❛ The Second Army was formed, the people were sated, and — for the time being — Ravka’s borders were at peace. Now came time for the Commander to become acquainted with the new recruits. And thus, the Triumvirate launched its first mission.
This mission will allow you the chance to get to know your fellow soldiers and pay homage to your favourite characters, the ones who have shaped the path you walk on today. ❜
TO JOIN:
✯ You must create original work that honours your favorite character from the Grishaverse
The intermission was group/solo missions performed by group of sworn IA members - which were direct orders from BIGBOSS or taken individually without his consent. It was between the introduction arc to mission 01; involving Schrodinger's group missions and Seven's solo investigation.
Some time after introduction, Schrodinger was paired up with Seven to assassinate PRIME MINISTER of an unnamed country. He single-handedly eliminated PM's Special Countermeasure Squad Omáda Goulvs (W.O.L.F's Pack).
X's PRIME MINISTER updated!
Prime Minister of X[?]'s country who was a former ally of IA. BIGBOSS suspected him for scheming and ordered assassination. He was later replaced by another Prime Minister.
W.O.L.F (OMADA GOULVS) updated!
X Government's Special Forces (or Countermeasure Squad) which is made to assist Immortal Alliance members, but then known to have been misused by former Prime Minister. Is destroyed by Schrodinger single-handedly.
it is revealed that Seven was the one holding Schrodinger's power via the cat's COLLAR, and eventually this universe was born because of Seven's ability to change the past. The previous timeline was apocalypse created by Schrodinger destroying the world and the two killed each other to "create another timeline where destruction weren't there".
SCHRODINGER'S COLLAR obtained!
Schrodinger's collar that halted the flow of mana (magical power) which transformed him to his passive state. Seven held the passkey to release Schrodinger's wild state by transferring him his mana (becomes the 'source'). Where he got that device was still unknown.
MOEBIUS'S SECRET revealed!
The real name of Seven, "Moebius", whose ability is to loop back to the past if he was killed. He was revealed to have been killed by Schrodinger to create "peaceful" future.
Another mission was to cover up the latter mission, which was in a mess due to Schrodinger's fault for not doing clean assassination. Russel was sent as double agent to infiltrate the company that worked under W.O.L.F's weaponry production and Schrodinger beat the Head Director.
X's HEAD DIRECTOR updated!
Head director of a weaponry company who worked under X's prime minister. He was accused to take part his scheme to oppose IA. He was later taken into custody.
Meanwhile, Seven worked for his allies ALEX and BRAD to bring down MAFIA who smuggled magic jewelry.
ALEX and BRAD updated!
Duo troublemakers along with Seven. They hacked and did illegal things for money and amusement.
MAGIC RUBY obtained!
Crimson jewel which were heavily smuggled into the country by mafias for million dollars worth. Seven and the gank stole it to make it a proof in court to bring down mafia families..
He crossdressed as a woman to get the jewel, though unknown to him, Alex and Brad[?] posted his crossdressing photograph to internet. CHEVI asked Seven to take HEADMISTRESS's position that he had joined IA, but he refused.
CROSSDRESS PHOTO obtained!
It shows Seven crossdressing as a woman, holding a glass of wine in a party. Alex and Brad might be the ones spreading this to the internet..
CHEVI updated!
A big bald guy from Vladislav Electronics Company, worked under Sean Tarassimo and Seven's coworker. It seemed that Chevi and Sean were Seven's childhood friends.
The next day, the rumor of Seven being IA member, which SHOULD BE KEPT SECRET FOR ALL IA MEMBERS, began to spread.
IA MEMBER'S RESTRICTION updated!
Every Immortal Alliance Members or those who knew who they were should shut their mouths tight about their identities. The ones who knew beside of them registered in the database (family members, ex.) were being swiped for good.
In the middle of going back home, he was attacked by MAFIA, and found ALEX-BRAD died. The crystal they investigated turned out to be monsters. Seven spent his night in Chevi's house, and realized that he had morning meeting with another IA members regarding first mission- without Schrodinger. He confronted BIGBOSS that now he suspected him to be the one blowing up his apartment and killing Alex-Brad.
