AN: Here it is, the final chapter. Just so you know, it's ridiculously long. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Chapter 18
Danny Quinn sat at school eating his lunch with his friends, enjoying the day and each other's company. After Becker's fight the previous month, Danny's group had grown enormous, and for some reason they all seemed to listen to him. Danny smiled to himself; it was time to reveal his best bad idea ever.
"Stephen, isn't the opening football match against Pinehurst coming up next Monday?" Danny asked casually. Pinehurst was the major rival of Danny's secondary school, and the first match of the season always brought out the most support. Stephen played forward for the school team.
"Yeah," Stephen replied, looking confused, "I've got the last practice tonight, then the weekend, and the match is Monday evening, why?"
Danny gave him one of what Sarah always called his "no-good grins". "Because I want to cause a little pre-game havoc."
Sarah looked at Danny and groaned, "Not this again." she said wearily, looking at the others. "He's been going on about his 'master plan' for weeks."
"It's a brilliant plan." Danny retorted in defense, "Nothing could go wrong."
"What's this plan?" Cutter asked, leaning in closer to hear Danny.
Danny grinned, "I want," he paused for dramatic effect, "to steal Pinehurst's mascot from their football field."
Becker looked at him incredulously, "You mean the three foot, solid metal panther they keep bolted to a pedestal in the fenced up football field in the center of the school?" he asked, shaking his head.
"And do you mean the really posh Pinehurst with the school-wide CCTV and private security force?" Jess added, looking at Danny like he was insane.
"Minor details," Danny said confidently, looking at his group expectantly, "c'mon guys, it'll be an easy job. Get in, grab it, and go."
"It doesn't sound like an easy job." Abby said, "I mean, Jess mentioned CCTV and a private security force." The others all voiced their agreement with Abby.
"I'm in." Matt said suddenly. Danny was taken aback; he'd expected to argue his point for a lot longer before he got a volunteer.
"No you're not." Emily countered, looking at Matt sternly.
"There's nothing to worry about." Matt assured her. That only made Emily angrier.
"You could worry about being arrested." She said, glaring at Danny. Danny prepared to defend himself, but Stephen spoke up.
"I'll go too," He said, "This could really tip the game, plus, it's way too much fun to pass up."
Danny grinned, this was going faster than he'd expected. He knew Cutter would go if Stephen did, and he could see Connor and Becker wavering. Danny gave Becker a nudge.
"What about it, Becker?" Danny asked with a grin, "You up for an adventure."
Becker sighed, "You'd never make it out if I didn't come along, I'm in." Danny grinned and clapped Becker on the shoulder.
"Well, now I've got to go too." Jess said with a sigh. Becker looked alarmed.
"You can't go." He said suddenly, "What if something happens?"
Jess patted his arm calmingly, "Then you'll have to protect me." she told him with a soft smile. "Besides, if I don't go, how are you going to get past the CCTV?"
Danny looked up with interest, "You're sure you can get past that?" he asked with excitement. Jess frowned at him.
"Of course I can get past it, I thought that's why you wanted me to come along."
Danny grinned, "Actually, I was just going to hand out masks, I agree with Becker on you coming, but it's your decision."
Jess gave him a patronizing look, "I'll be just fine, Danny. You don't have to worry about me, that's Becker's job."
"OK, hold on for just a minute," Jenny interjected suddenly, "you all seem pretty serious about this, but you do realize this is very illegal, right? I mean, you're talking about breaking and entering, theft, and hacking into a CCTV system. Those are felonies."
"I guess this is a bad time to mention that I'm in too, then." Cutter said, looking at Jenny. Danny punched the air in victory, he had almost the entire group. Jenny looked at Cutter in surprise.
"What do you mean you're going?" She asked in astonishment. Cutter shrugged.
"They'll need all the help they can get, and besides, it could be fun." As Jenny shook her head, Connor slapped the table.
"That settles it," He said, "I'm not going to be the only guy not going, I'm definitely in."
Abby sighed in frustration, "Then I guess I'm in too."
"And me." Emily added.
"Me too." Sarah said, putting her hand on Danny's arm in support. The entire group looked at Jenny. After a moment, she threw her hands up in defeat.
"Fine," she grumbled, "I guess you can count me in too."
