Russell quickly, over here!” said Treen, stepping over a shattered monitor, lying the floor of the security room. She darted towards a wall of more monitors, which was four times the size of Ariel’s security flat set up. Treen scanned every screen until she
found what she’d been searching for.
“There they are!” she shouted pointing at screen labeled, RM 58, “Mom, Dad, Ariel, Sheridon, and Regina!”
“Alright!”
“Look in room 75, it’s Natalie Newberry and Detective Redworce...”
Their joy subsided when they looked at RM 58 again and noticed that two Ecnals had stepped into view. They aimed their guns at her parents and everyone else near the couch. “What are they all lookin’ at?”
“It’s difficult to tell from this angle. Maybe we can change the view.”
Treen studied the control panel below the monitors, where a zillion switches awaited her examination. She looked the panel up down and across. Once she’d found the camera controls for RM 58, she pressed each button until she had the perfect angle. Camera 4 focused on the bar, where they discovered what everyone in the room had been staring at.
“It’s Lance and Tsara.”
“Man, who’s that they’re kickin’ around?”
Treen moved closer to the screen. “It looks like Garrison Blue. Wonder why they’re beating up on him?”
Treen looked down at the panel and adjusted the volume. Now, through the large speakers on each side of the monitor wall, they could hear Garrison Blue pleading for his life. With his hands up in front of him, he slowly backed away from Lance and Tsara.
“Please, if you just let me live I’ll tell you where my half of the formula is,” said Mr. Blue, suit covered in blood.
“That sounds like a deal to me,” said Lance, who then charged up to him and yanked back on his hair. “Where is it?” he snarled. “Fireplace — behind the fireplace at my house...Pull it open —
you’ll find a silver briefcase and the formula’s inside!”
“If you are lying to me — ”
“I’m not lying to you!”
“Good.”
Still gripping his hair, Lance forced Mr. Blue over to the wall. “Wh-what are you doing?” he shouted.
“This is for killing Master Mera”, said Lance, glaring at their blurred reflection in the black marble. “Goodbye Garrison.”
Treen and Russell looked away from the monitor, as Lance slammed Mr. Blue head first into the wall. When they looked up again, Lance stood over Mr. Blue’s crumpled body, rubbing his goatee.
“What a pathetic sight,” said Lance, who then lifted his leg to get Mr. Blue off his shoe.
“Lance, you’re amazing,” said Tsara, putting her arm around him, “But I wish you would’ve let me kill him.”
“Shut up Tsara. Fun time is over. I’m going to Blue’s house to get the formula.
Tsara had squatted next to Mr. Blue and put her hand on his neck. “Well I hope he was telling the truth about the location of that formula, because he’s definitely dead.”
Treen turned the volume down. She quickly moved behind Russell, unzipped the pack, then took out the flare gun. It was time for another bluff.
“You’re gonna have to learn to load that thing.”
“You can say that again,” she said, grabbing his hand. “Come on, we have to hurry.”
Treen and Russell had to be careful. The smoke was no longer thick enough to shield their faces while they jogged down the stairs towards RM 58. Then again, after watching the droids run from the burning tunnel, she doubted that any of them would challenge the empty flare gun she gripped.
They sprinted down the corridor and beneath the air duct they’d crawled in through. Then they continued down to the shiny sliding doors. Above the first door was a shield labeled RM 01. Treen stared all the way down the curved wall; 57 doors to go.
A short time later, they reached RM 58. Russell watched their backs while Treen slid the card into the slot and punched in 12-32-20. A buzzing voice from the small speaker said “Enter,” and the doors slid apart.
“Grab the card,” said Treen, before she burst inside, gripping the flare gun with both hands. Russell ran in behind her and the doors slid shut.
Treen flashed a smile at her family and friends, who shouted her name even as the Ecnal guards ordered them to sit back down on the couch. Lance and Tsara, who were preparing to leave, backed away from the flare gun.
“Get over here and shoot her!” said Lance. One of the Ecnals charged over.
“Drop you weapons!” Treen shouted, Russell standing close, “I promise you, I’ll blow your leader through the damn wall!”
“Ecnal guards, do not listen to her. She is trying to confuse you! If she fires that flare gun everyone in this room will burn!”
“They have to listen to me because I now have the other half of the Merafuel formula.”
“You’re lying!” Tsara shouted.
“You think so? Before you killed Mr. Wellbay, he told me where it was. I broke into Garrison Blue’s house and took it from behind the fireplace.”
“Lance, do something. She must have the formula — how else would she know — “
“Shut up Tsara! Alright little Einstein, an even exchange; your family for the formula.”
“Deal.”
“All right Ecnal guards, let them go.”
Treen kept the flare gun aimed at Lance and Tsara, even while everyone celebrated around her. Then, while talking to Ariel and Sheridon, Russell said a bit too much.
“After Lance killed Mr. Blue we knew we had to get down here...”
Lance stared at Russell. Then, raising a brow, he glared back at Treen.
“How would he know I killed Blue? Unless — ” Lance looked up at one of the cameras.
“You tricked me!” he shouted, charging towards Treen. He knocked her to the floor, punched Edwin who’d tried to stop him, then ran to the sliding doors. “Kill all of them!” he shouted, before exiting the room, Tsara dashing out behind him.