Olympus

Chapter 40

"Before the equipment explodes, there are some things we need to take care of," Megan said after the group had settled. "First is the people. 

"Jay, I need you to trigger every fire alarm in this building and maybe some in the nearby buildings too, as many as you can manage. Can you?"

He nodded affirmative. Putting his hands to the ground, he pushed against it and a yellow energy passed through the floor and up the walls on all sides. Not so long after, the sound of a fire alarm reached the room they were, the pitch increasing as more joined in from farther away and soon, the pounding of footsteps could be heard from above as people seemed to move in droves.

"Next, Rick, I need you to reach as many people as you can over the phone. Tell them that the alarm isn't a drill. They must evacuate the building as quickly as they can and shouldn't stay anywhere near the area to observe. If they ask why..."

"Don't worry, I know how to deal with them." He patted her arm in understanding and she smiled in gratitude.

"Kei," she turned to the teenage speedster just as Ricardo stepped out of the room with his phone already on speed dial to the first number, "I need you to do a sweep of the building from floor to floor. Check for anyone that may be lagging behind. Help them if you can without your powers. More so, check if there are any of Martin's men still active in the building. Take them out if you find them. Watch out for the cameras though. Don't expose yourself."

Kei seemed to debate whether or not she should obey the instructions in her head for a minute, but she finally nodded her acceptance even as her face had a sour expression. Apparently, she still wasn't on board with the plan.

But she's made herself available to help out, Megan remarked to herself, concluding that that would have to be enough for her in that moment.

"Kei," she called just as she was about to zoom off. "Take care."

The latter only returned a quick nod and left.

"How long do we have before the explosion?" Megan asked afterwards.

A quick check on the equipment and Jay replied, "Ten minutes top."

"Adolf, you'll be our guard," she instructed. "If anything goes wrong-"

"I'll make sure all of us gets out of this alive," he completed and stood at alert next to her.

"The calls are through," Ricardo announced as he came back in. "The evacuation is at a good percentage now. The people I spoke to didn't ask me much. I think they understand the urgency of the situation well enough not to ask too many questions."

Megan thanked the saints for that small favor. One down, many more to go.

She brought out her phone just then. Perhaps I should call Dennis, she thought. It had been a while since they had left Olympus and she hadn't gotten back to Arthur and him.

It didn't take long for Megan to realize though that even if she wanted, she couldn't. The whole mountain was on lockdown. No call could go through nor any placed out. If they had found the mole, they would have reached out. That they hadn't reached out yet...

She decided to let that thought die there.

Still, the thought tickled Megan. 

In truth, she was terrified, more than she could ever admit to the others, or to herself for that matter. What she was embarking on was the great unknown; a plan that rested solely on the shoulders of a gutsy teenager and glued in so many places by faith and prayer that she couldn't describe exactly how it would look like in real life. It was a gamble at best, imprudence at worst. She desperately hoped it wasn't the latter.

I really can do with a word of support right now, Megan thought to herself and closed her eyes as her heart began to pound as if someone had taken a drum set to it in her chest.

"It'll be alright, Megan." She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Ricardo mouth those words to her with a calming smile on his face. It was almost like he could read her mind – she really was starting to believe that he could.

Adolf came to join the duo, a smile of encouragement also on his face. Up front, Jay gave her a quick thumbs up; his own show of solidarity.

The group trusted the plan.

No, Megan corrected herself. It's not the plan that they trust, it's me.

So, she tried to trust herself too; trust that she had made the best decision in a bad situation.

"How long now?" she asked again.

"Three minutes."

Jay was all concentration at this point. He kept stretching his legs and hands at alternates every five seconds, doing some light jumps and turns in between. It almost felt as if he was an athlete getting ready for a championship race and not an emergency firewall in front of an explosion.

Despite the situation, Megan managed to smile. He reminded her of the first day she met him. Brave, serious, ready to go to work; and it was a big work he would have to go to before that day was done.

"I've gotten through the building." A breeze from behind announced Kei's presence to the group even before she spoke. "The top floors are empty. The lower floors soon to be cleared out. No sign of Martin's men in the vicinity. I think they all scrambled after they saw their leader dead."

"Alright. We're ready to go then." Megan looked to Jay who nodded affirmative.

"Counting down the final seconds," he said and readied himself.

The group readied themselves too. Ricardo took Megan's hand and she leaned against him for support. Kei stood in front of the duo, seemly prepared for whatever would come next; though none of them could say exactly what would come next, not even Jay. Adolf was the one stationed in front of the group with his wings out but not stretched.

And they counted.

Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... Five... Four... Three... Two... One.