AN: I'm back!
Recap:
Loid and Yuri got arrested because Karen snitched. Yor and Anya teamed up with Franky to save them. They went with Plan 15 which ended up being the least risky due to something Anya refused to tell the readers. I guess you'll just have to read and find out! Oh, and Damian and Demetrius are stalking their mom. Good times.
Chapter 12 Precognition
20 minutes prior…
"Why can't you do it!?" Franky hissed into the mic hidden beneath his collar as he brought the newspaper higher to conceal his expression. The small piece of mirror he was gripping with his left hand showed a car driving towards the corner he was hiding behind. A green, Lloyd LK 600 Kastenwagen, 2 door panel van. Not the type of cars driven by the SSS, and therefore not on his radar.
He suppressed a shiver when Fiona let out a long disappointing sigh from the other end of the earpiece. The power of that woman. She didn't even need to say a single word to communicate her dissatisfaction to him.
"W-What? It's a reasonable question. You're less likely to get hurt since you're trained for this kind of gambit."
Another car drove by. A gray, Volkswagen beetle.
"They won't drive fast enough to kill you when turning a corner," Fiona said.
"What if they did? That's my life on the line!"
"And if you don't do this, it'll be Twilight's life on the line. Are you willing to risk that?"
The reminder of their objective with this gambit had Franky swallowing whatever he planned to say next.
Indeed, he couldn't risk it.
He had nothing to lose if Twilight was caught. He knew the man. Maybe not as well as his wife did, if you knew what I mean, but he still knew the man behind the mask to a considerable degree. Twilight was not the kind of guy who would betray Franky and give away his information to the SSS when placed under pressure. Which meant if Franky was an absolute trash of a human being, he could just sit on the side and watch the fall of Twilight while relishing the fact that it wasn't he who had to endure the horror the spy must be going through.
But that wasn't the kind of person he was, or strived to be. Franky wasn't a righteous man and he never tried to be one. No one who had betrayed his own country in the middle of a war and later on willingly sold information to their enemies could call themselves "righteous." But no matter how odious his past and his line of work may be, Franky considered himself a good friend. He may not be patriotic, but he was loyal to his friends. He may be a coward at times, but he would never leave his friends to suffer when he could help it.
A black Classic Mercedes S class pulled up near the corner and Franky almost, almost moved if he hadn't noticed the differences at the last second. The resemblance was uncanny.
"Fine. I'll do it," he said begrudgingly into the mic. His tone gave off the impression that he was coerced even though the choice was on him.
"Good boy."
He could almost see the cold, yet gleeful glint in Fiona's eyes and that imagery somehow made his face heat up.
Before he could dwell on his questionable reaction to her compliment, a black GAZ-14 Chaika pulled up to the stop, a few seconds away from turning the corner.
"It's here. Wish me luck, Fiona-chan~"
Fiona huffed, which he took as her way of cheering him on.
Franky folded the newspaper with the small mirror secured within and stuffed both into his inner pocket.
The car turned the corner.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, and, with a slight pause, proceeded to throw himself right in front of it.
The pain wasn't that bad. He'd heard that getting hit by a car was like being shot really badly (wait, or was it the other way around?). The secret police inside the car wasn't driving too fast so thankfully it didn't hurt as bad as getting shot. Still, Franky let out a loud (but not loud enough to attract unnecessary attention) scream of pain and allowed his body to roll with the momentum, tumbling across the pavement and giving a few twitches before he ceased all movement.
The car screeched to a stop before him. If not for the military training from like ten years ago that was still instilled within his muscle memory, he would have flinched and given away the ruse.
"Shit! Is he dead?"
Two pairs of footsteps approached him. One guy gingerly prodded him with his foot then rolled him onto his back, gasping when Franky's face was revealed.
"Hey, isn't he…"
Franky groaned and looked directly at them as the other secret police got off the car as well at the sight of his face. The older-looking, evidently more experienced one was on him in a split second, twisting his arm behind his back in such a violent way that had Franking shrieking in alarm.
"Ahhh my arm's broken! And my ribs! You broke my ribs!"
The acting was pathetic, but it was fine. Franky was no actor, and he wasn't trying to convince them in the first place. This was merely a distraction, a poorly conducted "accident" exposing himself as a fugitive, to direct them away from the real threat.
Franky heard the impact of a blunt weapon hitting the back of scarface's head before he saw the dark form of Fiona appearing behind the man. For a second he thought that wasn't enough to take down the intimidating-looking officer for he remained standing, motionless, creepy eyes boring straight into Franky, before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, the other younger officer soon following suit.
"D-Did you kill him?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I have enough on my plate as it is."
