After the Overseer’s threats were over, the speaker went silent. Everyone in the room froze with uncertainty. The sounds of soldiers gathering outside the doors sparked Vanessa into action.
“Everyone into this room. Bricks clear a safe opening” Vanessa motioned to the room on the other side of the lineup room.
Bricks quickly used his stone arm to clear an entire section of glass, and their families made their way into the room and joined them. Jeanie marched the guard she had at gun point over to the entrance. Bricks forced the guard to line up against the only door in that room. Bricks picked up the unconscious guards in both rooms and stacked them near the door as well.
Once in the room, everyone embraced their family members. Vanessa hugged both her parents and whispered: “It’s going to be alright.”
“I’m going to go through this wall and see what is on the other side. If it’s clear, I am going to get a head count of the guards outside. Everyone stay put. If any action is needed, Alexia will guide you.” Vanessa shot a nod to Alexia, and she returned it.
Vanessa moved up against the wall and pressed against it. She concentrated and pushed through it, slowly trying to ensure she wasn't stepping into an even worse situation. However, what she entered was simply an empty room. It had boxes stacked on old furniture but no people. She walked to the door and peered out the small window; guards were lined up and trained on the door of the lineup room. She thought it best to go through one more wall and into the next room. That should put her clear of the guards that lined the hall, and it would allow a better look down the hallway and give her a more accurate head count of the guards. She pressed against the wall and slowly moved through it. This room, however, was not lacking people like the previous one had been.
She froze upon entering the room at the sight of Scott standing as still as a statue in the room with an assault rifle aimed at a short bald man. She remained frozen, expecting someone to spot her, but neither did. She moved silently and deliberately out of the bald man's view. She heard him speak and soon realized it was the Overseer. Talk about a person not living up to their voice, she thought to herself. As the Overseer spoke, she was only picking up bits and pieces, but she got that gist that his power was controlling inside a person’s body. She thought he sounded very pompous, like a med school student trying to impress a girl in a bar by naming nerves. She tried looking at Scott to let him know she was there, but his gaze never moved from the Overseer. She saw sweat pouring down his face, a look of pain and desperation in his eyes. She looked around for anything she could use as a weapon but found nothing useful. So, she took a deep breath and tightened her muscles, and pressed her feet into the ground as hard as she could. Gathering every bit of force that her body could muster, Vanessa propelled herself towards the Overseer and cocked back her right arm. Once close enough, she launched herself forward, swinging her forearm and elbow, powered by anger and adrenaline, she contacted the Overseers' head, and vibration of pain rippled through Vanessa's arm. The contact made a loud thud, but that didn't explain the loud pop that followed and the sudden spray of moisture Vanessa felt on her body.
Vanessa looked down at the tiny man on the ground, motionless. Blood seemed to be gushing out of his neck and spilling out onto the floor.
"Dude, you shot him!" Vanessa yelled at Scott, who was just standing there with the gun still in his hand.
"It was an accident! I was concentrating so hard on squeezing the trigger when he was doing his Jedi mind thing that when his power released, the gun just went off." Scott stood in place as if he were still frozen.
"Oh, we are screwed, man. What do we do now!? We can't weekend at Bernie's our way out of here." Vanessa was in full-on freak-out mode. She was nervously pacing in a small circle holding her hands on her head.
"We have to trade our life for his. That is all we got." Scott said, kneeling over the Overseer.
"That plan is pretty useless if he's dead!" Vanessa shouted
Scott removed his shirt, leaving only a tank top on. He kneeled and tied it around the neck of the Overseer. Scott made sure the shirt covered the wound and hoped that would be enough to keep the man alive for the foreseeable future. Scott handed Vanessa the assault rifle and drew the pistol he had taken from the same guard from his waistband. He proceeded to lift the Overseer’s limp body and carried him in front of his body like a shield.
"Stay behind me." He said to Vanessa as he began to carry the body towards the door. He could feel the shorter man still breathing, which brought him some comfort, but the breaths became shallow and labored.
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Vanessa opened and held the door for Scott as he carried the Overseer’s mostly dead weight into the hallway and turned to face the guards.
"He is alive, but he won't be for long if you don’t listen to me." Scott was holding his pistol up to the Overseer's drooping head. The guards froze and seemed unsure of what to do.
"First, Drop those weapons." Scott's command appeared to fall on deaf ears, and none of the guards made the slightest movements. They all aimed their weapons at Scott.
“This isn’t going so great, Scott. I hope you have a plan B.” Vanessa spoke, trailing behind Scott.
