Monday, February 13th, 2017
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel
San Francisco, USA
18:00 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
As was befitting Mindy and Dave Lizewski's public status in Chicago, the couple was required to attend certain functions to maintain the legal side of their lives.
However, they had been invited to a black-tie event, eighteen-hundred miles away, across the country. Coincidentally, a good 'friend' was also attending the very same event. Therefore, a major Fusion operation was underway to take immediate advantage of the unexpected situation, and they had flown out that morning on the Gulfstream 650ER known as Alpha Foxtrot. They were not alone, having flown out with Abby, Hailee, Lucy, Kelly, Taylor, Mathilda, and Kim.
Mindy was wearing an off-the-shoulder number, black, and very expensive. As she fitted her diamond earrings, she grinned at her daughter.
"You look amazing, Mum," Stephanie grinned over the secure video communication link on Mindy's laptop.
"Thank you, Steph. How are you all doing, back there?"
"You did not need to send over SD and Morgan to keep an eye on the little ones; Abigail and I could have done that."
Mindy grinned – SD was there to keep an eye on Abigail and Stephanie with Morgan there for the 'little ones'.
"I am not little!" Jamie bristled from behind Stephanie.
"Jamie, I'm busy, go away!" Stephanie ordered her brother.
"I need to finish getting ready – stay safe, Steph, and behave!"
Mindy disconnected and began to pull on her polished back heels. Dave stepped out of the bathroom, buttoning up his impeccably ironed white tuxedo shirt. Mindy fumbled and then dropped her right shoe as she was briefly distracted by her muscular husband's skin before it rapidly vanished from sight.
Mindy blushed as she averted her eyes and she pulled her remaining shoe back on as Dave chuckled.
..._...
"Holy shit!" Hailee exclaimed as she caught sight of Dave and Mindy.
"You scrub up good, Mindy," Hailee Richards grinned, enjoying the pink tint she had caused in Mindy's cheeks.
"Not bad, yourself," Mindy replied to the nineteen-year-old vigilante who was dressed in a snug-fitting deep-blue dress and matching shoes.
"Where do you keep your pistol?" eighteen-year-old Kelly Wright asked quietly as she tracked her eyes over Mindy's dress.
Mindy smirked dangerously. "My secret," she grinned.
"Damn, you look good enough to eat, Kelly!" Lucy Ford commented causing the older girl to blush bright red with embarrassment.
The seventeen-year-old Predator was the youngest there, but her deep red dress showed off her long legs and made the girl appear much older.
"Not bad, girls," Taylor commented as she smiled back at Dave's approving look.
"Eyes to the floor!" Mindy growled to her husband.
Dave chuckled as they made their way towards the hotel atrium and the waiting vehicles.
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco
18:50 PDT
As the vehicles pulled up to the curb, Mindy frowned at the camera flashes.
Above all, she hated the publicity. She had grown up, shying away from bright lights. She had grown up keeping to the shadows. She hated showing bare skin too, but part of her was growing to enjoy the envious glances from the males, aimed at Dave – not to mention several approving glances from some females, aimed at her . . . ewww! As they exited the vehicles, a device was triggered which momentarily caused the majority of cameras to malfunction for about sixty seconds – enough time for Dave and Mindy, along with their entourage, to pass up the red carpet and on into the opera house without any major closeup images making the papers. Cameras more than twenty feet away, went unaffected by the micro EMP burst. Kelly was lapping up the limelight, as was Hailee, while Lucy hated every moment of it, preferring the shadows, much like Mindy.
Kim and Taylor, though, had no issues with the pleasant comments and they both very much enjoyed the short stroll up the red carpet.
Glenview, Chicago
Mindy's Study
20:50 Central Daylight Time (CDT)
"You sure we should be in here?"
"Fucking chicken, you are, Abigail!"
