Maximum Ride Fan Fiction / Maximum Ride Fan Fiction ❯ If I Asked You To, Would You Kill Me? ❯ Storm Racing ( Chapter 22 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Max, Derringer and the Flock, race the clock as they enter Delta 6 and try to find the information that they need. However, the real surprise is what is waiting for them outside...

Non Anime: Maximum Ride Fan Fiction / Maximum Ride Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Sci-fi / Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.23.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 171 | Status: Work In Progress

Chapter 22

True to Derrin's warnings, the minute they stepped within the underground complex's boundary, a shrill, ear-piercing alarm began to ring throughout the dark echoing pathway, which annoyed to the bird kids sensitive ears to no extent.

Max held her head painfully, and tried to encourage her sibling to move despite the pain, Derringer's 10-minute time limit warning still fresh in her head. However, she could hardly speak a word, before a sudden sharp pain jerked her, made her fall to her knees, blood trickling from her injured eardrums.

BANG! BANG!

Suddenly all sound stopped, and a strong helping hand lifted her from the floor. “Come one, mes amis. We have very little time. We can rest and lick our wounds when we finish the job.”

“Why would we want to lick our wounds?” Angel asked instantly, rubbing her aching ears.

Gasman hurried her along as and placed an unconscious Total (who'd been totally discombobulated by the high pitched noise) in her backpack swiftly. “It's a figure of speech, sis. He doesn't mean literally.”

As the six of them made their way further down into the darkness, Max was about to ask Derringer what happened to the alarm, when she saw him put a .22 silver handgun back into a small black holster around his left ankle. She then remembered the gunshots. He must have shot out the speakers, inexplicably ceasing the horrible sound. She looked up at him as they walked fast-paced, and noticed that long trails of drying blood also ran from his ears. He had made those shots while in that much pain?

“Where did you get the gun? You never told me…”

“Again, how can I give you an answer, if you never ask the question, chère?” He smiled lightly as he pushed her along as fast as she could go.

“Did I have to? If someone is packing heat in my flock, I want to know about it.” she snipped back.

His voice carried heavy sarcasm and slight derision. “Your concern is duly noted, chère. Would you care to sit and have a briefing about the switchblade in my left pocket as well? Or the C-4 and wires in my right? Or how about the type of fiber blend that makes up my shirt, would you like to know about that too?”

“Listen Cajun, we don't have time for your attitude. And what are you carrying all that stuff for anyway?”

“What I carry on my person, is my own business. Or do you want to discuss that too?”

“What is up with you? I just—”

Iggy snapped his head toward the two of them as he ran. “Look, can you two have your little marriage spat after we finish this. If Derrin wants to carry a gun, I don't see anything wrong with it. Besides, of all people, I would trust him to know how to handle one. Derrin, Max just likes to be kept informed about everything, just indulge her would you?”

The two looked at him; a slight snigger came to the redhead's lips, while Max felt her cheeks get red. Oh Iggy, you traitor…since when do you take his side? Or is it no side? Hmph…you're becoming more like a lawyer every day. And what was with Derringer? I've never seen him more on edge, what is it about this place that makes him so over-sensitive?

Her thoughts were suddenly cut into, by the voice of the man in question. She looked around her and was surprised to find that the pitch-black tunnel was suddenly awake up with small uniform orange lights that lit the way ahead from the walls from floor to ceiling, and the hum that only mechanical objects make.

Before she could take a step in this area though, she felt Derringer's hand stop her, and saw him signal the others to stop as well. “What is it?” she asked questioningly.

