Heart of Fire, Chapter Four

By Lucky-Racer

Getting in to Section 13 was the least of Drago's worries. He could count off at least four different ways to get into the headquarters, each one having a minimal chance of being seen. No… it was getting out that he was concerned about.

Hell, Jade could be watching him now on camera for all he knew. Drago didn't like thinking about the human in any other way then an enemy… even if she was a very pretty human. The fact still remained that she was a Chan. The family had foiled his plans on more than one occasion, much to his annoyance.

But each new encounter with her, she seemed even more determined to lock the dragon demon up for good. Drago prayed that this time would be the last of his going to Section 13. The place had probably already updated their security since his last escape.

"Yes! We're almost there," Ratso said excitedly, looking at a telephone booth in the distance. It wasn't just any telephone booth, either. If you dialed a certain number, it would take you straight to the regular entrance to Section 13. Logically, this was not the way the party was going to go in. What, and risk being seen by someone?

The dragon noticed where Ratso was looking and shook his head. "We're not using that way… if we can help it," Drago instructed the three humans.

"But why?" Finn protested.

The demon rolled his eyes. "Don't you guys ever think about anything? If we enter by the phone booth, it's like saying, 'Hey, over here, come arrest me!' Someone's bound to see us, don't you think?"

The Enforcers' eyes widened as they saw their plan in a whole new light. "Hey, you're right!" Chow proclaimed.

Drago sighed and almost smacked his hand to his forehead mockingly, but stopped. If he wanted these people to respect him and do as he asked, mocking them was probably a bad idea.

"Uh, so… how DO we get in?" Finn wondered.

"Through the air vents, of course," Drago replied smugly. If there was something that all high security places did alike, it was that they kept their air vents unguarded, or not highly guarded at all. As it was, most of the air vents were too small for a demon and his colleagues to fit through, but there was always hope.

The humans and dragon made their way around to the side of the brick building, checking for the grate that led to the air vent system. The building either didn't have one, or it was disguised. Drago guessed the latter, and, as he ran his hands along the wall, he saw that he was right. Two tiny bumps proved to be actually a hinge for the grate, which was painted to match the brick around it exactly. Even though the entrance to the venting system was bolted quite firmly shut, Drago opened it with ease.

Aiming a stream of fire down into the vent – not enough to burn it, but enough for it to be illuminated – the demon confirmed that it was wide enough for the party to fit through, if they went single file, of course.

"Ok… I'll go down first," Drago said to the humans, "and then I'll call the all clear when nobody's looking. And do try to be quiet… we want to have the element of surprise, right?" He gave them a wink and slid down the chute, being extra careful not to make much noise, which was saying a lot because it was an almost vertical drop.

When Drago finally reached the bottom, he had no idea how far he'd fallen. It must have been really far, though, because when he reached the bottom of the chute – another grate – he busted right through it. The dragon winced, not only for the pain in his feet, but because of the loud, merciless sound echoing currently through the… where was he exactly?

Looking around, the demon realized that he must be in a closet of cleaning supplies of some kind, a big closet. Mops and buckets were hanging on pegs near the door, and every kind of soap, stain remover, cleaning solution and detergent imaginable lined the shelves. Perfect! Since he landed here, no one would hear a thing, and they might not even suspect a robbery either.

"Ratso, Finn, Chow! You can come down now," Drago yelled up the chute.

A few minutes, several mutters of 'Ow!' and some soft curses later, the three Enforcers were sitting in a heap on the closet floor. "Come on, now, and move quickly," Drago commanded.

"How do we know which way to go?" Ratso asked.

"It'll be alright… I know the basic floor plan of Section 13 by memory," Drago replied.

Without another word, he quietly peeked around the edge of the door. It seemed a perfect time to be at the headquarters, because the guards appeared to be asleep at their posts. "Now," Drago whispered, "I want Chow to go and steal the access card to get into the talisman vault." After getting a description of what it looked like, and which security guard had the access card, the man was off.

It wasn't long before Chow came back, amazingly fast, as a matter of fact. He hadn't even broken a sweat. "Here you go," he said smugly, handing it over.

A few minutes later, the party found themselves in front of the talisman vault. Drago swiped the access card, and they all went into another room.

All twelve talismans shone in their glory, that is, behind a thick dome of bulletproof plexiglass. Drago sighed and burnt a neat circle through the wall with one breath – humans placed far too much faith in their own security.

"Well, there you go," Drago said, "help yourselves. Get what you want and be back outside in the hallway in less than five minutes.

Looks of joy crossed the Enforcer's faces as they entered the dome; they looked like children in a candy store. The three humans scurried around, gathering all the talismans they could get their hands on.

Nearing five minutes later, the party was finally all set and ready to go. "Alright, everyone, let's move out!" Drago commanded. "We don't want to get cau-"

"Are you really sure you want to finish that sentence?" an ice-cold voice of fury cut him off.

Drago nearly jumped out of his skin. How had someone known they were at Section 13? He whirled around and came face to face with none other than Jade Chan.

A/n: Well, there you have it! Chapter 4. I know it's a tad (coughhack) on the short side… (lol) but I'll be updating soon :)

This chapter is dedicated to a certain reviewer who inspired me to go and write this… I believe the exact words were "hurry and update NOW" Well, I did hehe. :D

Thanks to all my reviewers! Dragolover, hello! I'm glad you're back nn Hmm, I don't know why the enforcers aren't all old and wrinkly, too… Um… what can I say? Maybe Tarakudo gave them eternal life or something… lol!

Has anyone seen the newest episode of JCA? They took away Drago's fire power! Hey! Now, that's no fair… :P He's still going to have it in this story.

Well, I'm off to write some more on CoM… I'll let you know in the News/Updates section of my profile when the next expected update time for this story is.

Until next time!