“Drop the weapons, or he dies!” Scott raised his voice as loud as he could while maintaining a little bass, but again, not a single guard dropped their gun. On the bright side, not a single guard had shot them yet, either.
Scott leaned back to Vanessa and whispered.
"That was the extent of my idea. You got anything?"
"I swear to everything holy that I will fill this guy full of so many bullets that you can use him as a baby rattle!" Vanessa screamed from behind them
“Do as she says.” A voice from behind the guards commanded calmly. To Scott and Vanessa’s astonishment, the guards all set their weapons down and parted as a familiar man and in a slick suit sauntered between them.
“Scott, Vanessa. Let’s play this cool, and we all walk out of here today.” Paul said, walking past the guards and towards them.
“Paul, I just want to get everyone in that room out of here and alive. And preferably keep them that way.” Scott said, still propping up the Overseer's increasingly limp body.
“Well, let’s do that then, Scott. I don’t want anyone to die today. Any more than you do,” Paul replied.
“I’m not letting him go until we are safe.” Scott nodded his head towards the Overseer.
“Understood.” Paul directed the guards in the hallway to file into the lineup room. Paul, Scott, and Vanessa entered the other side of the room and gathered everyone. Bricks took over the duty of carrying the Overseer, and as soon as he did, Scott ran to Jeanie and Walker and hugged them both. He whispered in Jeanie’s ear that everything was going to be alright. She just nodded. The group moved out of the room together, forming a single file line down the hallway. They were led by Paul, who told every N.E.T agent they encountered to stand down. Some complied more hesitantly than others but all complied in the end. The group made their exit from the building to the RV; they arrived in and began to pile in.
"I know a safe place for us to go," Paul spoke to Bricks, who took the driver's seat after setting the Overseer on the bed in the back.
"Why would you help us, and how do we know you aren't leading us into a trap?" Scott turned to face Paul.
"I only want the best outcome. Period." Paul returned Scott's eye contact without a blink. "Also, I don't think you have a whole lot of options without me."
Scott thought for a few seconds and glanced at Jeanie holding Walker close to her body. She returned his glance and shrugged. Scott glanced around the RV and saw Vanessa comforting her parents, Alexia telling her father they would be alright, and simultaneously trying to calm down her brother. Bricks held his mother's hand within his giant paws, and Yumi and her sister were putting their efforts into trying to calm down their mother, who was yelling loudly in a language he did not understand. The weight and responsibility of his decision began to push down on him. He thought about how unfair it was that he had to make a call that impacted so many people's lives. He dug deep and found resolve in the fact that his wife and son needed him now, more than ever, and he would be damned if he was going to let them down.
"Fine! Bricks follow Paul's directions." His voice sounded commanding, and everyone froze and looked towards him. "Yumi, get the Overseer stabilized. If he dies, so does all our leverage. Alexia, can you help make sure he doesn't try anything when he comes to."
"About that." Paul interjected, "He can only use his power if he can see the person. I am not sure all the logistics or exact requirements, but I know for a fact he can't get into your body if he cannot see you."
"I'll blindfold him," Alexia said as she headed into the back bedroom.
Scott turned and looked Paul directly into the eyes again, this time with a command and purpose not previously there. It almost forced Paul to break eye contact from the sheer intensity, but he managed to hold it.
"I am trusting you, Paul. If this goes south because you decided to screw us, then I will do everything in my power to ensure you go down as well." The words hung in the air for a moment before Paul responded.
"I am not in this to screw you over, Scott. I think you will find the very opposite is true. Threats aren't going to get us anywhere, but I understand the sentiment due to the stakes." Paul let his glance travel around the RV and land on Jeanie and Walker for a beat longer than it had with anyone else. "Let's keep this civil, and we will work our way through this together. I am sure that you know from your brief experience with the Overseer that I am going out on the proverbial limb to help you. If this doesn't play out right, then my wellbeing is in as much danger as yours."
Scott nodded at Paul's words. He didn’t know what to make of Paul or his sudden desire to help the group. He also thought that he didn’t have time to figure it out right now.
"We are working together to get to safety, but once we do, you and I are going to have a long chat about what is going on here. I can tell there is much more to it than just wanting to help us."
"Agreed, Mr. Carr, once we get to safety, we will talk." Paul turned and continued his directions to Bricks.
Scott paused for a beat and thought hard about the situation. He knew he was stepping into something big and probably not pleasant. That would all reveal itself soon enough, though. He walked over to Jeanie and Walker and wrapped his arms around them. He felt comfort in that embrace that he simply couldn’t put into words. He knew then that he had to ensure that this wasn’t the last time he experienced it.