He smiled wryly, “I forgot about this part…Alright mes amis, we've gotten to the computer servers area, after this there is a single docking station where Nudge will use her expertise to hack into the system. However, things get a little messy here. With the alarm triggered we now have less than 6 minutes to get the info and get out. The security has also been triggered and now the entire floor from here on is completely electrified. The laser cannons on the ceiling will shoot at the slightest movement and if that isn't enough, a web of crisscrossing heat beams will fry whatever comes in contact with them. So, we're going to have to be careful. Iggy, Gazé, I'll show you the switch panel; it's your job to switch off the electricity to the floor and the beams, and make sure it stays off. If the backup comes on, this entire area will become electrified and even those of us who can fly, will be lit up like a 70 watt Christmas tree. Nudge, you know what your job is; move as soon as it's safe. Angel, you stay with Nudge and watch her back. Max, you take care of the laser cannons since they are on a completely different circuit the rest of the security, and be careful. I meanwhile, will go back to the entrance and try to slow down the alarm, and give us as much time as possible. Ok? We've wasted enough time, let's go.”

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways, assuming their positions. There was no more time for talking.

After Derrin showed them the control panel hidden in the wall, Gazzy and Iggy immediately went to work on the wires and circuits. The younger boy was slightly surprised however, that his blind sibling knew immediately which wire was which, and didn't need to be told colors or anything.

With the combined efforts of the two boys, it took them less than half a minute to shut the power down. All that was left for them now, was to make sure no back-up systems came on, or that the power to the computers and servers wasn't shut off in the process…

The two then signaled Max that she was good to go.

The teen girl nodded and unfurled her wings before taking off suddenly into the corridor. The guns, as expected, immediately followed her movements to the letter. Weaving between the hot bolts of plasma, as if she were in a game of dodge ball, Max quickly tracked the trajectories of the shots back to their sources. Grinning with satisfaction, she watched as the beams followed her, letting her speed match her calculation, she twisted and twirled in the air, before suddenly jumping into a high mid-air back flip!

She was rewarded by the loud sound of multiple explosions, as the lasers simultaneously followed her path and ended up hitting each other in a spectacular show of sparks, smoke, and flames.

She looked down as she hovered, to tell Nudge and Angel that they could go on ahead, but the two were already on the run, the little black girl flexing her fingers, ready to attack the small terminal that she had already spotted on the other side of the path.

Derringer meanwhile, heard the blasts and smiled to know that the flock was doing their job with top speed. However, he shook his head, reminding himself of his own task. Their escape time was basically limited by how long it took for the doors to crank themselves closed. It only took him seconds to find the door wires and mechanisms. My, my…the good old clockwork gears, I guess they never do get old.

Looking around, he spotted an overhead pipe, probably used to filter air around the servers. Well, this will do.

With one fast jump and a sharp strong pull, he dislodged the piece of slim piping, hearing a slow hiss of air in response. Hefting the pipe towards the gear, to the normal human eye, there was no way one could get make this work, but Derringer was not a normal human. With a strong push and quick movements, using strength that only a mutant arm could possess, Derrin jammed the pipe into the rolling gears, the sounds of screeching and grinding and the sight of rising steam and bucking metal, were music to his ears.

Then he heard Gazzy call out to his sister. “Hurry Nudge, the backup is trying to come online and we can only hold it off for so long!”

As if to emphasize his point, Iggy pulled back from the wires with a yelp, as sparks flew up singeing his fingers. Slowly, he went back into the panel, tracing wires here, cutting them there While Gazzy picked up here his brother had left off with frayed wire ends.

“Yes, please hurry.” Iggy repeated his brother calmly.

Derringer looked uneasily at the doorway, which had slowed down considerably, but had in no way stopped. He then rushed down the pathway, appearing at Nudges side, Angel coming by his squeezing his hand as she felt the agitated unrest of his mind. He smiled reassuredly at the little blond child, before looking toward the other girl as she typed furiously, flipping from screen to screen but yet, seemingly getting nowhere.
”What's taking so long? That monkey wrench is only going to hold for so long.”

The older of the girls sighed as her hands danced across the keyboard. “There's like so many encryptions on this thing, it takes time. Also, just in case you were wondering, no one's been on this thing in a long time. I don't feel any vibes.”

Max landed next to Angel, looking on worriedly, there time was running out. She was about to encourage Nudge to just try her best, hoping that the boost would subtly lead her to perform better and in essence go faster. However, to her surprise (or maybe not…) Derringer moved the girl slightly, taking over where she had left off, his hands moving lighting fast. Nudge, Max, and Angel watched in amazement as the redhead went through, hacking into the system like a pro, stripping the computer of its multi-million dollar security like stripping the husk off of an ear of corn.

