(Chapter 4. Hope it's not too bad so far. Enjoy! I own nothing but Helene)
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"ETA on dry cleaning." Ethan spoke into the COMM as he walked across the room Benji was setting up in for thier little operation.
Jane was currently downstairs bringing up their uniforms in the guise of a housekeeping personnel while Brandt and Helene go put everyone's bags away in the back bedroom.
"On my way up." Jane responded through her communication device as Brandt walked back into the main area.
"Okay thirty four minutes to door knock." He announced setting a timer on his phone before setting it behind Benji's computer.
Helene walked out a few minutes later and walked around Ethan to check on the mask making machine.
"Wow...okay this is a slight wrinkle, but it's nothing to worry about. We're just going to have to go into the server room from the outside." Benji said suddenly looking up from his laptop with a slightly worried expression on his face that did not reassure anyone in the slightest.
"What?" Ethan asked coming around to look at the computer as Benji attempted to explain.
"Well the firewalls on this building's server are military grade. I mean this would be a cinch if I could call Youssef back at headquarters, but Youssef doesn't exist anymore and neither do we."
"Well couldn't you hack it?" Helene asked not moving from the mask machine as Brandt walked over from the window to join the two men.
"Well I could, but it would take too long." Benji responded. Ethan bit his lip. "Then hardwire in." He retorted.
"And there's four layers of next gen security between us and the server room. There's no way we can get to it from inside." Benji responded firmly.
Brandt's face fell. "If we can't get to the server, we don't control the elevators, we don't control the security cameras. This operation's over before it even begins." He said defeated as he looked in Helene's direction.
Helene started to say something to him when Benji beat her to it. "I'm telling you! We can get to it from outside!" He cut in directing his statement at Brandt.
"We?" Ethan asked.
Benji immediately caught his drift. "I-I'm on the computer." He stuttered pointing at the keyboard as he talked.
Brandt cringed a little when Ethan turned to look at him. "I'm just the uh..helper." He shrugged motioning to Benji.
Helene shook her head and swallowed hard when Ethan turned his gaze on her. "Uh...I don't do heights." She shuddered looking away from the window back to the masks as Ethan sighed.
"What floor is it on?" He asked clearly dreading his new task as Benji typed rapidly on his computer.
"Uh..a hundred and thirty." Benji responded unnervingly calm for his answer.
Ethan felt the blood drain from his face. " A hundred and thirty?" He asked, flabbergasted.
"That's nuts." Helene agreed looking horrified at the prospects.
"Vent ducts?" Ethan asked, looking up at the ceiling with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Pressure sensitive." Benji answered.
"Not enough time." Brandt put in.
"What about the elevator shaft?" Ethan tried.
"Infrared sensors." Benji replied.
"Not enough time." Brandt said again this time a bit tauntingly.
Ethan walked to the window in the middle of the room and gazed out around the building. "How am I supposed to do this?" He asked to no one in particular as Benji reached for a briefcase he had under the coffee table.
He pulled a pair of high tech gloves from inside it and threw one at the window by Ethan's head. It stuck to the glass emitting a high pitched humming sound.
"Here! Catch!" Benji called before chucking the other one at Ethan's other side. This time Ethan managed to turn swiftly on his heel and catch the other glove before it could hit the window pane.
"Incredible." He mumured impressed by what he was holding. Benji merely shrugged. "They came out with those like last month. You could use them to scale the wall and get into the server room." He grinned, then dropped it a second later.
Helene looked shocked. "You want him to climb to the hundred and thirtieth floor using a pair of sticky gloves?!" She asked feeling her stomach turn at the idea.
"Well better Ethan than you." Brandt retorted grinning as he walked over to a bag Ethan had set aside earlier on the couch.
Helene could not argue this point. "You're right..." She went back to inspecting the mask machine still feeling uneasy as Brandt tossed a couple of laser cutters at Benji.
For a minute it was quiet as Benji and Ethan got to work to cutting the glass away from the window frame. Brandt grabbed some suction cups from the bag and brought them over just as they finished cutting out the window.
"Oh! That's high!" Benji gasped as he and Brandt stood on either side of the window and carefully lifted the glass before carrying it to the other side of the room.
Helene frowned as a warm breeze blew in through the exposed window frame. "You sure about this, Benji?" She asked as machines whirred behind her.