Stephanie sat in Mindy's high-backed swivel chair while Abigail pulled up another chair beside her friend, unsure if either one of them would live to see the weekend. Stephanie enjoyed the power she felt while sitting behind Mindy's desk – it was just a simple wooden desk, but it was where Mindy planned and schemed.
"Well?" Abigail prompted as Stephanie simply sat there.
"Oh, right," Stephanie replied as she reached for the computer keyboard.
Stephanie proceeded to logon and she began to sift through files. Abigail did not seem amused.
"So," she commented. "This is how you find out what you're not supposed to know."
"Sort of, yes," Stephanie admitted. "I have access to certain files – such as..."
Abigail scowled as she recognised a much younger version of herself attached to her Urban Predator file which Stephanie was reading.
"Your middle name is Samantha!?"
"Shut up!" Abigail hissed – she hated her middle name and she had dreaded Stephanie, of all people, finding out.
Stephanie grinned at her friend, but she decided not to press it.
"However, should we want to access something else...," Stephanie commented as she logged onto the computer with...
"You know your Mum's password!?"
"I watched her typing it yesterday morning . . . she changes it every Sunday," Stephanie replied in a nonchalant tone.
"Let me get this straight," Abigail groaned. "You are hacking into the Fusion computer system, using Hit Girl's terminal and Hit Girl's password?"
"Cool, ain't it?"
"I suppose I've enjoyed my life, so far," Abigail muttered forlornly. "If I'm lucky, Mindy'll just kill me quickly as an accessory after the fact rather than torture me."
"Oh, stop being such a fucking minge!" Stephanie complained.
San Francisco
19:00 PDT
Mindy glared at her cell phone which had just beeped.
"I am going to kill that little bitch!" she growled almost silently.
"Mrs Lizewski!"
"Hope my tetanus shot is up to date," Mindy muttered as she put her cell phone away and turned to the voice to shake hands. "Dieter Mannheim – so good to see you, again."
"I was very pleased to see your name on the guest list – and this is?"
"Dave Lizewski; Mindy's husband," Dave growled, shaking the offered hand.
Dave was not impressed. He knew all about the man – none of it good – and he knew that Mindy could not stand him. However, Dave knew that Mindy had to play her part so that Lucy could play hers.
"How have things been, since we last spoke?" Mindy asked.
"That was November, I believe," Dieter mused as he waved a hand. "Not bad, not bad. You remember Rosa?"
"Hello, Rosa – how are you doing?" Mindy asked.
"Very good, thank you, Mindy."
"I understand that your daughter is doing well at D-JAK," Mindy went on conversationally.
"Oh, yes; Cara loves each and every session," Rosa Müller replied.
During the conversing, no one noticed the seventeen-year-old girl in the deep red dress sweep past Rosa and Dieter, her hands moving faster than anyone thought possible.
Thirty-six miles to the northeast
Napa, Napa County, California
19:22 PDT
COBALT
Hal and Crypto
The dark blue van was parked in a copse of trees off Old Sonoma Road.
Inside, Hal and Crypto sat at a desk which ran along the right-hand side of the van. Ahead of them, giant screens were fastened to the bulkhead and masses of information appeared and disappeared as the two girls processed the evening's surveillance feeds.
"Okay, we're receiving upload from Piranha's cell," Crypto commented.
"We have the RFID from Dieter's access card and Rosa's access card," Hal confirmed.
"Sending to Alpha Team," Crypto stated as she punched a few keys on her keyboard.
The screen directly ahead of Crypto showed a satellite image of the area they were parked in. To their right was Napa City. A small marker indicated their location, at the bottom-right of the screen. To the northwest of the van, a square marked a property which sat atop a ridge. In the trees which covered the eastern slope of the ridge, four markers flashed with two more on the southern slope beside the main access road up to the property atop the ridge. A seventh marker flashed southwest of the van, atop a hill.
"All teams, standby to breach," Hal announced.
Alpha Team
Venom, Bane, Lilith, Trauma
The approach had been slow, but methodical.
