Just One Headline

Chapter Two: The Plan

Everybody wants to feel useful. I think that's a fact. And at this moment, I was being useful. There was some merit to that, but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. This was a risk. Very soon Leutrim and I wouldn't have the safety of this vehicle, or the protection of the general. We would be alone in a dangerous city. Was it worth it?

While I was lost in thought, the car came to a stop. The captain told us to get out of the car, and so we did. As soon as we got out, he drove off. I watched as he left; there was no going back now. Leutrim and I just stood around, unsure of what to do next.

"I suppose all that's left to do is follow the map." I said, finally.

"That sounds like a good idea." Leutrim said back. We started walking, and Leutrim spoke again. "So, what do you think this is all about?"

Baba-Booey, what could it mean, anyway? "I don't know, probably instructions to some sort of plan." I would've liked to know what the plan was. As it was, we could've been walking into a death trap. The sort of trap that takes out everyone in the vicinity.

"Yeah, probably. But what's the plan?" Leutrim seemed to like to talk. His relentless requirement to speak hadn't begun bothering me yet, though I could tell it was coming.

"You know as much as me." I told him. Neither of us were going to look inside it, it seemed a breach of privacy. Though no one would know, it would be the most honorable thing to do, to trust your superiors unconditionally. Or at least that's what I thought, at such a bad time for the Cameramen, it seemed compliance was the best.

Leutrim led the way, checking the crumpled piece of paper that was our only guide. As their destination loomed closer, I was suddenly made aware of the silence. There was no noise, besides our footsteps. It was comforting, in a way, most of my time had been spent listening to an awful, looping song. However, as soon as I did hear something, I was made aware of it immediately.

Skibidi dop dop dop yes yes

I held my arm in front of Leutrim, and, after a second of feeling confused, he heard it too. He looked at me, and I thought for a second. We needed to see what we were up against. We slowly and quietly walked closer to the sound, and we peeked around a building to see how many toilets there were. Luckily for the two of us, there were only three toilets. With some decent planning, we'd be able to take them out.
"Go around the back alley way." I whispered to Leutrim. "The only way we do this is if we ambush them.

Leutrim nodded, before disappearing behind the building. I returned my gaze to the three Skibidi Toilets. I waited patiently, and then I saw Leutrim dash out from around the building.

The Skibidi Toilets all looked towards Leutrim, giving me the perfect time to strike. I went behind them, and I flushed two of them, their heads being sucked into the water, destroying them. The last remaining one turned to face me, and its face lunged at me. I swatted it away as Leutrim dashed in to flush it, the toilet receiving the same fate as its comrades.

I dusted my hands off together, then looked at Leutrim. We both gave each other thumbs ups. This was comforting. At least Leutrim was competent in some way. It gave me hope for our survival.
"Shall we continue?" I asked him.
"Yeah. It's good to see we're both capable of defending ourselves, huh?" Leutrim said as he began to walk forward.

I walked with him. "Uh-hu." While Leutrim may have been competent in battle, that didn't mean he was competent in every aspect of life. For example, I felt it was fairly obvious that I did not want to talk right then, yet he still spoke a lot.

"At this point, there's no sound I like more than the sound of a toilet flushing. Right, Povel?"

I ignored him, and we continued onwards, until Leutrim stopped. To our left was a fairly tall building, and to our right was a street with some cars. As I looked closer, I counted ten cars on either side of the road, all about a car's length away from each other, and, more importantly, what looked like dynamite planted by the sides of the cars.

I saw Leutrim looking at the nearest building, then looking at his map. I tapped on his shoulder, and as he turned around, I pointed at the dynamite. I looked back at him, and he imitated an explosion with his hands. He then pointed at the building, and then at the map. This was the place.

I enjoyed our game of charades. Though, there wasn't all that much reason to stay silent.

We entered the building, and carefully climbed the stairs. I doubted we were in any real danger, but if whoever set up the trap had that much access to dynamite, it wouldn't be a surprise if he trapped other places, too. And with each step I took, I mentally prepared myself to get blown to tiny pieces. Though, it never came.

We reached the top floor, and saw a Cameraman looking out the window. I looked at Leutrim, who just shrugged. I stepped towards the Cameraman, trying to step louder so he could hear us coming. As I stomped towards him, he looked at us, looking surprised to see us.
"Huh? Who are you?" He chuckled to himself. "I look away from this window for one second and someone sneaks up on me, I ought to be a little more careful."

Leutrim spoke first. "I'm Leutrim, and this is Povel. We're here to give you a message." He held out the map, which the Cameraman took. He nodded his head, folded it up, and put it in his pocket.
"I'm Stern, by the way." He said, giving us each a handshake.

"So, what's it mean?" Leutrim asked. I had it pretty much figured out, but I was still eager to get the full explanation.

Stern looked at us both, then sighed. "I guess it can't hurt to tell you. We're gonna blow up alot of toilets." He laughed.

Both me and Leutrim nodded at this sentiment. "I hope you do!" Leutrim exclaimed. The three of us shared a good laugh, but I couldn't help being concerned about the logistics of it all.
"But, how are you gonna get the Skibidi Toilets to all come through there?" I asked.

Stern's expression darkened, but he tried to brush it off. I don't think Leutrim even noticed. "Here," Stern said, "let me show you." Stern led us up to the top of the building. We walked towards the edge and looked over at the now obvious trap. "See, down there." Stern pointed towards the trap. "They'll all come through there, and then," Stern pulled out a controller with a large red button, labeled 'Baba-Booey,' "I press this, and then boom."

I failed to see how any of this really answered my question, but I looked over at Leutrim, and he didn't seem concerned at all. I didn't feel any need to concern him, and I figured there was probably a good reason Stern didn't want to tell us how they were going to lure the Skibidi Toilets here.

"Well, you two should probably find some way to make yourselves useful." Stern said. He pointed down the trapped street. "Just go down there, and take a left. Keep going down a few blocks, then take a right. That should take you where you need to go."
"Alright. Thank you." Leutrim politely said.

"Yeah, no problem. And, thanks for delivering the message. This will not go forgotten." Stern smiled at us both.

I nodded at Stern, and Leutrim gave him a thumbs up. We went down the staircase back into the building, and we reached the ground floor. I couldn't help but notice how unprotected the whole area was; there wasn't a single barricade stopping something from getting in. But, I shoved those thoughts aside. Stern probably knew what he was doing.

As we walked towards the trap, we turned back to look at Stern as he looked at us from the top of the building. We gave him a thumbs up, before continuing.

We walked past the many rigged bombs, and I couldn't help but feel uneasy. The likelihood Stern activated the trap now was low, but it still was not comforting being near all of the dynamite.

As we emerged on the other side of the trap, we went left. As we walked I thought about what was next for us. Likely, we were going to be thrown into a battle we had little chance of winning. There's nothing I would've liked more than to just run away. It seemed pointless, risking my life for such a futile purpose.

As we turned past another building, I saw an encampment of Cameramen. It seemed they were getting ready for something. I turned to Leutrim, and I nodded my head before we both walked forward.