seeing Agent Cross about to push his way into the building but I pressed back on his chest as I exited, closing the door securely behind me. There are multiple reasons why I can't let him inside. It started with Elliott's dead body and ended with Diego wanting to kill him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked angrily.
"I care about you alright? I wanted to see if you were okay."
I crossed my arms, "I'm not your concern Will. I never have been. Besides, your worry is for nothing."
"Oh yeah? Then what's that on your neck? Yeah, I noticed."
I waved my hand dismissively, "That is none of your concern."
"Did your boyfriend do that to you? If you're in trouble, just tell me. I can help you." Agent Cross said pleadingly.
"You think Diego did this?" I let out a breathy laugh.
"Why wouldn't I? You're the best of the best Malia. I refuse to believe that just anyone got the best of you and he's a lunatic."
"Diego isn't the bad guy here. Right now, that's you." I snapped, "Now get lost or I'll be forced to do something I'd rather not do."
"Why do you have to be so difficult! You were supposed to be easy!" He snapped.
I scoffed and turned to go back inside but before I could, my 'danger signal' spiked and I was promptly knocked in the back of the head. Mother fucker, was my last conscious thought before I fell back into Agent Cross' arms.
When I regained consciousness, I saw that I was in a fancy looking office. This definitely wasn't an FBI office, so where the hell was I? There was a gag in my mouth and my arms and legs were duct taped to the arms and legs of the chair I was sitting in. I was by the fireplace which was on, making me hot and uncomfortable.
I decided I wasn't going to stick around to see what was up. I needed to get back to my family and I needed to get back now. I yanked on my hands but it was impossible to move them and the same was with my legs. I looked around and noticed the fire place had a metal decorative rod around it. I rocked my chair back and forth until I was parallel with the wall and rocked from side to side until I tipped toward it.
The back of the chair tipped so the wall was holding me up and the arm of the chair where the tape was, rested against the metal rod. My wrist was there too and I bit tightly on the rope in my mouth to keep from screaming as the tape melted and burnt my skin. When the tape was melted enough, I pulled at my wrist until it broke free from the remains and got to work taking the tape off my other limbs.
I got to the door and slammed it open but stepped back several steps when Agent Cross entered the room. He wasn't wearing his FBI suit anymore; he was wearing a tailored brown suit that seemed to fit him quite well. He may be a jerk who can't take a hint but he was still handsome – I wasn't blind.
"Where are we?" I snapped.
"The Temps Commission." He said simply, fiddling with a cufflink.
"Five's old employers? Why are we here?" I asked.
"Because I find you useful and I quite like you."
"I'm flattered really, but it's time for me to go." I said and tried to walk around him but he held up an arm to block my exit.
"I told you I want to be with you Malia. I wasn't lying. We could be a great team if you just give me a chance." Agent Cross said, making one last plea attempt.
I rolled my eyes, "You're delusional. It should have been you looked up in the asylum, not Diego. Now let me pass Will!"
"I don't think so."
"We'll see about that." I said and got into a fighting stance.
There is no way this bastard can keep up with me. I threw the first few punches, watching him dodge so I could get a feel for his movements. He was swift and calculated but predictable. I could also tell he truly didn't want to kill or even hurt me due to his misguided fantasies. That was his biggest mistake; he fought to incapacitate and I fought to kill. He was skilled but I also didn't underestimate the same opponent twice.
"I take it you're not really an FBI agent then." I said as I block an attack.
"No but it was easy to infiltrate."
He managed to kick me in the stomach and I fell into the coffee table. I grabbed a candle stick and swung it at his head. It hit its mark and I launched myself at him, punching him in the gut before performing a round house kick and connecting my foot with his head. While he was dazed, I grabbed him by the collar of his suit, dragged him over to the fire place and stuck his head inside. He cried out in pain for a few minutes before going limb and I dropped him to the ground, just as the office door opened again.
An older poise woman with blonde hair and a purple uniform entered the room and then to my surprise, Lila came in after. The surprise was partially at the appearance of Lila, the other was because she was dragging Diego into the room.
"What are you doing? What's going on? Diego!" I said, trying to wake him up as I helped Lila sit him in a chair. I glared at Lila, "Now is the time for truth Lila."
"This is The Handler. She suns the commission now. She hired me to befriend you and Diego and protect Five." Lila said.
"And that asshole?" I asked, pointing across the room to the dead guy in the fire place.
"Oh no, you killed him." The Handler whined, "But he was one of the loyal ones."
"Good riddance. I never liked him anyway." Lila said, "He did do half my job for me and bring you here though."
"Who is he and why was he involved? And what is all this for? Why did you want me here?" I demanded.
