Side-Step MP
We're starting.
Marie turned her head.
"Marie?" Dr. Yamada asked. "Is something wrong?"
"No."
The woman narrowed her gaze. Marie maintained her calm, waiting. When Dr. Yamada returned her attention to the board, she moved her pawn to D-3.
"You seem distracted," she said. "Is something on your mind?"
Marie studied the board briefly and moved her knight to C-6.
"I'm okay," she said.
The game is pleasant. She never wins. If she tried the game would not be fair. So, she lost. She didn't mind.
"You're sure?" Dr. Yamada asked. "You insisted on seeing me so suddenly. I worried."
"I don't like the rooms."
Dr. Yamada smiled weakly. "I know. I'm sorry. We just want all of you to be safe."
"We are safe."
"We want to be sure. Just a little more time."
Dr. Yamada would be suspicious if she changed from her normal questions.
"When can I see Allelujah?" Marie asked.
Dr. Yamada frowned inside, but smiled outside. That's what Marie thought. She told Allelujah one thing, and told her another. Marie didn't think she wanted to hurt them. The PRT was suspicious. It didn't trust them.
We will not hurt Dr. Yamada?
No.
She's nice.
Not her fault.
She doesn't understand.
Dr. Yamada made her move, asking, "Why do you always ask about Allelujah? You don't ask about any of the others."
Answer a question with a question. Normal.
"Allelujah is lonely," Marie said. "He didn't have a mom or dad before Grace found him."
Marie didn't see, but she felt. The fighting started. The adrenaline.
"You kept him company?"
"He kept me company," Marie said. "We're friends."
Dr. Yamada wrote in her book. Marie didn't understand the short hand. Scribbles, but she understood the sensation in the writer's mind. Concern. Fear. Relief?
"Is it bad?" Marie asked.
"No. Of course not. Friends are important. No one should go through the world alone."
We are never alone.
Access achieved. Secure objectives.
The lights shut off, and Marie raised her head.
Dr. Yamada rose from her seat and looked up. She reached in the dark, finding her radio on the table.
"The light's are out in interview-K," she said. No one answered. "Hello?"
Marie stood.
"I'm sorry Dr. Yamada," she said. "It's time for me to go."
Marie started toward the door, hearing Dr. Yamada stumble in the dark behind her. She didn't see well in the dark, and unlike Marie did not close her eyes every time she left the room to memorize it.
Outside the hall remained dark, and Marie kept walking.
The others helped her remember when she forgot.
Ten steps.
Right.
Twenty steps.
Left.
Stairs. Push. Three flights..
Left.
Fifteen steps.
Right.
Marie worked her way through the building, reached the security room as the lights turned back on.
The door opened, and Marie jumped.
The man fell back, her knee cracking his jaw. She followed him to the ground, grabbing the baton from his belt and striking the other guard.
His hand broke.
"Sorry," Marie said.
She struck him in the cheek, and wrapped her leg's around the first guard's throat. She pressed like Stella showed her until he stopped movie.
The second guard reached for a red button. Marie hit him with the baton again, and then again.
When they stopped moving she put their handcuffs on them and threw the key down the hall.
She looked up at the control panels and the monitors. Cameras covered the PRT building. Not many people in the halls. Only one cape, talking to the big lady in the nice office. The snake man looked out the window.
Strange.
The lobby lay empty, save for Sting, Auel, and the guards on the ground.
No one died?
No. We can leave this way.
Release the others.
Marie pulled one of the chairs over to sit on. She saw Stella and the others in the rooms. The PRT gave them comfortable rooms, food, television, and games. They were not cruel.
They do not understand.
We could explain?
They won't believe us.
They didn't believe Grace.
They killed her.
We need to go.
Marie looked over the consoles. Reaching into her mouth, she winced as the tooth came loose. After the initial tug it popped from her jaw. She drew the cord in the base and inserted it like Grace showed her.
Dragon would stop them if they weren't careful.
If not Dragon, the PRT.
Grace said so.
Wait for a distraction.
Wait for an Endbringer.
Marie glanced to Sting on the monitors.
Where?
Boston.
Are any of us from Boston?
Nope.
Not me.
No.
Marie smiled.
Returning her attention to the controls, she let the machine Grace gave her work.
The system opened in a minute.
"Control?" A voice asked. Marie looked at the men on the ground. They remained motionless. "Hello? What the hell is going on in the lobby?"
Not many guards, but enough to stop them if they lingered.
She focused on Triumph in the big woman's office and looked for the right button. Took her two tries, but the PRT foam sprayed from the ceiling and trapped them both.
She did the same with some of the halls, and then Marie opened the rooms.
The guards started to turn.
Stella struck first, and then Miguel. Allelujah came next. Once the men hit the ground, they took their guns and pushed them into the rooms. Marie closed the doors. They wouldn't need to be hurt again.
Allelujah looked at her through the camera as they all left together.
Hurry.
Marie nodded.
Grace said access numerous files. Obscure the one you actually want. She only gave them the name.
Find the source.
Marie opened the file she wanted first and then others. She focused on the first though.
Marie read the file quickly, committing it to memory.
The PRT didn't know where she was, but they could start with what the PRT did know.
She pulled up images attached to the files.
Scans.
Charts she didn't understand.
A family picture? Marie leaned forward. A woman who looked tired, and a big boy with muscles. The girl pouted between them, her hair tied into two tails on either side. A purple streak ran through the strands on the right.
Not a recent picture, but good enough.
Marie studied the girl's face.
She knew she wouldn't see it soon. Not until they solved the problem. Harder without Grace, but they'd manage. When they finished, she'd awaken and she would feel less alone if Marie knew her face.
She read other files too. Some may be useful.
Grace handled other capes. They didn't know how.
We'll figure it out.
Time to go.
Marie turned to Allelujah and Stella. They stood in the doorway. Allelujah smiled and held his hand toward her.
Okay.
Marie removed Grace's device and slid from her seat.
She took Allelujah's hand and they followed Stella to the lobby.
Split up.
Regroup later.
Marie stepped outside with Allelujah, and they went south. They'd find clothes to change into and then wait. The PRT would look, but they wouldn't succeed.
Marie closed her eyes, focusing on the girl's face.
She let the others pick the image from her mind.
When she woke, they'd all recognize Aisha Laborn.
