"You got any gasoline in this room." Jim looks at his feet.
"He does, I can smell it."
Matt scours the cupboards and pulls out two large bottles of gasoline, shoving one in his bag and the other in Jules to even out the weight. He finds two lab coats and tosses one at Jules.
Matt then grabs Jim's arm roughly and pushes him off the chair. "Lead the way."
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The further they travel down the levels the less occupied the hallways are. The closer they get to the ground floor the more Jim starts to shift uncomfortably. "What?" Jules asks sharply. "I don't have clearance for the next level, it's confidential."
"Where's the nearest fire alarm button?" Matt asks. "Uhhh umm to the left and down the hall."
"Press it and forget you ever saw us." Jules frowns. "Wait you're letting him go?!"
"J, it's the best option. Also having a fire in an underwater facility is going to cause some panic, it's a good distraction to help us slip through."
"Fine."
Matt turns his attention back to Jim. "GO!" He takes of down the corridor. A few minutes later the cacophony of the alarm blares from the overhead speakers. "SUSPECTED FIRE! MAKE YOUR WAY TO SAFE POINTS!" its repeats the same message in a loop.
Jules and Matt sprint down the corridor towards the ground floor past people distracted by the chaos. They make it to the clearance doors, and they burst open, scientists run through. They slip past them and finally, they find themselves in the serum storeroom. Hundreds of purple blue vials line the shelves. Shit. Jules thinks.
Matt looks at her. "We probably don't have much time to do this, I take left side and you do right?" Jules gives a terse nod, and they get to work. Running up and down the isles pouring gasoline in every crevice. When they're both positive they've done a good Job, Jules takes out a lighter and sets fire to one of the shelves. Within seconds the room starts to fill with pillaging flames that lick at the surfaces.
They exit the room and buckle it shut to prevent anyone from putting out the fire.
"Let's go!" Matt shouts to Jules, they run down the corridors, sirens still blaring. Jules can hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. It moves up and down her body. The adrenaline shoves her forward. Then she hears something. Slight at first. Then it builds. Light pounding and muffled shouts of distress. Matt stops in his tracks. "There's people down here, down the hall."
They rush towards the noise. Matt grabs a fire extinguisher attached to the wall and hammers it into the door. "Matt..." Jules starts. "Wait wait! I've nearly got it." A few more bashes and the door caves in and the sight before her completely takes Jules by surprise. Huddled together, utter terror in their eyes, young girls. Jules estimates they are probably from ages thirteen to seventeen. There are about fifteen of them. "Holy shit." Matt mutters.
Jules slowly steps forward and holds her hands up to show she's not a threat. "It's okay. Its's okay. I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, I'm here to help you." Jules feel her chest swell with emotion. They're just kids. Cooped up in here like a bunch of animals. She sees herself in their young faces. Disorientated. Hurt. Lost. But Jules is confident they will have a different fate to hers. She clears her throat.
"Who trapped you in here?" She asks, even though she's pretty sure of the answer. A girl comes forward, she looks slightly older than the rest. "He didn't tell us his name, but he's one of the main guys who setup this place" She can detect the tremor in the girls voice. Jules takes a deep breath. That son of a bitch. She looks around the room full of girls. The sight terrifies her. She's angry. So angry that they've gone through what she did. Angry at the injustice of it all. But Jules knows her anger won't do them any good, she needs to channel it to help the situation.
She steps forward. "I could say I can't even imagine what you've been through. But I do. I know this man. I know what he's capable off. You guys don't deserve this. You have been extremely wronged." She looks at each girl in the face. "It's not your fault this has happened to you. I'm gonna get you out." She smiles at them comfortingly. "I hope you guys can swim."
Jules gets to work, scouring the floor, collecting all the emergency equipment she could find. Air masks, and gas canisters, staple items in a research facility. Jules and Matt Make sure that each girl has everything she needs. They move to a point where the ceiling is the lowest and Matt manages to tear away the paint and access the vent. They help each girl into the vent until only the oldest remains. Jules reaches into her backpack and hands the girl a map. "This is a map of the vent system so you guys can get out safely. Swim up to the docks." She looks at the girl. "Do you know the New York area." She nods fervently. "Yes, I've lived here all my life."
"Okay, go straight to the NYPD."
"Ask to see Brett Mahoney." Matt adds. As much as Jules didn't want to involve anyone else in this mess. It was too much for her and Matt to deal with. They would need backup and Mahoney was at least the one good cop her and Matt new. "Tell him everything about what's going on here and what will be coming. Say that Jules sent you."
The girl throws herself and Jules, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "Thank you, thank you so much for saving us."
YOU ARE READING
Invisible String
Fanfiction"Time, curious time gave me no compasses, gave me no signs. Were there clues I didn't see? And isn't it just so pretty to think. All along there was some Invisible string tying you to me?" - Taylor Swift Jules Ward and Matt Murdock's paths collided...
Final mission part 2
Start from the beginning
