Devil in the Church: Interlude 2

The clicking of keys being pressed in rapid fashion was the only sound in the small office. A soft tune known to office employees and paper pushes the world over. Its unbroken cadence signifying a well written and detailed report was in the making. Without missing a stroke, the lean man looked at the clock precisely when the minute hand shifted, striking noon.

At the exact same moment, his cell phone beeped. Once.

Everything was now in place, just like he knew it would be. Once the operation was completed, years of effort and careful planning would pay off. Once his pet was secured, he would be able to seriously begin what he had started years ago. And a full year ahead of schedule.

Which reminded him. Mr. Jones deserved a bonus for bringing him this information two weeks ago.

Note taken, his fingers stilled on the keyboard. Ignoring the cell -and the blank text waiting for him- taking the handset from its cradle, dialing. Only one word was spoken when the recipient picked up after the first ring.

"Begin."

XxX Gambit XxX

Where did she go?

Looking around, Dennis cursed to himself at the distinct lack of Renée anywhere in sight.

Seriously, how did she do that? There were like, maybe, fifteen people in the hall and he doubted very seriously she'd run through here. Aside from the fact no one was looking like they noticed something like that, it wasn't her style.

Renée had said she'd just finished assessment tests before he'd bumped into her. So, the parking lot was likely to be his best bet to catch her before she really vanished. He didn't want to go to math anyway and if it meant he could catch up to her and hopefully explain things, that was worth a possible detention for skipping class.

"Dennis!"

Ignoring the shout from the last person he wanted to talk to, Dennis caught a glimpse of a head of long brown hair that might have been her turning the far corner. However, before he could start after her -not caring about the looks he would have gotten for running in the halls- someone grabbed his shoulder.

Turning away from Dean he looked back seeing the girl was gone.

"Damn it," Dennis cursed, heading for the parking lot, which oddly enough, wasn't the same direction the girl he'd glimpsed had gone.

"Hey…"

"Haven't you done enough?"

"Dennis," Dean said, trying to step in front of his friend. "Let me explain."

"What's to explain?" he asked, trying to move around Dean unsuccessfully. "I think the two week build up to this pretty much explains itself."

"Listen, man," Dean whispered, pulling Dennis's arm.

"To what? Vicky pretty much said it all."

Looking around, Dean started pulling him out of the way. Sighing, Dennis gave up. He wouldn't catch Renée now anyways. Even if he did, having Dean with him when he did was about the worst idea, ever.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," Dean apologized once he dragged Dennis into an empty classroom and away from the few people in the hall.

"Yeah? And that fixes everything, how?"

"Dennis…"

"No man, I'm tired of this. You don't see me giving you crap for who you like."

"What's wrong with Vicky?"

"Depends," Dennis snorted. "You guys on or off again?"

"It's not that bad…"

"You guys have broken up and gotten back together six times this year!"

"Okay, yeah, but Vicky isn't a villain!"

"And neither is Gambit," Dennis returned, folding his arms.

"Yes she is, Dennis," Dean exasperatingly stated.

"Say's who? Because she doesn't act like a villain."

"The PRT."

"Yeah, because they're never wrong about something," he huffed. "Look at Shadow Stalker. She's just like a Disney Princess. Who dresses in all black and wears a hockey mask. And uses crossbows. Who likes to pin muggers to walls with sharpened bolts when she's not kicking them in the balls. Best hiring decision, ever."

"You know that was from before she became a Ward. She's gotten better…"

"Bullshit. Even Vista thinks she's a psycho, and Vista likes everybody."

"...and besides, she follows the rules now whether you believe it or not. But this isn't about Shadow Stalker's issues. This is about a villain knowing your civilian ID!"

"Which was my fuck up, just so you know."

"What?"

"I was messing around," Dennis explained tiredly. "Goofing off when I knocked a girl down. As I was helping her pick up her stuff, I recognized her and called her by her cape name. She didn't even recognize me until I did."

"That's what she wants you to think," Dean doggedly said.

"Well that would explain why she was so concerned about me knowing her civilian ID."

"Man, Renick is going to flip when we tell him about this," Dean sighed, completely ignoring his friends sarcasm.

"No he's not, because we're not going to tell him."

"A villain knows who you are out of costume, Dennis. We have to tell them."

"Fine. Then I'm telling Renick you're sharing Protectorate stuff with Glory Girl. Including outting Gambit to her."

"Dennis, it's not the same thing. Vicky's a hero."

"But she's not a Ward," the normally laid back teen stated.

"Vicky isn't going to spread it around."

"She picked a fight in the middle of the cafeteria!"

"I really didn't mean for that to happen," Dean explained. "I just saw you two sitting there and it was bugging me that she came here and was talking to you out of costume. Vicky kept pestering me about why I was so quiet, and it slipped out and before I could stop her she was already inside. You know how she is."

"Man, no shit, which is why you shouldn't have said anything at all. What the hell is your problem with Gambit, Dean? And don't say 'it's because she's a villain', because that's getting old."

"I don't trust her. She's up to something," Dean answered immediately.

"Say's you."

"Right, because Gambit's never lied about anything before."

"You're just saying that because of all the crap in her file."

"It wouldn't be in her file if there wasn't something to it."

"There's something there alright, it's called speculation because even the heroes in New Orleans didn't know anything for sure."

"And that makes it better?" Dean asked. "How does that work?"

