CHAPTER 16
"Where could they have gotten to?" Marella muttered. If only she knew where they were, she could electronically disable the card swipes and codes, but how was there to know? Other people who were supposed to be there could just as easily be legitimately coming in and going, and she had to be able to get through, so that wouldn't help either.
Dark almond brown eyes staring intently at the screen, fingers flying over the keyboard, she pulled up a screen showing every identity of card swipes and codes.
Zeus on the first floor, east wing - someone she wanted to avoid at the moment; John Thompson, janitor, second floor, north wing, then not a hundred feet ahead, Apollo, a committee member, entered into the aviation mechanics' wing.
"There. There's your mistake." Leaping up from her chair to follow the intruder, Marella almost missed the next name screen pulled up. An agent Hawke in the north hangar. But Hawke wasn't here last she knew and his agent code should have been overwritten when he officially left the FIRM five and a half years ago. No doubt about it, this was it.
\A/
The Santini Air jeep pulled into a parking lot congested with agents, mechanics, and pilots alike trying to get out, and none of them appeared to be very good drivers, and all of them seriously lacking in the patience area.
"Stop here," Hawke told Dom. There was no point in attempting to go any further by vehicle; it wouldn't be of any help. Scarcely had they shifted into park, and he was out, running for the building.
"Hawke wait!" Cait yelled, but he ignored her, drawing his Colt .45 from his waistband and disappearing into the FIRM office.
"Let him go," Lexa said, "He's a big boy and he can take care of himself. Besides, we can find them quicker if we split up."
"Do we even know who we're looking for?" Dominic interjected.
"No exactly. Whoever isn't supposed to be there, of if you find Marella she might have some clue what's going on," Lexa replied, then charged in after Hawke.
Dom shook his head despite himself. "Let's go then," he said, he and Caitlin taking the other end of the building.
\A/
Time to get moving. Now not only the stiletto click of Marella's shoes, but also many booted feet roamed the halls. Too many people, far too many, but this was why she had all the training she did, to learn to work with what she had and deal with the unexpected and often unwanted surprises.
Clutching the folders tighter, she ran, soft soled shoes making no sound, but that darned white shirt swishing in all the wrong places, occasionally brushing and knocking things off desks as she went. Only a little further and she would be home free. The footsteps narrowed in on her, booted ones toward the left and Marella's on the right. Too risky, she decided, ducking into and empty room and hiding in the shadows.
\A/
Quick, long stride eating up the ground, Lexa started covering every inch of the FIRM headquarters, every nook and cranny still vivid in her memory despite the fact she hadn't been here in over two years. An over turned chair caught her eye, disclosing whoever this intruder or rogue agent was knew they were hot on the trail and it wouldn't be safe much longer. Following the clue, she started down the narrow hallway until prey turned predator and a hard hand came across her throat, cutting out her air supply. Pounding an elbow into her attacker's stomach and using her own weight as leverage, she flipped Maria over her shoulder, a mass of white coming down in a flurry before her in a heap on the floor,
"So you're one of Michael's angels."
"Not angel, never did like white much. That black helicopter though… now that's a treasure. Kind of like that pilot too, not a bad combination if you know what I mean," the agent corrected as she grabbed the chair and dragged herself up from the floor."
"Then who are you working for?" Lexa interrogated as she stepped forward with her right foot and floor swept the other agent, knocking her off balance and shoving her backwards.
Whatever this 'angel' of Michael's had, it wasn't experience. She might have the knowledge of how to hack computers, knowing where everything was, but she didn't have the physical skills, made too many mistakes, and had higher plans than were attainable. If she had been trying to steal Airwolf, and assuming she didn't pull a Moffet, she should have followed Hawke, found out where he hid her and then one day she would just be gone with it. Stealing files, gaining access passes, ripping off top secret military hardware that wasn't even in prime condition, technically not even being used by the government, and taking out her whole crew was a very arduous task, and would take months, if not more, of time of planning and preparation, organization, and experience. No one started at the top of the ladder, they had to climb there.
Striking out at her, the so called angel attempted to bring her down, but only was rewarded by having her hand stepped on.
"I don't think so."
"You can't stop me. You won't."
"Looks to me like I already have," Lexa taunted.
Out of nowhere, a strong hand grasped her shoulder, a deep voice behind her warning that struggling would be futile, an evil grin spreading across his lips.
"Apollo," she mouthed in surprise. "Even I never would have never expected you to turn."
"It's all a matter of-"
"The only matter is you won't get away with it."
"And you're going to stop me?" he laughed.
"Well I sure as hell am not going to go down without a fight."
\A/
His ears were keenly tuned into the crashing and banging somewhere in the distance, but his vision blurred. Staggering forward, hand firmly over his wound, Hawke groped his way down the hallway, determined not to be useless in apprehending this trespasser.