"His name is William Cross. I hired him to keep an eye on you while Lila was in the Asylum with Diego. He took quite the liking to you apparently. Shame." The Handler said.
Diego started to groan before I could ask more questions and I kneeled in front of him, "Diego, are you okay?"
"Malia?" Diego asked, "Where are we?"
"Diego and Malia Hargreeves. This is my mother. Mother, these are my best friends." Lila introduced proudly.
"What?" Diego asked, still confused.
"I'm sorry, what now?" I said alongside my boyfriend. This new information baffled me.
"I've just been promoted to head of security and I wanted you both here to work for me." Lila explained, "I was going to bring you both in but Will seemed to have his own agenda for you Malia."
"What is she talking about?" Diego asked me. I was now standing beside him with my arms crossed.
"Will is the FBI agent that kept coming onto me. Turns out he actually works here instead. He kidnapped me, so I killed him." I explained, gesturing to the body across the room.
Diego looked at the charred man on the floor before rubbing his temples.
"You're both here now. That's what's important." Lila said.
"You have got to be kidding me Lila." The Handler said, exasperated.
"You said I could hire my own team." Lila said smiling.
"Yeah but I didn't mean them for god's sake. If you don't see the problem with hiring you know who's siblings, then you're not ready for that badge!" The Handler disciplined.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but we really need to get going." Diego said.
"Shut up!" Lila and The Handler both shouted.
"I can't do this job if you don't trust my instincts." Lila defended her choices.
"Sweetheart, maybe you need to go back to the nut house. They are not worth your friendship."
"Oh my god... mom, this may shock you but not everyone here likes you. You need fresh blood that is loyal to us, not the old regime. I've seen both of these guys in the field, they are so much better than most of the assholes here. Why waste that when we can use it?" Lila explained, "They will be my personal responsibility."
The Handler looked to Diego and I as she prepared a cigarette, "You know your brother Five and I have quite a colourful history."
"We heard." I said, wondering where she was going with this.
"He has beef with everybody. Us included... well, more me." Diego said and I put a hand on his shoulder.
"Let me ask you something. When you're looking down the barrel of a gun, where do your loyalties lie? With your family or your principles?" The Handler asked us.
"With me." Diego said without hesitation.
Good. The only way we are going to get out of here alive is if we play along. I don't know why Lila thought she could kidnap us and think we'd be okay with it. We showed her kindness, wanted to be her friend but we still had other responsibilities too. If she had asked us, that would be a little different but kidnapping is a whole other ballgame. Playing along was definitely our best bet while we bide our time for an escape.
The Handler looked to me next, "With the job that needs to be done. I'm practically a mercenary or did your lapdog not mention that?" Hopefully he hadn't because he would have told her I left the job FOR my family.
"We don't belong to anybody. Especially Lila." Diego finished.
"Well that I can work with. Run them through orientation and start up the paperwork." The Handler said, making Lila happy, "But if they ruffle even one feather, you will kill them yourself."
"Thanks mum!" Lila said happily, in total agreement of the arrangement.
Lila started to take us on a tour of the facility, showing us the main places. She seemed really excited to have us here but she lacks people skills. I blame her mother for that because Lila clearly wasn't properly socialized while growing up. If she were, she would understand that what she was doing is wrong.
"It's a pretty big place, so don't get lost." Lila said, leading us down some stairs.
"Or what? You'll kill us?" Diego asked.
"Are you guys still mad about that?" Lila asked.
"No of course not. I love being drugged, kidnapped, and threatened with murder."
"At least you were drugged. I have a goose egg on the back of my head the side of a golf ball." I muttered.
"We're just going to make sure you two are the best agents of them all and we won't have to worry about who kills who. Alright?" Lila said.
"Lila, we need to get out of here." Diego said, "We don't have time-"
"We have all the time in the world." Lila said as if it was obvious.
"The Temps Commission. Keepers of time. We can come and go to any time period as we please, right?" A plan forming in my mind.
"That's right." Lila said, "Follow me."
Diego and I followed Lila around the corner and down the hall, "Wait, so you can control everything in time?" He asked.
"More like maintain the correct time line but basically yeah." Lila confirmed, "Come on, I'll show you how it's done."
We followed Lila around a few more corners until we entered a classroom setting. The room was dark and there was a projector in the middle of the room, ready to play a video on a pull-down screen at the front. There was a small proctor desk off to the side with a desk lamp turned on but the proctor was walking between the rows.
"I have two new recruits." Lila announced.
"Welcome to orientation." The proctor said, "Grab a welcome package and take a seat. All questions will be answered at the end of the film."
