A/N Woot, a fast update! Are you guys shocked? haha. Happy Easter in advance to my Christian readers. :D
Thanks to all Reviewers!
Dedication: Surreal Epiphany847 my newest reviewer. :D
Disclaimer: I own nothing. ;)
"Okay, let's go over this one more time..." Frank began only to be interrupted by his former girlfriend, who rolled her eyes at him in mock exasperation.
"I know, I know, I open the door and then I get the hell out of the way while you knock the guard out." Callie recited dully. "You worry too much." She scolded, ignoring her own paranoia about his role in the upcoming plan.
"On three?" Frank asked.
"Agreed." The blonde said with a nod and accordingly stood to the right of the door prepared to seize the door knob and swing it open while Frank stood on the left ready to knock the guard on the head when he came into the room. She swung the door open just after he said three and rapidly moved backward out of the way.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing-" The guard began, not even managing to voice his entire demand before Frank knocked him out. The detective dutifully dragged Marion's employee out of the threshold and into Frank and Callie's previous prison.
"Go." Frank ordered.
"Remember your promise." Callie said looking up at him with worry in her eyes.
"I will," He confirmed in a soft tone. Callie walked over to him and pulled his face down to her level, kissing him briefly on the lips before running out of the room in the direction of Phil and Vanessa. She walked up the stairs towards her friends' location, she proceeded slowly, imagining that she heard footsteps dogging her path. She reached the top of the stairs and peaked into the hallway, finding it empty she proceeded to the second door on the right, and took the makeshift set of lock-picks Frank had furnished her with from her pocket. It took her several minutes to work the door open, finally managing it she said a silent prayer that they would get through this safely and entered the room.
"Callie?!" Vanessa exclaimed in a loud tone.
"Shh!" The blonde admonished her friend. "We're getting out of here." Callie explained in a whisper. "I don't have time to explain, but follow me, okay?" She didn't wait for either of them to reply but headed into the hallway. Phil and Vanessa dutifully proceeded in her wake. "Wait here." Callie commanded when they reached the bottom of the stair case. "Stay out of sight." She cautioned, the two ducked in the space underneath the staircase, while Callie headed back to the location of her and Frank's former captivity. She found him staring down at the still out-cold guard.
"It went all right?" Frank asked, determinedly not asking what her kiss meant about their future relationship, such discussions would have to wait for a better time, he could only hope that they were both gifted with such a moment.
"Yes." Callie said nodding to emphasize her affirmative response.
"My turn." Frank noted. "Wish me luck." He said as he headed at a rapid pace down the hallway, swiftly turning right.
"Good luck." Callie whispered uselessly after him sinking to the floor.
Frank headed towards the window at the end of the hallway, he well knew that the window was triggered to an alarm any attempt to escape in that manner would be utterly ineffective. This was the sort of half-baked plan he would never try in a legitimate escape attempt, not that Marion knew that. Frank passed Marion's office and reached the window, he pushed up on the bottom half of the window with his palms and listened as alarms began to ring out throughout the complex. Marion's door burst open just as Frank seemed to be about to exit via the window. Two guards and the boss himself spilled out of the room. The guards seized Frank by the arms and hauled him backwards and over to Marion.
"I must say, I expected better of you, Mr. Hardy." Marion said coldly, his disdain clear in his voice. "Take him to the forth floor, Mr. Hardy needs to be taught a lesson in obedience, before tomorrow's events." He continued nodding to the guard who had Frank by his right arm. "I will join you shortly." Marion waited until the guard had dragged Frank down the hallway and out of sight before turning to the second guard. "Let's go see what happened to Jones." He suggested referring to the guard responsible for watching Frank and Callie.
They found the blonde girl seated on the floor of the room, the guard unconscious on the other end of the room.
"Get him out of here." Marion ordered his employee. The man dutifully hauled his fellow guard up underneath his arms and dragged him out of the room, headed toward the elevator down the hall from Marion's office, it would be a more efficient way of getting him to the guard's barracks on the third floor considering his current condition. "Now, Miss Shaw, why don't you tell me why you didn't join Mr. Hardy in his escape plan?" Marion inquired in a seemingly pleasant tone, as though they were having a chat about the weather or some other suitably mundane topic.
"Plan?" Callie scoffed disdainfully. "That was no plan, that was a virtual suicide attempt, I told Frank I thought it was stupid, but did he listen to me?" She asked. "Of course not, that's the problem with all these Hardys they always have to go rushing in, acting all macho, with no thoughts at all for the consequences." She finished darkly.
"Indeed?" Marion mused, looking at the girl with an unreadable expression on his face. "I'm glad you understand escape is futile. See that you continue to grasp that concept in the future, you just may make it through this with your life." He said sternly before stalking out of the room and shutting the door behind him, pausing only to lock it, he hadn't bothered locking it earlier when there had been a guard stationed directly outside the door, and that was not a mistake he intended to repeat. Callie waited until his footsteps had long since faded away before picking the lock to the room and heading toward the stairs, she found Phil and Vanessa crouched beneath the stairs out of sight of any entering the area.
"Let's go." Callie urged leading the way toward Marion's office.
"We saw Frank." Phil said worriedly as they hurried down the hallway.
"The guard with him did not look happy." Vanessa added unnecessarily. "I don't feel right leaving him here."
"Neither do I." Callie admitted. "But he's convinced this plan will work, and at least we can come back with help if we get out of here." She said as they reached Marion's office. She pulled the door open and ushered the other two into the room. She rushed over to the closet door located to the right of the entrance and yanked it open, she shoved the assortment of coats out of the way and found another door nestled in the closet. She pushed that door open as well and led the way out of the office through the closet. Phil was the last to exit and he carefully shut the door to the closet behind him. All three emerged onto the dark street and found their first glimpses of freedom. They sped silently away from their former location, running at full speed until they had proceeded down three streets and spotted the bright lights of a twenty-four hour convenience store.
"Can I use your phone, please?" Callie asked politely of the cashier. He looked suspiciously at the three out of breath friends. "My car broke down a couple blocks away, I need to call for a ride." She explained smiling winningly at him. He nodded and thrust the phone toward the edge of the counter.
"Go ahead." His suspicions were abated with the car story. Callie dialed Biff's cell phone number and waited for the other boy to answer. She was rewarded when he picked up on the second ring.
"Biff?" She asked.
"Callie?! Are you okay, where are you?" He asked.
"I'm with Phil and Vanessa at a convenience store on-" She turned to the other two for the street name.
"Filmore Street." Phil supplied.
"Filmore Street." Callie repeated. "My car broke down can you come get us? Quickly, if you can." She continued.
Biff picked up on her cover story quickly and agreed to be there as soon as possible. Callie disconnected the call and thanked the cashier for his assistance. All three decided to look around the store while they waited for Biff in order to forestall further questions from the cashier, they could only hope that help would arrive soon.
A/N Review! In answer to a question I received: Frank couldn't escape with Callie, because the only way out that didn't trigger an alarm was through Marion's office, and the only way to get out through there was to get Marion to leave his office as well as the other guards, thus Frank was obliged to sacrifice himself as a diversion.