by Danny
The Uffizi Museum, Pisa, Italy:
A tense moment passed, with neither side willing to budge.
"I wouldn't have expected you to pack night-vision goggles," Johnny Omicron finally said, breaking the silence.
"What?" Danny Hearn said in reply.
"Oh, nothing. Just that the power goes off in..." Omicron looked at his watch. "Three... two..." He pressed a button on his helmet, and a visor slid down.
All the lights in the room suddenly turned off, thrusting all of the people there into complete darkness.
"Shit," Danny heard Dirk Bell yell. Danny spun around and tried to peer through the darkness to where he had left Edulcore Cicciotto, trying desperately to make sure that his comrade was okay but seeing nothing but blackness.
Dirk fumbled in his coat, reaching into his pocket and grabbing what he really hoped was a torch. He yanked it out and flicked the switch, shining the beam across the room at his teammates. He saw Chance, Danny, and Grimm crouched over the limp body of the Raptor. He swung the beam across the room in a wide semicircle, trying to pinpoint the location of their newly met adversaries.
The room was empty.
"Damn it!" Dirk yelled. He resisted the urge to hurl the torch against a wall and held his grip on it.
"Dirk! We need light over here! Have to check on Ed!" Danny yelled. He squinted for a moment as Dirk brought the beam of light back over to his direction, then they all looked down at the Raptor.
"Ed? Can you hear me?" Chance asked. Ed coughed in reply.
"We have to abort this mission now. We have no idea what happened to him," Danny began. He stopped as he felt Ed's hand dart up and grab his wrist.
"No... Danny. The mission..." Ed said, his voice weak and strained. Danny paused for a moment, then looked up. He noticed the faces of his teammates looking at him expectantly. He wondered briefly why the hell they'd leave an important decision to him.
"Okay. Chance, get him to safety, however you can. Grimm and Dirk, head to the basement, try and get some photos of this painting. Take the torch," Danny said.
"And you?" Grimm asked.
"I'm going to try and find the safest exit. And see if I can find out what happened to our new bastards. Rendezvous at the roof," Danny said. "Everyone fine with that?" He finished. They all nodded their agreement.
"Right. Go," Danny said.
Shining his beam of light back toward the door, Dirk rushed off with Grimm at his side. Chance stood, picking up Ed and draping him over his shoulders.
"I have a small flashlight in my pocket. But Dirk has the only other one, and you..." Chance began.
"I can have excellent night vision when I want to," Danny replied, cutting him off. Chance grinned, and nodded.
"Now just get him out of here," Danny said, pointing at Ed.
"Safest bet is probably the roof."
"I agree. Go. Now."
In the hallway, Dirk and Grimm quickly made their way down to the service elevator. Staring intently at the door, Dirk stood for a moment.
"This elevator gets us there," he said.
"But the power's out," Grimm replied.
"Right," Dirk added. Shifting his gaze slightly, Dirk noticed the door to the stairwell. He took a few steps back, then raised his foot to kick the door open and hopefully shatter the lock.
Grimm held out his arm and gently pushed the door open. Dirk lowered his leg.
"I was just testing the wind," Dirk said.
"Sure. Just get down there," Grimm replied.
In the building's ventilation system, Johnny Omicron quickly propelled himself forward toward the junction. He soon found it, coming across a place that had four different ventilation ducts meet. One larger one extended downward, presumably toward the basement.
"Rose. X-Acute. Headed into the basement now. Meet me there. Arges, Sheik, clear the path for our exit. We'll be there in under two minutes," Omicron said into his helmet radio. He shuffled forwards on his elbows, pushing himself into the downward-facing duct. He slid down, surrounded by darkness but knowing exactly where he was.
"And... now," he said. He burst into the air vent's cover, pushing it out from the wall. He tucked his head into his chest and his knees up, flying out of the vent and rolling across the floor. He came to a controlled stop and stood up. Looking up, he noticed the air vent in the ceiling busted open. He found X-Acute and Rose already in the room, standing watch at either side of the wide doorway that was the room's only entrance and exit.
Except, of course, for the air vents. One in the ceiling, one in the wall behind Johnny. He knew all this weeks ago.
"The lights are on in here," X-Acute said.
"Yes. The basement is on a separate power supply," Johnny said in the tone of voice that implied he should know that already and was wasting his time explaining it.
"Of course," X-Acute said.
Johnny scanned the room and soon found what he was looking for. The painting they were after sat carefully placed on a table before him, various implements for cleaning and preparation scattered around it. A brand-new looking golden frame was next to it. It seemed as if the museum was soon planning to put this piece on display.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny digital camera. He took a dozen photos of the painting, each from a different angle and at different magnifications. As he did so, Rose silently replaced the cover on the air vent he had emerged from.
All three of them suddenly turned as they heard a noise from the stairwell outside the door. Omicron pocketed his camera, jumped up with one leg on the table, then hurled himself toward the open vent in the ceiling.
In the stairwell between the second and third floors, Chance jogged determinedly upward with the barely conscious Edulcore draped over him. He reached the top of the stairs and found himself on the landing. He paused for a moment to catch his breath.
And he found himself looking at the body of a guard, slumped against the wall in the corner.
"Oh, God..." Chance said, and placed Ed down carefully on the stairs.
"Just sit right here for a second... I have to see if he's alive..." Chance said softly. Ed nodded, then leaned sideways against the wall and tried his hardest to keep his eyes open. Chance ran across to the guard, kneeling at his side. He places two fingers softly against the guard's neck, looking for a pulse. He found one. It was faint, but it was there.
"Come on, we have to go..." Chance said, helping Ed up once more and heading up the next flight of stairs.
"But... that guy..."