It had taken time to edge through the trees, thanks to the myriad security devices which had to be bypassed as they went. Trauma had come across three Claymore mines which he had declared to be illegal but disarmed anyway. All four vigilantes lay flat on the ground in their combat suits, watching out for anything untoward. Sunset had been almost two hours before, so beneath the trees, there was almost total darkness which their advanced NVGs illuminated with ease. There were eight guards walking the perimeter, four of whom were behind the four vigilantes as they slowly began to move forward. There was to be no killing. The mission was stealth and there was to be no record of their presence. Their target was the southwest corner of the property and they were to gain entry without anybody knowing – impossible? Not for a team of seasoned Predators. As they approached the main access road, forty yards down from the main house, they stopped and waited for clearance.
"Alpha Team, Cobalt," Crypto announced. "You are cleared to move – surveillance is looped."
In pairs, they ran up the right side of the blacktop access road, stopping at a large double garage set off to the northwest of the main house.
Bravo Team
Lilim, Riptide
The pair moved up the southern slope to control the main access road.
They paused in a perfect ambush position, should they be required. They also had a perfect view of the southern aspect of the main house. They had placed two high-definition night-vision cameras to allow Crypto and Hal a decent view of the infiltration zone. One of the cameras was fitted with a laser microphone which allowed Hal to monitor sound within the main house. There were believed to be seven people present inside the property – four staff, two security guards, and Cara Müller who was staying there until her mother was finished at the 'event' in San Francisco.
"All clear," Lilim reported over the radio.
Overwatch
Leon had an easy five-hundred-yard shot lined up, should she be needed.
From her vantage point, she could cover the approach to the main house, as well as the target rooms. Indeed, her scope allowed her to see inside and she had clocked most of the occupants of the property, including the young girl. If things kicked off, Cara Müller was not to be touched or wounded in any way. That would entail some precision shooting on Leon's part.
However, precision was her game, taught to her by a never-to-be-forgotten friend.
COBALT
In the command van, there was a heated atmosphere, despite the air conditioning, as Crypto and Hal processed all the information being fed onto their screens.
They could see Bane and Venom moving to the southwest corner of the main house with Lilim and Trauma providing cover. The twins would make the covert entry, retrieve what they needed, and then make their covert escape. The security system for the main house had been hacked via a computer over the border in Mexico, covering their tracks should they be discovered.
"What the hell?" Crypto announced.
"What?" Hal asked.
"I was monitoring the security feed at the opera house when we detected evidence of a breach on the opera house firewall. They've been compromised – earlier this afternoon," Crypto explained.
"How long was the breach?"
"Twenty seconds, or so."
"Exactly."
"Twenty-three seconds."
"Crap!" Hal growled to herself as she punched a button. "Oscar Team . . . keep your eyes and ears open. We've detected a breach on the opera house firewall which could mean someone is planning something."
A few minutes earlier...
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco
"What is it, honey?" Dave asked his wife as they began to move towards their seats.
"Something's off."
"You see conspiracies everywhere," Dave chuckled.
"That man, over there," Lucy said as she approached. "He is, or was, a member of the Urban Predator security force in Colorado and later in Belgium. I am certain that the girl with him is a Predator. See the way her left hand hangs down with all, but the third finger, folded?"
Mindy's eyes narrowed as she covertly studied the man and the girl who appeared to be father and daughter.
"Thomas Drew, according to his invitation, and an unnamed plus one," Battle Guy chipped in from Chicago.
"That is a Predator distress signal – she must have recognised me," Lucy went on.
"Oscar Team . . . keep your eyes and ears open. We've detected a breach on the opera house firewall which could mean someone is planning something," Hal advised.
"See!" Mindy growled.
Dave chuckled as he rolled his eyes but then he froze as he recognised the unmistakeable sound of gunfire.
Glenview, Chicago
Having completed her hacking activities for the evening, Stephanie was watching TV in the living room – as she did most evenings.