In less than two minutes he was in. Giving Nudge back control of the keyboard, he winked at her. “You know what to look for, ma fille. Look for anything related to your brother by his name, code number, whatever keywords you can think of, but hurry. I hope you read as fast as you talk.”

He then left her, joining the other two boys in trying to rework the wires to keep the plasma security and the electrically charged floor from burning them to all to a crisp…

Max shook her head in disbelief, before turning to the computer screen. It'll be the end of time, and he will still be pulling something new from out of his ever-expanding hat. Nudge was already searching around the servers for any mention of Fang. “Only look into stuff from the last few weeks, anything before that we can deal with later.” Max commented over the girl's shoulder.

“I'm doing that now, but it's all so jumbled, I have to look using his birth/code number, and that makes it harder to read. Plus, there's so much information and it goes by so fast, I'm trying to read it all, but it's like finding a needle in a haystack, ya know? I've actually have no idea what that saying means, I mean I've never seen a real haystack, and—

“Concentrate, Nudge.” Angel told her sharply, “The guys can only hold things for so long.”

Max nodded, “Nudge, just scan it for anything important. Angel, I need you to scan what she sees, and be a sort of back-up system, and maybe you will notice things that Nudge didn't. Can you do that for me?”

The girl nodded eagerly, and began to concentrate her mind on Nudge's, the information flowing from the screen to Nudge, and from Nudge into Angel.

However, no more than 2 minutes had went by, when a quite audible snap resounded throughout the tunnel. The pipe that had jammed the gears, giving the flock a precious 5 extra minutes, finally broke under the strain, letting the stronger gears finally get free.

“Merde!” Derringer swore in French, as he raced back towards the entrance. At that same time, large sparks suddenly rose from out of the service panel as well as dark smoke, causing all three boys to move back. Iggy coughed and looked across to Max, “That's all we can do! The thing's a melted, shorted out mess. Get out of there now!”

“I can't do anything else to the door either! Come on, chère! Get them out of there! I'll hold the door myself for as long as I can.” Derrin shouted down the way as he wedged his body in the doorway, pushing back as much as he could with the mutant strength he'd been bestowed.

“But I only have a little left to go through!” Nudge wined.

“Stupid, stubborn girl…” Gazzy mumbled to himself as he made to go over and pull her away from the machine, along with his blood sibling, but Iggy stopped him and pushed him instead towards the door. “Go!”

He smiled as he saw the slightly confused look on his brother's face, in wondering how his blind brother had become so orientated. His special ability was working perfectly as he could see almost every nook and cranny of Delta 6 in vibrant color. He could for the first time see his siblings with crystal clarity, and was amazed to see how much they had grown and changed since he had first lost his sight years ago. But he didn't have time to think about it, as ran to their side, “I think we only have about 80 seconds tops, and I for one don't intend on having my butt fried today. Let's go.”

Max looked at both of her sibling, a dilemma in her head. They needed to get this information to find Fang, but not at the cost of the flock either. Like always, she decided to make a split-second decision. Picking up Angel she handed her to Iggy, despite the girl's complaints. “Take her, I'll get Nudge out.”

“Come on, Max! This is too risky!”

“We have to take this chance.”

“But—

She turned violently on him, “Just go! We'll follow.”

Ig looked at her strangely, but nodded and headed toward the entrance with Angel. When he met up with Derringer, the man was sweating profusely, straining against the metal that was closing in on him. He handed Angel off to her waiting brother on the outside before turning to the redhead. “Let me help you.”

Derrin looked at him but shook his head, “If…If I let go now. It'll close completely, and we're trapped in here.”

Nodding back into the darkness he asked with a tired sigh, “where's chère and la fille?”

“Max and Nudge stayed behind to get the last of the information. I tried to tell her it was too risky, but you know her—once she sets her mind to something, she isn't easily deterred.”

