Co-Pilot

Chapter 4

                Somehow, Ladybug and Chat Noir were able to slip away from the rest of the tour group and sneak into the command center on the runway. Once they were in the office area, the two went their separate ways to search the premises. While her husband searched the main area, Ladybug went deeper into the building, following a corridor that led to a lounge and meeting room location. Surely, there would be something useful to them in here. The conversation with Master Fu was still fresh on her mind, and it had been since the call had happened. They needed to come up with something to report back with. The pressure to prove that married pairs of agents were just as efficient began to engulf her emotions. If they could do that, then it would make things so much easier not just for her and Adrien, but for other agents at the agency. Like their best friends Alya and Nino Lahiffe for example. Marinette shook her head, she needed to remain focused. There would be no way that she and Adrien could prove themselves a worthy pair for the agency if they couldn't manage this case. Right now, she needed to focus on being the best agent she could be. They're teamwork would come second, when she actually had decent enough skills to contribute to their paring. The meeting and lounge space was entirely empty, which was a bit odd. When she and her partner had originally busted in, they thought that they'd have to find an alternative root to sneak in or take out some people, but that hardly ended up being the case. Where was everybody? Ladybug began to snoop through each and ever drawer, but when she found nothing, she left back out into the main hanger. A few planes were sitting quietly, why they were inside and not part of the display was relatively easy to tell. They were not old United States war planes, but merely small modern private jets. That was when she remembered. Last night, after settling into their room, Adrien and Marinette had sat down and read through all the files she'd copied onto T.I.K.K.I.. Particularly a message regarding the transaction of the gems and the money. Using the map as a reference, the two had easily pinpointed the meeting place where Ramone would meet with a representative sent by Hawkmoth. That's where they were now. This airline hangar would be the place, though the date was yet to be known. The message had also shared a code of numbers and letters. B78H9. An attempt to crack it would have been futile as there was no reason or context clues that would allow them to do such a task. However, now that she thought about, perhaps the code was actually an ID. Ladybug made a slow uneven jog towards the planes, her heels clacking on the cement ground. Her hands glided along the smooth metal of the plane's body, and on the tail end, she found what she was searching for. An identification. This particular plane wasn't it, J5T74. She dashed across to the other plane a few feet away, B78H9. This was it! She was right! The code was an identification for the plane.

"This is it!" Marinette couldn't believe her luck. She had found the plane that Ramone is intending to use to ship the jewels to Hawkmoth. Now all she had to do was tell Chat.

"Hey! What are you doing over there!?" Ladybug turned on a dime to see a large bodyguard like man marching toward her. This wasn't good. Unfortunately, Mari's mind blanked on possible ways out. An excuse was likely to work, but everyone knew that the woman was absolutely garbage at coming up with believable ones.

"I...uh, got distracted by a cat that scurried in here. I was merely..."

"Does this cat you speak of happen to be a metaphor for your husband?" The man interrupted crossing his arms over his chest. Marinette stopped dead. How did they....!? They caught Adrien! Mari swallowed the sting. They were only three days into this, and they'd already managed to get themselves captured. How rusty were they? Her lack of response sealed her fate, as the guard approached her. The agent needed to think of something quick. A smirk came to her face, a flirtatious glint in her eye, as she glided her fingers up her thigh, slowly bringing her red skirt up with them. The man eyed her suspiciously. She didn't lift her skirt any further, but instead used the fabric to hide her fingers as they took hold of her yoyo. There was a pause between them, neither one sure who was going to make the first move. Very slowly, Ladybug released the latch that held her yoyo firmly to her thigh. The zip of the string making hardly a sound as it snapped back into the weapon. The standoff continued. Then, as fast as she possibly could, Ladybug whipped out her yoyo and flung it at her opponent. Without hesitation, the man caught it. Internally, Mari freaked. This didn't usually happen. Suddenly, she was yanked toward him, only stopping when she slammed into his chest. It was uncomfortable, and though she wasn't doing anything, the proximity between her and this man felt adulteress. She couldn't do this! Why was she doing this!? Why had she thought that this tactic would be her ticket out of this situation!? However, she was in it now and the only way out was to continue down the path. Once out of this, she would, from now on, going to not only be the best agent she could be, but the best wife as well. Staring into his eyes seductively, Marinette slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her leg to his waist. The guard shifted uncomfortably but remained where he was. Ladybug inched her leg further around his figure, one of her hands delicately sliding down his chest over his jacket pocket. Bingo. Just what she hoped for. He had keys in the pocket. Presumably the ones that unlocked Adrien, if he was truly captured. She wasn't about to take chances when it came to her husband. Well, at least not after what she was doing right now. While, the man's eyes were transfixed on her, the young agent dropped her leg, turned her back to him by twisting left. Using his arm as leverage, she turned back toward him and kneed him in the chin. The man lurched back, but Ladybug immediately hoisted herself up to sit on his shoulder and set the man off balance. As he fell back, she spun to the front, so that when he landed, she'd be on top. He hit the cement with a thud, and Mari landed with a simple clack of her heels at his sides. She held him in a choke hold, and he was disoriented enough that a single blow would take him out just long enough that she could get away. After knocking out the guard, Ladybug stole the keys from the pocket and gracefully strolled away. Adding a hair flip just to escalate the pride she felt as she did so. However, the spy didn't get very far before two more men showed up behind her. A single look back and she was running, well as good as she could run in three-inch heels. Which wasn't bad, but nonetheless not ideal. The two men caught up with her rather quickly, their grip firm and restricting. Painful even if she thought about it. Thankfully, she had hidden the key in a spot where they were likely not to find it if they searched her. Better still, it was highly likely that they would lead her to her husband. Hopefully. They walked down a corridor, past the office and then out into another open hangar on the other side of the building. They had two hangars connected to one control office! In the middle of the wide - open space, sat Adrien. He was restrained to the chair by his ankles, his hands bound together in his lap. Another chair sat to his left, clearly the security of this place had been expecting her to show as well.