The Brigade

Trash cans and slot machines

I was thrown back against the black interior of the elevator. The capsule zoomed up, and lurched to a halt. The door opened up, and I stepped out. I glanced back only to see the wall sliding back into place.   Sometimes I couldn't believe the world I lived in. Kelly was leaning against the wall. Soft music trickled from invisible speakers.

Kelly brushed some black hair from her eye and asked," Have you ever done this before?"

"Nope," I responded. "How about you?"

"I've never really been in the field before. Once I went on a survival mission in Oregon. I was dropped off at the summit of Mount Hood, and I had to hike all of the way to portland. All I had was a blunt knife, a gun with one bullet in it, and a compass."

"But you've never been in a real firefight before," I said.

"Correct," she confirmed. "I'm not sure I like this whole leader thing though; It's so much pressure."

"Finally someone I can relate to," I cried. I heard a small click, and Ty stepped from the elevator. He shook his head and looked back at the blank wall behind him.

"Kelly, do you ever come up to the casino?" Ty asked.

"Sometimes," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well we need to get out, and I don't have a clue about where we are," Ty explained.

"Good point," Vanessa said as she alighted from the elevator.

"Well the casino is fairly close to the main entrance, but I doubt the main entrance is going to be open,” I said

“That’s a problem,” Kelly said. “Because the hotel was designed so if someone managed to break into the hotel vault they could only leave one way.”

“We’ll have to think of that as we go.” I said as Toby stumbled out of the elevator.

“Hey man,” Ty said, Just as Alice limped out of the elevator.

“H-Hi,” Toby stuttered. “That th-thing is like the roller c-coaster on New York New York,” Toby cried. I laughed. The elevator opened again, and Bruce stepped out wide eyed.

“Danny, we need one of these,” he said.

“I’ll work on that Tarzan, right after we save the world.

The wall opened up once again, and the gator twins emerged.

“Alright,” one of them said. “Who do we smash first. Kelly stepped in.

“No smashing yet Reggie,” she said. “Right now we need to get out of here alive,”

“Alive is good,” the other one, Zach, stated.

“Well,” Vanessa muttered. “He’s not wrong.” Then our favorite double Agent Bond emerged from the elevator. 

“We’ve got to get moving,” Ty said.

“I agree,” Alice piped up. “The longer we stay the more time they have to find us.”

“This is like a fun and deadly game of hide and seek,” Bruce cried happily.

“Alright guys,” I said let’s move. We all crept out of the stall one by one. Dr. Avi probably had the bathroom closed to the public, because we were the only ones in there. As we reached the door I peered out the window on the door. I scanned the room for anyone who looked suspicious. At first I didn’t see anyone. I looked again. Suddenly I noticed a woman pushing a cart of drinks around. She looked normal except for the fact that she was moving in a square around the same place. She had to be an assassin.

I faced the group and said, “okay guys, there is a woman pushing a cart of drinks around in a square by the $50 blackjack table. I am almost positive she is an assassin so we need to avoid her at all costs. Remember, we need to get out without being noticed. Now, there is a large trash can ten yards to the right of this door. If you time it right you can hide behind that when she isn’t looking. After that wait for her to turn her back then dash and hide behind that row of slot machines. Once everyone is there we can make another move.

"I'll go first," Kelly offered. I was about to protest until I saw the worried look on Toby's face. She needed to give him some confidence.

"Okay," I said, but be careful,"

"Duh," She retorted. Kelly waited until the lady turned and in a flash moved behind the trash can. I saw her take a deep breath and peek to see where the lady was. She made her move, and walked toward the  slot machines. She was older so she could pass as a regular gambler. She didn't even have to run.

"My turn," Agent Bond said. I had nearly forgotten he was here. I squinted at him but he was already on his way to the trash can. He ducked behind the trash bin just in time. He waited and then calmly stood up and walked away to the slot machines. He gave me a subtle thumbs up as he reached Kelly.

"I'm going," Alice said. 

"Don't die!" Bruce cried.

"Don't worry bud I'll be fine," She said kissing him on the cheek. This would be a breeze for Alice. This was exactly her skill set. Alice waited for the lady to turn, and rolled behind the trash can. She paused for a moment before standing up. She looked calm and confident at first, but then she winced as her bad leg hit the ground. She stumbled a bit. I glanced at the lady, who had stopped in her tracks. She spoke into a walkie talkie, and narrowed her eyes at Alice. I mentally slapped myself. Obviously they knew that Alice had a bad leg. Agent Bond must have tipped them off. Ooh he thought he was so clever. When I got my hands on him he was going to wish he had never been born. I glanced areound to see two men in immaculate navy blue suits come in from the lobby. I guess strangling Agent Bond would have to wait.

***********

Dun Dun Dun! Cliffhangers! I really love them so much so that I wrote a haiku about them.

I love cliffhangers

They keep you readers guessing

I use them so much