Franky shrieked instinctively when Fiona yanked him up by his injured arm but he felt no pain, then he remembered his arm wasn't injured and it was just an act. "Is this what they call method acting?"
"Get a move on." Fiona shoved him towards the fallen officer causing him to nearly stumble onto the body.
No matter how roughly she treated him, this was already a major improvement from when they first met so Franky wasn't complaining.
What happened afterward was fairly straightforward. After giving Scarface a heavier dose to ensure he didn't wake up because he was more of a threat, they stuffed the two drugged secret policemen into the trunk of the Chaika and disguised themselves, Fiona being the tall Scarface and Franky being Rolf Hirschmüller, who the two policemen were heading out to arrest in the first place.
Even senior agents needed a valid reason to enter the cells. Something like "I need to check up on xxx captive" wasn't going to fly, especially since Twilight himself was imprisoned there and they knew today was the optimal day for breaking him out. And so, Franky put on a fat suit and Rolf's mask, leaving his handsome disguise in a garbage bin and allowing himself to be manhandled into the SSS building. While Fiona reprimanded the two firewatch, he turned his face towards Anya and gave her a wink only she could see, which earned him a sharp pinch on the arm Fiona was holding behind his back.
"Focus," Fiona snarled when they were out of earsight. "If this plan failed because of you…"
The unfinished threat lingered in the air.
Franky gulped.
"I know I know. You want to save your dear Twilight as much as I do."
The cells were located on the second highest floor of the building. Getting in wasn't a problem; a quick blow to the head and the warden was out like a baby. Getting out, however, would require some smart thinking.
But from the sound of the fire alarm shrieking throughout the building, their allies had given them the distraction they desperately needed.
"Will you be okay by yourself?" Franky asked while stuffing the fatsuit into his backpack and putting on the disguise of the junior agent currently knocked out in the back of the Chaika.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" was her response.
If this had come from anyone else, it would have given off an air of misplaced arrogance, as if the speaker felt offended that someone lower in status dared to question her capabilities. But for Fiona, the arrogance was justified for it was coming from a place of true skill. Her rhetorical question was her answer to Franky's question.
Typical Fiona. Never giving him a straight answer.
"Don't die out there. I still need to…" Franky hesitated, the words getting caught in his throat. "I still need you to play my pretend girlfriend in front of my friends!"
The glare he received held unspoken promises of pain, and he would gladly welcome this pain with open arms if it meant they could get out of this alive. Not unscathed, but alive. That was all he could hope for.
SSS protocol for responding to the fire alarm was for everyone to evacuate the building and regroup in the open area right outside the front doors. Usually, a situation like this was no cause for concern, since the plenty of fire drills they had conducted had engrained the escape route into their mind to the point where they could head straight for their spot in the formation without having to wait for everyone else to get in line before them.
However, today was not a usual day.
All key individuals were made aware of the specifics of the Twilight situation, while others were informed the bare minimum information to understand the task they were ordered to perform. Some newer agents may not be clued in yet, they could still discern that today's atmosphere was different and everyone was on high alert for some reason.
So when a fire alarm blared today of all days, needless to say, many agents began to panic.
They dawdled in the hallways, hesitant to leave the building in fear of the fire alarm being a trick pulled by Twilight's allies to lure them outside. Because they were so focused on catching enemies who might sneak in under a disguise, they failed to notice the oddity of a slant-eyed junior agent walking out of the building despite having never entered.
They knew to watch out for enemies in disguises, for spies who could dress up as agents to try and sneak their way in, for tactics commonly used in espionage in the West.
But no one told them to watch out for civilians. No one told them that the pivotal point of this rescue operation would be a six-year old girl who could read minds.
Because no training could prepare them for a child to just waltz inside and pull the fire alarm right under their nose, they missed their last chance to put an end to Stage One of this operation.
And so, Stage Two began.
With them being none the wiser.
Franky, still in the junior agent's disguise, went up to the Chaika after leaving the building. He purposefully made his footsteps audible as he approached the vehicle. Heavy groaning and thumping from inside grew in volume with each step he made. When he unlocked the trunk, he could hear the real junior agent thrashing against the ropes binding him.
It wouldn't be long until he cut the ropes—Franky kept a razor blade under the mat specifically for him to use—and escaped via the unlocked trunk. By then, his two perpetrators would already be gone. The junior agent would have no choice but to lug his taller and heavier superior into the building, adding yet another element of chaos and setting the stage for the next phase of the plan.
Franky took one last look at the headquarters building where Fiona was no doubt fighting for the love of her life right now, and tore his eyes away, leaving the premise with a heavy weight in his heart.