The ten-year-old was stretched out on the couch, her long legs taking up most of the room. Abigail was drawn up at the opposite end of the couch in whatever space remained. Jamie was sprawled in a chair reading one of Mindy's gun magazines while on the other couch, Anne-Marie and Danny tapped away on their tablets. Stephanie's movie – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – was interrupted by one of those annoying 'we must keep you informed' news bulletins. As usual, Stephanie mentally tuned out but then suddenly her attentions were refocused on the screen. Then she swore.
"Fuck my twat with a sledgehammer!" Stephanie exclaimed. "That's fucking Maxine!"
Saoirse looked up from one of Dave's truck magazines and she frowned at Stephanie's coarser than usual language. She was about to make a crude comment concerning said sledgehammer when her eyes caught the news item on the TV which apparently related to some 'developing situation' in San Francisco. As ever, there was some footage from earlier that evening and Saoirse was able to identify Dave and Mindy in the back of one of the shots. Then, the image changed to the present timeframe and there was some talk about a hostage situation.
"Oh crap!" she growled as she saw something else.
Saoirse had recognised two other people in the brief exposure. Stephanie leapt up and she rewound the TiVo before pausing it. Stephanie looked closely at a young girl who appeared to be a little older than Stephanie and dressed in a frilly red dress which came down to her knees. Behind her, stood a man wearing a tuxedo, just like all the other men attending the event.
"She's in trouble," Stephanie stated.
"Why might you think that?" Saoirse asked, testing Stephanie and to see if her own eyes were seeing what she thought they were seeing.
"Her stature speaks volumes and that man behind her? He's CIA, a minder . . . much like Miranda was for me . . . he's worried . . . if I didn't know any better . . . yes – I'm sure."
"About what?"
"They are just like Miranda and I were, last year. We were just becoming aware of our skills and we had no idea how we knew what we did. I could look at a pistol and tell you everything about it right down to the twist of the rifling in the barrel. I could strip the damn thing down, too, and reassemble it."
"Okay, a scary time – but she looks cared for; she's at a damn red-carpet event for fuck's sake!"
"She's about the same age as me, I think – so that would make her almost eleven by now," Stephanie continued, ignoring Saoirse completely.
Saoirse was worried, but only to a point. Yes, she recognised the man, and yes, he was CIA, but he was not an Urban Predator instructor. Yes, he looked worried, but . . . maybe he was just nervous, what with being at such a high-profile event and all.
"Who is he, Steph?"
"He was a member of the security force – I would know him anywhere – that bastard broke four of my ribs!"
Saoirse remembered the man, barely. The security force at the Urban Predator facilities pretty much kept themselves out of sight, mostly. Saoirse had generally kept out of their way as they could be complete bastards. However, she also knew that many had been killed when Urban Predator had fallen, but some had obviously escaped. In her mind, she wanted the man dead, however, the man was not behaving like he was in charge. One thing Saoirse had learnt during her time with Stephanie and Mindy, was compassion. She had learnt that there were often two sides to everything, and that simply shooting someone dead was not always the correct option.
Saoirse shuddered as she considered what may have happened to her life if she had simply killed Stephanie rather than toyed with her.
..._...
Stephanie swiftly reached down the side of the couch and she grabbed hold of her laptop.
With swift movements, the youngster connected her laptop to the Fusion wide area network, and she began to access the command feeds being operated by Marty in the Battle Bunker. Abigail had observed the exchange between Saoirse and Stephanie, keeping out of it. As she watched Stephanie accessing restricted information, she considered her life to be terminated so she decided to join in.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing at a video stream.
"It's coming from the theatre's CCTV system," Jamie said from behind the couch.
"Where the fuck did you come from?" Abigail demanded of the boy.
"I was dozing behind the sofa when Steph woke me up with her crude language," Jamie explained.
"You can be really creepy, Jamie," Abigail pointed out to the grinning boy.
"Nevertheless, the twat's right," Stephanie stated as she selected the video stream.
