“Anything can happen,” Maren’s old words echoed in JJ’s head, alongside his footsteps reverberating down the dim tunnel. “They know you’re not with Serene, but they don’t know that you came to us. For all they know, you’re following the Peace Keepers’ orders.
“Everything about our plan is based on estimations. But the same’s true for them.”
Knots grinded against each other in JJ’s stomach as he turned into another corridor. Down the tunnel, two armed men stood at the Serene headquarters’ entrance.
“The worst part’s always the build-up,” Mav had said before they separated. “But don’t let your nerves distract you. We’re with you.”
One was physically closer than the other, at least. JJ knew that Maren was a superior fighter than him, but he’d have felt better if Mav was the one tailing him.
The two men aimed their rifles at JJ. One spoke, likely into an earpiece.
Here we go.
JJ raised his hands. “I was invited to a party. Be a shame to kill a guest before he can enjoy the festivities.”
“If I see any wind blowing, I shoot,” one of them said.
“The only wind blowing will be from my mouth.”
Their eyes widened, their fingers twitching on the trigger.
“From talking, guys. Come on!”
They led him into the base. Their guns’ barrels weren’t pressed against his back, but he could practically feel them there. Every nerve in his body wanted to fidget, but he moved into the large room, as nonchalant as possible.
“I’m not sure what to make of this,” Braiden said as he descended the ladder to the ground floor. His walk to JJ was slow, deliberate, his voice loud enough so the other terrorists moving about could easily hear. “We welcome you with open arms, tell you all of our dreams and aspirations, and you do this?”
“I’ve only helped you,” JJ said. “I fought against those intruders. I even gave you the idea to attack the police station, which brought us better firepower to attack Wilkins’ tomorrow.”
“And then you had my right hand, my closest friend, send you key pieces of intel that could be used against us. All while you were mysteriously absent and no one could place where you’d gone without a bit of hacking.”
“I asked her for the info so I wasn’t the only one out of the loop. I never contributed anything to the meetings. I wanted to change that.”
“So you told Asaka and Dearil earlier.”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“Then tell me why they also found–”
Boom!
The room rattled as a massive blast ruptured the secret passage to JJ’s left. Rocks hurtled inward, dust darkening the space. JJ’s lungs depressed and a blast of air swirled around him. The two terrorists behind him were already stumbling, so hurling them aside was simple. JJ moved the winds around until they were behind Braiden, shoving him to his knees.
JJ turned, quickly grabbed a rifle which a terrorist dropped, and pointed it at Braiden. “Where’s Nadja?”
And there’s the signal. Maren, ear pressed against the door, rushed into the base after hearing Mav’s explosion. Gotta move quickly.
The base wasn’t chaotic, yet. Dust billowed in the large open space JJ had described, but it had yet to cover her target: the ladder.
People screamed and footsteps clanged on the walkways above. Two people began descending the ladder as Maren reached it.
It really was a design flaw, having only two ladders on either end of the platform. It would be impossible to move up or down swiftly along the layers, just like now.
“Sorry, not sorry,” Maren said, whipping the descenders’ wrists.
They shouted and fell the remaining distance. Maren leaped over them and surged up the ladder. The other two stories were easier to ascend. The majority of the terrorists seemed to be on the ground or second floor. They also fled away from the blasting flames which ignited in the massive opening. By the time Maren reached the lone door on the fourth floor, Mav’s roaring fire became a constant din to Maren’s ears.
“Don’t lose yourself,” Maren whispered, opening the door. “I’ll help you soon.”
JJ’s description of the room had been precise: a large area filled with rows of stacked bombs. Although, plenty of the rows closest to the door had been picked away, leaving much smaller stacks than what surrounded them.
Still, the majority of the bombs stood before her. It was time to–
“And now that you’re here, what are you gonna do?” a voice from behind said.
Imani stood in the door’s entrance, arms folded over her black cloak.
“Foil your evil schemes and save the day,” Maren said.
“Looks like you’ll have to deal with me first. And we both know who’s stronger.”
“I’ll manage.” I’ll have to.
Despite being forty feet below, Mav’s fire rose into view. The bright flames silhouetted Imani, casting her front into shadow. Like a denizen of Hell, Imani stepped into the room.