Danny grinned, that had gone much better than he'd expected. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period.
"OK," He said to the group, "we'll meet up at Connor's house tonight at eight and go from there."
The others nodded their agreement as they stood up to leave. Danny took Sarah's hand and walked out of the cafeteria, the others dispersing behind.
XXXXX
Jess looked anxiously around at her friends while they stood waiting across the street from Pinehurst Secondary School. She had already set up her laptop on some crates Connor had found and she was working on hacking into the school's CCTV.
As she worked, Jess thought back to what Jenny had said earlier about the danger they were in. She knew they were all about to perform some illegal acts, her even more than the others. Jess pushed her worries aside and focused on the task at hand. She wished Becker was there to help calm her down, but he had gone with Danny to get something they needed for the heist.
Jess stopped for a moment, she realized that is really was a heist, she was part of a team that was going to break in and steal a statue. Jess could feel the panic rising, she couldn't be part of a heist, what if they got caught. Suddenly, someone put their hands on her shoulders and Jess, thinking about guards and policemen, jumped with a little shriek. The hands lifted immediately.
"Sorry," Becker said apologetically from behind her, "I didn't mean to scare you."
Jess stood up, "It's fine," she told him, "I'm just a little nervous, that's all."
Becker's face clouded with concern. "You don't have to go." He told her in a low voice, "I think Jenny and Sarah don't feel too confident about this either, the three of you could wait out here, provide surveillance."
Jess smiled at Becker; oddly, his worry for her helped calm her own fears. She didn't want him to go into the school without her, she wanted to be able to keep an eye on him and know everything was okay.
"I'll be fine," She gave him a confident smile, "don't worry about me."
As Becker returned the smile, Danny walked over in full command mode.
"Jess, how're we doing on those cameras?" He asked as a greeting. As Jess prepared to respond, her laptop made a small beeping noise.
"That means we're in." she told him as she sat back down on her crate and began tapping on the keyboard. After a moment, a row of camera visuals popped up on the screen.
"I'm recording everything that's going on right now." Jess explained to Danny and Becker without looking away from the screen. "Then, I'll replace the video feeds with this clip on a loop. No one should be able to notice a difference."
"What happens if they do notice a difference?" Danny asked.
"Then they'll have to reboot the entire system," Jess told him honestly, "That won't take more than about six or seven minutes. Once they reboot it, they'll have full visual again and find us in minutes."
"That's reassuring." Danny said. Jess could hear the note of worry in his voice, so she decided to tell him about her surprise.
"Of course," she added, making it sound like an afterthought, "if you were lucky enough to have a techogenius on your team who was able to inset a virus into their reboot system that would require a full scan from an expert, then if they rebooted the system, it wouldn't come back on again. If only you were that lucky."
"That's my genius." Becker said adoringly as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. Jess felt immensely smug about herself, she knew she was pretty smart when it came down to it, but it was always nice to hear someone say it, especially when it was Becker. Jess stood up as Danny left to go corral everyone else.
"Let's go on our heist." Jess said with a grin, taking Becker's hand and walking towards the others.
XXXXX
As the group dispersed and headed across the street in casual groups of two or three, Connor tightened his grip on Abby's hand. She looked up at him.
"Nervous?" She asked with a little smirk.
"Yeah," Connor admitted, "aren't you?"
"Of course, this is illegal and dangerous." Abby told him, "But you were the one who wanted to go, I'm just here to keep you out of trouble."
Connor smiled at her in relief as they reached the front of the school. Danny had sent everyone over to the school in small staggered groups so they didn't attract attention. Connor and Abby had volunteered to go first and now they waited alone for the others.
"We look a bit conspicuous, just standing here." Abby muttered.
Without responding, Connor turned Abby around so her back was against the wall and pressed his lips to hers. Abby returned the kiss eagerly, grabbing hold of his jacket and pulling him closer.
After a few minutes, Becker coughed loudly, getting the couple's attention. Connor straightened up and turned a deep red. Abby faced their waiting friends and cleared her throat self-consciously. Danny grinned at the pair.
"If you're done mixing business and pleasure," he said, trying to look stern, "we've got work to do." He grinned at the end of his statement to let the pair know he was joking. As the group walked over to the front door, Danny pulled out his lock picking kit. However, when he got to the door, someone on the inside thrust it open.
