Permafrost: Thunderbird

Chapter 19: Captured!

⭐️Chapter 19: Captured!

Three Crasher members were still currently searching houses for this child. They didn't know how the others were doing since they didn't bring their phones or other communication devices. Man was that a mistake on their part, they really wished they had them. They'd triple checked the houses by now, and still had no luck. This was hard, though they didn't really know what to expect from such a mission like this.

However, the other three were surprised when one of their members came out from a house holding a bag with something in it. They explained the situation and dropped off the bag before heading back to the house to cover up their tracks. Thrash took the bag and got a headstart to the forest, just in case. It only took a few minutes before they got back, but once the other Crasher finished the trio left to go after Thrash. Their mission had been accomplished, even if it was surprisingly easier than they'd initially thought. Along the way, they whispered to themselves.

"What do we do to keep her quiet?" Spyke asked.

"If she wakes up, we knock her unconscious with a blow to the head. Or more tranquilizer," Thrash replied.

"Alright, sounds good to me."

"What if something else takes the bag?" Fang asked, receiving a nudge from Thorne.

"We get it back, duh."

"What if someone's watching us and reports us to authority?" Fang asked.

"Dude, nobody's out here," Spyke said, waving his hands towards the empty spaces in the forest to emphasize his point.

Wasn't like it was visible since it was kind of dark outside, but whatever. Fang just shrugged.

"You never know."

"Well then, we do our best to lie and get out of it. Or put the blame on that dumb laboratory," Thorne shrugged. "Do whatever we need to get out of the mess and live another day, what do we care about other people?"

"Oh...y-yeah, since when have we ever given a crap about other peoples' wellbeing?" Fang responded, trying to match the tone and mood of the conversation before the group suspected him of wanting to switch sides on them again.

"You guys done yet?" Thrash growled.

"What? Can't we have a little conversation to lighten the mood?" Thorne teased with a grin.

"Whatever."

The Wave Crashers kept sneaking through the forest so that they could quickly return the girl and claim their prize. They did they best to be quiet, and also made sure nobody else walking around saw them. Once they were away from the town by a significant amount, they all broke into sprints, though Fang lagged behind a little more than the others. Even though Fang's ink trail from before had evaporated, the group was still able to remember and find the pathway they'd taken on the one day, so they could all estimate where the lab was. Sure enough, their predictions were correct, and that was how they got to the front door of the laboratory late at night.

Thrash went up to it and knocked, waiting for a response. If all else failed, he'd just bash the doors until they broke, or find another way in since they thought they saw some on their first time seeing the place. Thorne took the bag from him so that he could punch someone if this was all a scam. It took a few minutes, but eventually Hunter appeared at the door. He eyed the bag the Wave Crashers had, and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, back already? I'm surprised you worked so fast...where is she?" Hunter asked.

Thorne held out the squid form that was Bird, though she was still passed out from the tranquilizer. Hunter approached and examined her before taking her out of Thorne's grasp.

"I assume this is her?"

"We assume you have the good stuff you promised? No dirty tricks?"

"Ah, yes. That. Come with me, inside."

Hunter held the door open for the four goons, and they all went in. Once the door was shut tight, the harpoon snail started down the hallways of the lab.

"Ugh. Make this quick," Fang groaned in an attempt to be intimidating to the guy.

"Naturally."

The Wave Crashers followed the guy down the halls without question. As they did so, they couldn't help but think about what they were getting into.

"Heh, the Infernos and that stupid other team are gonna be so done for!" Fang chuckled.

"I know, right?" Thorne sneered.

"Yeah, we'll be able to pay for much more custom stuff than this!" Spyke exclaimed.

"We'll show them that they can't get away with having an unordinary little squid with a power! They're just as weak as the rest of them all!" Thrash grinned.

The goons guffawed amongst themselves while Hunter merely shrugged. Wasn't his business to inquire, anyway. He took a turn at a hallway intersection, and made sure the other four followed. As they did, he opened the door to an office-looking room and went behind the desk to get something. The Wave Crashers weren't sure if they were supposed to follow him in or not, but it didn't matter since Hunter was quick.

The Harpoon Snail came out with a large box of cash, as well as a paper attached to it. Skimming through it, the four could see it was just information about the laboratory and contacts. The box they were handed weighed quite a lot, and they could hear the stuff inside. Sounded like legitimate cash to them, and Hunter watched as they confirmed their reward in case there were any questions or issues. Once the Wave Crashers were seemingly done inspecting everything, they looked at Hunter. That was his cue to start talking again.

"Thank you very much, you've helped us out quite a ton despite the mission probably seeming...less difficult than others may be. We will be grateful for your services and if you ever require us, the information is on the paper attached to the chest," Hunter said. "Now then, technically speaking, your work here is done.....but...hm..."

He trailed off at the end, thinking to himself. The Wave Crashers noticed this, and after a minute or two of silence, spoke up.

"But...?" Thrash asked, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

Hunter gave them all an interested look.

"Would you perhaps like to work a little MORE?"

The Wave Crashers exchanged glances as they looked down at the reward they'd received for retrieving just one measly little girl.

Oh yeah.

They were in.