The tall lady was unnervingly calm. Dray had just done the equivalent of threatening her yet she seemed calmer than when she first approached them. Her eyes were focused, the grip on her knife firm, and her sights set solely on Dray. She looked like a cat, primed and ready to pounce its prey. Dray stood his ground, puffing his chest out and staring directly back at her. A few of the surrounding grunts started congregating around them, eager to see blood and guts. Let's hope this gamble works out. Omnipresence has some sort of control here right? ...I'd rather not die here.
The lady unsheathed her large bowie knife, brandishing it in front of them. She inspected the knife, confirming its sharpness before holding it out and gesturing for Dray to move forward. He looked back at Amirah who looked back at him, still behind the anonymity of the black mask. Please just, stay there. Don't panic. I'm right here. He raised a hand up and hoped that Amirah got the message. She thankfully nodded, allowing Dray to approach the woman. Dray stopped just a step away. The woman leaned in close, holding the bowie knife up to his neck. Dray stood still, expecting intimidation. What happened next, however, surprised him. She...smiled?
She leaned in closer before violently grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him in. It happened almost instantaneously to Dray's eyes. Before he knew it, her knife was pressing against his neck, drawing blood. The only thing Dray could register was how cold her grip was. "I know you're not supposed to be here. You're not Omnipresence, aren't you? You're just some nameless," she whispered, the air around them misting as if they've suddenly entered a tundra. The various soldiers around them pull out their rifles, pointing them at Dray and Amirah.
Crap.
Dray readied his hands at his hip where he kept his tasers. He knew it probably won't do much. With her speed, there was no way Dray had enough time to respond if she did anything, especially at this distance. She turned to look at him. "You got something at your hips? Don't bother." Welp, there goes that. Dray racked his brain trying to find anything he could say to weasel his way out of this situation. He could see Amirah struggling to maintain her composure in his peripheral. She's inching closer to Dray, most likely trying to protect him the best she can. Before things truly went awry, the woman spoke again. "Getting these masks couldn't have been easy. Custom-made, one of a kind. You've had run-ins with these guys before. Going through the trouble to disguise yourselves and just waltz in here, you two are..hmph." She snickered before laughing softly, the warmth finally returning in her grip. "You know what? Whatever you're here to do, do it. I won't stop you. In fact, you want a tour of the place?"
...Huh?
The woman separated herself from Dray. She waved her hand off and all the Skelter soldiers lower their guns. Dray discreetly let out the stressed breath he held in before checking back at Amirah. He turned around only to jump back slightly when Amirah was almost directly behind him. He couldn't see her face but he knew that a long and sincere apology was owed. The woman glanced at the surrounding soldiers. "What are all of you waiting around for? Get out of here." Without question, all the soldiers, even the one that got aggressive with Amirah turned their heads and walked off."Well? What's your first stop?" the woman asked playfully, a hand at her hip.
...Is this a trap? Relations between Omnipresence and Skelter were obviously strained but were they strained enough to cause infighting? What's her play?
"Bring us to the central office"
"Ooh, central office huh? Going straight for the juicy stuff. Come with me then." The woman invites them to follow her which they cautiously do, staying a safe distance away from her. Amirah stayed close to Dray the entire time. "D, you know her?" Amirah whispered urgently. Dray shook her head. "She knows we're bluffing. Omnipresence might have tight rules for this sort of thing."
"Then why is she helping us?"
"I don't know but keep your guard up," he advised. Amirah scoffed. "My guard has barely come down even a little bit. Just say the word and I'll bust us out of here." Dray gives Amirah's hand a short but tight squeeze. They follow the mysterious woman all the way to the central office they scoped out earlier that day. She glanced back at the two of them before jokingly covering the keypad at the door and opening it. "After you." Dray was about to take another step forward before Amirah stepped in and stopped him. "You go in first. We're not going into an easily locked room with you on the outside."