"There's Mum and Dad," Jamie pointed out.
"Who are they?" Saoirse asked as she indicated six men.
The men wore black cloaks and white phantom masks beneath hoods. Each man was armed with a small machine-pistol – mainly Steyr TMPs.
"Oh, shit!" Jamie announced.
"They're all dead, if Mum has anything to do with it," Stephanie pointed out darkly.
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco
The Green Room
"Everyone, on the ground, now!"
The voice was loud, cutting over the rumble of chatter and background music. The bellowed order was accompanied by a burst of automatic gunfire aimed at the ceiling. The casual chit-chat rapidly exploded into distressed screaming as many of the terrified operagoers began to panic. Dave had immediately turned towards the voice and the gunfire – both of which had come from the northern end of The Green Room where they were located. He was able to identify six men, all of whom wore black cloaks with white phantom masks beneath hoods. Each man was armed with a small machine-pistol – mainly Steyr TMPs. The men rapidly spread about The Green Room. They were joined by ten more men who entered from the south end of The Green Room. Both groups, Dave noticed, had used the doorways which led into the theatre – the gunmen had come from the inside and not via the doors which led to the outside. As he watched, five sets of double doors leading to the outside, and safety, were secured. Dave groaned as he watched twin-blocks of C4 being attached to each set of double doors – each arrangement of C4 had an obvious detonator and vibration sensor attached.
Mindy's eyes were darting everywhere, and she felt anger surging throughout her body. However, she controlled her emotions, knowing that starting a gunfight in such a crowded setting was not advisable – even for Hit Girl. She observed everything – the terrified operagoers, the masked men with machine pistols, the explosives being applied to the exits. She felt Dave's hand on her shoulder, gently shoving her to the floor. Mindy hated to do it, but she allowed her knees to bend and she dropped to the floor.
"Team," Dave hissed over the radio. "No hero shit without orders."
Mindy saw nods from Hailee, Kelly, and Lucy. Kim and Taylor were pretending to be terrified operagoers as they screamed – Lucy rolled her eyes at the blatant theatrics as she catalogued everything about the bad guys. As for their target, Dieter Mannheim was shoved to the floor by Rosa Müller while four men in Tuxedos moved closer to protect their principals. Mindy had noticed that quite a few of those present also travelled with protection, and it was safe to assume that they would be armed.
Once the armed men had everybody down on the floor, there was a short pause before a voice spoke over the building's tannoy system.
The Battle Bunker
Chicago
All eyes stared at the live-streaming video.
"Ladies and gentlemen. I regret to inform you that there has been a change in the night's proceedings. Among you are some of the most influential and wealthiest people in the United States which should explain why I am here. Now, I like to create an atmosphere of trust. There will be no attempts to leave the building – all the doors are sealed with explosive devices. I expect full cooperation. Now, please follow the orders of my people."
"That's not good!" Becky commented.
"No," Chloe agreed.
The pair of them had nipped in, just to see how the operation was going, just in time to see things turn to shit for Dave, Mindy, and the team.
"Nothing like a hostage-taking to add to the tension," Marty muttered nervously.
"She'll be okay, Marty," Chloe said, knowing that Marty was worried for his wife who was now in mortal danger.
"I should never have let her go," Marty replied as he worked.
"Funny!" Chloe grinned. "Since when does Kim do anything she doesn't want to?"
Marty chuckled.
"Besides – she has Hit Girl and Kick-Ass with her," Becky pointed out.
"Thanks, Becky," Marty said.
"We're staying to assist," Chloe stated. "Where do you need us?"
"They came in from the inside – that means they hacked into the place and probably had an inside man – get the guest list and the employee list – start profiling them," Marty directed.
Chloe and Becky both sat down at a console and they began to look through the lists.
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco
The Green Room
The armed men directed the operagoers towards the south end of the room, past the bar and then through the doors which led towards the theatre itself.