ALEX and BRAD updated!
Duo troublemakers along with Seven. They hacked and did illegal things for money and amusement. Were killed by ruby golems; leaving "magical canvases" as their corpses. They were confirmed to be killed by BIGBOSS for spreading Seven's identity as IA member.
Schrodinger fell into Seven's prank and met a little girl whom he saved.
VAEIN REDD updated!
A brave little girl Schrodinger saved, looked like she was trying to help her father to collect information of bad guys.
But in the middle of his way to IAHQ, he was attacked by group of people researching for immortality. At night, Seven investigated the mafia to obtain information about the jewel, but futile. He fainted of exhaustion during the meeting
MAGIC RUBY information updated!
Crimson jewel which were heavily smuggled into the country by mafias for million dollars worth. Seven and the gank stole it to make it a proof in court to bring down mafia families. Transformed to ruby golems and killed Alex and Brad; but was annihilated completely by Seven.
Nate took him to be treated in military facility and back to the meeting. But he left early, only to be attacked by the group that attacked Schrodinger - W.O.L.F - and inject some liquid to his body.
W.O.L.F (OMADA GOULVS) updated!
X Government's Special Forces (or Countermeasure Squad) which is made to assist Immortal Alliance members, but then known to have been misused by former Prime Minister. Is destroyed by Schrodinger single-handedly. Update information include they survived the massacre and planned to capture immortals; probably sent by someone.
ANTI IMMORTAL DRUG obtained!
strange cyannic liquid that injected to both Schrodinger and Seven; is said to halt the regeneration speed of an immortal for few minutes[?]. Held by W.O.L.F but Seven managed to extract it from his body.
-Ruang interogasi fasilitas militer negara X, pukul 11.00-
"Start talking."
"About what?"
Nate masih menatap pria di depannya dengan ekspresi datarnya yang biasa, but somehow intimidating. Sementara si pria yang tengah diinterogasi tersebut, Piotr, masih menampilkan ekspresi malas yang sama, sambil sesekali memainkan perban yang melingkari lengannya, menahan tangannya yang dipatahkan oleh Nate semalam, dan kakinya terborgol pada meja besi yang memisahkan mereka berdua.
"Apa kau dalang dari semua kejadian di reaktor nuklir semalam?" tanya Nate lagi. Piotr menanggapinya dengan dengusan kecil sebelum menjawab.
"...'semua' kejadian? Memangnya ada berapa kejadian selain yang terjadi di antara kita kemarin malam?"
Mendengar jawaban tersebut, Nate terdiam sejenak, prosesornya menganalisa situasi. Dia tidak mengetahui apapun, which means he's only a mere pawn.
"Kalau begitu, kuubah pertanyaanku: Siapa yang mensponsorimu?"
"I dunno, si orang ini hanya menghubungiku tiba-tiba, dan bertanya apakah aku mau membalaskan dendamku kepadamu. Tentu saja aku mau."
"Dendam apa maksudmu?"
"Meh, hanya rasa iri antar scientist, barang penemuan terkenal sepertimu tidak akan mengerti kecemburuan inventor tua dan tak dikenal sepertiku." Piotr terkekeh sinis.
"Baiklah... Silakan lanjutkan ceritamu."
"Well, long story short, orang misterius ini -- atau yang menyebut dirinya 'Joe', yang pastinya merupakan nama samaran -- menawarkan untuk membantuku menghancurkan dirimu. Dia memberiku semua dana dan resource yang kubutuhkan, bahkan tempat untuk melaksanakannya. Lalu untuk pacar mekanikmu itu, untungnya aku pernah bekerjasama dengannya dan masih ingat tempat dimana aku bisa menemukannya, sehingga aku bisa dengan mudah menculiknya..."
Terdapat jeda beberapa detik sebelum Nate melontarkan pertanyaan lain kepadanya, "Kau pernah bertemu langsung dengan 'Joe' ini?"