A growing crowd of agents had begun to gather near the entrance, but none made a move to leave the building.
"What if it's a trap? What if they're luring us out so Twilight's allies can sneak in?"
"Haven't you heard? It's already confirmed that the guy we caught isn't Twilight. Which means the real Twilight is on his way here, and someone of his caliber won't need to rely on such an obvious distraction to sneak in. Hell, he might be inside already!"
"Really? But I was told the guy we caught is in fact Twilight, and we're using him as bait to lure in his allies."
"Who told you he's the real deal?"
"Corporal Johnny. Who told you he's not the real deal?"
"Corporal Johnny."
"…"
"…"
As if on cue, Corporal Johnny barged through the door with an unconscious Officer hanging off of his shoulder.
This sparked a flurry of activities.
Once they'd confirmed that he was indeed the real Corporal Johnny, a few agents were dispatched to chase after the fake Corporal Johnny, some started to search the building for the spy currently disguised as that unconscious officer, the few junior agents who weren't given any orders weren't sure what to do so they decided to get into a formation outside the building because the fire alarm was still screaming their heads off, while some others initiated a search for the little girl who left the restroom on her own and went who knew where. Contradicting orders came down from multiple sources, some said to stay put and continue guarding the entrances and exits for Twilight and/or his allies, while others said to abandon their posts and search for the disguised spy in their midst with everything they got because that could very well be Twilight himself who'd already infiltrated into their base.
In summary, it was chaos.
And to add some flavor to this chaos, Yor stormed up to the two agents on firewatch with a look on her face that could move Satan to tears.
"Where. Is. My. Child?"
"That's what we're trying to find out." One agent sighed, exasperated. "You two need to leave, now. Come back another time, or don't come back at all."
"What!? I'm not leaving without my daughter!"
"This building isn't safe right now! There's an enemy spy running around and who knows the fire alarm might be real too, so there could be a fire somewhere burning this place down."
"Which is even more reason for me to find my daughter who's currently in this 'burning' building!"
"She's right." The angry man stepped up beside her and said with a determined look. "My daughter is still in captivity and knowing you people, she won't be allowed to leave even if this whole place comes down. So I'm not leaving either until I see my daughter."
"We will follow the proper procedures and transport captives to a safe environment once we confirm there indeed is a fire, but for now I will need you to wait outside, unless you want to be arrested for obstructing official business."
Leaving the building while Anya was still inside was out of the question. And if staying would result in her arrest, then Yor might as well contribute to the chaos while she was at it. They wouldn't blame a distraught wife and mother for losing it and having difficulty thinking clearly, would they? If she was going to get arrested anyway, it made no difference whether the arrest was for obstructing official business or for trespassing, right?
Yor thought of that time when Bond ran up to them with a huge gash on his face and Anya's bloodied toy gun in his mouth. She tried to recall the shock and fear she had felt at the time, when she imagined what could have happened to Anya, when the possibility of losing her little girl crossed her mind. She couldn't act as well as Loid could, so she had to rely on past memories to act as a catalyst and evoke these emotions within her.
Within seconds, cold terror gripped her heart and her breathing pattern turned erratic. Yor gasped, clenching her chest and turning frantic eyes to the direction Anya had disappeared off to.
"Anya… Where are you…" She stumbled, grabbing onto the desk to prevent the fall, and broke off into a run before any agents could react. "Anya!"
She could hear shouts of surprise from behind her, as well as another pair of footsteps chasing after her.
"Fuck! I'm coming with you!"
Her pursuer wasn't an agent, but instead was the angry man who was also worried sick about his own daughter.
"I'd be damned if I just sit on my ass while my daughter is suffering under the hands of those wretched bastards!" The man exclaimed, his face red with perspiration and his chest heaving with effort. He was dressed in a fine business suit and clearly appeared unfit, so it was no surprise that he was out of breath from a mere fifty meter sprint.
Yor's overdramatic showcase of emotions may be feigned, but this man was genuinely concerned for his daughter. Unlike Yor who planned the trespassing because she knew she could get away with it, this man was willing to risk his future and reputation just to make sure his daughter was okay.
Seeing him struggle so hard to keep up with her in his triple layers of business attire and uncomfortable dress shoes that kept slipping off his heels with every step, Yor felt a little emotional and was even more motivated to ensure this plan was a success.
Yor and Edgar's trespassing threw a wrench into the agents' plan and made the situation even more chaotic. Whether they should chase after the fake Corporal Johnny, search for the infiltrated spy, find the little girl, capture the two trespassers, evacuate the building, stay put and guard all entrances, or find what triggered the fire alarm and turn that goddamn thing off was the dilemma many agents were currently facing.