Connor and the others stared in open-mouthed wonder at Helen Carpenter, who was holding the door open and giving everyone a falsely sweet smile.
"Well don't just stand there," she said, looking at Danny, "come on in." Danny stared back, lost for words.
"What are you doing here, Helen?" Cutter asked sharply, glaring at his ex. Connor noticed Stephen looked just as angry at her presence.
"I overheard you talking about your heist and thought you could use some help. You're much louder than you think, Danny." Helen smiled at Danny, who seemed to snap out of his shock.
"Thanks, but no thanks." Danny said firmly, "I think we'll be just fine without you, Helen. So just run along." Danny moved aside, gesturing for Helen to leave. Helen smiled maliciously.
"Fine, I'll go." She said, "But how were you planning on getting in? This door is going to take more than your little kit." She looked over all of them for a minute before saying, "Tell you what, I'll close and lock the door from the inside, if you can get it open, I'll leave. If not, just knock and I'll let you in." She closed the door and Connor heard the faint click of the lock.
As soon as the door closed, Danny crouched down to inspect the lock and Connor squatted down next to him.
"Damn," Danny muttered, "she's right, there's no way I can pick this." Connor groaned as Danny stood up and looked at Stephen and Cutter.
"It's your call," He told them, "she's your crazy. . . whatever. If you don't want her along, it's fine, I think we'd all understand that. We can pack it in now before we even enter the building." Connor watched the two boys. They looked at each other for a moment and Cutter sighed.
"It looks like we don't have much of a choice," Cutter said despondently, "I guess she's with us now." Connor noticed Cutter tighten his grip on Jenny's hand as he said it.
"That's settled then," Danny stated, looking angry, "Let's get her to let us in." Danny knocked once on the door, and after a moment, it opened again.
"Glad to see you're smarter than you look." She said tauntingly to Danny as he pushed past her into the building. Connor held the door while the rest of the group trooped inside, letting it swing shut behind him with a dull thump. This was it, they were in the belly of the beast now.
XXXXX
Danny led his group of friends and Helen through the hallways of the deserted school. Stephen stayed right behind him, directing him to the football field. The school was designed in an oval shape, with their football field located in the center, surrounded by the school itself. Danny was using Stephen, who'd been to the school in the past for football matches, as a guide.
"Helen," Jess said suddenly. Helen turned to look at her. "How did you get past the security cameras?" She asked. Helen just grinned mysteriously.
"All cameras have a blind spot." She responded cryptically. Danny heard Jess begin to argue again, but he cut her off with a hurried raised fist. Jess didn't know what it meant, but Becker clapped his hand over her mouth. Ahead in the hallway, Danny could hear footsteps. They sounded like they were about to round the corner that was thirty feet ahead. Danny gestured frantically for the group to move down a side hallway.
They rushed out of the way as quietly as they could, Danny bringing up the rear. As he slid into the other hall, he heard the footsteps come around the corner and continue to head towards them. He began to panic slightly, the hallway he'd led them into was a dead end, and they had nowhere to go. Suddenly, he heard a click and one of the classroom doors opened. Danny looked at Helen, who was crouched in front of the doorknob with her lock picks, in shock. She motioned towards the unlocked classroom and the others hurried inside. This time, Becker was the last one through, and as he softly closed the door, Danny heard the footsteps pass in front of the hallway the classroom was on.
Danny let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding as the footsteps grew quieter as they moved away.
"Private security," Sarah whispered quietly, "now we know they make rounds as well as watch the cameras." Danny looked over his group, they'd only been in the building for minutes and they already look frayed and exhausted.
"C'mon guys," He whispered encouragingly, "we didn't get caught, we're all fine. We can still do this." Thankfully, Becker nodded.
"Danny's right." He said, looking around at the others, "We can do this no problem." he gave everyone an encouraging smile and looked at Danny. "What's the next move?" He asked. Danny grinned back at him, he knew Becker would always have his back.
"We press on." He told them confidently, pushing open the door and leading the way out.