"Tidak, tidak pernah, dia selalu mengirim anak buahnya pada saat membantuku." jawab Piotr. "Weird person. Tapi bagiku tidak masalah selama aku bisa mendapatkan apa yang aku inginkan."
"Lalu, apa ada lagi informasi yang kau tahu mengenai kejadian semalam?"
"Nope. That's all I know."
He's not lying, pikir Nate. "...Baiklah, kalau kau tidak memiliki informasi lagi. Selanjutnya aku akan menyerahkanmu kepada pihak yang berwenang, most likely you will get a lifetime sentence." ia pun beranjak dari kursinya dan berjalan menuju pintu ruangan tersebut. "I believe your daughter would be very disappointed to hear about this."
Piotr kembali tersenyum, namun alih-alih senyum licik yang biasa, senyuman kali ini terlihat sedih. "...Kristina, eh? Dia berada di bawah didikanmu, ya? Whatever, we stopped talking to each other years ago, tampaknya dia sudah tidak menganggapku sebagai ayahnya lagi."
Saat Nate memasuki ruangan lab, Sophia telah menunggu di dalam, dan langsung menghampirinya.
"You should be resting, Sophia."
"Tidak perlu, aku sudah merasa cukup baikan..." Sophia hanya menggeleng. "More importantly... How about you?"
Nate hanya menjawabnya dengan biasa, "Tidak ada masalah, semuanya bisa kuatasi. Even though it seems like we're back to square one regarding this case."
"Is that so..."
"Lalu, Sophia, aku sudah meminta Big Boss untuk memindahkanmu ke tempat yang lebih aman agar kejadian seperti ini tidak terulang lagi. Mulai besok, kau dan keluargamu akan dipindahkan ke alamat rumah yang baru." lanjut Nate.
Sophia terlihat cukup terkejut mendengarnya. "Kau... serius? Tapi kenapa sampai perlu repot-repot seperti itu--"
"Karena keamananmu adalah syarat yang kuajukan saat aku bergabung ke dalam kelompok ini." potong Nate, "you're an important person to me."
Si mekanik tersebut terlihat sedikit tercengang mendengar pernyataan dari si robot, namun setelah itu ia mengeluarkan senyum yang tulus dan memeluknya.
"...Thank you, Nate. You're important to me, too."
Di saat seperti ini, mungkin tidak memiliki emosi adalah suatu kekurangan. Nate tidak bisa membalas senyuman tersebut, ia tetap berekspresi datar dan kaku seperti biasanya. Namun baik Sophia maupun Nate mengerti bahwa tidak perlu ekspresi untuk saling mengungkapkan hubungan di antara mereka.
"Sekarang kalau kau tidak keberatan, Sophia, tampaknya aku membutuhkan full system check-up, sepertinya damage dari misi kemarin lebih parah dari yang kukira."
In year 20XX, due to the 'hidden' instability of the world, "Immortal Alliance" was formed by BIGBOSS (whose name hasn't been revealed yet). As the name has said, he chosen seven immortal men and women suitable for the task. He sent PRINTED MAIL to every chosen members of IA.
BIGBOSS'S LETTER obtained!
contains invitation sent to all members to attend meetings of Immortal Alliance, to assemble everyone. The letters were sent one by one each in different hour / time.
One of them was received by former US and commander of military section, android developed by SOPHIA GRIFFITHS. She allowed him to join Immortal Alliance.
SOPHIA GRIFFITHS updated!
lead scientist who was responsible for NATE's development. She was Nate's head developer's descendant.
NATE'S PROMISE AND RESTRICTION updated!
NATE agreed to join Immortal Alliance but under restriction Sophia Griffiths will not be harmed.
BIGBOSS gave DOSSIER contained every members' background and identity report and pointed the FIRST MEMBER as the commander.
IA MEMBER DOSSIERS obtained!
contains information on Immortal Alliance's Members background, identity, and status report, as well as criminal activities. They were handed down to Nate.
Another one was sent directly to head officer of M16, who stated he had finally known his agent's immortality. Thus the promise and restriction were placed and dealt.
M16's CHIEF updated!