"That doesn't mean she's trying to use me like you think she is," Dennis said instead of answering.

"You're my best friend," Dean tried again, switching tracks. "I don't want you caught up in whatever scam she's trying to run."

"So it's not just Gambit you don't trust. You don't trust me."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. Seems pretty clear to me that's what's going on."

"Dennis, if you keep hanging around her, when she's caught doing whatever she's trying to do she'll bring you down with her. Even if you don't do anything. Just by association. You know what that's going to screw up and it's only a matter of time before people figure this shit out."

"Oh, so it's guilt now!?"

"Dammit man, I'm just trying to look out for you!"

"No because if you were trying to look out for me, you would have backed the fuck off. This isn't about looking out for me, you're looking out for our bosses."

Without another word, Dennis stormed out, leaving Dean alone in the classroom.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Dennis was pissed, and rightly so, a small part of Dean reluctantly acknowledged. But that didn't change the fact that nothing good was going to come of any of this. Right now, it was only a small thing, but the second Gambit pulled anything like she had in the past then all hell was going to break loose. Dean knew that when it did, Dennis was going to be the one left holding the bag and that was going to ruin everything for his friend. Especially considering how bad things were with his dad at the moment.

Sighing, he moved toward the door, mumbling to himself, "Man, this is so going to bite you in the ass. If you could see what I can't, you'd know there was something sinister about this girl…"

His phone chiming brought Dean from his thoughts. Checking showed it wasn't his phone, but his work phone that had received the message. Cursing to himself, Dean headed back into the halls; quickly making his way to where he was needed.

Several minutes later, he walked into the secure room finding that Dennis had already changed into his costume and was staring out the tinted window. Carlos looked like he had just arrived, while Chris was halfway into his own power armor.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, heading to his locker.

"Details on route," the dusky Hispanic muttered through his costume top. "When I checked in, Console gave me a brief sitrep. Bay Central's being hit. Looks like the Undersiders are trying to rob it. This time of day, that means they have hostages for us worry about."

"Shit."

"Didn't Amy go to the bank earlier?" Chris asked worriedly as he strapped his pistol in place. "Is she still there?"

"Probably," Dean answered tiredly. "She has study hall after lunch, which is why she thought she had time. Has anyone told Vicky yet?"

"Pretty sure she's still being yelled at by Vice Principal Mathers for whatever that was in the cafeteria earlier. He looked pissed when he escorted her to the office," Carlos replied neutrally. "Just to be clear, whatever that was, it's done, right?"

"Talk to Sir Galahad the Pure over there," Dennis snarked. "I'm fine."

"Obviously," Carlos said, not looking the least bit convinced.

"It's fine, Carlos," Dean answered. Finished stripping down, he started pulling on his undersuit for the power armor. "We're good."

"I hope so, because there's a bunch of scared people in that bank depending on us," Carlos stated sternly. "I don't want to be the guy to let them down because two of my team were too busy being pissed at each other instead of having their heads in the game."

Staring at Dean, Carlos waited and received a nod of understanding. When he turned to Dennis, the costumed cape seemed to almost feel the stare at the back of his head and nodded as well.

"Is it just us going?" Chris asked, fully costumed except for his helmet.

"No," Carlos answered, also fully dressed. "Vista's going to meet us there. Or wait for us. Even considering how far Lord's Elementary is, her power will probably get her there quicker than our van."

"She doesn't have to deal with traffic," Dennis commented. In a more light hearted tone than his previous comments had held, thankfully for the others in the room.

"Shadow Stalker?" Dean asked, putting on his helmet.

"No, Winslow's too far. By the time she gets there, this should be over. The Undersiders are runners, not fighters. Browbeat is coming in from Jefferson though."

Nodding, Dean didn't reply. That still put them at a disadvantage. Hellhound usually had no less than three of her huge mutated dog things with her. That left their two Brutes, Aegis and Browbeat, to deal with possibly three dogs, while Vista, Kid Win, Clockblocker and himself dealt with Regent, Grue, Tattletale, and Hellhound themselves.

"What about Protectorate support?" he asked. "Armsmaster's been hunting these guys for months. He'll want to be there."

"Protectorate's busy," Aegis answered. Seeing everyone ready and masked, he started leading them to the transport that would take them to the bank. "Apparently there's a skirmish between E88 and the ABB in the docks and the Merchants and PD over in the Boat Graveyard. Uber and Leet are also running around Downtown on tinker motorcycles doing who knows what."

"Is it a full moon or something?" Kid Win joked when Clockblocker didn't.

"No idea," Aegis replied, offering a small smile.

"Glory Girl could help," Gallant said, trying to ignore Clockblocker's shoulder slumping at the suggestion.

"I'll suggest it to Console. If they agree, she can catch up," Aegis said. "However unless things change, our orders are to do our best to prevent them from running without harming the hostages. Keep things contained until Protectorate heroes arrive to support. The priority for us is the civilians. Everything else is secondary."

"What's the plan?" Gallant asked as the PRT trooper opened the side door for them to climb inside.

"We have until we get to the bank to figure that out," Aegis muttered; entering the van.

As Gallant moved to follow him, he heard noise coming from the parking lot. The sound of an engine accelerating fast, squealing tires momentarily capturing his attention.

"What was that?"

Standing at the back of the van, Clockblocker turned away from the quickly fading noise. "I didn't hear anything."