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City Streets
#15: The Strike
cover: Allan and Joe standing, with swords clashing between them.
"'The leg enhancements we gave Joe Smale work wonders. Give my thanks to the good doctor,'" Allan read. "Signed, L.H."
The team sat around a table, a pair of empty pizza boxes sticking out of the garbage can behind them. Spread out on the table were various notes and photocopies of various documents Josh had brought back from his meeting with Runt.
"She borged him," Josh muttered. "Which means he's as good as new, or better."
"How the hell did Runt get hold of this?" Heather asked. "I know she's sneaky, but this is too sneaky, even for her."
"I hate saying this," Allan muttered, "but this smells like a set-up. But look at our choices. We can either keep playing this cat and mouse game with her, or finish it."
"I want to put this whole thing behind me," Heather sighed, her red mane shaking with her head. "I say we finish it."
"I think we all feel that way," Josh stated.
"We finish it."
Allan knocked once on Heather's door.
"Come in," she stated.
As he hesitantly opened the door, he took in the sight before him. Heather sat on the far edge of the bed, an M-16 in pieces in front of her.
"Something wrong, Al?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Heath... I..."
"What is it, Al?"
"I... I have to tell you something. It's to do with the... brainwashing."
"I was afraid of this," she muttered. "What is it?"
"I... I don't want to hurt you with this... but I... I wasn't exactly able to completely kill the brainwashing Harnagorn put on you."
"Oh." She stood, and hugged him close. "But it's been a few months."
"That's just it, Heather," he whispered. "I need to know if it fell apart on it's own, or if it's still there."
"I sense a 'but' in there, Al."
"But I know you don't want me taking a stroll through your mind."
"I see...."
"So, what are you going to do? You can sit this out...."
"No," she interrupted him. "Regardless of what happens, this is something I have to do. It's the only way to be sure. Otherwise, I'll never know." She leaned up and kissed him hesitantly. "Promise me this," she whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "No matter what happens between us, no regrets?"
"No regrets," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I swear it."
Later that night, the six sat around a table. The table itself was covered with blueprints, sketches, and photographs of the Orphanage building.
"Harnagorn will probably be in either her office here," Allan mentioned, pointing to a spot on a blueprint, "or her quarters on the top floor. She usually leaves her office at three in the afternoon for, from what Runt tells us, to visit the underground complex. Josh, Robin, you two will head down that way. Destroy as many laboratories as you can."
"Right."
"Pete, your job is to raid Harnagorn's office. Steal and/or destroy as much incriminating evidence as possible, especially about us and Danette. Heather, you back him up."
"And if the fartbag is there at the time?"
"That's what Heather's there for." He shot Heather a knowing glance. "Lee, head for the penthouse. Same mission as Pete."
"Got it."
"What'll you be doing," Josh asked, "while the rest of us are running around like headless chickens?"
"I'll be taking care of Joe."
The next afternoon, the six of them were let into the orphanage's kitchen by Runt. As usual, Runt had a smart-alecky comment to make.
"Now what're ya here for? You're starting to cramp my business!"
"Shut up, Runt,' Heather told her. "And I suggest you get away from here. Far away."
"Oh, shit. You... You're really gonna do it this time? There goes my business rep!"
"What business rep, Runt? You're only ten!"
"You haven't checked out runt.net yet, have you?"
"Just get lost for the next few hours," Allan told her. "With any luck, this'll be over by the time you get back."
"Okay, but if I lose any money on this..."
Once inside the building, the six split up.
"This bag is PACKED," Lee whistled as she surveyed Harnagorns penthouse. After checking all five rooms to be sure no one was home, she tripped over to the small desk Harnagorn used for after-hours work. Removing the tools from her satchel, Lee started taking apart the computer.
"This is almost too easy," she muttered, removing the case. "I bet the old bag runs Windoze."
Downstairs, Allan eased open the door to the orphanage's gymnasium. Slipping inside, he felt along the wall for the light switch.
