The days following Maggie's trip to the museum passed excruciatingly slowly, as she visited pawnshop after pawnshop in search of more David Artino items, helped her gang with their preparations for the parade, and tried not to think about Max. She wasn't sure what was more infuriating—that he kept popping into her mind at random moments, or that him popping into her mind was a welcome distraction from the constant frustration she was beginning to feel due to her fruitless search. More than once she considered giving up on the idea of finding the items altogether, but each time, she reminded herself that she was so close. She had two of the items with her. Nova had a third, and Maggie had a plan for how she would steal it off her wrist at the parade. If she could just find one more, then maybe she would have a chance at claiming the helmet for herself, with no chance that it could ever fall into the wrong hands.
You know it might not even work that way, a little voice in the back of her mind persisted. You know it might be only Nova who has any chance of being able to use those items like that.
She scowled, but it was this thought that caused her to give up her search an hour early and head back to the theater.
She was met by Yasmin, who rolled her eyes in greeting. "Finally. You're home. We've been waiting all day to get into the storeroom."
"Why do you need to get into the storeroom?" Maggie asked in a bored voice.
Yasmin gave her a look that implied that she had just asked the stupidest question ever. "Because today's inventory day."
Inventory day! She had completely forgotten. At last Friday night meeting, Eminya had drafted a schedule of how the week was going to go, and what each person would be responsible for each day. Today, the entire team was supposed to go into the storeroom and make absolutely certain that they had everything they needed.
Except that no one could get into the storeroom without Maggie, since she had to use her powers to unlock the door.
"Duh," she said to Yasmin. "Can't you tell when I'm being sarcastic?" She brushed past the younger girl, down the hallway and toward the old wooden door that led to the cellar. "Hey! Gatlon City Villains! Let's get a move on! Today's Inventory Day!"
One by one, each of her gang members appeared from wherever they'd been, congregating at the end of the dark hallway. Chester was first, squirting a line of water a yard or so ahead of his own feet as he ran, then jumping and sliding on his homemade puddle. Eminya stepped out from one of the dressing rooms, Kevin slinked out from the direction of the stage, and Zoridel appeared so quickly and quietly it was almost as if she'd been there all along, though Maggie knew she hadn't been. Duncan was last, slipping out from the same dressing room Eminya had just vacated.
"What were you two doing in there, kissing?" Yasmin asked, a slight smirk on her face.
"Shut up," said Duncan, glaring at her as his face reddened.
"Yes, please shut up; it will make a very unpleasant Inventory Day if the whole place smells like skunk," Maggie admonished Yasmin. "Alright. Everybody's here. Let's do this."
She led the way down the dark, cobwebby steps, and to the door at the bottom of the stairwell, which she unlocked with her powers. Once the door opened, she flipped the lightswitch and the storeroom lit up, as full and majestic as ever.
And ready to wreak a whole lot of havoc.
"Everybody to your places," Maggie commanded, watching as her gang scattered, each to their own section of the room. "Okay. Rundown. When the parade starts, Duncan, you'll be smack in the middle of the square, next to the old Dunlap building. Do you have all your supplies?"
"Seven odor magnifier grenades, my nose plug, airtight chest that hasn't been opened in seven months, key to said airtight chest, wagon for hauling said airtight chest, portable catapult, twelve drones to be controlled by Kevin, and, for when it's all said and done, my black-and-white villain garb," Duncan replied with a self-satisfied smile. "Some parade-goers are about to have a very smelly day."
"Excellent," said Maggie. "Eminya, what do you have?"
"Schematics of the city, route of the parade, schedule for when we're each doing what, copies of all three of those items for everyone, tranquilizer darts, tranquilizer guns, bicycle, microphones, speakers, and copied pages from various world history textbooks; I won't bore you by sharing all of the titles and authors."
"Thank you," said Maggie dryly. "And you'll be sitting on the steps of Clemm Library, reading a book."
"Right," said Eminya. "My prop book. I forgot to mention that one."
"Yasmin," Maggie barked.
"Got my safety suit, firecrackers, tranquilizer, pepper spray, Taser, six changes of clothes, two pairs of sunglasses, three hats, and two wigs," Yasmin recited. "I've mapped out exactly where I'll dash off to change identities after slashing each set of float tires."