"Oh? I'm giving you a free pass here and you're trying to make demands? You've got guts." She raised her hands up and walked into the room first, eyeing Amirah the entire time. Another smile and wave from her before the couple walked in as well. The woman leaned against the back wall and crossed her arms, keeping a close eye on the two of them. Dray wasted no time, quickly looking through all of the plain metal office cabinets for any sort of technology he could leech off of. Eventually, he came across a drawer cabinet containing rows of physical files. "Ah, you're looking for row numbers 7, 9, and 10. Take only those files, please," the woman said from across the room. ...Seriously, what's her play here? Dray pulled out the file in row number 7 and is immediately greeted with the detailed drawing of an eye perfectly in the center of a globe. He slotted out files number 9 and 10 and found the exact same logo. Ah...I see how it is.
Dray laid the files out on the desk and pulled out a device that looked a lot like a letter opener. Amirah walked up next to him and he passed her the same device. Dray pressed the button on the side of the device and a bright blue light turned on. He started running the light up and down each page of the file, effectively scanning all the available information. Amirah watched closely before clumsily following suit, Dray helping her from time to time. The woman stared intently at them from her corner. "That tech. It's pretty expensive ain't it? Although, I've never seen that model before. Were they reverse-engineered?" Dray debated answering her question but considering they were effectively at her mercy, he decided to throw a bone. "They're custom. Same thing as the usual model just, without the branding." They were also faster and saved data to the cloud immediately but you don't need to know that.
"I see. And what are you two then? Just some sad couple trying to get by? Or, are you part of something bigger? Another group maybe?"
Dray gulped. "Look lady we're just...trying to get by. The info here will sell for good money."
"So you're 'trying to get by', by jumping off the deep end right of the bat? I mean, it's clear your partner there probably hasn't done something like this before."
Dray turned to see Amirah fumbling slightly with the equipment again, prompting him to go over and help her. "That woman is getting on my nerves. How much longer will this take?" she whispered. "I'm going as fast as I can. You're the one that's delaying this- hey, keep your hand steady." The woman continued to watch as Dray and Amirah go about their business.
"You two are an odd pair. Not scared of being here? The most dangerous place in this country?" she announced.
"Just...gotta do what it takes. Why are you trying to bring Omnipresence down?"
"Bring Omnipresence down? Oh, I can't do that. Not yet at least. I'm just having a bit of fun here and there. They've been pushing my buttons a bit too much recently," she replied with a yawn. Dray finished his scan of the two files he had so he quickly shoved them back into the desk drawer. He encouraged Amirah to continue with her scan while he checked the rest of the desk drawers. He eventually came across a small silver laptop. He pulled it out.
She was using this earlier...
"Uh-uh that's it. You're not getting that one," the woman warned, stomping her foot on the ground.
"Why not?"
A cold shiver ran down his spine. Or, his feet specifically as the ground beneath him froze over, hands of ice holding his feet in place. Before he could react, the ice spread, encasing his whole body in it, leaving only his head and the laptop unfrozen. Dray's breath quickened rapidly as his body temperature dropped. His head shook violently in the cold as he felt his heartbeat weaken and slow to dangerously low levels. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Just one second and he's dead. Trapped and unable to do a single thing. Especially without a power of his own.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Amirah was quick to react, stomping on the ice on Dray's foot, shattering it instantly. The woman raised an eyebrow, her eyes flickering slightly. Dray couldn't turn his head nor could he see Amirah's face even if he wanted to but the crunching of ice and cracking of knuckles told him all he needed to know.
"W-wait! Let's not do this! I'm sorry, I won't touch the laptop," Dray pleaded. We can't risk a fight now! The woman and Amirah continued their standoff, neither of them backing down. The woman smiled, raising her arms. "Your partner is the one looking for a fight here. This is your fault."