XXXXX
As Danny led everyone out and towards the field, Becker brought up the rear, closing the classroom door behind them. As always, Jess stayed in the back with him. He would have preferred she stay in the middle, where she would be with the group if something happened, but she wouldn't leave him. Becker also knew that the gesture just made him love her more than he had before. As they walked, Becker noticed Jess frowning while she looked at Helen.
"What's wrong?" He asked in a whisper to not alert anyone else.
"I'm not sure," Jess replied with a tinge of confusion in her voice, "it's just something about Helen isn't sitting right with me. Too many things don't add up." Now it was Becker's turn to frown.
"What do you mean, they don't add up?" He asked, now looking intently at Helen as well.
"Just little stuff." Jess said, "Like she didn't seem that concerned when we heard the guard, like it didn't matter to her whether we got caught or not. And there was something odd about her lock picks, but I can't put my finger on it yet."
Becker was about to reply with a reassuring statement, but Danny gestured for the group to halt again. He motioned for Becker to move up front. When he got to Danny, Becker saw the doors leading out to the football field. Danny pointed happily to the panther statue on the far end of the field. Danny looked at him with a serious expression.
"Did you bring them?" He asked. Becker stared at Danny in amazement.
"Of course I brought them. We made a special trip to get them, you went with me. We did it half an hour ago."
Danny held his hands up in a defensive gesture, "Alright, alright, calm down mate, just making sure." Danny held out his hand and Becker reached into one of the deep pockets that ran down the leg of his cargo pants and pulled out one of the two crowbars he and Danny had purchased earlier in the day. Connor looked at them with confusion.
"What do we need crowbars for?" He asked while Danny began unlocking the door leading to the field.
"The panther is bolted down." Becker explained, "the crowbars are to lift it up and break the bolts."
"It'll work." Danny said in response to Connor's look of skepticism. Danny stood up and opened the door, leading the way into the field. Becker and the others followed
And stopped immediately. In the center of the field lay a half dozen German Shepards sleeping in a large pile. Sarah's gasp of surprise alerted them to their presence and they bolted awake, growling as they advanced.
"Nice doggies." Danny said in a low calming voice. Connor groaned.
"You're not going to believe this, Danny." He said, "Do you see the sign that says, guard dog training was today and tomorrow. There's no way we're that unlucky."
"So these are..." Becker said, worry over Jess growing.
"Yeah," Matt cut in, "Guard dogs in training."
The twelve students tried slowly backing away, but the dogs advanced, still growling. Becker could see Helen trying to open the door, which had locked behind them, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. There were too many dogs for them to outrun, he had to split them up and hopefully keep Jess safe.
"Hey," He called, waving his arms to get the dogs attention, "Yeah, look over here." As he called to the dogs, Becker moved away from the others, trying to get on the side of the mass of dogs. To his surprise, Danny moved with him. They called and tried to distract the dogs from the main group, but now their attention was split. Becker and Danny were to the left of the dogs now, prepared to run down the length of the field, but there were still too many dogs focused on the main group.
As Becker prepared to move away from Danny, Connor suddenly split himself from the others and began waving his arms and calling to the dogs as well. It worked, with two dogs watching him, three watching Becker and Danny, and only one dog on the main group, which was waiting by the door which Helen had opened. Becker looked at Connor, who looked terrified, but resolute.
"OK, everybody," Danny said, obviously trying to keep his voice level, "We run on three... three!"
At Danny's sudden yell, Becker turned and ran, Danny right beside him. The dogs gave chase. As they ran, Becker could hear the dogs panting and the noises of the main group trying to get through the door as fast as possible. The dogs were steadily gaining on Becker and Danny as they ran down the field. Suddenly, Becker realized something that he should have done before.
"Keep going." He yelled to Danny, "I have an idea."
As Danny ran, Becker turned quickly and pulled the BB pistol his father had given him for his twelfth birthday out from under his waistband. He fired at the oncoming dogs, hoping the mild pain would discourage them from continuing to chase him. It did, and Becker was happy to realize that he could still hit a moving target while running. The yelps of the retreating dogs caught Danny's attention and he walked back to Becker, panting for breath, Becker looked at his best friend with wild grin.
"You said, don't be stupid, why would we need a BB gun." Becker crowed, still high on the adrenaline rush. "Well now who's the stupid one and who's the big man with the gun?" Danny looked back at Becker with a disbelieving grin .
