Rotor blades roared as three helicopters sped through the air above the mountains towards their intended location. They carried a pilot and four men, all heavily armed, all highly trained and ready for action. Their wake rocked the airship on the edge of their path and stirred the occupant within from his bed. He had been awake, lost in thoughts and trying to concentrate on something burgeoning in the world below, trouble on the very edge of his crystal's reckoning but beyond its power to notify him of what it was picking up. As they flew past him he leapt from his bed, running to the viewing deck and observing them through the lofty windows.
As Robyn heard the noise of the helicopters she knew her time was running out. They were here and she had to act. Morgan helped her on with his jacket, its material heavy but familiar. She could sense the men in the helicopters and their intention as they prepared themselves to exit their flying craft and storm the town in search of their quarry. Already the patrols had altered and tightened around the town as Boris and Langford came to greet the visitors.
With only seconds to spare before the men descended, Robyn turned to face Morgan. "You have to go now. I'll try and hold them off for as long as I can, don't worry about me or what might happen to me. Just worry about you and getting yourself out. One day, when everything has settled, we'll see each other again. I'll find you somehow."
Morgan started to walk towards the window, raising it so he could climb through but stopped short of doing so and quickly moved back to Robyn. His body language told her he didn't want to leave, that it still wasn't too late for him to face up to his crimes but she moved to push him away. He drew his lips back in a sullen smile, eyes heavy with an emotion she hadn't viewed in them before and gently lifted his hand to her cheek before pressing a kiss to her forehead. He found her arms around him as she held him tightly, not wanting to let him go but not having any choice if she didn't want to find her plans undone. She released him and he begrudgingly stepped away from her and climbed through the window towards his destiny.
She could hear the whine of the rotor blades alter as the helicopters began to sink to hover above the ground, low enough to allow their passengers to leave but high enough to remain in a state of flight as they disembarked in a pre planned pattern to seek out the man they sought. Shouts rang out as orders were barked by a central commander and residents were dragged from their homes. She could sense the Mayor and Bessie stirring from their beds at all the noise and could feel the men outside drawing closer.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she lifted the collar of the jacket and ran.
He reached the mail box as she had described it and pushed it aside easily as it revealed its hidden secret. Doubts raced through his mind as he gazed down at the gaping hole at his feet but when he heard the door to the Mayor's house fly open, slamming against the wall and the shouts ringing around the town escalate he knew he had to leave. Jumping down into the darkness with a silent prayer for his sister.
Weapons loaded they trained them on their target, ready to fire at the order of their leader as they saw the figure sprinting from the Mayor's house shouting out to confirm their sighting. He raised his hand, ordering them to hold their fire and with his other he gestured for one of his men to come close. Without hesitation they did so and he made his orders very clear.
"Non lethal, lower quadrant. I want him alive."
Nodding their understanding the Red Tide team member shouldered their weapon and took another from the holster on their back. Confirming with their leader that they had non lethal ammo in the form of a bean bag baton round they loaded the weapon and fired, aiming for the space of the target's back between their bottom and the base of their spine.
Sportacus was pulled down to ground level as he caught sight of the person running from their Mayor's house. He made to break from the men that had brought him from his airship but they held him fast as the projectile struck his niece and sent her flying as it knocked her off stride.
As soon as the projectile had struck its target the Red Tide team leader motioned for his men to move in, two of them went to turn over their target while the others kept their weapons ready to fire if needed. Every man moved back a few steps when their target was turned over and they realised what had happened.
Reaching up to his ear piece, the Red Tide team leader heard the words he had not wanted to hear.
"Sir, we have a problem."
He ignored the loud protests of those that lived in the town as he walked towards his fallen target. The target that was now being forced to stand up and was not a man but young woman, of the man's age and the one he had been warned about. He could hear the gasps of the townsfolk as they saw what his eyes had met with, he could feel the glare of the eyes looking at him as if they belonged to the woman his team was charged with finding. The two men holding her up looked at him as they awaited their orders, their companions instantly lowering their weapons.
Feeling rage at this deliberate and hauntingly successful sabotage attempt he swung his arm, the back of his hand connecting with Robyn's face so hard that she fell from the hands of the men holding her.
Every shred of confusion that had hung in his mind burned away the millisecond that the Red Tide team leader back handed his fiancé and Kit instantly made a move to retaliate and protect her, as did the other residents but he found himself restrained on the ground by Langford who muttered to him to remain still. Kit tried to struggle against Langford and found his hold to loosen only when the Red Tide leader extended his assault on Robyn.
Robyn felt herself being moved from the ground again, the team leader grabbing her and forcing her to her feet. His fingers dug into her chin as her legs refused to support her weight and he brought his face within millimetres of hers. She could feel his hot breath on her face as he snarled at her.
"Where is he?" He growled with no shortage of venom.
Despite the breathlessness she felt, Robyn was able to formulate a devastating response. "Somewhere you won't find him."
As he supported her entire weight on his one hand, his finger tips leaving bruises on her bloody chin he drew himself back. Her unwavering audacity fuelling his anger as he wanted nothing more but to beat an answer from her and make her pay for the trouble she had caused. It seemed his wish was one that was detectable amongst those gathered in town and the Russian accented tones of Boris, the Network division leader held his attention.
"You so much as raise your little finger to her, Olaf, and I will tell Langford to stop wasting his time holding Kit down and my men to ease off from stopping everyone else giving you exactly what you deserve."
Boris' threat forced Olaf to turn his head in the direction of the division leader and follow his pointing finger to the furious figure that Boris' deputy was hanging onto. Feeling movement against his gripping fingers he looked back to Robyn and found all of her defiance had been swept away, replaced by an unreadable expression.
"You have a team going to Lily's hide out in Crazytown." Robyn's statement made with an almost hypnotic quality.
Olaf nodded vacantly, oblivious to how she could hold that information.
"Get them out," Robyn's voice was little more than a whisper before she yelled, "Get them out NOW!"
Something in her countenance told Olaf that there was little room for argument and he instantly reached for his radio. "Red Tide Team Two respond! Red Tide Team Two respond!"
There was no answer as he tried to get hold of his team. He continued, alternating the frequency and repeating his orders. At first nothing but static greeted him by way of response until bursts of sound erupted from the radio, snippets of gun fire and screams, broken by more static. He frantically repeated his order one final time until he got a vocal answer in a sing song voice that sent shockwaves through the town, a voice that belonged to their ultimate target.
"I'm sorry. Red Tide Team Two can't come to the phone right now. Can I take a message?"