There were many unhappy people, who were not used to being pushed around, indeed, Dieter was vocally unhappy about his treatment, at least until he had a machine pistol stuffed in his face while his protectors were disarmed.
"Just pull the fucking trigger, pleeease!" Mindy hissed, causing Dave to laugh.
As the crowd of people moved, Mindy watched her team before she nodded at Lucy and then at Kelly. Both girls seemingly vanished as they evaporated through a set of double doors which led to a staircase just moments before a man with a machine pistol moved to guard the doors as the vast crowd moved past. The man never noticed the two shadows as they dropped down to the main floor of the theatre. Dave and Mindy, along with Hailee, Kim, and Taylor, continued to move with the throng, while Hailee and Kim kept going with their pretence at being terrified. The group was manoeuvred towards the doors which led onto the Herbst Theatre balcony section. The men were pushed into the seats, while the women were encouraged to take the stairs down to the main floor of the theatre where they too were pushed into seats. Rosa was not amused about being separated from Dieter, but she knew better than most when it was time to cooperate compared to it being time to be belligerent. There was some crying amongst the women but mainly there was annoyance at being separated from their menfolk. The masked men with machine pistols never took their eyes off their hostages for more than a few seconds – a fact which Mindy was quick to notice.
She had hoped for amateurs, but instead, it seemed that they were facing professionals.
Sonoma Road
20:18 PDT
Alpha Team
Venom, Bane, Lilith, Trauma
Venom went first, slowly climbing the stone steps which led up to the wooden deck at the southwest corner of the property.
Bane was just three feet behind her sibling, covering their backs while Venom kept a wary eye on what was ahead. Lilith and Trauma moved around the exterior of the living room, making for the main terrace. Over the terrace, they could see into the family room where a young girl was sprawled across a large couch staring up at a giant 70-inch TV screen which was showing a My Little Pony episode. On their wrist-mounted screens, a schematic of the property was displayed with blue dots showing the locations of Venom, Bane, Lilith, and Trauma, red dots showing the locations of the two security guards, then four orange dots showing the locations of the staff, and finally a yellow dot showing Cara's location. Basically, yellow and orange were off-limits, but red were fair game – though only in a genuine life-threatening emergency.
As well as standard firearms, all were equipped with Tasers as a non-lethal alternative.
COBALT
It was like watching a live version of Pacman, Hal considered as she watched the little dots moving around the screen, the blue dots avoiding the other dots at all costs.
The security men (codenamed Dicks One and Two) never spent longer than two minutes in any one location, randomly walking about the property, peering out of windows and into empty rooms. The staff mainly loitered around the kitchen with one keeping an eye on young Cara. Then came their opportunity.
"Dick One has moved upstairs," Crypto advised the team. "Dick Two is checking out the front.
"Living room is clear," Hal added.
Together, they watched the twins move into the property.
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco
Herbst Theatre
Main Floor
Mindy, Hailee, Kim, and Taylor
Mindy was confused.
There appeared to be no attempt to gather jewellery, cash, or any kind of valuables at all. Every man and woman was stripped of their cell phones which was no surprise, and the devices were all in a canvas bag which had been unceremoniously thrown onto the stage. The actors and singers for the night's opera had been routed from their dressing rooms and they were all sitting on the same stage with three gunmen keeping them company.
"What the fuck are they after?" Mindy whispered to Hailee.
"No idea," Hailee whispered back.
Mindy was then yanked to her feet by a gunman.
"You have something to say?" the man growled.
Mindy bristled and it took all of her willpower not to snap the man's neck, but that would have revealed just a little too much. Instead, Mindy simply glared into the man's eyes which blinked first and the man released Mindy, shoving her back into her seat beside Rosa who scowled up at the man.
"No talking!" the man called out.
Hailee was getting angry – she was very worried that everything might just kick-off and innocent people might then get hurt.
Balcony Section
Dave was unhappy about being split from Mindy and the other women.
