Heritage (Under Revision)

Chapter 24 - Stella

Elena and I take our positions on either side of the closet door, listening intently for sounds of oncoming footsteps. She turns to me, nods once and I crack the door just a fraction of an inch. Peering my face out just a tiny bit, I glance both ways, seeing that the corridor is devoid of any life.

“We’re clear,” I whisper to Elena.

“Let’s go, step quietly, our heels will give us away,” she replies as I slowly open the door.

We step out simultaneously, taking offensive positions with our backs flat to the wall. We both hold our breaths for a moment, listening again for any sounds of approach before Elena grabs my wrist, crouching down on the tiptoes of her heels and moving like a jungle cat, slinking in on its prey, silent, fierce and quick.

She’s a force to be reckoned with...good thing she’s on my side here.

We reach a corner and Elena stops, quickly peers around and with my wrist still clutched in her hand, moves swiftly to the adjacent hallway.

“Ok,” she whispers, coming to a stop in a shadowy corner, I know where Ethan will be. The armory is up this hall, fourth door on the left. Let’s just hope one of us can hack it open. My TAPs is in my bag, back in the Grand Hall.

I silently nod and we continue our quietly crouched journey down the deserted corridor.

“Can you run on your toes, Stella?” Elena asks me, still stepping softly.

“I practiced ninjutsu, and I was a ballerina for twelve years. I think I can do this,” I reply.

“I see why Leon loves you, Stella. You really are a remarkable woman. Now, on my count, we’re going to run on our toes, right for the armory. Hold my wrist, if we need to hack the security code, I’ll need you to look out.

Let’s do it...”

“One...two...three!” Elena whispers, a tone of what seems almost like excitement in her voice.

On three, both of us deftly stand, sprinting full-out like two pirouetting ballerinas, graceful and dynamic, until we reach the armory door, instantly crouching to the ground as if the curtain dropped.

The door’s keypad is lit red, telling us that the armory is securely locked-down. Elena looks up at me, takes a deep breath and begins unpinning her long auburn hair.

“Stella, as beautiful as you look, I need those hairpins,” she whispers to me as I peer quickly around the nearest corner, noticing it empty.

I hastily begin pulling each pin from my curled hair, dropping them in her palm as she begins intricately sticking them around the super-thin edge of the plasma keypad.

“Just one more, and I’ll have it. It’s a seven-key sequence, and if I can trigger all of the correct numbers at once, it will open instantaneously,” she says, as I drop the last hairpin in her opened hand.

“How do you know the code? I thought you could only get in with your TAPs...”

“I’m the one that set the code. It’s me and Ethan’s wedding date,” she replies, smirking up at me.

I really hope she’s my mother-in-law someday...

She breathes deeply, closing her eyes for a brief moment before steadying her hands and swiftly sliding the last pin into place.

We both hold our breaths, wincing as if waiting for the intruder alarm to sound, but nothing happens. Instantly the keypad lights up green and the handle clicks, unlocking it.

Elena pushes the door open, tugging me into the room by my wrist.

“Elena...that...that was fucking brilliant!” I exclaim, breathless.

“Part of my job, hun. Now let’s pack up and find our...” she replies, stopping mid-sentence and gazing at an empty hook on the wall.

“What is it? Elena are you ok?”

She turns to me with a broad grin on her face and points to the hook.

“I knew he’d come here. His MR-62 is missing. That means he’s got a plan. I hope Leon’s with him. Please let Leon be with him!” Elena replies in a desperate tone.

“It’s ok, Elena. I’m sure Leon is fine, they both are. I have a feeling.”

“You’re probably right. Now, we’re going to need some heavy protection. Grab something light, something you can run with. You have martial arts and speed on your side, you don’t want to be weighed down by a bulky gun,” Elena instructs me, grabbing a knife holster from a belt hook and securely wrapping it around her waist.

I hurriedly scan the gun rack to my left, spotting the perfect weapon. It’s an automatic TMP, a sleek titanium pistol with a mounted sight, lightweight with a grip for double-handed aiming and a silencer making it virtually undetectable. It’s got a built-in molecular capacitator just under the clip and after I click the silencer into place, I grab a full bandolier from a hook and secure it over my chest.

After Elena places the last of over two dozen knives in her holster, she turns to me and hands me a thin leather holster.

“For your thigh. Keep your pistol there, on the outside. I’d like to have grandchildren someday, so don’t go shooting your parts off,” Elena says, smiling.

I can’t help but to smile back, hoping beyond hope that we make it out of this alive, with Leon and Ethan by our sides.

Thinking of Leon and Ethan being in danger makes my blood boil, and I take a deep, calming breath as Elena turns to me.

“Ready?” she asks, the fury in her eyes matching my own.

“More ready than ever,” I reply, securing the pistol in my thigh-holster.

We assume our positions by the door, our hands hovering over our weapons as we carefully and quietly exit the armory. We round the corner and just as we do, I spot Ethan and Leon crouching and slinking quietly up ahead of us.

Elena spots them as well and I can hear her breath hitch in her chest. She motions her hand in a downward motion, signaling me to get low to the floor.

Once we’re both low to the ground, Elena extends her leg, looking both ways to be sure the coast is clear, and clicks her heel once on the tiled floor.

Ethan and Leon immediately turn on the spot, and Leon opens his mouth but Ethan slaps his hand over it quickly, muffling any sound.

Ethan motions for us to stay low and come towards them, so we crouch lower, poised on the balls of our feet, tiptoeing silently towards them.

BOOOOM!

An office door is blown completely off the hinges halfway between us and them, the reverberation knocking us on our asses as the door crashes into the opposite wall. Elena grabs my wrist again, using her free hand and grabbing a vicious looking knife from her belt. I automatically reach for my pistol, holding it steady in my hand.

Just then, four Sekrid commandos burst from the room, growling and hissing in their hideous language. They spot Elena and I not a moment later, despite our position in the shadows.

Immediately they rush towards us, giving us just enough time to hop to our feet and aim our weapons.

Before either of us have the chance to attack, a hole is blown straight through the largest Sekrid’s head from behind. The mutant falls to the ground, instantly dead, blue blood pouring hideously from the wound as Leon stands fiercely behind, his gun pointed directly in front of him.

The Sekrids realize they’re cornered, but their size advantage seems to give them confidence as they rush at both couples, screeching violently.

Elena flicks her wrist and before I can blink, a throwing knife is embedded into the nearest Sekrid’s throat, dropping him to the ground with an audible thud.

I aim my gun, trying to get a clear shot of the mutant attacking my Leon...

My Leon...

I see Leon shoot me a quick glance before ducking down swiftly. I take my chance, grip the pistol securely in both hands and shoot, firing round after round into the Sekrid’s thick skull while tears stream down my face.

Ethan is overpowering the last Sekrid, but the mutant reaches out, gripping Ethan’s throat and lifting him off his feet, dangling him like a rag doll in the hands of a malicious little boy.

Elena, Leon and I all converge at once, shooting, aiming and firing directly at the monster’s back.

Finally, the last one falls and Ethan is released, gasping for breath as Leon grips his father s arm and pulls him to his feet, supporting his weight.

Elena and I run full force at our men, identically throwing our arms around their necks and clinging as if we’d been separated for a lifetime.

“Thank God you’re both safe,” Leon whispers.