Benji shrugged. "Absolutely!" He grinned at her then turned to help Ethan with his gloves. "Okay now remember it's a rolling off motion that disengages the bond. When the meter is blue, that's full adhesion. Easy way to remember, blue is glue." Benji explained.
"And when it's red?" Ethan asked as the gloves flickered briefly.
"Dead." Benji stated plain and square. Helene and Brandt both looked up at that and exchanged apprehensive glances with each other.
"Are the Masks coming along?" Brandt asked making his way across the room to where Helene stood keeping her back to the opened window. Benji reached for a laser cutter.
"I think so." Helene smiled slightly as she watched the cutters cut very realistic designs into the face of the masks. "It looks pretty good from where I'm standing." She glanced back to see if Ethan or Benji was watching them, but both were too occupied with the task at hand to pay attention to them.
Brandt chuckled.
"How are your blisters?" He asked, suddenly changing his tone while at the same time making sure that no one could hear him over the mask machine.
Helene shrugged. "Still hurts like heck. I've had worse though. You know." She frowned suddenly and lowered her voice to match his volume.
"I think I know you better than anyone." Brandt retorted grinning slightly as if not noticing the look on Helene's face.
Helene clenched a fist.
"Do you think Seth is doing okay?" She asked almost in a whisper, avoiding Brandt's gaze as the machines whirred on.
Brandt frowned and started to reply.
"Okay Ethan! The hotel server room is eleven stories up and seven units over." Benji suddenly spoke over the noise of all the machinery motioning with his hand so that Ethan could follow.
Brandt and Helene turned from the mask machine trying to look inconspicuous as Ethan nodded his head.
"Comm check?" Benji picked up his speaker and spoke into the mouthpiece. Ethan put his hand to his ear.
"Yeah. I copy." He confirmed, making no move yet to go out through the window. "Okay.." Benji put the walkie talkie down and started motioning his arms, balling his hands up into fists in an encouraging gesture.
Still Ethan did not turn to face the window. Brandt stared at him apprehensively as Ethan stalled for time fiddling with his gloves while his mind raced at the task ahead.
"It's 26 minutes to door knock." Helene spoke walking over to pick up Brandt's phone causing Ethan snapped out of his daze. "Right." He turned and took a deep breath before stepping around out the window.
Slowly he set his right hand on the wall and the high humming sound started signalling that full adhesion had succesfully occured.
Helene released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and started pacing the narrow area between Benji's laptop and the couch as Ethan slowly disappeared out the window.
Brandt shook his head and looked up from the edge of the floor, careful not to slip as he watched Ethan slowly begin his ascent up the hotel wall.
After a minute though he walked back to where Helene was and reached to take his phone from her making her stop mid pace as Benji hurried back to his computer to await Ethan's progress.
"Twenty Five minutes to door knock." Brandt spoke into his comm after awhile. Ethan did not respond.
Helene turned and sat down on the couch trying to make herself calm down as the minutes ticked by. She could still hear Ethan clambering up the wall, but the sound was not reassuring to her in the slightest.
After awhile Brandt joined Benji at the computer and sighed as he studied the map Benji pulled up on the screen.
Time ticked by. Benji started to drum his fingers on the tops of his knees as the scratching sound of Ethan climbing the wall grew fainter in the distance.
After a minute Helene got up and walked towards the bathroom meaning to splash some cold water on her face to alleviate some of her anxiety when she spotted something odd out the window.
"What is that?" She murmured staring until Brandt got up to get a closer look at the strange brown cloud.
"Yeah what the h*** is that?" Ethan asked, his voice cutting out on his comm piece.
Benji got up to join Brandt and frowned when he noticed the funnel. "It's a sandstorm." He realized then bent to speak into his comm. "Don't worry it's a long way off Ethan. Shouldn't be a problem." He quickly reassured.
Helene groaned and ran into the bathroom, making Benji jump when she slammed the door.
"Is she okay?" Benji asked looking worriedly at Brandt. Brandt started to shrug when Jane walked into the room with a stack of dry cleaning in her arms.
"All right! I'm here!...Where's Ethan?" She asked upon noticing that someone was missing. Benji and shrugged and pointed out the window.
Jane felt her jaw drop. "You have got to be kidding me."
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