“Aren’t we done?” Spencer asked.
“Not yet,” Jane said, rising from her chair and heading to the podium. “All right, maggots, there are a few weaknesses I’ve already noticed in this group which need to be addressed. We’re going to go over them one by one until they’re corrected. Then you can leave.”
Carlyle was too shocked and Anna too excited by Christine’s presence to hear the comment, but Otto let out a very amused laugh, which made me think the deranged military man really liked Jane and her style.
Stepping into the stairwell beyond Christine, I closed the door behind me. “Christine, what are you doing here? And how did you even find out about this?”
“Don’t make this about me,” Christine said, wringing out her little yellow hat. “You’re planning something dangerous using H.O.P.E. members and didn’t even tell me.”
I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you involved. I know you have your hands full with bigger H.O.P.E. stuff and we’re just one local chapter trying to do our part.”
I also cared about Christine, a lot, and would do anything to keep her safe. Indeed, it surprised me how intense my feelings were. Maybe that was why I’d had the nightmare about killing her. I was afraid of becoming a monster and she represented the best parts of my life.
“Well, okay,” Christine said, pausing. “There’s a lot I need to tell you, but I suppose I do owe you some answers. Reverend Tully is a friend of mine and I asked him to keep an eye on you for me. Don’t be mad at him, though. He wouldn’t have said anything unless he was concerned about you guys.”
I tried not to be angry, but it was hard. I would need to have a talk with the old man about how this was something which required actual security, not the same kind of treatment as a church youth group. “This is, well, uh—”
Smooth, Robbie.
“I know what you’re doing here,” Christine said, shocking me.
“You do?” I asked, really hoping she didn’t.
“You’re going to hit Butterfly,” Christine said, frowning. “I’m not an idiot, Robbie.”
I felt the need to justify myself. “I’m not sorry about it, either. I know you’ve preached nonviolence and how H.O.P.E. can’t sink to Butterfly’s level, but—”
Christine raised a hand to cut me off. “You don’t have to make excuses. I’m aware of how stressed and angry and frustrated everyone has been. And yes, I’m telling people not to do anything rash and stupid but … I failed you all after the riot. I blamed myself for what happened there when I should have been blaming Butterfly.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” I said, angry she’d put all of this on her own shoulders.
“I know,” Christine said, before pausing. “And it’s time for me to own that. So that’s why I’m not here to stop whatever you’re planning. I’m here to be a part of it.”
I was surprised, thrilled, and worried about Christine’s confession. Describing them all as mixed emotions was putting it lightly, but my feelings on the matter were ultimately irrelevant. Christine was far too famous to be part of any covert operation, so I wasn’t sure how she was going to be of help. “We’re doing our best but—”
That was when I thought of how she could best assist with the plan. I wasn’t sure if it would work but it had just the sort of appeal to my sense of whimsy as well as practicality. It would also likely mean we’d have far less of a need to hurt anyone in our break-in.
“I have just the idea,” I said, smiling.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The Monarch Building in downtown New Detroit, like all of them everywhere, had changed after the riots in Chicago, and there was a strong sense the world was going with it.
The surrounding buildings, formerly owned by other companies, had all been bought out and replaced with Monarch sub-branches. The streets had been purchased from the city itself and now were directly patrolled by Monarch soldiers with drones as well as walking tanks. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie and not Star Trek.
The field trip felt like we were inspecting a military base and I wondered if our plan was doomed from the very beginning as we were ushered through the metal detectors at the front door. Mr. Welles, who was heading the trip, looked as nervous as anyone else as he took head count every few minutes.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” Anna muttered, standing beside me and Jane toward the end of the group.
“The tighter the system, the weaker its bonds,” Jane replied, unconcerned. “I can already see any number of exit points.”
“Keep quiet, guys,” I said, speaking softly. “We’re only going to get one shot at this.”
“Your plan is solid,” Jane said, simply. “I have managed to work out most of the flaws and improve the areas which I felt were lacking.”
I did a double take. “You did what?”
Jane smiled. “Trust me. This is a covert operation. I know this.”
“Then you should have come up with the plan, G.I. Jane,” Anna muttered.
“I am more a ‘fine details’ sort of operative,” Jane said, looking at me. “Robbie is more the kind of person who can do the big-picture stuff.”
“Was that a compliment?” I asked, smiling.
Jane’s smile became a frown as she returned to her trademark stoic look. “Take it as you wish.”
The group piled into a trio of elevators and I was glad because that gave us a little more room. We only had to get away from two other students in order to find our way to the server room. They were football players Rudy Chowder and Rex Jansen. In fact, Rudy was the tall blond receiver that had a thing for Jane. He truly was an annoying specimen.
The doors shut on us as Jane pushed the button for the 40th floor where the distraction was supposed to begin. I hoped Carlyle, Fred, and Spencer knew what they were doing. The entire plan rested on them.
“Man, this sucks,” Rex said wearing his football jacket. “I’d rather be in school.”