"M. M, just stop," Dray practically begged. Amirah glanced back at him. "I don't want a fight either. Let me break my partner out," she bargained with the woman. The woman shrugged her shoulders. "You don't need to do that." The ice around Dray started steaming, melting off of him. He felt an immediate whiplash from the dead cold to an uncomfortable warmth that made him sweat. He felt weak, his knees shaking uncontrollably. He held out his hands to steady himself but Amirah caught him, gently holding him up.
"Put the laptop down. Final warning," the woman casually instructed, leaning back in her corner. With trembling hands, he put the laptop back on the desk. He stumbled slightly, hugging the laptop close to his chest so as to not drop it. The woman took a stance but Dray quickly and clumsily dropped the laptop back on the desk. "There. I-I'm not touching it." The woman relaxed slightly but raised another eyebrow.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, you walk into here with your tech, your disguises, and plan to steal Skelter's information. You remind me of someone else."
It was Dray's and Amirah's turn to be confused.
"We recently got a kid in our custody. He was pretty well-equipped. Had a pretty insane power too, walking through walls. Caught him looking around for us. He rings any bells?"
Maxie! Shit! He got caught. No wonder I haven't heard from him yet. I...No. Focus. I don't even know if he's alive.
"...Isn't he Technus crew? I try not to deal with him," Dray explained. The woman simply nodded. "Ah, so you're familiar with Technus? One of your clients, perhaps?"
"No, he's...unreliable."
Amirah scoffed, finishing up her scan of the document. "Unreliable huh? Are you sure you're not under him? A lot of things will start making sense," the woman pressed in her usual pushy voice. Dray simply shrugged. "I don't really look at the people I'm dealing with."
"Hmph, your loss. We'll find a use for that kid pretty soon anyway." The woman stepped out from her corner, Amirah quickly hid Dray behind her, eyeing the woman as she walked. The woman noticed this, of course, laughing softly before simply moving to the office door and peeking out of it. "Well, well, you two are quite lucky aren't you? Seems like that Omnipresence prick is still busy with...whatever the hell he was doing. So, get out of here."
The couple stayed frozen. Metaphorically.
"What are you waiting for? Get out of here!" she shouted, prompting Amirah to very obviously roll her eyes under her mask, supporting Dray as they walked out of the office under the careful gaze of the strange woman. They stepped into the busy warehouse, Dray spotting the drone he used for their infiltration being inspected and tossed around between the Skelter grunts. One of them look up at the woman and raised the drone. "This was causing all that noise, Ma'am!"
The woman raised a hand up and the commotion died out. "Don't worry everyone. We'll deal with this how we usually do. Don't worry, I've...neutralized the threat." Nobody questioned her. A loud 'Yes, Ma'am' rang through the building. She smugly smiled back at the couple, as if showing off one last time. "Well, that's all you're going to get out of me. No more freebies. Just get that Omnipresence information to someone really dangerous. I want to see some fireworks," she advised, sounding slightly manic with excitement. Dray decided to get one last jab out.
"Aren't you Skelter? Why couldn't you cause your own fireworks?"
The woman sighed, messing up her short black hair. "I wish I could boy. I wish I could. Anyway, leave now before Grumpy finds you. I can't save you then."
Amirah had already started walking, dragging Dray along with her. Instead of going back the way they came from, however, Amirah went to the nearest window and opened it up. She swooped Dray up in a princess carry, ensuring he held on tight.
Oh no. Mirah?
Before Dray could protest, she jumped out of said window, falling both stories and landing on her feet. Dray hid his face in her chest, holding on tight. "D, are you alright?" Dray simply looked back up at her.
...Are you crazy?
"Stop. Jumping. Out. Of. Windows."
"We'll have this talk once we're actually safe, D."
-------
The two of them reach home eventually, both still in business mode. They sat on the couch as Dray pulled out his laptop, letting Amirah read through the scanned files. He decided to take inventory.
Okay...I luckily only sacrificed a drone. Still have quite a few gadgets on me. Do I...do I use them for Maxie?
