Griffin Rock's Secret: A Cody Burns Fanfiction

Chapter 23

At the firehouse, Cody jumped onto the comunications center, accessing the city's cameras. He flicked through each camera, looking for any sign of Quarry in the night. The rest of the team was patroling the city streets, attempting to find where the safari jeep had gone. Cody flicked past the video feed of the city hall before backtracking to it. Quarry's jeep was speeding by, heading west before sharply turning. Cody could hear the sound of the tires screeching on the road in his head as the jeep headed towards the docks. Cody pulled on the command center's headset to allow him to connect into the comlink system.

"Dad, Quarry's headed for the docks, you should be able to cut him off at-" Cody cut off as the jeep suddenly made a 180 and hurtled back towards the way it had come. The night time made it hard for him to keep track of where the jeep was. The storm clouds blocked any stars and moonlight from the sky as well. "No, wait. He just turned around and is headed back towards city hall."

"Thanks Cody," Dani's voice spoke into the headset. "Blades and I are heading towards the docks, just in case Quarry decides to head back."

"I see him!" Graham called through the comlink as the jeep sped past him and Boulder. As the bot drove behind in pursuit, Graham couldn't help but have a sense of unease wash over him. Something just didn't feel right about the whole event.

Chase pulled up in front of the jeep, which swerved onto another road, knocking some trashcans over. A strange canister was thrown from the jeep into one of the trash cans, immedietly beginning to buzz, ignored by the pursuers. The jeep sped away before Heatwave and Kade could pull out and stop it, leading all three vehicles onto another road near the docks.

Blades and Dani tracked the jeep with their spotlight, which was difficult as the jeep kept swerving away. Quarry kept jerklily driving the car onto different streets, sometimes even doubling back right past the rescue team. Something wasn't sitting right with Dani as Cody kept trying to give ideas as to where Quarry was attempting to go. She went to use her comlink, but a weird crackle ensued from it momentarily.

"Cody, can you figure out where dad and the others are?" Dani asked, strangely unable to contact them.

"Sure thing," Cody replied, typing on the computer. He had his phone out on the table, a chat pulled up with Frankie and Doc. They were still trying to figure out where the cloaking device and book had gone to, as they were sure someone had stolen them. As Cody made to contact the rescue team everything in the firehouse shut down.

The power outage hit the entire city, dousing all lights and cameras. Cody attempted to use his comlink, but nothing worked. His phone was blacked out as well. He pulled off the now useless headset, the quiet house unnerving. Putting his phone in his jacket pocket, he pressed the comlink again on his jacket. Nothing worked. He sat for a moment before starting to follow is dad's instructions.

"Someone must have shot an E.M.P. at the town," Cody guessed, groping his way down the darkened stairs to the bedrooms. His boots made footsteps louder than he liked, feeling a strong sense of unease as he made his way down the stairs to the kitchen. As he passed a doorway, something fell, the clatter echoing through the almost pitch black rooms.

Cody froze, senses heightened, heart thumping. If there really had been an E.M.P., then that meant all all firehouse's security systems were down. There would be no way for him to contact his family either. The creak of a floorboard made Cody turn his head to look at the fire pole. Lightning flashed outside, and the window let the energy briefly illuminate the kitchen. The faint silhouette of a man was framed in the darkness, standing mockingly in front of the pole, blocking the way to the garage.

"Well, well, well," the rough voice made shivers run down Cody's spine. "Looks like tonight's catch will be easier than I thought." Cody's stomach fell as Quarry's words registered in his brain. Quarry started walking towards the small boy, who took off up the stairs.