“I wouldn’t,” Rudy responded, talking to his teammate. “As boring as this place is, at least it’s something new. Besides, we can skip off for lunch.”
“You think?” Rex asked.
Rudy looked over at Jane. “Hey, cutie. You want to come with us? Get away from the Greenpeace kid?”
“Greenpeace kid?” I asked, annoyed.
“No,” Jane said. “I am not interested.”
“How about you, Anna?” Rex asked, leering at my girlfriend.
I glared at him.
“No,” Anna said, simply. “I’m enjoying the tour.”
The jock rolled his eyes. “Your loss, girl.”
“I doubt it,” Anna said.
The doors opened moments later and revealed an office full of hundreds of cubicles, filled with identically dressed workers typing away on computers. It was hardly the most interesting thing the tour could have shown us, but there wasn’t anything I wanted to see here besides the server room.
That was when a pair of Monarch security guards led Fred Otto past them, back into the elevator behind them. He was dressed as a member of the janitorial staff and had a decent disguise on, including a wig and glasses.
Suddenly, right on cue, the radio on a guard’s belt clicked on. “We have a situation down in the lobby! All units converge!”
The radio stayed on as I heard Christine’s voice dramatically shouting in the background. “You can’t keep the truth out! Butterfly is evil and the people will no longer stand for the corruption they bring to the world! FREEDOM!”
Well, Phase One was now complete. I was concerned about what Christine would do after her distraction was put in motion, but she promised she could handle herself, which was true. It wouldn’t be the first time the H.O.P.E. leader was arrested.
The two guards next to Fred ran off to the stairwell on the other side the room. I gave Fred a look and he nodded as Mr. Welles tried to keep the rest of the class calm.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yes,” Jane said, simply.<
br />
Rudy looked at her sideways. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Nothing,” I muttered.
Moments later, large amounts of white smoke started to waft out of four different spots spread about the office. The fire alarm immediately blared but it became impossible to see inside the room as everyone was blinded by the chemically created fog around them.
“Come on,” I said, hitting the elevator button behind me and letting the door open as Jane, Anna, and I retreated into it.
I immediately hit the button for the basement and hoped Spencer Jenkins would do his job of getting us down there.
“Hey!” Rudy said, coming to the door. “Where are you guys going?”
“Dammit,” I muttered. “Jane?”
“Right. Sorry about this,” Jane said.
“What?” Rudy asked.
Jane punched him in the nose, causing him to stumble backward. He held his nose as blood poured from it.
“Yo vitch!” Rudy managed to say before the doors closed.
Anna burst out laughing.
“You couldn’t have just pushed him?” I asked.
Jane rolled her eyes. “You asked me to deal with it. I dealt with it.”
She had a point there. “All right. Well, the first part of our plan is going well.”
I pulled out my cellphone and texted an affirmative to the rest of the group. It wasn’t exactly Mission: Impossible tech but hopefully would work out in the long run. “Okay, now we just need to get Carlyle to take us past the basement and into the server level before Spencer shuts off the power.”
“What happens when they notice we’re gone?” Anna asked.
“Maybe we’ll get arrested and sent to jail,” I said, thinking about the consequences. “However, if we succeed, then the end of the world might be prevented.”
“Wow,” Anna said, looking at me appreciatively. “I want to start making out with you right now.”
“Ugh,” Jane muttered, looking disgusted.
I looked away, embarrassed. Truth be told, I didn’t know if this would actually do anything to save the world. Even if we successfully publicized all the dirty secrets of Monarch, there was no guarantee they’d be destroyed. There were also other megacorporations than Monarch, smaller ones, but still powerful enough to manipulate the government. A part of me wanted to do what Anna advised and destroy all of Monarch’s records, hoping it would do more damage than trusting the public.
But that way lay the Scorpion.
The elevator continued to descend until it reached the basement before continuing farther. Carlyle Hernandez had succeeded in hacking the controls, it seemed. When it reached the ground level, we saw the doors open to reveal a long hallway past numerous security cameras. There was a single transparent doorway at the end of the hall with numerous computer servers visible beyond. A door to a stairwell also existed on the right side of the room but, according to Spencer, that was straight to the building’s security center and a small army of Monarch goons.
“So far, so good,” Anna muttered.
“If this is good then I don’t want to know bad,” Jane said.
“Quiet,” I said, texting the group once more. “We’re there.”
That was when the power cut out and everything went dark.
“Good job, Spencer,” I muttered. “Run!”
Running down the hall with Anna and Jane in tow, I arrived at the door and found the magnetic lock disengaged. Pulling the door open, the three of us slipped into the server room right before the red emergency lights kicked on. The door slammed shut behind us even as I saw there was only a pair of security cameras in the server room. It was part of our plan but it was also a lucky break as we could, mostly, avoid those.
“Okay, did we plan on the door locking behind us?” Anna asked.
“No,” I said, sighing. “That is not a good thing, especially with a fire that’s supposed to keep the doors open.”
“Maybe they consider the servers’ security more important than life,” Jane said, simply.
I cursed. “Yeah, well, this is not going to be good.”
