𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄⼁Vida

THIRTY-EIGHT

"Got it," Clancy said. "And if I'm good do I get a kiss too?" He said, hinting at the kiss Ruby and Liam had shared.

"Hey Clancy, drop dead," Clara said with a sneer. He rolled his eyes at her but moved forward surprisingly without complaint when Ruby pushed him.

The interrogation block was dark, claustrophobic and stuffy. So to say Clara was grateful when they reached the hallway would be an understatement. Ruby cracked the door open slightly to look for any agents mulling about after lights out. It was clear so Ruby, Clancy, Jude, Vida and Clara started down the open space, leaving the boys to their jobs.

When they reached the first stairwell Vida moved past to start their trek upwards. "Good luck," Clara whispered in Ruby's ear as she passed her, following Vida. It was a tense two flights to the monitoring room. They moved with their guns up, scanning every corner for threats.

They made it with no trouble but they knew that wouldn't be the same once they entered the room. Vida and Clara crouched outside the door listening for any movement. Clara could hear two voices. She held up two fingers to Vida who nodded in confirmation. As Clara was closest to the handle she pulled up from her crouch and pushed the door open.

As soon as she entered the room Clara lunged forwards for the man sitting closest to her. Her hand closed around the man's neck and she instantly delved into his mind. She presented him with the illusion that he was tied up, rope wrapped around his legs and arms, a gag in his mouth. She applied the sensation of ropes scratching against his skin.

As she was doing this Vida had used her abilities to push the second man against the wall, immobilising him. Clara then used the rope they had picked up in the airport to actually bind the men, tying them to a pipe on the wall, gagging them in the process.

Overall it took five minutes at most. Vida then moved to the monitors to track everyone's movement. They didn't need to worry about the cameras but breaking into the surveillance room was more about preventing the agents from pushing some sort of alarm.

Clara and Vida scanned the cameras for their friends until Clara found one that displayed Ruby and Jude outside the bedrooms, Clancy slinking off out of sight. Ruby didn't move, keeping her eyes on an agent that stood guard outside the room.

"Shit! I knew I should have gone with her," Clara said, running a hand through her hair in frustration. Clancy must have gotten into Ruby's head somehow. Vida looked over at the monitor seeing that Clancy was out of sight.

"Go, I've got everything covered here," Vida said with a nod towards the door. Clara nodded, taking one last look at the monitor for Clancy who still wasn't showing up on any cameras.

She gave Vida a quick kiss on the cheek before slipping out of the door in search of Ruby or Clancy, whoever she ran into first really.

The hallway was still dark and the door creaked as Clara opened it to the hallway on the level below. She reached the bedrooms and slowly pushed open the door, her gun raised and ready to shoot. The room was filled with all the PSI the League had, Jude and Nico at the front.

"Clara?" Nico whispered. Clara locked eyes with him, that familiar feeling of disappointment creeping back in.

Clara couldn't bear to look him in the eyes any longer so she turned to Jude instead. "Where's Ruby?" Clara could see Nico deflate out of the corner of her eye but pushed down the feelings of guilt.

"I think she went to find Clancy, she went left down the hallway," Jude said. Clara nodded once before exiting the room again, pulling the door shut behind her.

Clara followed the hallway around a corner and came to a stop at Alban's office. The door was open, barely holding on to its hinges. Ruby and Clancy were both on the floor, Clancy scrambling to his feet. He sprinted out the door. Ruby on his heels and Clara on hers.

They followed Clancy until he reached a dead end. "Dammit," he hissed. Clara shared a look with Ruby before going to move forward, intent on tying him up and shoving him in a closet. Before she could even take a step she felt something cold press against the back of her head.

Clara froze. Not many things could get your blood pumping like having a gun pressed against your skull. "I knew you'd both be back," Jarvin said. Suddenly two hands gripped Clara's shoulders, preventing her from moving.

"Rob said all we had to do was wait."

Clara tried to shove the hands off of her, trying to ignore the incessant press of the cold metal. "Stop manhandling me you weirdo," Clara aimed at the person holding her. The gun pressed even harder against her. "Oh I'm going to enjoy this," Clara hissed, preparing to drive into their minds.

"So am I," Clara could hear Jarvin hiss lowly. There was a faint click before the word dissolved into agonising pain.

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Slowly but surely Clara clawed her way up from the depths of unconsciousness. Emerging from the comforting blanket to the cold tile floors. White noise really was Satan's creation.

"Get the dam lights on! I don't care what you have to do—switch them on, dammit! Somethings going on. Can someone just give me a damn light?" Jarvin fumed.

It was that familiar southern voice that answered. "Sure, brother. I got you covered."

In a snap, there was a small flame that illuminated Cole Stewart's face. One second the hallway was dark and the next it was illuminated but burning flames as they engulfed the other agents. The fire spread along their clothes, burning incessantly even as they rolled around on the ground in agony. The men and women screamed, the smell of burning flesh filling the hallway until they were all choking on it.

Clara tried to focus on one thing, one person, one smell but the thumping behind her eyes was distorting it all. Everything tilted and merged in and out of each other. It was a blur as Cole pulled Ruby and Clara up from the floor, as he made them promise not to tell anyone. Clara tried to focus on his words but the blinding headache made it hard.

They made it back to Alban's office, Cole placing Clancy in there with them. Clara was sure that if she wasn't trying to keep herself conscious she would have ripped into his mind and torn it to shreds right then and there.

"If you leave this room before the all-clear I'll skin your asses!" Cole yelled over his shoulder as he left the room again. Ruby and Clara sat in uncomfortable silence, simply because they were both still in pain from the white noise. Clancy was still unconscious, slumped against a wall. Ruby seemed to be taking it better than Clara was. She started determinedly crawling towards a bin that appeared to have half burnt papers in it.

"What is that?" Clara croaked. Ruby looked back at her, "I'm not sure, Clancy was trying to destroy them."

She finally knocked the bin over and the pages spilled everywhere. She looked over them, scanning each page. "Oh my god," Ruby whispered.

"What?" Clara asked her.

"It's IAAN research, it's the First Lady's research, his mother's," she said. Clara sucked in a breath at her words. She knew that research, she lived it. Clara and all those other kids they sacrificed were the First Lady's research.

Clara had been holding onto a very thin thread that was fighting to keep her conscious. But all this, it was too much for her. For all she knew that was the only copy of the research and Clancy had tried to destroy it. Had he been successful all of the pain and suffering she endured for years would have been for nothing.

Clara released the thread, allowing the waves of darkness to lull her to sleep. She was just so tired. 

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