"He's alive. Just. I'll call an ambulance as soon as we get to the roof. But it's not safe here... they're still inside."
Already on the third floor, Danny crept silently up the darkened hallway. To other people, the darkness would be an impediment, but to someone who could call upon the sense of any animal at whim, it was nothing more than two words away from being unnoticeable.
"Hal. I don't like this."
You're right. It's damn spooky...
"Wait. You hear that...?"
What?
"Sssh. Wolf ears," Danny said. As his head contorted, he suddenly heard voices coming from the hallway adjacent to this one.
"Good thing you took out that guard," Arges said.
"He is not dead. He will wake," Sheik replied.
"Sure, whatever. Long as he ain't calling the cops and I still get paid," came the reply.
Danny ducked into a nearby broom cupboard as the two rounded the corner.
"Damn, these goggles are starting to hurt my head. Who do you think those other guys were?"
"I do not know."
"Me either... no fuckin' idea. Still, pretty damn strange them turning up at the same time as us, huh?"
Sheik said nothing in reply.
"Yup. Fuckin' strange," Arges said, agreeing with himself.
"The exit. This next room," Sheik said. Arges broke down the door with his mace, and strode on in.
"Do not attract undue attention."
Danny opened the door of the cupboard a few millimeters and risked a quick peek out into the hallway. It was empty, Sheik and Arges having disappeared into the room next door. Quickly and quietly, Danny ran out of the cupboard and headed for the stairway. He wished he had time to marvel at the works of art that adorned the walls around him, but he just couldn't risk it.
Back in the basement, Dirk and Grimm swung open the door and walked on into the storage room.
"Light's on. I can kill the flashlight now..." Dirk said, and switched it off.
"You think they've been here before us?" Grimm asked.
"I'd say so," Dirk said, pointing at the cover from the ceiling's air vent that lay broken on the floor beneath it. He walked forward quickly, and noticed the painting on the table.
"Think this is what we're after?"
"Nothing else here fits the description. Take the photos," Grimm answered.
"If we ever see them again, we should thank them for leaving it," Dirk said, pulling the camera out of his coat.
"The painting disappearing arouses suspicion..."
"...and leaving it here means the authorities are none the wiser. Right," Dirk said, and went about the business of taking the photos. Grimm stood watch at the door, also keeping one eye on the air vent.
In the stairway between the third and topmost floor, Danny caught up to Chance and Ed.
"Kris!" Danny said, in a whispered voice but still loud. Chance turned as much as he could while still giving Ed some support.
"Danny! What did you find?"
"They're gathered at the third floor. I don't want to confront them without a better idea of what we're up against. As long as Dirk and Grimm get the photos, our best bit is still to steer clear for now and head for the roof."
"Right."
"Here, let me give you a hand," Danny said, gripping Ed's shoulder.
"Never mind... I... fine, I can..." Ed muttered. He stepped forward, away from the grip of his friends... and fell to the floor.
"No time for pride. You need a hand here. And a doctor ASAP..." Danny said, as he and Chance helped Ed up.
They soon found themselves at the top of the stairwell. They stood facing a door that led out onto the roof, and waited a moment.
"We'll just wait here a second for Grimm and Dirk. They shouldn't be long."
In the third floor, Arges and Sheik stood in the center of a giant room. The room was filled with various sculptures, and Sheik wandered the room looking at each of them. Occasionally he nodded his approval.
Arges stood anxiously by the window, awaiting his teammates. He didn't have to wait long, as X-Acute burst through the doorway and ran into the room. Johnny Omicron and Rose walked in after him.
"Okay. We've done what we came here for. Let's go," Johnny said. He walked to the window, lifted a small latch, and pushed it open. They all climbed out onto the fire escape, then quickly began to make their way down. Before following his team down, however, Omicron had one last thing to do.
He raised his wrist gauntlet and flipped up a panel, revealing a small keyboard with some numbered buttons.
"And... one," he said, pushing one of the buttons.
In the basement, Dirk and Grimm had finished their photography session and agreed to leave the room. Suddenly, in the stairway outside, the light came on. They heard the faint buzz of the elevators coming back to life.
"The power's on. Why would the power be on...?" Dirk said. "Unless... oh, shit..."
"And... two," Omicron said, pushing another button before hurling himself over the railing of the fire escape.
Dirk looked across the room at the motionless security camera. He saw a small red light blink into life on top of it.
"Fuck," he said under his breath.
"What?" Grimm asked.
"They turned the fucking security system back on..."
"Roof! Now!" Grimm yelled, and they headed for the stairs. They ran as fast their legs could take them. Which, for these two guys, was pretty fast. Dirk muttered the occasional swear word under his breath.
At the top of the stairs, next to the door leading to the roof, there waited Danny, Chance and Ed.
"I'm sure they'll be here any..." Danny began, and was cut off by the wailing of a siren.
"...the hell?" Danny said.
"The security system! How is it back on?!" exclaimed Chance.
They had no time to think about this as Grimm and Dirk came bounding up the stairs toward them.
"GO now now now now now now!" Dirk yelled, pushing past them and hurling himself at the door. It swung open, leading out onto the roof. The team spilled out onto the concrete surface... and found themselves in the glare of a spotlight.
A helicopter hovered just above the roof, a huge floodlight mounted to its bottom. The beam shone down onto the roof, directly into the faces of the five teammates. A second helicopter passed by behind it, circling the roof of the museum.
Around them, the circumference of the museum's roof was littered with men in black uniforms with guns raised to their shoulders. If they could see past the glare of the helicopter's spotlight, the trapped men may have been able to look further and see men with sniper rifles located on the roofs of buildings surrounding the museum.
"Well... crap," Danny said.