But somehow the SIASS relays had been informed about the general whereabouts of the HIA agents, and now he could see many other heat signatures heading towards the core. He didn’t have time to reboot the com systems and turn communications on from remote access, so he couldn’t warn them. The SIASS agents were closing in, and they were moving fast.
****************
“Tyler, find out where Laura and Jace are. I’ll tap into their map system and load it onto my hard drive. Janaya, watch the door,” Rebecca commanded. The three agents went right to work.
It was only a few minutes before Janaya said, “Hey, guys. Looks like I’m gonna have a little fun.”
Rebecca glanced back. “Hold them off! It’s 97% complete!”
Janaya smiled. “I’m glad to oblige.” She tapped her wristband and a specialized bow appeared. She rolled up her pant leg and tapped a circle on her leg. A bag of arrows appeared on the ground next to her. She grabbed it and swung it up onto her shoulders. “ASW, I knew I could count on you,” she said, grabbing an arrow and sliding it gracefully on her bow. “Don’t fail me now.” She pulled the string back and aimed it at the first man rushing towards her. “Stop or I’ll shoot!” she yelled. The man kept coming. She gave a half smile. “They never listen. As you wish.” She let the arrow loose and it hit her target straight on. In the matter of a couple seconds, she had another arrow notched on her bow.
"98% finished!" Tyler announced.
"I'm in need of a little bit of help now!" Janaya said calmly. She didn’t really need it, but she didn’t want to do this alone. No wonder they say I turn everything into a team-building exercise, she mused to herself.
Rebecca took one of her gadgets and threw it around the corner that the men were coming from. A distant shout was heard.
"Grenade!"
BOOM.
"Thanks." Janaya responded as she notched another arrow.
"99% guys, just a little bit more." Tyler announced. Then, the men began to pour in from the hallways. Rebecca threw two more grenades, then began to use her throwing knives. Janaya switched from her bow to two swords.
"100% guys, we can- oh, nevermind, it's finalizing it." Tyler said.
"Finalizing doesn't matter; we just need to get out of here!" Rebecca shouted. Janaya gripped a grenade and threw it over the men's heads.
"We need the gas masks on now." Rebecca commanded. All three put on their masks, and when they were secure, Rebecca unleashed the gas. They waited for men to attack them, but the gas had cleared, showing men everywhere collapsed on the floor.
"Ok, I believe that the device is done finalizing now. Let's go." Rebecca commanded.
****************
Laura and Jace woke up to hear a distant explosion. They waited for it to happen again. It happened three more times. They looked at each other, and Laura shrugged her shoulders and went back to sleep.
*****************
“This is the door,” Tyler said, “but the hall isn’t clear of the gas yet.”
“Screw it,” Rebecca responded, and began banging herself on the metal door.
“Hey!” Janaya cried, stepping up. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,” she repeated, pushing Rebecca back. “I got this.” She pulled a gadget from her pocket and opened it up. She stuck it in the door and began twisting it around.
“We don’t have time for this,” Rebecca complained.
“One…second…” The door clicked and Janaya opened it. “Voilà!”
“Thanks,” Rebecca said and walked in.
“Welcome,” Janaya answered, and slid the gadget back in her pocket.
“Where’d you get that?” Tyler questioned.
Janaya smiled. “The Agency for Specialized Weapons, of course. Where else?”
“I thought Adm. Taylor outlawed going there.”
Janaya gave him a sideways look. “When have I ever lived by the rules?” Then she shrugged. “Besides, I don’t go over there. I have my weapons specially delivered.”
“They do that?”
“Not usually. I’m just their favorite,” Janaya answered with a grin. Tyler shuddered on the inside, although he wasn’t sure why.
“Hey guys,” Rebecca called from in the room. “Come help me.” The two agents stepped into the room. Rebecca was trying to carry the floppy body of an unconscious Laura.
“Oh, great. I’m left with the ex-terrorist guy. This is fun,” Janaya said sarcastically. Tyler went to help Rebecca carry Laura. “What, no help?” Janaya asked.
“I’m not carrying that sack of potatoes,” Tyler answered. He shrugged and Rebecca struggled to keep hold of Laura.
“Can’t we just leave him?” Janaya asked, nudging him with her shoe.
Rebecca glared at her. “As much as I’d love to, that’s not an option. You’re the strongest one here, so stop complaining and pick him up,” she hissed. Finally, Janaya picked up Jace and the agents slowly made their way out of the facility.
****************
Kalyia finally rebooted the system and could see five people heading towards the exit. She swore under her breath and turned to the SIASS speaker. “Code red. All units pursue five hostiles on level one, hall four. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill!” She sat up from her desk and grabbed a pistol. The Man would kill her if she didn’t fix this mistake. She checked the magazine and snapped it back. She grabbed her extra magazine and slipped it into her pocket. She had to stop them from getting away. The easiest way to do that would be to cut off their escape. She had to stop the plane.
****************