"If you're so smart," He taunted back, "why didn't you use that earlier and save us the running and splitting up?" Becker deflated a little.
"I didn't think about it before, I kinda forgot I brought it."
Danny laughed, "Come on then, big man with a gun. Let's go get that statue." As they walked back to the other end of the field, Becker looked at Danny.
"How is it we brought a dozen people with us, and it's still going to be just you and me that have to lift the stupid panther." Danny just laughed and he pulled out his crowbar.
XXXXX
Abby ran with the rest of the group back inside the building. Unfortunately, one stubborn dog decided to follow them in as well. As the door closed and the remaining students looked at it, there was a moment of silence while both sides evaluated each other.
Suddenly the dog charged at the group, which turned as one unit and charged down the halls, the dog right behind them. As they ran, Abby's thoughts kept going back to Connor, who'd also gone as a diversion. She couldn't believe he'd been that stupid, trying to outrun two half trained guard dogs. But on the other hand, she could believe he was that selfless, and that was what she loved about him, which she would tell him if they both survived their dog-related ordeals.
Helen, who had taken the lead, suddenly turned down a random hallway. Abby and the others followed her and then stopped short when they saw that the hallway was a dead end as well. Abby turned around and saw the guard dog, standing in between the group and the main hallway. As they backed up, the dog advanced, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted in exhaustion.
Emily suddenly stepped forward and pulled out a thin dagger that had been tucked into the back of her belt.
"Yah!" She yelled, waving the knife in the dog's direction. "Go on," She said firmly, still waving the knife threateningly, "get out of here."
The dog looked confused for a moment, but as Emily got closer, the dog began backing away. Emily gave a sudden lunge forward and the dog bolted away. She smiled at the others as she put away her knife. Matt walked forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Where did you get that knife?" Abby asked curiously as Matt let go of Emily.
"It was my grandfather's." She responded conversationally, as though she hadn't just pulled it on a dog and scared it off. Abby was about to make a comment on how well she'd done when she heard one of the classroom doors open. She whirled around to see Connor walk out, barefoot and looking exhausted. Abby stared at him as he looked at the group in surprise.
"Didn't take long to find you lot, did it?" He said, looking cheerful. Abby walked closer to him. He looked at her with a grin, and then Abby hit him on the arm.
"Oww," He whined, "what was that for?"
"For being an idiot." Abby told him. "What were you thinking?"
"I didn't want you to get hurt." He muttered sheepishly. Abby felt her sudden anger melt away. She could never stay mad at him for long, especially when he cared so much. She moved closer and gave him a quick kiss.
"I was worried you were hurt." She admitted. Connor wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
"I'm fine," He assured her in a whisper, "perfectly okay." As he let her go, Abby looked over him again to check that statement for herself. Then Cutter asked the question they were all wondering.
"Connor, where are your shoes?"
Connor just grinned at them. "I needed a diversion, didn't I?"
Abby looked at him, unconvinced. "I have trouble believing you of all people would sacrifice your shoes. Especially your Doctor Who converses." Connor looked sheepish again.
"Well, I didn't plan it so much as one came off and the dogs started fighting over it, so I ditched the other one as well so they'd both be entertained. And luckily, that classroom window was open, so I climbed inside."
Abby looked at Connor with adoration. "You did good," She told him, happy to see him beam over the compliment, "Danny and Becker couldn't have done it better."
"I'm afraid I might have to disagree with you there." Said a voice from the other end of the hallway. Abby looked and saw Danny and Becker standing next to a large panther statue, looking incredibly pleased with themselves. Jess and Sarah rushed forward to hug their respective boyfriends and the rest of the group moved in to congratulate them as well.
"How'd you get away from the dogs?" Stephen asked.
"Becker came here packing heat." Danny replied jokingly. Becker sighed and pulled out a pistol from under his shirt.
"It's just a BB gun," he explained, "I just shot the dogs a few times to scare them off."
Jess frowned at her boyfriend. "I understand why you did it," She told him, "but I still don't agree with hurting dogs, even if they are chasing you." As Abby nodded her agreement, Danny pressed on with the story.
"And then, it was an easy job to pull out the bolts, pick the lock again, and-" But before he could finish, Jess gasped loudly.