\A/
Footsteps quietly paced down the hall, stopping occasionally, then beginning again. Listening maybe? Did they know she was here? Cait thought to herself. She was a Texan, an cop, a member of the Airwolf team, and she put up with Hawke on a regular basis. She was tough and she wasn't about to back out now. Clicking the safety off her gun, back to the wall, she slipped around the corner, gun drawn, ready and aimed for whatever was around the corner.
The large shadow just beyond came closer and her grip tightened.
"Just come on already," the redhead muttered under he breath. She was ready as was ever going to be and the anticipation wasn't doing anything to calm her nerves.
As the figure round the corner cautiously, Caitlin nearly dropped her own gun, relief coursing through her. "Dom, you scared me near half to death."
He looked like she'd done about the same to him too, but he made no mention of it.
"You seen anyone yet?"
"Not yet, no sign of anyone actually. What about you?"
"Still nothing."
\A/
Apollo fell backwards, amazed by the speed and agility the agent had, thinking they spent far too much time and money on her training for him to be going against her.
No doubt she would have a few bruises of her own, but nothing like what he was expecting.
She slammed a hard fist into his jaw, and followed up with another.
He shoved back, directing his own punch toward her, but she deflected it, never receiving the full brunt of the blow.
\A/
Following the noise, Marella came dashing down the hall and around the corner, shocked to see Lexa collapsed on the floor.
Kneeling down beside the agent, she checked for a pulse and that she was breathing okay, relieved to find her alive, although temporarily immobilized.
It appeared to be the effects of some kind of sedative, most likely Euthanasia or Secobarbital, Marella decided. It should start wearing off within a few minutes, but she couldn't exactly leave her alone with whoever the psychopaths that had done this still running loose. On the other hand, they would continue to run free until she did something about it.
Blinking blearily, Lexa started to stir, slowly regaining consciousness. The light was too bright and she felt like she'd fallen off a two story building and then been hit by a semi truck, but there were more important details to deal with than what she felt like. Someone was after something - other than that the detail were a bit sketchy. That's not much to go by, she told herself, trying to compose her thoughts but failing miserably.
"How're you doing?" Marella's voice echoed through her head.
Shaking her head and fighting back a wave of nausea, she purposefully avoided the question, intent on apprehending whoever they were supposed to be after.
"W-where'd they g-go?" she slurred.
"First, let's worry about you."
"No." The mission always came first, always. Above everything else it must be completed; that was how she was trained, programmed, and that was how it had to be.
"Apollo," she struggled, a name finally coming to her, "w-where?"
\A/
Hand resting heavily against the wall, Hawke stumbled into the next room, finally letting himself slink down to the ground to take a little break, knowing that otherwise it wouldn't be long before he just passed out in the floor.
"Well aren't we a pair?" Lexa asked cynically, still trying to overcome her dizzy spell. "You…. You don't look so great, Hawke."
"You don't look any better," he retorted. "Seen anyone yet?"
"T-two. Marella went after 'em down the hall."
Clutching his gun in hand once again, Hawke pushed up, staggering to his feet. "You stay here," he ordered.
"Sure," she replied, "just as soon as you do, buddy."
"You don't listen very well, you know that?" he panted.
"Been told that once or twice, specifically by a certain pilot named Stringfellow. Ever heard of him?"
"Stringfellow, huh? I might've heard of him a time or two."
"Oh get on, you stupid bloke, not like you would ever listen to reason anyway."
"Five'll get you ten, you'll be right behind me."
"No deal," Lexa replied, already trying to struggle to her feet even though the world was still swaying dizzily around her. "You should know by now I've no more common sense than you."
\A/
"What do you think they're even after?" Caitlin queried. "They sure have to go through a lot of work if it isn't anything big."
"Weapons, plans, a certain person, something worth a lot…. I don't know, Cait, it could be one of a hundred things."
" Even a secret project or prototype?"
"It's possible."
Then it hit.
There was something that met all of those qualifications.
"Do you think…."
"I'd bet on it."
Picking up the pace, Dom and Caitlin explored every hallway they hadn't already, many of which they had never been on before, and were amazed to see just how large the inside of FIRM headquarters was.
"They're probably heading out toward the hangars," Dominic reasoned.
"And they already know we're here, which means Hawke could be in danger too."
"I don't think there are any of us who aren't in danger at the moment, the question is just how much."
\A/
"I think we lost them."
"They'll be after us again before long. Don't you realize how many of them there are? You told me there would only be a few," he grumbled irritably. "We've already seen two and I've heard more."
"Sorry," she answered, only half sincerely. "But does it really matter is we get what we came for?"
"It will matter if we don't get it, and you had better be right on that location."
"The location you should have had," Maria returned.
"It's not my fault Archangel is stupid enough to risk his career, not to mention his life, just to protect Hawke and his beloved Airwolf team. I should have known exactly Hawke and Airwolf were at any given time, and no one else was supposed to go with him, that's what he agreed to."
"You as well as anyone should know that plans change."
"Some do, ours will not."