Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter XII

SHANNA

Music: Silvery Wings Again from Salamander 2

Most of the locations given on the map are within the United States. There's one in Australia, one in Russia, and three either near or in South America. Our first destination is, randomly, Denver, Colorado.

A good portion of the flight to Denver is spent going over minor details for the search. Right now, Mackenzie's doing an organization/supplies check. "Alright, that's a check. Anybody got weapons?" she asks after confirming that we all have our phones on us.

Mia lifts up her shirt to reveal her customized weapons belt, Sean pulls out a crowbar (don't ask me where he found it), and the other three guys pull out small handguns. Mackenzie gives them an ok-hand sign.

"Good. Girls, any of you have pepper spray?"

Avery, Elle, Skylar, and I pull out small vials containing the eye-burning spray. Mackenzie nods and says, "Okay, check."

"We're here!" Avery announces. Sam parks the hovercraft on a street curb. The street itself, according to a close-by mall, is known as 16th Street. It's starting to become evening time, and the streets are filling up with people walking up and down the sidewalks. It's not quite as crowded as NYC, but there's still barely enough elbow room for all ten of us.

"Ah... you know, the one nice thing about these trips is being able to visit all these cool places that we normally wouldn't be able to go to," I say to Mia as we start walking around.

"Yeah, at least until someone tries to kill us," Mia snorts.

"So, what exactly are we looking for here? Things seems just a bit too... normal for there to be a secret base or anything," Heath asks.

"Anything that appears to be out-of-place," Sam answers. He's currently utilizing the hovercraft's scanner to try and find anything suspicious-looking. "So, a person who looks troublesome or a building that doesn't blend in very well."

We continue walking through Denver, finding a whole bunch of nothing. No creepy guys stalking or spying on girls, no odd-looking buildings, nothing. Just your typical 6:30 PM busy city. Eventually, we find ourselves at Denver County, where people are waiting at bus stops.

"I hate to break it to ya, Sam, but there just doesn't seem to be anything here," Luke says.

"The map says there's something here..." Sam mutters to himself, checking the map yet again. Sure enough, there's a small red dot on Denver, Colorado (it's even labelled).

"Maybe we're just looking in the wrong place. I mean, why would they operate in a busy city where people are bound to notice? I say we go further out in the city," I suggest.

Before anybody can respond, a blood-curdling scream erupts from far away.

SEAN

Music: Big Core MK III from Gradius V

Coming out of the 16 Street Mall's front doors is another man dressed entirely in black, dragging a hispanic-looking girl who can't be any younger than 18. The girl constantly pleads for help, but the man has a gun to her head and keeps threatening to open fire. Most civilians back away, and those who try to intervene get shoved away. A mask covers the man's face, but judging from his voice and movement, I can safely assume that he's pretty insane. Our group watches the scene unfold from across the street.

"A kidnapping!" some random woman yells.

The man shoves the girl into a blue Lamborghini, and then makes his way to the driver's seat. It's at this moment that the ten of us look at each other. Our faces share three common traits: excitement, determination, and readiness.