"Lock picks," She exclaimed, "I knew there was something wrong with them. Helen has the same lock picks as you do, Danny." Jess looked at each person in turn, waiting for someone to understand her point. Abby felt just as confused as everyone else.
Jess gave a sigh of frustration. "How did Helen get in if she has the same kit as you do, and you couldn't?" Danny's eyes widened in shock as Abby looked around.
"Where is Helen?" She asked. The others all looked around in shock as well.
"She must have slipped out when Connor got back." Jenny reasoned. As she finished her statement, alarms went off all over the building. They all looked at each other in shock and fear.
"Helen!" Cutter exclaimed "She must have warned them there were intruders."
Danny took charge immediately. "Everyone move," He yelled, "back out the front doors, let's go!" He and Becker picked up the statue again as the group ran down the hallway to the front door.
Stephen got there first, but the door wouldn't open. He slammed his fist on the door angrily.
"It's locked and sealed." He told the others as they caught up. "I don't think it can be opened while the alarms are tripped."
Abby heard boots running down one of the side hallways, leading to them. She grabbed Connor's hand for support and he squeezed hers back, giving her a small smile. She knew that whatever happened, they'd be fine as long as they were together.
XXXXX
Becker sat down his end of the mascot and looked around in desperation. He saw Danny who was pacing hurriedly while trying to think of a way out. Becker looked through the group, at Cutter holding Jenny in a tight embrace and at Connor and Abby, simply holing each other's hands for support. Then his eyes fell on Jess. She was terrified, and Becker thought about the big future she was sure to have ahead of her, she didn't need this. He knew what he had to do.
He grabbed Danny by the shoulders and shook him to get him to focus.
"Main hallway, straight down, take the last hall on the left, it'll take you to a door that leads back to the field. I saw it while we were outside, it's wooden and it looks flimsy. Knock it down and cut through the field to the woods on the far backside, behind the bleachers. Climb the fence and get out of here." Becker looked directly into Danny's eyes, "And make sure you get Jess home safe." He added. Danny nodded, he knew what Becker was going to do.
"Good luck" Becker said as he let go of Danny's shoulders. Danny could only nod. Becker turned to Jess, who was looking at him questioningly, and pulled her into a deep kiss. He could only savor it for a moment before he let her go. She looked at Becker, then at Danny, still trying to figure out what was going on.
Becker gave the group one last look before pulling out his BB gun and moving in front of the side hallway the guards were coming from.
"C'mon then!" He yelled down the hallway, "You want an intruder, come and get one." The first guard came barreling around the corner, and Becker peppered him with BBs. He aimed for the face and hands, trying to get as much bare skin as possible. The guard fell back and scrambled back behind the cover of the wall. Becker could hear the footsteps of his friends getting more and more distant. He bent his knees slightly and waited for another overweight security guard to come around the corner.
One did come, rushing towards Becker with his head lowered and tucked into his shoulder, giving Becker less of a target. After firing off a few pot shots, Becker turned and bolted down the opposite hallway, trying to lead the guards away from the main hallway and his friends.
His plan worked, Becker noticed as he ran, firing wildly over his shoulder. He seemed to have every guard on the Pinehurst payroll after him. Luckily, he was in much better shape and was beginning to outrun them. As he ran, he saw Helen walking out of a random classroom. Her eyes widened as she saw Becker, but he didn't have time to explain the situation, he simply muscled past her, shoving open the door she'd been about to close. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her inside, closing the door behind them.
As Helen was about to protest, Becker clamped his hand over her mouth. He really was tired of hearing her anyways. Helen stopped struggling as she heard the guards run past. When their footsteps faded into the distance, Becker took his hand away from her mouth.
"Where've you been?" He asked angrily before she could say anything. Helen glared back at Becker, hatred pouring out of her gaze.
"I was alerting the authorities that they had intruders in the building." She said coldly. Becker couldn't believe his ears.
"What?" He asked in a combination of shock and anger. "Why the hell would you do that?"
"To get back at Nick and Stephen." She answered honestly, "I went to Pinehurst today after school and hid in one of the bathrooms. Then I let you in. After that, I let you steal the mascot, then snuck away to call the guards. The only problem is, now I'm stuck inside too."