Legendary British infamous M16 leader who worked under British government. He ordered Russel to join Immortal Alliance and asked him to do double job to M16.
RUSSEL'S PROMISE AND RESTRICTION updated!
Russel will work under IA and M16 but demands his immortality to be not spread except for the chief. He also demands no harming to his family.
The SECOND MEMBER was called after him, after that the THIRD, the FOURTH, the FIFTH, and the SIXTH. During the meeting, it seemed that the second member had expected someone she knew showed up; the fifth was the first's rival or enemy before joining alliance, and the sixth whispered a familiar name.They were greeted by SERVANTS in IA Headquarter.
IA HQ MAIDS and SERVANTS updated!
Immortal Alliance Headquarter maids and servants, extremely loyal to BIGBOSS and were armed with guns and weapons.
As for the last, he turned down the offer for 15 times, which BIGBOSS had to send them to HEADMISTRESS and SCIENTIST ASSOCIATION as well, which the man turned down as well.
HEADMISTRESS updated!
Seven's school headmistress. She got one of BIGBOSS letter of invitation for the man. She knew he was immortal and knew Immortal Alliance as well.
SEAN TARASSIMO updated!
Head of scientist association where Seven works for. He also got letter of invitation for the man. He may knew the man was immortal, and knew Immortal Alliance as well.
He was finally caught by BIGBOSS himself in the middle of the night when he stole a chip from mafia family.
MAFIA CHIP obtained!
Chip / memory stick contains criminal files of certain member of mafia. It was stolen by Seven and had been handed down to Chert as a proof to destroy the mafia on court.
MAFIA updated!
Group of underground mafia whose jobs are smuggling goods and children. There were two groups (right and left wings) which competed over black-market's ownership.
Finally, the SEVENTH MEMBER joined the alliance. The meeting began when first member told them about the dossiers and himself being an android. The seventh member stood and told the other members that he was given promise and restriction, and gave the sixth member a blow to provoke the alliance.
SEVEN'S PROMISE AND RESTRICTION updated!
Seven reveals that he must not be killed or died, as a part of promise he made with BIGBOSS. He also demands no one shall know his real name and made a deal with BIGBOSS, which was unclear what.
It turned out that the sixth was able to warp reality, thus proving him to be both livelong immortal and cannot possibly be dead.
"Monster-monster ini tidak ada habisnya... Darimana mereka muncul?" komentar Nate sambil terus berlari sembari menembaki monster-monster bayangan yang berusaha menggapai-gapai kakinya dari bawah.
Setelah Seven berpencar dari tim infiltrasi untuk menuju ke tempat Xaviera, dua anggota tim yang tersisa, Nate dan Schrodinger meneruskan pencarian ruangan tempat sandera yang hendak mereka selamatkan disekap. Walaupun mereka sudah menjauh dari tempat sebelumnya, namun tetap saja monster-monster bayangan yang mengetahui jejak mereka, memburu kemanapun mereka pergi, layaknya predator yang sudah mengunci mangsanya.
"Well, Commander, welcome to our life." tanggap Schrodinger. "Anda pergilah menyelamatkan si scientist itu, masalah disini biar aku yang mengatasinya."
-Fasilitas reaktor nuklir negara M, pukul 03.00-
Atas saran Schrodinger dan demi mempercepat penyelesaian misi mereka kali ini, Nate pergi sendiri menuju salah satu lantai yang dia duga menjadi tempat penyekapan Sophia Griffith, scientist korban penculikan oleh musuh misterius mereka. Beberapa menit kemudian, sampailah ia di lantai tiga, yang sepertinya 'hanya' terdiri dari ruang-ruang penyimpanan peralatan. Ia memasuki belokan pertama dari hallway lantai tiga tersebut, dengan sebuah battle knife di tangan kanannya, infrared visionnya aktif mengamati keadaan sekelilingnya.