I took a seat and told Diego to sit beside me but he tried to ask a question. He was promptly ignored and told to sit his ass down. He did as he was told and looked around as the film started playing. Lila told us good luck, to not screw up, then left us in this room to 'learn'.
The film was awful and I held back giggles, just like Diego was doing. The film went through all the different sectors one could work in and a few of them did sound interesting. Especially the switchboard operator room. It's where the entire timeline is monitored and recorded. That is the room that would help us get back to 1963. It could also tell us what was going to cause Dooms Day. I shared a look with Diego and he seemed to be thinking the same thing. The proctor was sleeping, so now was our chance to escape.
We snuck out of the room and searched around the facility, avoiding anyone that might report us. With our training, it wasn't hard to be stealthy. We found the door we needed and made sure the coast was clear before entering. It was empty which was in our favour but all the monitors were off.
"Bingo." Diego said and sat down, "How hard could this be?"
"Do you want me to do it?" I asked.
"I got this." Diego said.
He took two cords and plugged them in randomly. It created a spark that burnt and shocked him and he ripped his hand from the switchboard in pain. I smirked as I watched him yelp in pain and when he saw, he glared.
"You try then."
"Fine." I said and sat down on his lap, pulling the cords out of the switchboard.
"What are you doing?" A voice said from behind us.
Diego held my waist with one arm, whipped out a knife with the other and spun in the chair. He had his knife pointing at a portly guy with square glasses in less than second.
"Please don't hurt me!" He pleaded, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Who the hell are you?" Diego asked.
"I'm Herb. I'm an analyst." He whimpered.
"Be nice Diego, he's scared." I said and then smiled at Herb, "Diego likes his knives."
"I can see that. They're nice and shiny." Herb said, still quaking.
Diego put his knife away, "You can breathe now."
Herb nodded, "It's an honour to meet you Mr. Hargreeves... and you of course Miss. Hargreeves. You're even more beautiful in person."
"Oh, thank you." I said.
"You know us?" Diego asked.
"Everyone knows YOU. You're legends." Herb said, "But you two can't be in here."
"Herb... is that any way to talk to a legend?" Diego asked patronizingly. Herb shook his head, "You know how to work this puppy?"
"I'm certified to operate the ISB, yes." Herb said proudly.
"Good. I need you to look up a date. November 22nd, 1963. The Assassination of John F. Kennedy."
"Diego, really? That's what you're concerned with right now? I thought we were on the same page here." I complained.
"So did I." Diego said.
"I wish I could help you but unauthorized use of the Infinite Switchboard is a clear violation of company protocol."
"Nobody is here to snitch Herb. Just us." I said.
"You don't understand. The Handler has taken over the Commission. The whole place has gone to hell in a handbasket. And people are disappearing. They would kill all three of us if they caught us in here."
"Alright. Then you better get started before they come and get us." Diego persuaded.
"Fine. One quick look and then you gotta go." Herb gave in.
"My man." Diego said, rolling us to the side to let Herb at the board.
"By the way." He said as he started sifting through the right wires, "I've been rooting for you two for a long time. I was hoping for ten years ago when Malia was in college, and Diego kicked the ass of that guy who told everyone he took your virginity."
"You what?" I asked and turned my head to the side to try to see Diego.
"Now's not the time babe." Diego said.
Herb connected the right wires and the monitors started to light up. He then turned a bunch of dials that I assumed was date coordination. Then a scene started to play out on the monitors. The assassination of JFK. As soon as Kennedy's car turned the corner on the street he would be shot on, a building exploded in the background.
"Whoa, what the hell is that?" Diego asked.
"I know that building. That's the FBI headquarters in Dallas." I said, "Why did it just blow up?"
"That's not supposed to happen?" Herb asked.
"What? They're driving away now and Kennedy isn't dead? Holy shit." Diego said, "It wasn't a gunshot it was an explosion that we heard on the Frankel Footage."
We watched as news headlines appeared on the screen next. It was all about the Soviets being behind the attacks and retaliation. The USSR and America go head to head in an all-out nuclear war and explosions begin to happen all over the world, obliterating everything.
"This is what Hazel was trying to tell us. Do you have another angle on the FBI building?" Diego asked.
Herb turned more knobs and gave us a closer look. Herb was able to view it closer and in slow motion. The wreckage was terrifying but what was even more horrific was Vanya floating out of it with her chest glowing like it did in the theatre not so long ago.
"Oh no... she did it again."
"Vanya is the bomb. She will always be the bomb."
"I still think she can be saved. We don't know why it happened Diego." I said quietly.
"We need to get back to Dallas, like right now."
"We need! La Resistance!" Herb exclaimed.
"What?" Diego and I asked.