Agents were taught to follow orders, but what should they do in a situation where it would take too long to pass information up the chain of command and wait for an order to pass back down to them? Especially when the situation continued to evolve and new elements kept getting added to this pot of chaos, by the time an order came down for them to find the infiltrated spy, two more trespassers had already joined the party. So should they follow the order and find that spy? Or should they wait for a new order? Or take the initiative and chase after the two trespassers?
Overwhelmed with choices, agents started to run all over the place with no regards to orders and procedures, each following their own idea of the best course of action and completely destroying their proper communication structure within the organization. Orders couldn't be passed down, and information couldn't be passed up.
And as if things weren't chaotic enough, the missing little girl appeared at the front entrance with a dumb look on her face, saying "I was scared cuz that loud red thing started screaming so I ran and ran and got lost but I finally made it back! Where's my mama?"
Needless to say, no one had the patience to deal with her at the moment so she got kicked out of the building.
As soon as the doors closed behind her, Anya let out a maniacal grin as if the devil himself had possessed her.
"Stage 2 is a success." She giggled to herself. "Stage 3 will be fun to watch, but Anya can't go back in now."
The thought of having to miss out on the best fight in the century made Anya a little sad. She looked down at her shoes, pouting.
Suddenly, she heard something.
"Sad… Want to play…"
A distorted, gruff voice said in her mind.
This was…Bond's thoughts!
Bond is here!?
Before Anya could even turn her head to search for Bond, she heard the static sound of Bond's precognition as a scene began playing in her head.
"Mother!"
It was a shrilling cry from Damian who had a look she'd never seen on him before. He looked scared, lost, and in disbelief. He looked like his most precious thing just slipped from his fingers and shattered on the ground. He looked like his soul had left his body, leaving behind an empty shell of what used to be him.
He looked broken.
Damian ran forward faster than Anya had ever seen him run in PE class and dropped onto the muddy ground in front of a car wreck. He grabbed the arm of a person who was trapped beneath a car and tried to pull with all his strength.
"Mother! You need to move! Get out of there!"
His mom didn't budge.
"D-Damian…" She said weakly, "Leave me. It's already too late."
"No! I can still get you out of here! Demetrius!" He yelled towards an older boy who was standing a few feet away, frozen in fear. "Goddammit! Come help me get mother out!"
Demetrius finally snapped out of it and rushed to help.
But their strengths alone weren't enough to lift a car.
"It's too late, Damian. Even if I…" his mother coughed when smoke got into her lungs, "…get out of here, I'm done for."
"What do you mean!?"
"You can blame me all you want, but please don't blame your father. He was…doing the right thing…"
"Mother!" Damian cried when her head drooped and the arm he was grabbed onto lost its strength. He was about to say more when Demetrius suddenly hugged him around his waist and sprinted away from the car.
But before they could leave the blast ray deers, the car exploded and both brothers were caught in the blast and swallowed by the smoke that followed.
Anya snapped out of the scene with a loud gasp, her heart beating frantically in her chest and her thoughts running faster than Bond at his max speed.
She couldn't believe what she had just seen. She wasn't so much worried about Damian's mom, since she didn't know her on a personal level and wasn't as affected by her passing as Damian was (or would be); she was more worried about Damian.
He was caught in the blast ray deers right? That meant he got hurt, or possibly killed, right?
And if he were to die, then Operation Strix was also doomed.
(Plus, Anya didn't really want him to die. He wasn't terrible. He was okay. Anya wouldn't call them two "friends" but she still didn't want him to die. He had already come into her life and stayed there for too long. To suddenly not be able to see him anymore would be…weird…and…Anya wouldn't like it.)
So for the sake of the mission, Syon Boy mustn't die!
"Bond!"
Bond appeared from behind a parked car and ran up to her as soon as she called his name. He wagged his tail and huffed with his tongue out, clearly happy to see her.
Anya patted him on the head.
"You saw that too, right?"
Bond woofed softly.
"So we're going to save Syon Boy, okay?"
Bond barked enthusiastically and began licking her face.
Anya had no idea how she would save Damian from an explosion, but she'd think of something on the way.
She threw the hood of her raincoat over her head to cover her vibrant pink hair and climbed onto Bond.
"You ready, Bond?"
"Borf!"
Time to save a classmate.
AN:This fic is NOT abandoned! NOT discontinued! You hear me? Repeat after me! This fic is ONGOING! Let's say that again for the folks in the back! THIS FIC WILL BE FINISHED NO MATTER WHAT!
Happy reading!