Sampailah ia pada ujung dari gang sempit tersebut, sebuah pintu yang tampaknya mengarah kepada ruangan kantor biasa. Tidak terlihat apapun di balik jendela ruangan tersebut akibat suasana hallway yang gelap gulita, namun sensor Nate mendeteksi adanya keberadaan dua makhluk hidup di dalam ruangan. Dua orang manusia. Ia berhenti beberapa meter dari pintu ruangan tersebut dan kembali dalam posisi siaga.
"Aku tahu kalian di dalam sana. Show yourself."
Pintu ruangan tersebut terbuka, dan seorang pria paruh baya keluar dengan membawa senter dan menyorotkannya ke arah Nate. Cahaya dari lampu senternya cukup terang untuk membuat sosok dan penampilan dari pria tersebut terlihat. Penampilannya dapat dibilang agak lusuh dan berantakan, terlepas dari pakaian yang digunakannya adalah setelan kemeja, celana panjang dan longcoat. Begitu pula dengan rambutnya yang berwarna abu-abu kusam tak terurus, dan hampir botak. Ia hanya menyeringai licik dan terkekeh saat melihat Nate berdiri tegak di hadapannya.
"привет, Commander Nate."
Nate hanya terdiam sejenak mengamati pria misterius di depannya, database prosesornya berusaha mengenalinya.
"Mikhailova, Piotr. 55 tahun. Peneliti di salah satu fasilitas militer US sampai dengan 8 tahun lalu, sebelum akhirnya menjadi buronan akibat dengan sengaja menyabotase senjata dan kabur. Diduga merupakan salah satu mata-mata Rusia." Nate membaca satu laporan dari database kasus militer miliknya. "Apa yang kau lakukan disini?"
Pria itu terkekeh lagi dengan suara menyebalkan. "Hmph, rupanya namaku sudah cukup dikenal, ya... Bagus, bagus. Tapi kurasa kau tidak mengenalku secara personal, hmm?"
"Tidak perlu berbasa-basi. Kau punya waktu 10 detik untuk menjelaskan mengapa aku tidak perlu melumpuhkanmu." Nate mengeluarkan sebuah pistol dan mengarahkannya kepada Piotr.
"Oooh, calm down." Piotr mengangkat kedua tangannya, namun seringai di wajahnya masih jelas menampakkan bahwa ia tidak menganggap Nate dengan serius. "Sedikit saja kau melukaiku, bom yang kupasang pada dirinya akan meledak." Ia mengangguk ke arah ruangan di belakangnya sambil menyorot senter ke arah jendela, sehingga terlihat sosok seseorang di dalamnya.
Seorang wanita berumur 30-an berambut coklat tergerai, dengan pakaian kerja rapi dan mengenakan jas lab, tampak sedang terduduk tak sadarkan diri di atas kursi. Dalam sepersekian detik, prosesor Nate langsung mengenalinya. Sophia Griffith.
"..Aku tidak perlu melawan atau melukaimu. My mission objective is to bring her back." tanggap Nate dengan nada tenang dan datarnya seperti biasa, sambil menurunkan pistolnya. Mungkin ini salah satu keuntungan dalam menjadi android tanpa emosi, ia tetap mampu mengambil keputusan paling logis dalam situasi mendesak. Kemudian ia pun melangkah maju melewati Piotr untuk memasuki ruangan tersebut. Anehnya, Piotr hanya menyeringai melihatnya.
"Bad choice."
"----!!"
Sedetik kemudian, seakan diserang oleh sengatan listrik tak terlihat, suatu percikan listrik besar muncul dari badan Nate dan detik berikutnya, suara berdebum menggema di hallway tersebut seiring dengan jatuhnya badan besi 200 pound menghantam lantai. Ekspresinya Nate yang tidak berubah dari sebelumnya menandakan bahwa dirinya telah dibuat offline secara paksa.
"...Fuh--HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I did it! I finally did it!!!" tawa gila dari Piotr memenuhi seisi hallway. "SEE NOW? I'M SUPERIOR!! You're just a rusty old robot!!" ia menginjak2 kepala Nate yang masih tak bergeming di lantai. "Penemuan baruku akan segera menggantikan dirimu, dan mereka akan menghapus catatan kriminalku--"
Suara ledakan dari lantai bawah mengejutkan Piotr. "Rupanya kau membawa teman, ya... cih." kemudian ia pun bergegas pergi meninggalkan tempat itu. "At least my work here is done... Just need to detonate them later to wipe the evidence."
