The Algorithm

Chapter five - Trust Fall

"Long story. I'll explain everything once you're safe." Marinette answered. She crawled through the small broken window and gestured for Adrien to follow. He pulled himself through the narrow opening, being careful not to cut his hands on the mess of glass fragments, and grabbed Marinette's outstretched hand. Once again she pulled him up with enough force to pull his shoulder out of place. They both took a moment to look around. They were in the middle of a narrow road with buildings lining the sides. The buildings were tall, very tall. They were in the heart of Paris with banks and malls lining the sidewalks.

Up ahead was a four way. From directly ahead an army of masked men approached.

They wore dark armor from head to toe and walked in rows covering the entire road and flooding onto the footpath. There could have been hundreds. Their strides were in perfect unison causing a loud boom with every step.

Terror stuck like a bolt of lightning.

"Is that the squadron you called for?" Adrien asked, a bit of optimism lining his words. Marinette swallowed and shook her head.

"No."

That one word was all it took to shatter all hope. That one word was enough to make Adrien's blood run cold. They turned their heads to see another army of masked men approaching them from behind pinning them down. They were boxed in and defenseless.

They both stood still, like a deer in headlights. As the army grew closer and closer, the sound of their steps grew louder and louder. They were only 500 meters away on either side. Adrien tried to speak to Marinette but his words were lost in the echo of their strides. Suddenly, the soldiers in the front of the mob lifted their weapons, menacing looking firearms, and the same loud gunshot went off. Marinette grabbed his hand and pulled him along into an unknown direction. He followed blindly. They heard a few more gunshots go off and a volley of metal darts landed near their feet. Once again Adrien's mind went to the words Marinette had said before.

It's not their aim that's off.

They bolted across the asphalt road and over the sidewalk and into a random building. Marinette thrusted the glass doors open, her hand still clutching his. Together they ran through what seemed to be an office lobby. The man at the counter yelled at them to stop as they ran past. They took off through a door labeled "stairs" before he was able to say another word to them.

Marinette and Adrien took off up the steps. They had just made it to the seventh story when, through his exhausted breaths, Adrien asked. "Where are we going?"

Marinette didn't bother looking back at him and just answered. "Not sure yet." That statement didn't make him anxious at all.

Their legs ache from fatigue. They bent over their knees trying to catch what little breath they had. But their break didn't last long. The scent of lemon started to fill the air.

"What is that?" Adrien asked. Marinette glanced over the stairwell and looked down over the long spinning towers of stairs.

"Oh no." She mumbled under her breath.

"What is it?" Adrien questioned as he joined her by the railing. He glanced downward at the mountain of steps they had just run up. Quickly rising to the ceiling was a could of yellow fog. The honey colored mist covered the steps and was towering up like a billow of smoke.

"It's an airborne drug." She said covering her mouth with her sleeve. "It will knock us unconscious if we breathe it in. Cover your mouth and nose. We have to keep moving." Marinette said, turning away from him and continuing to scale the tall tower of stairs, Adrien following close behind her. They sprinted as fast as their legs could carry them but the citric smelling gas was rising fast.