Becker slumped back, exhausted. He knew that the night would probably involve much more running and he wanted to take a minute to recuperate. As he tried to regulate his breathing, he notice Helen was still staring at him.
"What?" He snapped, glaring at her/
"Help me." She said plainly. That caught Becker's attention.
"Help you?" He repeated incredulously, "I can't believe you even have the audacity to ask me to help you. I'm helping you by not tying you up and leaving you behind." Becker glared at her, his anger rising. "In fact, get going. I want you gone now, maybe they'll catch you and give me time to get out." Helen stared back at him in disbelief. Becker gestured with his gun. "Go on," He said, "get going, you're on your own now." Helen glared daggers at him, but she got up sullenly and left the room.
Becker counted slowly to twenty before getting up as well. He looked out of the door cautiously and carefully moved outside. As he pulled the door shut behind him, he heard a woman screaming further down the hallway. Becker recognized the voice as Helen and prepared to leave her. He'd gotten no further than two steps down the hallway before his father's voice came into his head. His father would never have left someone behind, even someone like Helen. Becker sighed to himself, if he got caught for her, he'd kill her.
Becker turned and began running towards the sound of Helen struggling with her captors. As he rounded the corner, he began popping off shots from his pistol. He caught the man trying to restrain Helen directly in the forehead. He let go of Helen with a cry of pain and clutched hid head. Helen fell to the floor and scrabbled backwards, trying to get up and get away at the same time.
As she reached Becker, still on the ground, Becker grabbed her shirt collar and pulled her to her feet while shooting at the other guard who was trying to radio for backup. Becker aimed for the man's hand, causing him to drop the radio on the ground, which split open, spilling circuits and wires all over the floor. Becker recognized his chance and grabbed Helen's arm, dragging her along with him as he bolted back along the hallway.
As they ran, Helen jerked her arm free and ran alongside Becker, as opposed to being dragged behind him. Becker went over the school's blueprint in his head, trying to remember what classrooms would lead outside. With a sudden movement, Becker slammed into one of the thin wooden classroom doors, smashing it off its hinges. He scanned the room for anything to use before finally deciding on an art project that looked like a decorated brick. As he retrieved the brick, Helen looked at him with surprise.
"You came back for me." She said, her voice softer than it usually was. Becker didn't spare her a glance.
"Yeah, I didn't want you talking your hateful head off, giving them all our names, so I made sure you got out." Becker ended the conversation by slamming the brick into the top of the window frame, knocking the pane halfway out of the window. As he reared the brick back again, he felt something pulling at the back of his waistband. He turned around in shock to see Helen holding his BB gun. She looked at him and smiled.
"You keep knocking out that window," she said sweetly, "and I'll watch the door." Becker would prefer it if she didn't have his gun, but he knew he didn't have time to argue about it now. As he smashed the brick into the frame, he heard Helen firing off his gun.
"Any time you're ready," She called back to Becker as she fired more BBs, "Sooner, better than later." Becker grunted as he slammed the brick against the pane for the final time, sending the window falling to the ground outside. Becker ran to Helen.
"Give me the gun and go." He ordered. Helen nodded once and passed the gun over as she ran back to the open window. Becker realized he was still holding the brick and threw it at a guard who was trying to cover himself from BBs. The brick hit him in the knee and he went down with a scream of pain.
"Becker!" Helen shouted from outside, "Let's go." Becker fired off a few more rounds at the men who were trying to help the guy he'd hit with the brick; and then he bolted back to the window, clambering through it and running off the school's campus and as far away as he could get.
XXXXX
Jess sat on Connor's couch, looking around at her group of depressed friends, feeling the same thing they were, only much more intensified. The only person who seemed to be more upset with themselves was Danny, who she could tell blamed himself for Becker's sacrifice.
Sacrifice seemed overly dramatic, but in reality, that's what Becker had done, he'd sacrificed himself so they could get away. Jess looked at everyone again, each person was lost in his or her own personal thoughts. Even though it was getting close to one in the morning, no one seemed to want to leave, everyone seemed content to sit together and wonder what he or she could have done differently so that Becker would be there with them.
A loud knock on the door seemed to jar everyone out of their respective thoughts. Connor looked around wildly.
