The Academy of S.I.D.E.

No. 16: Plot Twist

"Here we go!" Remus sang, dumping Virgil in front of Augustus. "We've got leverage!"

Augustus frowned. "Should I... should I ask?"

"His team took Jan-Jan. This is payback."

"Hmm. That's a little problematic." He kneeled down in front of him. "Guessing your team hasn't found the drive yet, huh?"

"No, they did," Virgil responded, getting to his feet. "So you're basically screwed."

Remus's grin widened as he held up a small yellow triangle dangling from a keychain.

"What the fuck!" he exclaimed. "How the hell did you get the flash drive?"

"Sent Sanchez and Jannie to fetch it," Augustus said casually, smirking. "Climbing over the walls, then getting in there? Piece of cake."

"But---but you guys are supposed to protect it!"

"Yeah, duh. Easier to protect it if we have it on us." He stretched. "'Sides, watching Remy cause chaos in one of the biggest museums in the world? Worth it."

Virgil shook his head. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Roman and Patton said that they had the flash drive."

"Well, my brother's an idiot," Remus said, scratching the back of his neck. "He probably just fell for an illusion or some shit."

Augustus frowned. "Actually, there aren't any illusionists in our year. Closest thing we've got is Jannie, and he can only do it on himself."

"His body rebuilds itself and he casts a glamour over the clothing," Remus corrected. "He tells you this all the time."

"Yeah, I really don't care." He reached over and tugged on Virgil's streaks. "Getting a little washed out there. Might wanna redo it."

Virgil prickled a little at the unwanted touch. "I'm not taking hair advice from you. You probably don't know the first thing about hair dye."

Augustus smirked, running a hand through his short auburn waves. "Oh, so you know that this is real, right?"

"Lemme guess, it's a family trait?" Virgil said sarcastically. "Passed down over generations from the great Griffins household?"

"Actually, it's a Macklemore trait," he corrected. "Got it from my mom's side of the family. The fire control's a Griffins thing."

So he's a legacy. Perfect.

"But let's cut the small talk in half." Augustus adjusted his sunglasses. "Where's your team meeting?"

"I'm not gonna tell---"

"Remus, give him the extra-slime treatment."

"Center of the maze," Virgil answered hastily. "I have no idea whether they still have Janus or not."

Augustus grinned, exposing teeth that looked sort of like fangs. "There we go. C'mon, Sanchez, let's get a move on."

..........

There wasn't any climbing over the walls this time---just a few twists and turns. Augustus had decided to take a stealth approach, by which he meant that they were going through the maze and beating the crap out of anyone they came across. When they finally reached the center, Virgil was not in the least bit surprised to see Roman pointing a sword at the three of them.

"Foul villains!" he shouted. "Unhand my roommate, or face my wrath!"

"Y'know, you should probably drop the whole Shakespearian-hero shtick," Augustus commented. "At first it was entertaining, but now it's just plain sad."