The Dragon Awakens

Chapter Twenty Four

Lanie hit the wall as the door exploded and everyone hit the ground as three masked men burst into the hallway with an unconscious President slung between them.

Lanie shook her head and struggled to stand up, leaning against the wall. She looked at the men rushing towards her and she drew her gun and she locked eyes with Shaun who was holding the President in his arms. He sneered at her and the elevator doors opened right as she clicked off the safety. He gave a small wave as he stepped in and she fired, missing him by only a few centimeters. She watched as the numbers dropped and she gasped.

"The newsroom! They're going to broadcast his execution!" She stood up, her heels slipping on the tile and she chucked them across the hallway. Useless. "Linc! Po! Yao! Head to the fourth floor and turn off the satellite and internet!" She commanded, running down the hallway towards them. She pulled them to their feet and they blinked at her as if they couldn't believe she was alive.

"My dear friend..." Yao grasped her hand tightly and smiled. "Whatever you say. Come on men!" Yao pulled them down to the stairs and Lanie hauled up Shang who was still rubbing his head.

"We need to go. Now." She tried pulling him to the stairs but he shook her off.

"Why should I listen to you? You lied to me, betrayed me," he snapped, stepping away from her.

She raised her eyebrows. "It was a matter of national security that you are not cleared to hear. Now, if you want to be the sole reason your President dies than I will be sure to let them know. But if you want to swallow your god damn pride and be the General I know you are, we can get on with our lives and I can stop stroking your ego."

He blinked at her, a million emotions written across his face but he nodded and picked up a stray gun from the floor from one of the passed-out soldiers and followed her down the hall.

"Kāihuā they're in the broadcast room, hurry! Two flights and then you're there, it's just a huge room. They have him tied to a chair in front of the camera," Nainai told her.

"Okay, I'm on it."

"Who are you talking to?" Shang asked her, confused.

"My grandmother. She's running surveillance in Clark's office."

"Wha- How?"

Lanie winked at him and paused in front of the door to the newsroom. "Oh, Shang do I have a lot to tell you. You thought you didn't know anything about me before this," she scoffed. 

"Is your name even Lanie?" he asked, gripping her shoulder hard. 

She turned and shook her head. "No. It's a nickname. My name is Mulan. Now let's go save the President." She opened the door to the newsroom, a room that spanned almost the entire length of the building. There were multiple sets for press conferences, news releases, and breaking news as well as all the camera and computer and lighting equipment needed to operate such spaces. There were cords and wires everywhere and Lanie was glad she'd taken her shoes off so she wouldn't trip. The three HUNS were fiddling with the camera equipment in front of the news desk which they had roughly shoved aside. The President was gagged and tied to the chair that coincidentally was bolted to the ground. He was awake now and looking around the room frantically with a really pissed off expression. 

"Okay, you distract the HUNS and I'll get the President," Lanie whispered as they tiptoed into the room. She pulled a switchblade out of her jacket pocket and Shang frowned. 

"How'd you get into the building with so many weapons?" 

"That is not important, go!" She pushed him towards the HUNS and scampered behind the desk towards the President. Upon further reflection, Lanie realized bright red for a clothing choice probably wasn't the smartest idea but there was nothing she could do about it now. 

"Hey! You!" Lanie spun around but Shaun was focused on Shang who had just cut the power cord with pliers. Shaun pulled out his gun and Lanie dashed towards the President. She pulled the duct tape off his mouth and he frowned at her. 

"What are you doing here?" he whispered as she leaned down and began to cut the ropes around his wrist. 

"I knew you were in danger sir and I couldn't let anything happen to you." Lanie freed one wrist and heard a loud crash behind her as one of the HUNS collided with the wooden podium that fell over on top of him, pinning him beneath it. "Here, use this, I'll be right back." 

She handed him the switchblade and darted across the room to Shang's side, grabbed a large camera as she went, and smashing it over the head of the second HUNS member. She looked frantically around for Shang and found him pinned to the floor by Shaun, a sharp broken piece of metal in his hand. 

"How dare you destroy everything I worked for! You took it all away in the mountains with that grenade!" He shouted and Lanie cleared her throat, hands on her hips. 

"No. I did." 

Shaun spun around and glared at Lanie as she pulled her hair back from her face. "The soldier from the mountain..." Shaun pushed Shang to the floor and stalked towards Lanie. 

"Shang, get the President, get out of the building and run," Lanie commanded, turning and dodging out of the room and over to a different staircase, this one that led straight up to the roof. At this point, Lanie knew all the HUNS who were left would be in the building, taking it over and making it impossible to leave through the front or back doors so the only logical solution was to go up. Lanie knew the exact distance between the edge of the Captial roof and the next building and she knew with a big enough start she could make it and Shaun couldn't. But he was faster than she anticipated and by the time she got to the roof he was only seconds behind her. 

"Well looky here; it seems like you're trapped little bird," he sneered, slamming the door behind him. She heard it lock with a soft click. "What did you think you could accomplish up here, hmm? There's a repel line right over there for me to get down and in just a few minutes this building will turn into the world's largest bonfire."  

Lanie pinched her lips together and backed up slowly, closer to the edge of the roof. "That is unfortunate. What's even more unfortunate is that you actually thought this plan of yours could work. The President is gone, your men have been taken out downstairs, and the armed guards are on their way up here right now."

A spark of panic flashed across Shaun's face but then he just laughed. "Little bird trying to trick me! But it'll never work!" He launched himself at her but Lanie dodged it easily, sidestepping him and moving out of his arms reach. They'd gone over this technique too many times to count in their hand-to-hand combat lessons during boot camp and Lanie was impressed it was actually paying off. 

"Mulan, you have two minutes," her grandmother hissed in her ear. 

"Are you in the building?" Lanie asked, moving around an air conditioning unit. Shaun was moving like a bull; fast and powerful but not very agile. 

"No, but I'm concerned that you still are."

"Well, I'm technically on the roof. So give me a minute and a half and I'll be out of here- Oof." Lanie turned and Shaun's fist connected with her jaw sending her flying across the roof. She popped up and rubbed it, frowning. She had a minute to make sure he stayed on this roof and she didn't. Lanie looked around frantically for anything that would hold him when she spotted some stray wires bundled up in a corner by the door. The only thing that stood between her and them was Shaun. 

"Where are you going little bird?" he laughed, and Lanie shrugged and jumped on the A/C unit, flipped over his hand, and rolled to the ground in front of the wires. She grabbed them and gave him a grin. 

"I'm going to fly away," she retorted, sliding under him and tying the wires around his feet. She pulled tight, slung the other end of the rope around a pole, and began sprinting for the edge of the roof. 

"Get off the roof, get off the roof, get off the roof," she muttered as her feet pounded against the burning gravel. She placed one foot on the ledge and used every muscle left in her body to launch herself across the gap between the buildings. The crowd that had gathered on the street to watch the spectacle gasped and screamed as she flew. Right as she was about to grab the ledge, the Capitol building behind her imploded and she prayed that Shang had managed to get out with the President on time.