The man sighed exasperatingly, “She's so stubborn, but—I love her anyway. You go with the blondes outside. I'll draw them out.”

As Iggy slipped by him, Derrin called into the darkness knowing that the girls could hear him. “Chère, if you don't get your tight derrière out here, I'll drag you out myself!”

She called back in aggravation, “I don't know if I should take that as a compliment, or if I should just punch you in the mouth.”

Max knew she was working on borrowed time; she could already feel the floor heating up underneath her. Then, Nudge suddenly grabbed her arm, “I can't do anymore. The computer's starting to lock me out!”

Max breathed out a sigh, “Alright, let's make our escape than.”

Nudge nodded, and ran off into the darkness, sometimes gliding and skipping on her wings. Max was right on her heels when she heard Derringer call out to her once again, and this time he sounded a little more urgent.

“Now, chère!”

Max could here the wine of the power as it began starting back up again. Pushing Nudge ahead of her, she pitched her through the door, just as she began to feel the electrical charge in the air. Still hold the rapidly closing doors, Derringer took her arm and threw her unceremoniously out into the rainy night forest. Picking herself up swiftly, she looked up to see the Cajun quickly remove himself from the entrance allowing it to clang shut, but not before the system came up, a laser beam hitting his left arm and cutting through cloth and flesh, the force itself pushing him to his knees.

“Derringer!” she rushed up to him helping him up from the ground, sudden fear for his safety rising up within her. She quickly looked to his arm to see if he was okay, but he playfully brushed her off.

“It's alright chère. I'll be fine.” He smiled roguishly at her, even though it was clear that he was in pain.

“Liar…” she retorted back crossing her arms, refusing to believe that bravado attitude this time.

He came toward her, moving a strand of hair from out of her face, rainwater pouring down his own handsome features. “What? You're not worried about me or anything, are you?”

She looked at him crossly, “Of course I—”

Before she could finish, he suddenly held a hand over her mouth and signaled for her to be quiet. A serious look had come over his face, and he seemed as if he was trying to hear something.

She too became serious and listened as well. That's when it came to her—it was far too quiet. Looking over hurriedly at the rest of her flock, she saw Gasman holding Angel close to him while simultaneously holding Nudge's hand, a severe look on all three of their faces. Iggy stood protectively in front of the younger three, his sightless eyes shifting back and forth as if looking for something.

Derrin moved over to Iggy's side, and whispered in his ear. “You can sense it too?”

The teen nodded, “There's someone else here. I know it. I just can't see them yet.”

Max was about to walk over as well, when she suddenly heard a most unexpected sound behind her back. Hearing the sound as well, Derringer and Iggy raced to her side, along with the other three bird-children.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

The sound of slow applause reached her ears, causing her to whirl around in surprise, tensing her body, ready for anything or anyone…that is, anything or anyone but who was standing behind her…

Out of the darkness he came. His wings as black as night, but seemed not to belong to the hellish body they were attached to. The young man himself, like most of his kind, was very handsome, but that didn't stop his appearance from turning Max's stomach. He smiled pleasantly at them all, even though he knew he was the last person they had hoped to meet on this stormy dark night.

He spoke sultrily through his bared fangs to the young woman, who always ended up trying both his patience and his emotions to the utmost. “Hello, Max…it's been a long time hasn't it?”

She gritted her teeth angrily, as she watched him standing there coolly, the lightning illuminating his smug features. Five more of his kind stood behind him, one of them she was surprised to see was a strange woman with luminescent eyes and long purple hair, an almost psychotic look on her face. Well, this is going to be interesting, they usually don't have female ones. Odds are she'll be worse than the males, `hell hath no fury…' right?

However, she could feel her flock also assembling behind her, Iggy and Derringer on her left and right flanks, all knowing that another kind of storm was brewing…one that would break out really soon.

She looked back to her opponent, a challenge written in both of their eyes. She decided to play his game, and spoke pleasantly towards him as well, but not without an unhidden sting of pure hatred dripping from her lips…

“Hello Ari, it hasn't been long enough.”