His job was to protect the women, even if they were perfectly capable of looking after themselves – if only the gunmen knew of the wolves in sheep's clothing whom they had under their gun barrels. Secretly, Dave was a little worried about the queen wolf who might just do something stupid. Mindy had very little patience in general, let alone during a hostage situation – Mindy preferred to act directly, rather than wait for the right moment to act, Dave knew from bitter experience.
However, it was not Mindy who decided that it was time to act. One of Dieter's goons moved slowly towards a gunman who was looking down from the balcony into the seating below. Dave rolled his eyes as he watched the man move. The man thought he was in the clear, and he actually managed to get to within an inch of the gunman, only to find the faceless gunman whirling around and . . . the machine pistol instantly spat out a stream of bullets, turning the man's head into mush, even as the body crumpled to the ground. There was screaming from all around, as well as yelling from below, as the gunfire echoed around the theatre.
"I'm okay," Dave whispered.
"What happened?" Mindy demanded.
"One of Dieter's goons decided to take on a gunman," Dave explained.
"Dickhead!"
Dave chuckled.
Sonoma Road
20:25 PDT
Venom & Bane
Venom stepped through the open patio doors into the living room which was equipped with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Napa Valley.
With Bane just behind, the pair moved stealthily between a credenza and a grand piano before leaping up two steps into the foyer. Dick Two had his back to them as he stood out on the patio beyond the wooden front doors. Both girls moved across the marble floor without a sound, then Dick Two decided to turn around.
"Dick Two going back inside!" Crypto warned.
There was no time to race up the six curved marble steps which led to their target, so both girls vanished into the toilet, just ahead, both hiding behind the door.
"Hold still, girls."
The twins could hear the man's feet on the marble as he walked back inside, securing the front doors and then stopping mid-foyer. Neither girl even breathed as they stood perfectly still. Then the feet moved away and towards the kitchen.
"Clear," Crypto announced.
"Fuck!" Bane stated as they twins moved out of the toilet and then bounded up the six curved marble steps and along the corridor which led to Dieter's master suite.
However, they did not enter the bedroom, instead pausing at the entrance to Dieter's office, located on the left, just before the door which led into the master suite. The door was shut, as expected, and there was a small black device affixed to the wall beside the door lock. Bane held her wrist computer against the device.
"Cool!" Bane grinned as the door lock released, all thanks to Dieter's access card RFID code which had been uploaded to Bane's computer.
..._...
Bane nudged open the door, barely half an inch.
She studied the door jam, looking for any tell-tales or any booby traps. She knew that Dieter would protect his property and a few explosive devices should not be dismissed.
"All clear," Bane reported. "I'm going in."
"I hope we have plenty of disinfectant," Venom groaned as she followed her sister into Dieter's Den.
The office was not large, but neither was it small. There were windows looking out over the dark Napa Valley to the west. Hanging from the ceiling, there was a five-bladed fan, gently spinning and moving the air around. There was a fireplace with a tall mirror above, located beside the door which they had just entered through, and a giant flat-screen TV mounted on the wall across from a glass-topped, metal-framed, L-shaped desk. There were two computers – one on the desk and another on a table on the back wall behind the desk. Both computers were turned on but sitting at locked login screens. While Venom swiftly searched the room for any interesting paperwork – there was none – Bane inserted a USB device into a USB port on each computer which allowed Crypto to hack into both computer systems, remotely, and download their data.
Finally, Venom carefully opened a tall built-in cupboard located on the opposite side of the fireplace to the door through which they had entered. Inside, was their primary target – a large safe, securely bolted to the concrete floor. It appeared that Dieter enjoyed technology and the safe made use of digital locks including a fingerprint reader as well as an RFID device.
Naturally, they had been prepared for that – kind of.
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco
Herbst Theatre
Main Floor
Mindy, Hailee, Kim, and Taylor
"I don't like to bother you guys," Hal announced.
"But you're going to," Mindy hissed back.
"We need Dieter's fingerprint."