"And we've mapped out exactly where I'll be hiding, in the opposite direction of where Yasmin's going to run, so I can squirt them as a distraction," Chester piped up. "I still have to fill all my water balloons tonight. But I have the unfilled ones, and the wagon to carry them once they're filled, and my launchers, and the food coloring."
"Good," said Maggie. "Kevin?"
Kevin flinched back at the sound of her voice, but replied, "I'll set up my control room in the top level of the Gatlon Hotel. I've already placed cameras along the entire path of the parade, and I'll be monitoring those as well as manning all of the drones. And I'll be communicating with each of you via your earpieces."
"Except Zoridel, because we don't have any that are waterproof." Maggie frowned in the newest gang member's direction. "How are you going to know when it's time for your part?"
Zoridel rolled her eyes. "Don't you think it will be kind of obvious when the parade passes the overlook to the bay? I'll be standing by the railing pretending to take pictures. As soon as the Council's float rounds the corner, I'll get a bit too eager in my picture-taking and climb up on the railing to try to get a better look at them. Then I'll 'slip' and scream as ear-piercingly as possible as I fall down to the water."
"Which is why I'm glad we don't have any waterproof mics," Kevin muttered.
"What if it's Tsunami who comes to your rescue?" Maggie challenged. She'd had a role in coming up with this plan, but now she was second-guessing it. "Couldn't she just move the water out of the way?"
"The Council doesn't know I can breathe underwater," Zoridel retorted. "If she does that, I'll just lay down there and act like I passed out from water inhalation. None of the Council is telekinetic—someone will have to come down and get me. And then I can capture them and hold them for ransom, just as we planned."
Maggie looked around the room. Every one of her gang members was wearing an expression somewhere between earnest and solemn. They had worked hard to prepare for this attack. None of them seemed to hold the slightest sliver of doubt about whether it would work—or about whether it would be a good thing.
So why couldn't she feel the same way? Why couldn't she muster the same excitement, the same zeal for the project as she'd had all those years ago when she'd first dreamt it up?
"Well, that's all of us accounted for, except you, Boss," said Duncan. "But we all know what you'll be doing during all of our distractions. Now what about our allies?"
She felt a sick lurch in her stomach as she remembered what Max had told her the day they'd gone to the artifacts warehouse. She met each gang member's gaze, grateful that Gargoyle no longer resided here and that therefore she could speak openly. "Based on some new intel I received… Frostbite also plans on retrieving the helmet."
Gasps went up around the room. "Frostbite?" Eminya wailed. "Did she find out that that's what we're trying to do?"
"I'm not sure," said Maggie. "But based on my intel, I don't think we can count on her being at her assigned post during the parade. Also…" Her throat constricted, and she swallowed hard, annoyed with herself. "We know she wants to take out Sketch and Insomnia's float, and also the Council. The Renegades are aware of this, as far as I know, so I'm sure they'll have plans in place to stop it, but—"
"Whoa, hold on," said Duncan. "The Renegades are aware of Frostbite's plans? Does that mean they're aware of our plans?"
She faltered. "N-no," she said hesitantly, realizing that although this was true, the Renegades being on watch might make it a whole lot harder for her gang to follow through with their plans. "No, they don't know anything about us. But I guess… we'll have to be a lot more vigilant."
Especially me, she realized. If the Renegades took Frostbite's claims about Ace Anarchy's helmet seriously, they were probably going to have guards posted all around and throughout the catacombs. Or maybe they'd even go in and find it themselves ahead of time, so they could move it to a different location without anyone knowing about it.
I could just give up on the helmet. The thought crossed her mind fleetingly, and for a moment she envisioned an alternate version of events, in which she attended the parade with Max and cheered as the Renegades apprehended Frostbite and her cronies. But where would that leave her gang? This was the single goal they'd all been working toward for the past three years. Becoming the Gatlon City Villains. Proving that those with 'lesser powers' could still rule and dominate.
No, she couldn't give up on it now. She'd had the opportunity to remain a Renegade three years ago, and she'd turned it down, knowing in her heart that she was a dirty, good-for-nothing villain.
And in just a few days, the whole city would know it too.