Namun ketika Piotr hendak menuruni tangga, ia merasakan sebuah sosok besar berjalan menyusul di belakangnya. "Impossible..." dan ia pun mendadak menghentikan langkahnya untuk melihat sosok di belakangnya.
"Do you think you could take me out with an EMP?"
Nate, berdiri dengan tegap seakan tidak terjadi apa-apa, menggendong Sophia di sebelah pundaknya. Tampak bom yang dipasangkan pada Sophia telah disingkirkan olehnya. Ia menatap tajam Piotr yang sekarang membatu setelah melihatnya kembali, sambil berjalan mendekatinya.
"Perlindungan anti gelombang elektromagnetik adalah salah satu sistem pertahanan utama yang dipasangkan dalam diriku. Teknologimu itu sudah terlambat setidaknya 5 tahun, Mr. Mikhailova."
Kengerian terpancar di wajah Piotr saat mendengarnya. "Ti-tidak mungkin... Teknologiku adalah yang tercanggih!! Mundur kau!!" teriaknya sembari mengayun-ayunkan remote bom layaknya senjata, which is pretty much useless now. Nate mencengkram tangan Piotr dan memelintirnya sampai ia terjatuh dan menjerit kesakitan. "проклятие!!!"
"Aku punya banyak pertanyaan untukmu, tapi itu bisa menunggu di ruang interogasi nanti. Sekarang, aku tidak punya banyak waktu." kemudian ia menghantam bagian belakang kepala Piotr untuk membuatnya pingsan, dan membawanya di lengan satunya, menuruni tangga dan kembali ke lantai dasar.
"...Is that her, the scientist, Nate? Lalu siapa pria yang kau bawa itu?"
Mereka telah kembali berada di dalam helikopter pribadi IA yang hendak mengudara dan membawa mereka kembali ke markas pusat. Hampir semua anggota yang terlibat dalam strike team, kembali dalam keadaan terluka, namun tampak jelas dari ekspresi mereka bahwa masing-masing menemukan sesuatu yang cukup di luar dugaan selama mereka berada di dalam reaktor tersebut. Sesuatu yang tampaknya masih merupakan kepingan puzzle yang belum dapat terlihat bentuknya oleh mereka.
"Ceritanya panjang, Mr. Russel. Yang pasti ia adalah petunjuk untuk menyelesaikan kasus ini." jawab Nate sambil duduk di salah satu kursi dan menarik salah satu kabel energi cadangan di dekatnya, "Aku akan menceritakan detailnya nanti. Now if you'll excuse me, my energy is only 1% left. Apparently his previous attack drained a lot of my energy, now I need to enter sleep mode. See you later in 3 hours." kemudian ia menancapkan kabel tersebut ke belakang lehernya dan langsung memasuki sleep mode, yang memang tampak seperti manusia yang sedang tidur.
Fajar yang terbit pagi itu menandakan berakhirnya misi bersama pertama dari sekelompok immortal ini, yang pada akhirnya hanya menimbulkan segudang pertanyaan lain.
Level 2: Escape from campus after curfew without being caught by guards or appearing on any security cameras.
A beam of florescent light cuts through the thick patterned curtains Lena had picked out herself in their dorm, illuminating the dust floating in the air that had been collecting on most of the furniture. It was a decent sized room, though it wasn’t anything too special. Both sides of the room were extremely different. Were as Lena didn’t spend enough time in her dorm, Alice had been the opposite. She had taken a haven in the broad room, sprouting ideas from her head for the mission.
At the moment, all she had to do was wait. Yes, waiting was the most tortuous part of this assignment. 23:00. Alice brought her wide gaze towards the digital clock by her dresser. She had three more minutes until curfew hit. It killed her patience to wait this long. She supposed she was use to waiting. It shouldn’t bother her then, should it? She smirked sarcastically towards herself, not really seeing where she was even going with this. Hell, it killed anyone to wait this long for a mission.