"I bet you do," Mindy replied sourly.
"Shouldn't be too hard," Dave cut in from the balcony above. "Give me a minute."
"Stay safe, Dave," Mindy responded.
Balcony Section
Dave was unsure if his plan would work, but if the mission was to succeed then he would just have to succeed.
'Hell,' he thought, 'what was life without a bit of risk?'
Dave edged over towards Dieter, ignoring the remaining protective goon who glared at Dave. Dieter was seated in a seat, looking very annoyed. He was also, and that was what Dave was after, still clutching the glass of expensive whiskey which he had been sipping since before the armed assault had begun.
"Dieter, may I?" Dave asked, nodding at the almost empty glass.
Dieter said nothing as he handed over the glass. Dave was very careful to grip the glass by the top to avoid obliterating Dieter's fingerprints. Dave swiftly downed the remaining, very expensive, whiskey before discretely placing the glass down on the arm of his chair. With a few sneaky movements, Dave slipped his cell phone out of his pocket – he had passed off a decoy when the armed men had come around collecting cell phones – and he quickly snapped off a couple of photos of the glass before shoving the phone away again.
"You get that?" Dave whispered.
Sonoma Road
20:34 PDT
COBALT
"Got that!" Crypto responded as she received the photos.
"Good enough?" Hal asked.
"I think so," Crypto replied as she processed the photos before sending the resulting fingerprint on to Bane. "Bane – try this."
"Thanks, Crypto."
Venom & Bane
Bane removed from her utility belt a small device which looked like a cross between an AA battery and a finger.
Bane pressed a button at the end and a small green LED flickered for a moment before illuminating steadily. Bane then placed the underside of the device against the fingerprint reader on the door of the safe – an amber light beside the reader lit up and Bane added the RFID signal . . . the light changed to green and the safe locking mechanism motored open with an audible whirring sound. Bane pulled open the safe door and the two girls then rifled through the contents of the safe. They photographed paperwork and duplicated computer data, replacing everything exactly as they had found it.
"Time to move, guys," Crypto announced.
"Wrapping things up," Venom acknowledged.
Bane retrieved the USB devices connected to the computers before moving to the door to checkout the route for their escape.
..._...
There was no sign of anybody as they stepped out into the corridor outside Dieter's office.
"All clear to move – the Dicks are occupied," Crypto reported.
Bane gently pulled the door closed behind them both and she felt it lock. Together, they edged down the marble-floored corridor leading to the marble steps which led down into the foyer. They crept down the steps, stepping softly as they went. They could hear the voice of a young girl as she conversed with one of the kitchen staff – apparently, the girl wanted some pizza.
"Alpha Team, Bravo Team, you're clear to extract through the living room."
The two girls moved swiftly, not wanting to be caught so close to the end of their mission. They soon found themselves out on the deck and then running down the wooden steps, finally emerging outside the house and back into the comforting darkness.
"All teams, standby to extract," Hal called as she watched Venom and Bane emerge from the house.
The two girls were swiftly joined by Lilith and Trauma and the four of them crossed the drive, ducking in behind the garage to check that their extraction route was clear.
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco
Herbst Theatre
Main Floor
Mindy, Hailee, Kim, and Taylor
21:04
Boredom was beginning to set in.
Unfortunately, boredom did not sit well with Mindy – she tended to act out when she was bored and Mindy acting out was never good . . . for anyone! Kim had recognised the signs as Mindy had started to become restless and she worried that things might just go south before a proper plan was in place. As Kim looked up, she saw one of the masked men stroll past, his machine pistol cradled in his arms. Nobody had told them anything – not since the initial announcement – and Kim hated not knowing what was going on. However, she knew that her husband was on the case and Marty did not know how to fail, she was certain. Then had come the radio call which all had been waiting for.
"Teams are clear, and all objectives met."
Mindy's shoulders visibly sagged at the news . . . but then they straightened very quickly.
"Let's put an end to this crap!" she hissed.