“It worked twenty minutes ago, at the grate.” Jeremy pulls out another pen.
“Bloody hell!” Nitro shouts, crouching down. “Not again!”
I brace myself—we all do—and clamp my mouth closed so when I hit the ground this time I won’t get any of the disgusting sludge in my mouth.
Jeremy throws the pen.
It strikes the door with a ping, then falls to the ground. That’s it.
“What the hell?” Nitro and Draven say at the same time.
Jeremy shrugs. “I have no idea.” He pulls out a book and repeats the pen test—with the same result.
“Maybe the electromagnetics were defective,” he says after a minute. “One pulse could have knocked a weak connection out of commission.”
“So much for security,” Dante sneers. He raises his hand to summon his wind, but Rebel stops him.
“Let me do it, babe. One blast of your power in here and we’ll all be on our asses again.”
She extends her hands and the lock and hinges squeal, the steel literally bending to Rebel’s will. Moments later, the door floats right toward us and she lowers it next to Nitro.
“Stay behind me,” Draven says as he hoists himself up and peers through the opening, looking both ways for danger.
“Is it clear?” Dante asks, shifting restlessly.
“Looks it.” Draven climbs through the doorway. Dante follows him. They reach down to help Rebel and me. Normally I’d have no problem lifting myself up, but my hands are slippery and keep sliding as I try to boost myself up. So I just gratefully accept the help.
“Now what?” Nitro asks as he joins us.
“If I’m right—” Jeremy leans in through the door, holding a new device, which is the size of a chocolate bar. He punches a sequence of buttons, and then suddenly the building’s blueprints are projected out in front of us in full 3-D. He gestures to a spot on the second sub-level. “We’re right here.”
Crap. “We’re in the most secure part of the main lab,” I tell them. I take the device from Jeremy so I can point out details while he hauls himself into the hall. “The physical and chemical labs have the most dangerous materials in the entire facility. They keep them on tight lockdown. There are security doors every hundred feet down here and cameras every fifty.”
“Of course there are,” Dante mutters under his breath. “Why should any part of this be easy?”
“What are those?” I point at pairs of red dots moving through the rendering.
“Guards,” Jeremy says flatly, grunting slightly as he tries to pull himself up and over. “The system is tracking their RFID chips.”
“We need a distraction,” Nitro says. “Something to draw their attention.”
“Like what?” Rebel asks.
He starts creating a ball of fire in his hands. The glowing green energy creeps me out even as it fascinates me. “Fire’s always good.”
Jeremy teeters in the opening. Someone should probably pull him through. No one does.
“Already been there, done that. I pulled the fire alarm, remember?” I tell Nitro. “I don’t think they’ll fall for it again, even if there is a real fire.” Besides, his control and aim are not what they could be. I have visions of him burning the whole building to the ground—this time, with all of us inside.
“What do you suggest then?” Nitro pouts a little as he extinguishes the flame.
“Dante and I have this,” Rebel says. An evil grin plays across her face. “I’ve always wanted to tear this place apart. Now’s my—”
“Aaaack!” Jeremy whisper-screams as he finally makes it through the door and pitches awkwardly to the ground.
Nitro snorts.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“No,” Jeremy pants. “My ankle.”
He tries to put weight on his foot but collapses into me. In an instant, Draven has an arm looped around Jeremy’s torso.
“Broken?” Draven asks.
“I don’t—ow, ow, ow. Yeah, maybe.”
“Shit.” Dante runs his hands through his fauxhawk.
The look on Jeremy’s face is about more than physical pain. I can tell he feels like he’s letting the team down, like he’s letting the mission down. We may not have parted on the best of terms, but I still don’t want him hurting.
I think quickly. “Rebel, you can get Jer back to the van? That will be command central. Dante can cause the distraction solo. Nitro, guard the door, make sure it’s clear when Draven and I come out with Deacon. We might need to make a quick getaway.”
Dante nods. “Let’s do it.” He turns to Draven. “Get my brother out.”
“We will,” Draven promises. “But be careful. I don’t want to have to break you out next.”
“Here,” Jeremy says, digging in his backpack. “Take these.”
He holds out a handful of what look like skin-colored plastic beans.
“Communication earbuds,” he explains.
We each take one. I smile at him as I pop mine into my right ear. Always prepared. You would think he’d been a Boy Scout.