"Dray? Do you know that woman? Any rumors, reputation, or anything?"
Dray shook his head.
"No. I've never seen her before but we should be on guard. Realistically, we haven't gotten anything on her. She only gave us information that would benefit her in the long run. I saw those files. There were a few more Omnipresence folders in there but she still only gave us those three. I..I'm sorry, but this whole thing was a failure."
Amirah clicked her tongue. "She...she only said that they got someone from your crew. 'Dreamrunner' was it? What are you going to do about that?"
"I...I don't know. I might just cut him off."
"What? Dray, you're just going to leave him on his own?"
"Look, it's not like that. He's...he's a good kid. Reliable and fast. But if this is how he goes...why don't I leave it up to you guys? Once the heroes storm the place, you guys can save him, right?"
"But he'll get arrested."
Dray turned around, tilting his head. He walked over and sat next to Amirah. "Wouldn't you want him to get arrested? This is the Dreamrunner you know? Slipperiest real-world thief out there with the perfect power for it. Now here he is, probably trapped in motion handcuffs, ripe for the taking. Why would you want him free anyway?" Amirah swallowed, trying to gather her words.
"I-I don't know. He's your friend, isn't he? If he means something to you, then he means something to me too." Dray took a deep breath, suddenly leaning on her shoulder. Amirah got stiff under him. "Is that so..."
Amirah cleared her throat. "If we get to him first, he'll get arrested. I don't want you to go in there on your own but...maybe I can clear the way for you. Provided I get assigned to the raid that is."
Dray snuggled up closer to Amirah. "Actively helping a criminal now huh? You better get assigned to the raid then, 'cause I think I have a plan." They looked at each other. Dray cautiously raised a hand, pulling her face closer and giving her a peck on the lips. "Thanks. I think for now though, we're going to need to prepare quite a bit. At least we know the bodyguard and the woman's powers." Amirah leaned in again but Dray pulled away, smiling playfully. He stood up, much to her very apparent displeasure. "You better get prepared for this next fight, Talon. I'll be counting on you."
~~~
Amirah woke up on the couch still in her grey suit attire. She spent the whole night reading through the scanned files they obtained. The information they got was both valuable in some ways and completely useless in other ways. It contained confirmation of Omnipresence's involvement in the creation of the weapons and sales records of the weapons to several villain groups. Otherwise, they got nothing about Omnipresence as a whole. Nothing on their leader, their manpower, or their strength. Amirah leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling
This is so...frustrating. It's obvious they're powerful. From yesterday, it looked like they even had power over Skelter and not the other way around.
Amirah tried moving off the couch but felt a weight on her lap. She looked down and was met with Dray comfortably laying there, the phone in his hand completely dead. Ah...he looks so cute. How did this even happen? Why are you so frisky all of a sudden, hm? She silently planted a light kiss on his forehead, careful not to wake him. She lifted him slightly before moving out and resting him back on the couch.
She got ready for the day and went out for her morning patrol yet again. It's a quiet day today. After the excitement of the previous day, Amirah still felt some level of adrenaline. She wanted to keep up the momentum somehow. Feeling a little fidgety, she decided to glide over to the Skelter warehouse location. There have to be some HA operatives already there. I wonder when we're going to be given the order...?
...Huh?
Amirah landed on the nearby building's rooftop only to be met with complete and utter silence. The warehouse was empty. Not even crickets sounded. Amirah felt her heart quicken to unhealthy levels. She jumped up and glided straight to the warehouse, landing on its rooftop. She scanned the building through the ceiling window only to confirm her initial horror. The warehouse was completely cleaned out from top to bottom. Nothing was left behind. None of the weapons, the people, or the contraband. They were all gone, probably moved in the night. So this is how they survived for so long...dammit!
Amirah clenched her fist but eventually let go and slumped her shoulders, laying down on the rooftop. The biggest lead they had in the entire case was gone. All because she went along with Dray's plan.