Herb set all the stuff back to make it look like we'd never been in the room to begin with and then had us follow him, without being seen, to a little hole in the wall room in the basement of the facility. There was a crowd of people around a table and right in the center was a briefcase.
"You have got to be kidding me." Diego said.
"I know we don't look like much but we're resourceful." Herb said.
"That's all you need to lead a successful coup. So, what do we do next?" I asked.
"I take you back as close to the moment as you left as possible and you do your thing to stop this Dooms Day." Herb said.
"Alright, fair enough. Let's get to it."
Herb grabbed the briefcase, set it to the right date and time, and told us to hold on. Diego and I each put a hand on Herbs shoulder and then I felt the weirdest sensation I ever felt. It was different to the time Five took us with him; this felt more controlled. We reappeared almost instantly to the short, startled screams of Allison and her husband. They dropped a dead body on the ground when they saw us. Klaus was there just lounging on the sofa as if this was an everyday occurrence. Then again, recently, it was.
"Oh good, you're both here. Okay, we gotta go." Diego said breathless.
"Diego? Malia? Jesus!" Allison cried, trying to calm her heartrate.
"Oh wow. Number 2, 3, 4, and 8. We almost have an Umbrella straight flush here." Herb said, clearly excited.
"Ray. This is my other brother and sister. Diego and Malia."
Diego stepped forward and held out his hand, "Hey man, sorry to crash in here like this."
"You're Raymond! Allison has told me so much about you!" I said, going over to Allison's husband, "You're not still pissed at her, are you? Because in her defense, any lesser being would have sent her to the asylum with Diego if she told the truth."
"Malia." Allison said through her teeth.
"Right sorry. Diego isn't really crazy, I swear." I said and hugged Raymond, "I'm so sorry I missed the wedding. In my defense, I was still in limbo somewhere between 2019 and 1963."
"Wait. Who is this guy?" Klaus asked, pointing to Herb.
"Herb. He worked with Five at the Commission." Diego explained.
"The Commission?" Klaus asked.
"We monitor and maintain the time-space continuum." Herb explained.
"Okay." Klaus said, not believing him. The guy talks to dead people for crying out loud.
"No really. We were just there. It's awesome." Diego said, "I got to look at the timeline and I know what causes Dooms Day. It's Vanya."
"What? How?" Allison asked.
"She's going to blow up the FBI building just as the president is passing through in less than one hour." Diego said.
"The FBI building? Malia, didn't you work for them?" Klaus asked.
"Klaus, are you drunk?" I asked.
"Wait, you work for the FBI?" Ray said, eyeing the dead body on the floor.
I looked back at him and then the body, "Oh don't worry. I was hired to kill Soviet spies. I don't really care about all this." I saw a tuft of white hair poking from the carpet the body was wrapped in, "Wait. Is that one of those Swedish psychos? I hope it's not the one who strangled me. I have a special bullet for that one."
"Focus Malia!" Diego demanded, "We have to find Vanya and stop her... now."
"So Vanya kills the president?" Allison asked.
"No. The FBI building blows up; the president gets away and lives. But Everyone thinks the USSR is behind it, including JFK who strikes back. The USSR retaliates and then before we know it, it's raining nukes."
"Ray, honey... are you okay?" Allison asks, seeing that he's about to have a conniption.
"No, I'm not okay. First of all, this son of a bitch beams in with yet two more of your siblings and they're talking about stopping one of your sisters from blowing up a building. Meanwhile, the sister I just met kills Soviet spies for a living... and I got a dead man wrapped up in my best rug baby!"
Allison sat Ray down at the dining table to try and calm him down. Herb thought opening his mouth would help and said he'd have the carpet shampooed and that the Commission also provides body removal services. At least that takes care of the Swede problem on the floor.
Allison said her goodbyes to Ray and then we left her cute little home. I held her hand in comfort as we made our way to the FBI building. It's the only comfort I COULD provide while we were on our way to stop our sister... again. When we got there, we entered the foyer but the man at the front desk stopped us.
"Miss. Hargreeves. We were told you wouldn't be back here again."
I don't remember what this guy's name is but I didn't really care. I wasn't going to give him any preemptive, so my eyes flashed blue as I spoke, "Are you really going to let that dog run loose?"
The guy shook his head and chased after the black dog he saw running down the hallway. No matter what the guy did, the dog evaded him. I directed my family into the elevator and pressed the button to the fifth floor. That was the floor they usually kept terrorist suspects on – the ones I didn't kill at least. Just as the doors opened, we were pushed back into the walls of the elevator. Blue and white energy swirled around the entire floor in waves. There were people scattered and dead and things did not look good.