The Search and Rescue Project

The Search and Rescue Project part 5

jaw dropped. Wait, what did he just say? The traitor was his son? I grabbed Kolbe and pulled her behind me. "Thank you for your hospitality, but we really should be going." I turned to see Criss at the door, arms crossed. "No escape, huh?" I turned the other way and started to walk back towards my seat. Suddenly I lashed out with my heel, spinning to follow through with a blow to the face. My foot hit empty air, and I found my hand twisted up behind my back.

                I glared at Criss and struggled, but he had a firm grip. He stood there patiently as I fought, until I walked back over to the ottoman and sat down. "Why should we trust you? Your son betrayed us to Zaskar. We saw him with a member of S.E. Are you going to take us to him or something?"

                Harry's face flushed slightly. "I actually wished to ask you for help. I know my son, and he would not voluntarily betray the Search and Rescue Project." Kolbe gestured for me to come with her to the back of the room. When Criss stood up, she rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna try anything, big boy. Chill out."

                She bent her head and spoke in a low tone. "Caleb, I think he's telling the truth. When I had that foresight thing, Francis was running away. The guy we saw talking to him shot him. He was thinking about warning someone, I think it was us."

                Her story fit right in with mine. Francis had been running when I was there. He must have been trying to escape. "Just don't trust them too much. Be ready to ditch on my signal." I said. I walked back over to my chair. "What do you need us to do?"

Chapter 2

Caleb

                I was crouched behind a bush in the middle of nowhere. Kolbe sat next to me, messing with her hair. It bugged her to have it down. We were outside a large white building. Rolls-Royce's and Ferrari's pulled up into the driveway constantly, and well dressed men and women walked up the steps. I ran my hand over my hair to make sure it wasn't sticking up. It was slicked back, and I felt like a dork. I wore a black tux, and leather dress shoes. I had cufflinks, collar stiffeners, the works. Kolbe was next to me, in a black dress and heels. She actually looked pretty good, but she would kill me if I said so.

                We were here to crash a fancy party and learn more about Zaskar's plan. We had the ornate invites in our hands, printed on thick paper that looked expensive.  I looked over at Kolbe and asked, "Ready?" 

"I guess." She squeezed my shoulder and we stood up. We walked toward the door, standing tall and erect. Kolbe's hand lay on my forearm, as we were posing as a couple.  We were both tall, so I was pretty sure we could pull off being at least 18. I showed my invite carelessly to the burly doorman, as if I was used to it. He examined it and let me in. Kolbe walked in a few seconds later. I looked around at the pillars and chandeliers. If I had any doubt about where we should be, it was gone now. Everything about the place screamed rich. Kolbe went off to talk to a group near me, and I walked off into another crowd and chatted with an elderly woman. She looked familiar, but I couldn't quite remember why. Only as I moved on to another person did I realize I had been speaking with the previous President's wife.

Kolbe met up with me near the punch table. "Drake Dale just gave me his number!" she squealed. I glanced at her, and she blushed. "Sorry, being stupid. Where do we go now?"

"I have no idea." I walked toward the staircase in the back corner of the room. I walked up with Kolbe close behind. We had to walk like we had a purpose, or we would be caught right away. Once we reached the top, I touched the face of my watch. The hands and numbers disappeared and Criss' face filled the tiny screen. "Are you guys in?" he asked. There were miniature speakers in my ears as well as Kolbe's, along with microphones on the roof of our mouths. "Yep. What room should we try?" I whispered. Criss' face was replaced with a diagram of the hallway, showing all the doors. One near the end of the hall was blinking. When I touched it, the room beyond was shown. It was plain but tastefully furnished. A large wooden desk dominated the room. A short simulation played, showing a drawer being opened and a button being pressed. Criss' face came back. "You got that?"

"Uh huh. Going in."  I walked over to the door and signaled for Kolbe to cover me. I pushed it open and stepped to the side as an arrow shot out, impaling itself in the wall across the hall. I heard a click and dived into Kolbe as a wire net shot out of the end and settled onto the floor.

Kolbe rolled a rubber ball through the doorway and with a puff of smoke it was incinerated, leaving a pile of ashes. I pinched my nose as they smell of burned rubber drifted out into the hall. Kolbe looked at me and rolled her eyes. I took a small canister out of my pockets and shook some of the contents into my hand. I threw the fine grey powder into the room. It revealed some motion detection lasers, criss-crossing throughout the room.  I spotted a small panel just above a bookshelf in the corner of the room, painted the same color as the wall. I felt around in my pockets for the clump of wires that would disable the alarms. I drew out the pile, and with some effort got them back into the plastic ball that I would need to throw. I chucked the ball and it latched onto the panel. There was some smoke and sparks as the circuit shorted out. I smiled and stepped into the room with Kolbe. My vision spun and I fell to the ground.