The only chance she had with interaction was a brief conversation with Annalise before heading off to her room. As a lovely thank you present, she had dropped off a basket of muffins on her way to her dorm for the guards. She added a little extra kick to them. Oh no, it wasn’t love. It was a lovely dash of crushed Melatonin Extra-Strength. Lord knows how easy it is to have the guard’s watchful eyes fall below the belt for a girl in a short dress. Just to waste time, she had reviewed her plan over and over.
She brushed her brown locks away from her face, drawing her hand towards the curtain. She peaked outside as the campus slowly began to shut down. Lights flickered on to provide a beckoning light in the night air. To say the least, she knew she was ready for this. The sound of an opening door cuts Alice off from her thoughts. A set of keys could be heard being thrown on the nightstand, followed by some footsteps. Lena was idly asleep, mumbling something unintelligent. She drew her shirt up, revealing golden skin. She chunked the article of clothing on the carpet and flopped down on her bed in one fluid motion. Alice blinked at her, still a bit surprised that she was able to do all of that simply asleep.
Alice brought herself up, drawing up from her spot on the bed. She brushed past her slumbering roommate, patting her bedside. “Good luck on your mission, Alice.” She mumbled to herself. “Why thank you, I’ll do fucking fabulous.” Alice murmured in response to herself.
With a wry grin, she made her way towards the bathroom. She had already knocked out the camera on that hallway. With a snoozing guard, she would surely have no problem. She sucked in a breath and tried to move as quietly as possible. When she reached the bathroom, she glanced up at the ceiling.
She drew her gaze past a mirror, catching her reflection for a moment. She still looked so unlike herself. Her expression was spotted with a varied amount of black, olive green, and brown. There wasn’t a staggering amount of pale skin revealed. Most of it was darkened or clothed under a black article of clothing. She shifted from her spot, slipping a pair of wire clippers and an inactive cell phone. She had taken enough precaution to keep the battery separate from the phone just in case it was turned on in her pocket. The other supplies she packed in a rather tasteless fanny pack. Not everything in her outfit could be fabulous, she supposed. Though, it was a smart idea to not pack all of her supplies in something glamorous and gleaming. That would give her location away in a heartbeat. She flickered her gaze away from the mirror and walked into the joined bathroom the floor shared.
She peered up at the already loosened air vent, lifting herself up with a hitch in her breath. Here goes nothing, she thought to herself as she crawled up into the tight space. She chewed on her lip thoughtfully, as if that one motion stilled her thoughts. If she remembered correctly, the pathway towards the boiler room was in a pattern of right turns and one left. She shook her head, sucking in the last bit of fresh air before slowly beginning her way down the vents. She had to be careful. She knew very well that Nat had probably fallen down one of the shoots before. She needed to be cautious enough to not allow that to happen to her. It would surely alert any guards immediately.
She pressed her hand against the cold medal, trying to be as silent as possible. It was a lot harder than she had predicted. She slid her hand forward on the cool steal, continuing her way down the path straight for a few minutes. After a brief second, she felt her hand slip down. She scooted back suddenly, letting a gasp of air escape her lips. Fuck, she almost slipped down. She stared at the duct, peering down to see how far the drop was. Her brown locks dangled over the edge as she popped her head down the chute. Alright, this seemed like a good place to head down. She laced her fingers around the zipper, pulling it open with ease. She had to chuckle to herself of how cliché it seemed to carry around something like this. She slipped the thick cord around the clip she used. Her hand pressed securely on the clip, pressing it down on one of the bolts in the duct. She tugged at it, watching carefully to see if it would budge. Nope, the bolt did not move one bit. She pulled again, finding that it was best to double check rather than fall a story down. It seemed secure enough. She wrapped her around the chord, chunking the rest of it down the chute.