"It's almost one in the morning," he muttered incredulously, "Who's visiting at one in the morning?" He stood up and left the living room to get the door. After a few moments, he walked back into the room.
"Jess, it's for you." Connor said calmly. Jess looked at him in confusion.
"Who would be here for me?" She asked. Connor shrugged.
"There's a guy at the door who says he has something for Jess Parker." Connor sat back down next to Abby and gestured at the door. "Well don't keep him waiting."
Jess got up shakily and headed out of the living room and down the hallway. She tried to control the trembling in her hands as she opened the door. Her jaw hit the floor.
Standing in front of her was Becker, apparently unhurt, smiling at her wider than she'd ever seen him smile. She couldn't make words form, she was dumbstruck by the sight of Becker, just being there. He seemed to understand and swept her up in his arms, holding her tightly against his chest.
Jess sank into his embrace and she felt tears running down her face, soaking into Becker's black shirt. Becker looked down and kissed her on the top of the head, tightening his grip on her. After a moment, Jess looked up at him and he leaned in to kiss her like they'd never kissed before. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten about the other people who'd want to see Becker as well.
"You better be careful, mate." Danny called from the end of the hallway. "She's got a big dangerous boyfriend who's been arrested. You don't want to mess with a man like that." Jess let go of Becker to allow Danny to walk up to him. They clapped their hands together and grabbed each other in the traditional one-armed man hug.
After they broke apart, Danny led Becker back inside, where he was greeted by everyone else. The women all got up to hug him and the men shook his hand. Everyone was grinning ecstatically as Becker took a seat on the couch with his arm around Jess.
"Since nobody else is gonna ask, I will." Danny said after a few minutes, "How the hell did you get out?"
Becker gave a cocky grin, "You know," he said casually, "the usual combination of daring, innovation, and good old fashioned Becker-family skill."
Danny laughed loudly, "So stupidity, dumb luck, and making it up as you go along?" Becker simply shook his head.
"Something like that." He conceded. Becker looked to where Cutter and Stephen were sitting. "I met Helen," He told them, "She set off the alarm, but got stuck inside too."
"What happened to her?" Stephen asked. Jess saw a strange look of guilt cross Becker's face, but it was only for a second.
"She made it out." He told them, "I smashed out a window and we went our separate ways. I don't know where she is now, only that she got away."
Everyone was silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Becker spoke up again.
"It's too bad we didn't get the mascot." He said with a tone of defeat. Jess smiled as she looked at Danny, who was grinning ear to ear. Becker saw their smiles.
"You didn't..." He began slowly. Danny continued to grin as he stood up and moved the chair he was sitting in to reveal their stolen mascot, the Pinehurst Panther. Becker shot straight up.
"You didn't." He repeated, "How did you get that over a ten foot fence?" Danny walked over to Sarah and put his hands on her shoulders.
"We went through it." He stated calmly. "I thought it would have been a real shame to have come all that way, and leave the mascot. So we carried it with us. When we got to the fence, Sarah pulled out a pair of wire cutters she brought in her purse and we cut our way out."
Becker looked at Sarah in amazement, "You brought wire cutters?" Sarah grinned back in response. Becker walked over to the mascot and placed a hand on its head. He looked at Jess with an expression of sheer bliss.
"We pulled it off." he said after a moment, "I can't believe we pulled it off."
fin
AN: Wow, I've finally finished Primeval High, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story it really meant a lot to me and I loved reading every review. And special thanks to people like Hilary Parker, Heyarandomgal, and auntineenah for reviewing every chapter, I knew I could always count on getting feedback from you three and you have no idea how helpful that was. And now to shamelessly promote my next story, Primeval: Next Generation. It's the story of what happens when the ARC's been shut down for years, but anomalies begin opening back up. It follows the people who had experience with anomalies in the show as children, like Ben from the first episode or Taylor from the second season. It'll have action, laughs, and cameos from the original ARC members, plus, a very special team leader who's spent quite a lot of time in the past. That's right, I'm bringing back Danny Quinn. And most importantly, I planned this story out, as opposed to making it up as I went along like I've done here. Anyways, the first chapter is up, so please give it a read and plenty of reviews. Thank you for reading Primeval High.