"Don't turn on the lights, little brother," he heard Joe call out.
"Come out from behind the curtain, Jailbird! It doesn't have to be like this."
Allan was almost blinded as the lights came on.
"Yes," Joe stated, walking across the room. "It does."
Allan watched, as a sword flew across the room into Joe's waiting hand. He could her the servomotors in Joe's legs whine as he walked.
Joe was practically right on top of Allan when he took his first swing... only to be blocked by a sword Allan drew from under his jacket.
"You're gonna hafta do a little better than that, Joey."
Down in the subterrainian portions of the complex, Josh and Robin paused, as they entered a lab. Unlike the three previous labs they'd come across, this one was blackened from a previous fight.
"Josh, do you see...?"
"I see it, Rob. I remember it. This is the lab we pulled Dani out of."
Both of them let their gaze wander over the room. It had been cleaned out since that day, but not completely restored.
"Go on ahead," he told her.
"But...."
"I'll catch up in a few minutes." Without another word, Robin nodded, and left the room.
Josh stepped over to the modified CAT scanner, and pulled out a shaped charge. Working quickly, he pressed the charge against the scanner, and pushed the detonator into it. Twisting the top of the detonator, he left the room.
Thirty seconds later, the resulting explosion tore the door to the lab off its hinges.
Allan and Joe thrust and parried their way across the gym. Both had tried to score decisive blows on each other, but they knew each other too well. With a quick glance over Joe's shoulder, Allan formed a hasty plan, and sprinted for the locker rooms after dodging another of Joe's assaults.
"Running away, Allan?" Joe sneered. "I always did think you were too soft for what Grandad pushed us into."
Without a retort, Allan fled into the adjoining room, leaving the door to close on its own. Joe followed quickly behind, thinking to himself how he would be doing a service in killing his younger brother.
Just as he stepped up to the door, Allan jumped out from where he was waiting on the other side of the wall and made a sloppy thrust at Joe's heart. Blocking the thrust easily, Joe 's sword arm extended through the doorway. As planned, Allan slammed the door shut on Joe's wrist, and knocked his sword from his hand.
Allan didn't pause an instant, grabbing the sword as it fell and ran into the showers. As he passed each of the dozen nozzles, he turned each one on full. It wasn't long before the showers were filled with steam.
Joe staggered into the locker room, nursing his wrist. "I'm gonna kill that twerp."
"Too easy! Too easy!" Lee muttered, stuffing the hard drive from Harnagorn's computer into her satchel. After putting away here tools, she went through all the drawers in the desk and thesmall filing cabinet next to it. Finding a laptop system, she bagged that as well, then did a second search of the penthouse for anything else she thought might be useful.
In the bedroom, she discovered a bank of monitors in the vanity. Flipping them on, she found she had a view of almost every room in the orphanage. The scene that drew her attention was the monitor showing her the men's locker room.
"Oh, crap! Get out of there, Allan!"
Elsewhere in the building, Pete set about picking the lock on Harnagorn's office door, only to have the door open from the inside.
Ah, shit, he thought, as they entered the room.
"Welcome back, Heather," Harnagorn greeted her as she stepped into the doorway. "I knew you'd want to rejoin me and mine."
"How do you know?" Heather told the older woman, keeping the laser sight of the rifle on Harnagorn. "Maybe I'm here to kill you."
"But you won't do that," Harnagorn stated confidently. "Last time you were here, you couldn't bring yourself to kill me, and you won't this time."
"Maybe things have changed." Heather fought an internal battle. On one hand, this was the woman who'd raised her for a third of her life. On the other hand, this woman had tried to make Heather a murderer. Her mind fought with her heart. She dropped her gun.
"I knew you couldn't bring yourself to kill me," Harnagorn stated. Then she saw the grenade in Heather's hand.
"I'll hate myself if I kill you," Heather stated, pulling the pin. "So I'm doing us both in."
"NO!" Harnagorn yelled as the grenade fell.