Average Joe and the Extraordinaires

by Belart Wright

  She unwrapped the giant rubber band and laid one end near the first tree to the north. It was cut at the center, which made it simple to wrap around the tree to the south. She walked around and pulled the elastic band over to the first end and connected the two. The elastic was too loose and so Liandra touched the band and thought the words "tighten" and just like that her makeshift human catapult was complete.

  Liandra: "That's the absolute perfect length. My eyes are in tip-top condition tonight. On the flipside, it looks like I've been hanging around that boy too much, this is downright juvenile."

  She laughed to herself, thinking of Joe, and briefly wondered how he was doing. Despite his murderous principal being back at his school, he seemed to be in very little danger as of late. The necklace she had given him, to detect danger, hadn’t relayed that message to her. It seemed Patrias was constantly trying to assault the boy with craftes but he had proven that he wasn't the most powerful crafter so she assumed that he didn't have the means to break her enchantment. The man was "tricky" though, so she still had her concerns for the boy.

  She walked between the two trees, placed her back against the elastic band, and pushed herself backwards, as far as she could, at a downward angle past the point of the band's tautness, to its maximum resistance. She thought the words "velocity and lift" and muttered the chant aloud to increase her focus and hopefully precision. She then slackened her feet and let go of the bands and suddenly found herself airborne. She swiftly flew over the fence and towards the building in seconds. She was unseen under the guise of night but now she needed to land and quietly. She thought of her sneakers and the word "float" came to her mind. That slowed her descent greatly and allowed her to land in the quietest way possible. Once there, her earrings rematerialized on her ears as they were simply Life Force constructs. She pulled her trusty lock pick from a compartment in her watch and popped the lock without any craftes, as she always liked to do. She walked into the building from the side entrance and disabled all the cameras she came across that she remembered from her last visit. She disabled them each of them with just a tap or an electrified earring. She only left one operable since didn't want to be completely anonymous to Grabas.

  She walked into the halls completely confident: her head high, shoulders back, and all in black. She was a lovely prowler with her sun-kissed skin, long ebony locks, and full rouge noir painted lips. She strutted around like she owned the place, a catwalk burglar. There were others in the halls that either ignored her or gave her the briefest of glances. They were mostly scientists in white coats. None had told her that she was in a restricted area. She chalked them up as having the keen insight to know that she was trouble. None had even stopped to call any security personal. She knew where she wanted to go but needed to figure out how to get there. She also wouldn't mind at all if she got to into a skirmish or two in her search. Some exercise would do nicely for her.

  Liandra: "I'm going to need to liven this place up a bit. I know! I'll just grab the next white coat I see and..."

  She honestly couldn't believe her luck just now. A young scientist rounded the corner and nearly jumped out of his skin when Liandra grabbed him and hemmed him against the wall. She put her finger to his lips and took note of his familiar face.

  Liandra: "Shh. Don't make a scene."

  It was an absurd thing to say, given the situation. He nodded his head in agreement however.

  Liandra: "What's your name and don't hesitate or I'll kill you."

  Loudly and clearly the young scientist said his name.

  "Marc Jamison."

  Liandra: "Very good, Mr. Jamison. Take me to whoever runs this show."

  He boldly looked her in the eye and dared to question her.

  Marc: "Why?"

  Impressed, though a little annoyed, Liandra decided to answer him.

  Liandra: "I have some questions that only that person can answer."

  He nodded.

  Marc: "Follow me."

  She did just that, following his deliberate pace down the long bare corridors. There were offices everywhere and enough paperwork to cover the building over. The color of choice by the decorators looked to be tan with matte brown accents all around. The hallway's walls and ceilings in this area were covered in these colors in what looked like a purposeful effort to make the surroundings look comfortable, laidback, and sort of sophisticated. The tan and brown backgammon-like design of the patterns on the floor tiles seemed to back that idea up as well.

  Marc finally came to a stop at an office in the middle of the hall and looked inside. He shook the doorknob a few times trying to open it. He was forced to gawk in from the outside after he loudly declared it to be locked.

  Marc: "I'm sorry but it looks like he's not here tonight."

  Liandra: "Who?"

  He looked unsure.

  Marc: "Our head R&D guy."

  Liandra smiled and closed the distance between them. They were now face to face, almost nose to nose which suddenly made Marc very uneasy.

  Liandra: "Marc was it...? I'll fill you in on a few things. First, I have no interest in your operations above ground. I want to go where the real research is taking place, the research this facility is made for. Second, I'm a very dangerous person and third, the person I'm looking for is the scientist heading your testing division which would be the Head of Applications. Fourth, I want you to lead me to him because you're the Head of R&D and to get what I want I'll need you both. Try me for a fool again and we're going to make a test subject out of you. We'll see how you like being experimented on."

  The young scientist was sweating profusely. He was covered in a nice sheen in no time at all.

  Marc: "Please, follow me to Mr. Girino's Office. It's in the subbasement."

  Liandra: "Yes, along with your own. Now lead on."