With a swift flick of her foot, she slid herself partly down the chute. She hoped her arms wouldn’t give out on her. She held tightly on the cord, keeping both feet planted on the side of the chute to make sure the cord didn’t have too much weight on it. She sucked in a breath, afraid that she would find herself slipping on the sides if she moved too quickly. It took quite a bit to figure out what to do the entire time she was going down. When her foot touched the metal again, she felt a soft sigh escape from her. She drew her gaze down, allowing her arms to rest for a moment as she released the tight grip on the cord. She glanced down, taking off the matted gloves for a moment to allow her hands to breathe. She glanced over, noticing she was in the right spot.
She fanned out her hands for a brief moment, slipping on the gloves again as she crouched down into a crawl once more to the tight space. She shifted down the shaft, not finding anything really to occupy her time. It was just a straight forward crawl from here. All she had to do was follow the pattern she drilled into her head. Right, left, right, right, right. That would lead her to the hallway right next to the boiler room and the emergency escape. There were two outs if she fucked one up. The only thing she had to stress about was to get past security and the camera’s eyes.
When she had finally reached her stopping point, she glanced down at the holes below. Footsteps echoed throughout the hall, a hushed whisper was flowed between them. She stared at backed up slowly from the vent, pressing her back against the side as the conversation carried on. She tried to breathe as quietly as possible. It sounded like one voice was male and the other female. Their argument was hushed. It surely didn’t sound familiar to her. She wondered if it was one of the professors. Though, they should have returned home already. Why were they out after curfew was dropped? Surely, it was reasoned for them to follow it also.
She stared at the two, waiting for what seemed like forever for them their footsteps to disappear. She tucked her hand in, blinking softly as she gazed at one of the security cameras she located on the spot. There was only one down this hallway. It was at an awkward angle. The only blind spot it had seemed to be right before the boiler room. The question she had to decide for herself was to either keep trudging forward or take a chance with getting out right then. With another round of footsteps, she decided the latter choice was better. She swiped her leg over, drawing towards the boiler room. If she remembered correctly, it was the next vent.
She stopped in front of the next vent, staring out at the slits. The dim lighting in the room signaled to her that it was indeed the right room. She reached down towards her pack, drawing out a screwdriver from it. She unscrewed the bolts on the vent, cracking it open just far enough to slip past it. She glanced around, grateful that there wasn’t any camera surveillance in the room. This was one of the raunchier areas to get laid around CTA without getting caught after hours. Her breathing was deep and calm but she felt her heartbeat quicken its pace. She wasn’t sure if it was the right time or not. Within a few minutes, the vent was screwed back in and Alice was already out the emergency exit. She flickered her gaze towards the first camera, pressing herself against the dark corner of the wall so she would remain unseen.
With biding time, she slowly inched her way in almost every dark place until she reached the blind spot of each one. Gratefully, she didn’t have to deal with disarming guards. That would have been one thing she couldn’t do. She drew her gaze up towards the crowded shrubs located by the fence. It was about ten yards away from where she was at. She stared one of the other cameras, keeping a watchful eye of it. She curled her hand into the grass, watching as the camera slowly moved away to a separate location. Her feet hit the pavement as she ran as fast as she could. The bitter air filled her lungs as the thudded sound of pavement echoed behind her. She slid into the shrubs just in time to avoid any glimpse of herself from the camera.
Alice slumped against the prickle of the bushes and heaved an aspirated sigh. She shook her head and began to unzip her jacket. She rolled up her sleeves and took out the pair of wire clippers she had packed. With a fluid motion, she snipped around a small hole located on the bottom. Her eyes were wide as she quickly slipped her small frame under the hole. Her gloves tore slightly as she dug into the ground. They really should put cement here. It would be less easy to escape the place. She regained her posture, quickly ducking under an alleyway to get away from the gate and possible cameras.
She hoped to get it done a lot smoother than that. She flickered her gaze towards the light, her feet pounding against the ground. She slipped the phone out of her pocket along with the battery. She plopped the battery in and waited patiently. The screen illuminated her dark expression, glad for once that her disguise worked. She chewed on her bottom lip, dialing the number that was almost drilled into her head for Covert Training Academy.
“This is Glimmer, reporting for a successful mission.” A mischievous grin drew across her lips as she spoke.