“We just need to upload the virus now,” Anna said, staring. “We’re changing the world. Anything after this point doesn’t matter.”
I blinked, surprised at the intensity of her words. “Maybe.”
“No maybe,” Anna said, her voice fierce. “Do you have the virus?”
“Yeah,” I said, pulling a flash drive out of my pocket. “If Carlyle is right, then all we have to do is stick it into the right socket. Then it’ll connect to the servers of—”
“I know the plan,” Anna said, grabbing it.
“Anna,” I started to speak.
“No,” Anna said, walking in plain view of the servers. “I’m changing the world.”
She proceeded to shove the flash drive in the side of the largest of the blocky machines. It had a single computer connected to it with a screen on a table. Anna didn’t hesitate to activate the program and begin what should have been the end of Butterfly.
“Dammit,” I said, staring at the security cameras. There was no chance Monarch hadn’t spotted us now. Well, Anna at least. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did,” Anna said. “Now you should figure out how the hell to get out of here or get ready to fight when the Monarch troopers arrive.”
That was when all the power in the room went off, this time including the servers, which wasn’t part of the plan. Jane pulled out a flashlight and turned it on, providing a little illumination that was accompanied by my cellphone’s bright screen. I aimed it around like a flashlight, providing a bit more light.
“No!” Anna said, tapping the keyboard a few times.
“What? What happened?” I asked, confused.
“It wasn’t done yet!” Anna said, staring over at me. “Hell, it had barely begun.”
Jane frowned. “Perhaps Butterfly cut the power to make sure we didn’t get their secrets.”
“That’s going to cripple their entire company, though,” I said, looking around at the machines around me. “Every second these things are down is millions of dollars they’re losing in revenue.”
“It might be worth it, depending on what’s here,” Jane said, her expression thoughtful. She didn’t look nearly as nervous as I felt.
“Then we have to wreck everything,” Anna said, looking around the room as if she expected to find a sledgehammer or something nearby.
“Just give me a second to think,” I said, close to panicking.
That was when my cellphone made a series of text noises. Picking it up, I stared at them.
HERNANDEZ IS DEAD
JENKINS IS DEAD
OTTO IS DEAD
YOU’RE NEXT, SCORPION
“Oh … shit,” I said, my mouth gaping in horror. How the hell did they find out about what was coming? Was Christine next?
I didn’t know how to respond, so I just stared at the texts in horror. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined the assassins would catch up to me now. Who had clued them in? Had they just followed me and the others once one of their own had been eliminated?
Jane noticed my distress and grabbed the phone, staring at it.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
Jane dropped my phone to the floor and stomped down, crushing it to pieces so the assassins couldn’t track us. “We have to leave. Now.”
“But the mission—” Anna started to say.
“Is over,” Jane said, forceful. She grabbed Anna by the arm and started leading her to the door. She kept her flashlight aimed at the door which was presumably once more unlocked. “Robbie, pull it open.”
“Right,” I said, going to the door. I managed to open it but that didn’t help any. As soon as I did, a flashing red light flooded the darkness in the room and was accompanied by a blaring siren that echoed all around us. If there was any doubt before that we were in trouble, it had now gone straight out the window. The three of us had somehow
tripped an alarm and were still inside the most secure room in the entire building.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
There are two kinds of people you find in a crisis—those who panic and those who don’t. The Scorpion was most definitely the latter. From what I read and what Jane told me, he thrived when faced with impossible odds. Given our current situation, this was even more proof that he and I were absolutely not the same person.
To be fair, I didn’t panic right away. First I froze, unable to think, much less move. When a thought finally did enter my head, it was to assign blame. Anna, however, beat me to it.
“What did you do?” she yelled at me.
“I didn’t do anything,” I replied, innocently raising my hands. “I just opened the door.”
“And it obviously set off the alarm,” she said obnoxiously.
“What about you, Miss ‘I’m changing the world.’ You walked right in front of a camera. Ever think of that?”
“The virus should’ve wiped out the feed,” Anna said defending herself.
She wasn’t wrong. Carlyle designed the flash drive to erase the day’s CCTV footage in the building. Still, all evidence pointed to the fact that it probably didn’t work. “Then explain the blinding red light that keeps flashing in our faces.”
It said something about our relationship that when the shit hit the fan Anna and I resorted to bickering like children. I wasn’t about to stop, though. At least, not until Jane stepped in.
“Quiet!” she said, interrupting our pointless argument. “Both of you!”
We obliged and remained silent until Jane spoke again. “I don’t think either of you set off the alarm.”
“Then what did?” asked Anna, curious and confused.
I knew what was on Jane’s mind. I had considered the same thing but didn’t want to believe it. The assassins tripped the alarm to flush us out. I wasn’t about to tell Anna that, though, and waited for Jane to explain it for me.
She didn’t. Instead, Jane’s gaze slowly scanned above us as if she were focused on something invisible running across the ceiling. “Do you hear that?”
“The deafening siren?” I asked sarcastically. “Yeah. I think we all do.”
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