  He led her to the back of the facility, through a pair of double doors. The room was filled with shelves so tall they reached the ceiling and stacked with boxes galore and other useful supplies. There were multiple rows but he simply led her straight ahead to the large service elevator. He called it and they waited for about thirty seconds for it to arrive. They stepped unto it and as she expected there were only buttons for the five floors above ground.

  Marc: "This is a strange request but can you keep your eyes closed?"

  Liandra scoffed.

  Liandra: "I can't begin to explain to you all the many many reasons why I won't do that. I suspect that you want to pull out your keycard and place it in a hidden slot in this elevator which will then display another set of buttons, one of which you'll press to take us down to the lower levels. Now if you don't want me to see that you can rest assured knowing that I already have. If you want me to close my eyes so that you can kill me then you are a colossal idiot. Now carry on."

  The man quietly pulled out his keycard and slid it into a slot under a diagram of the building's upper floors. The diagram lifted up and there were three more floors listed as numbered subbasements. There was a small button next to each number. This elevator wasn't as high tech as the one at Picker's Stadium but its purpose was the same. It was built to hide secret and terrible things. Marc leaned over and pressed the button to the second subbasement.

  They came out of the elevator to a hallway where Liandra saw men in plain clothes, gloves, and long sleeves moving large flat beds around. She saw other scientists around too and more laborers. Some of the scientists directed the laborers around. There was a lot of space and the whole floor looked unfinished. Liandra looked around at the dirt and scrapes all over the bottom of the walls and could tell that this was a high traffic area.

  Marc: "This way please."

  He walked towards the end of the hall and turned down into a dead end hallway with four rooms, two on each side. He opened the door to what Liandra supposed was an office. It looked more like the inside of a file cabinet with papers bundled and stacked on top of everything. There was a small old man seated in the middle of it all behind a tiny pap
er covered desk. She was barely able to make out his nameplate on his desk that was buried amongst the various papers.

  Mr. Girino: "Dammit Jamison! Can't you see that I'm eating a goddam sandwich!?"

  The old man didn't even seem to notice Liandra.

  Marc: "I'm sorry sir but this is important."

  Liandra waved at Girino, wriggling her fingers as she did. The old man finally took note of her.

  Mr. Girino: "Who is this?"

  Liandra: "I'm an associate of the owner of this place. At his behest I've come seeking answers."

  Mr. Girino: "Listen miss. I don't know who you are or why he brought you here but I need you to leave right now. And you Jamison, I'll make sure to let the boss know about what you've just done."

  Liandra smirked and sat down on a stack of papers that were bundled on the floor in front of the man's desk. He looked at her contemptuously and wiped his hands with a paper towel.

  Mr. Girino: "I don't have any time for this."

  He pressed some sort of button on the side of the table.

  Mr. Girino: "That's security. They'll be here shortly. Feel free to try to run."

  She continued to sit and looked at him coolly.

  Liandra: "There's no need for that. I'll just enjoy the pleasures of your company until they arrive."

  Mr. Girino: "Suit yourself."

  A group of men, four from Liandra's count, had arrived about twenty seconds later. They all wore the familiar blue W-Sec padded uniforms. Liandra recognized the agency from just about all the buildings she had infiltrated that were linked to Grabas.

  Liandra: "Hello gentlemen."

  They rushed at her and she vaulted over the old man's desk and landed behind him. Two of the men approached from her left and right knocking over all the papers in their paths and giving Liandra one remarkable idea. She quickly hopped atop the desk and thought one word which she instinctively said aloud.

  Liandra: "Ensnare!"

  She spoke her commands to the mountains of papers scattered throughout the room and they silently obeyed. Pages upon pages of office stats, graphs, charts, and various reports bound themselves together and slithered around the room looking for four targets. When the paper snakes found their victims they coiled up the poor men's legs all the way up to their necks and twisted tightly around their bodies. Their legs were bound so tightly and so suddenly that all of the men fell to the ground. Only Liandra, Jamison, and the old man remained standing and of the three only she was not in a state of shock, awe, and fear. She used the remaining stacks of paper to create a towering blockade at the door.

  Liandra: "So now that we are unburdened with unnecessary company, let's have a talk. Marc Jamison, Head of Research and Development."

  She pointed to the younger scientist and he nodded.

  Liandra: "And Edgar Girino, Head of Research Applications or as your subordinates call it: testing, or as these poor subjects call it: hell."

  Shivering, the old man spoke up.

  Mr. Girino: "If it's hell then it's one they've created. We only take volunteers and they know the risks."

  Liandra: "Well even if that was the case Mr. Girino, it doesn't excuse you from your sins. You're the devil holding their feet to the fire, forcing them to choose between death and whatever twisted prize you've promised them."

  The old man couldn't hide his contempt, even with his silence. Liandra could see him slowly grinding his teeth.

  Liandra: "You'll be happy to know that I'm not here to pass judgment on you, as fun as that sounds. I'm here to get information about the element Ichor and the tests that you've all been conducting with it."

  Both men looked at each other and then back at her.

  Liandra: "Let's get started, shall we?"