The Angel Experience
By Holly-Batali
Disclaimer: I own the awesome Kat. I don't own, Itex, Max, or the flock...Unfortunately.
Chapter 14: Escape Route
"Okay," whispered Kat. "They're all gone." They had waited all day to put their plan into effect. The lights were all out save the industrial lamps hanging from the all ceiling.
Kat jumped out of her cage, the newly picked lock allowing the door to swing easily open. She walked over to Iggy's cage, picked his lock--which was easier and faster, picking from the front where she could see what she was doing. She moved through the line of cages in record time, and soon, they were all out. "Let's go."
They set off, creeping along passageways to get to different sections of the ventilation. Every fifty feet or so, Iggy would place one of his charges in the vent, and connect the wires to all of the others. They repeated this process multiple times, until Iggy presumably "ran out" of charges (they all knew he was saving some for later).
"Now," said Kat in a low whisper, "we wait for the opportune moment, then we set off the charges; not simultaneously, but one after another, okay? And Iggy," she added sternly, "do not, under any circumstances, set off the charges until then, got it?"
Iggy rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, it's appreciated."
"Whatever," said Kat, turning back to the others. "We're going to wait until then; it'll take some time, but we can use that to prepare."
"What do you mean, 'opportune moment,'" asked Max with the aid of air-quotes.
"That," said Kat with a wicked fang-rimmed grin, "is for me to know, and you to lose sleep over." She tapped the side of her nose and led the way back to the cages.
They spent every night the next eight days pouring over stolen floor plans, irrigation and construction layouts, and time cards of the guards and security officers. Everything had to be precise. Apparently, the flock had had some practice with pouring over boring documents, so Kat didn't have to worry about focus on their behalf. Well, mostly, anyways.
"Oh yeah," said Nudge, "we were all over those coded documents. Well, we got 'em in NY, but they were just of bunch of numbers and stuff.
"Not like we ever really figured it out," muttered Iggy, who--not being able to read anything--was bored out of his mind, leaning up against the wall, his hands in his back pocket.
"Shut up Iggy. Anyway," continued Nudge, "we did, like, everything. Seriously! We tried GPS, we tried Latitude and Longitude, we tried a bible cipher, I mean, we tried everything."
"I'm sure you did," muttered Kat absently, pouring over a layout of the Itex ventilation shafts.
"Kat," said Max, "what exactly are we looking for in the Opportune Moment? And don't give me that me-to-know-you-to-not-find-out crap. You're right, I did lose sleep over it. Thanks a lot."
"Welcome. Okay," Kat lay out the ventilation draft. "So, what we're specifically looking for is the best escape route through the building. The one that's fastest, the most reliable in an emergency, and the best one to go through unseen. Fang, hang me that Fire Escape map; thanks. So, what we've got here," she pointed to the red outlined pathway through the map, "is the suggested fire escape route; but when those charges go off, people are going to be coming in all directions to use that passageway, so we need something quicker, but less conspicuous. Got it? Good.
"Now, we'll also need a way to get down to the other cages to let out the other...um, hybrids. So we'll need to be doubly quick. The vents are, or course, out of the question, seeing as though that's where all the charges have been placed."
"Good thinking," complimented Fang, surprising Kat. Fang had spoken to her a grand total of five times now. Whereas Nudge never shut up; Max had a real talent for ignoring her. It was harder than it looked. And Max was still sane to put a crowning achievement on it.
"So, when do we actually set them off?" asked Gazzy.
"Not for another, oh...three days? We need to make sure we've got every scrap of information possible. In the meantime, I think I've got a good route."
The others--except Iggy--crowded around Kat eagerly, and looked to where she pointed on the fire escape map.
"Right there," she said. "See? We can get straight down the entrance to the side, where the shipments usually come in. It opens up onto every floor, so it's easily accessable. We'd need a PIN for the combo on the door, but I've already got it, thanks to Feng Chi. So we can get to the cages, and let them out via the shipment passage. Then we just go out through the adjoining North Lab, then out into the lounge and through the window."
"Brilliant," said Max.
"Thanks," said Iggy, "glad that I thought of it."
Author's Note: Okay, it's almost done! Please comment on my story and suggestion: should I write a sequal? There will be a pole on my bio page or whatever. And could someone please explain what a C2 is?