Pretty Boy

Chapter 11

"Holy shit," RJ whispered.

RJ, Steve, Robin, Erica, and Dustin marveled at the sight in front of them. They were face to face with an entire base full of Russian guards. The situation was more sinister than any of them expected.

A guard shot a look in their direction. They quickly ducked behind a red cart against the wall, Narrowly escaping his gaze. RJ had no idea how they would get out of this situation before Erica told them that she saw the Communications room. Steve and Dustin were hesitant to believe her. Robin and RJ knew to trust her since she had gotten them this far in the first place.

"Alright, we're gonna move fast, and we're gonna stay low ok?" Steve demanded.

The group followed as Steve led them through the base, ducking between boxes and delivery bins. They all squished behind a large crate that was relatively close to the door to the Comms room. They looked over in defeat as they realized the door had another electronic lock.

"Ok, here's what's gonna happen: I'm gonna go over to one of those guards over there and take their key card, I'll swipe, and you all get in there as quickly as you can."

Robin was unconvinced by Steve's plan, "How the hell do you expect to take down a guard without anyone else noticing?"

"She's got a point. That and you don't have the best track record with fights," Dustin added.

The three of them continued to debate how to get into the room. RJ watched as a man in a lab coat exited the room leaving the door wide open. She saw her opportunity and took it. Any other day RJ wouldn't be caught dead taking a risk like this, but she knew they had to get out of there, and she was willing to do anything to make that happen.

"Follow my lead," She whispered to Steve.

"RJ wha-"

Before Steve could talk her out of it, RJ rushed to the door and caught it before it closed. Everyone else followed closely behind her. Steve was the last to get into the room.

"What were you saying?" RJ teased with a cheeky grin.

Steve lovingly scoffed. RJ watched a horrified look fall across Dustin, Robin, and Erica's faces. She and Steve slowly turned to see a man sitting at the desk. They were frozen, completely unsure of what to do next. Robin stepped forward and began speaking jumbled-up Russian to the man. RJ had no idea what she was saying. The man also seemed to have no idea, which made RJ even more nervous.

Suddenly, Steve screamed and rammed himself into the man, throwing him against the desk. RJ watched in horror as Steve fought the man. The man threw a punch at Steve, who took the opportunity to jab the man in the stomach. Steve appeared to have the upper hand before the man had Steve pinned up against the other desk.

RJ felt useless just standing there. She had to do something to help Steve. That was when she noticed the intercom on the other side of the desk. Without hesitation, she grabbed the intercom and smacked it over the man's head, knocking him against the other desk. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

Steve looked at her, amazed, "Not gonna lie...that was kinda hot."

She softly scoffed at Steve's remark, "Well, someone's gotta save your ass when you get into trouble."

The two looked at each other. It seemed that in the face of inescapable danger, the connection between them had grown stronger.

"Ok, come on lovebirds, let's get outta here. Tina can't cover for me forever," Erica sassed.

Dustin grabbed the key card off the unconscious guard so they could get back to the elevator. Erica was quick to oppose him saying that they had made it to the Comms room and should simply use the radio. RJ glanced over to Robin, who had begun to climb up a staircase. She quickly followed. She was not about to let Robin go exploring alone.

"Robin, where are you..."

RJ saw that Robin was transfixed by a bright light emanating from a door at the top of the stairs. The two climbed the staircase to find the source. RJ looked through the window but couldn't quite see where the light was coming from.

"Go get the others," She told Robin, who swiftly went back down the stairs.

Robin returned with the rest of the group. RJ carefully opened the door to let everyone through. She closed the door softly to ensure they didn't draw any attention to themselves. When she turned back around, she saw their eyes glued on where the light was coming from. She stepped forward so that she could see as well.

A gigantic machine sat on the other side of the window in front of them. It emanated a blue light that almost pulsed like a heartbeat. It was spinning and whirling like crazy as men in red hazmat suits secured canisters of the green liquid into the machine. It was fuel. Most horrifying of all was the beam of blue light shooting from the front of it into the wall. On the wall sat a rift, glowing red. RJ had no idea what she was looking at.

Steve and Dustin looked at each other.

"The gate," they said in unison, panic filling their voices.

RJ leaned over to them, "I'm sorry, what gate?"

Steve looked at her. She had never seen that look on him before. This was all bigger than just evil Russians.

They all hurried down the stairs, Robin asking a million questions on the way. She was just as confused as RJ. Dustin kept going on and on about how this was an "end of the human race-level threat." Robin was eager for more information.

"Uh, Lovebirds," RJ and Steve looked at Erica, "Where's your Russian friend?"

They looked over to see that the man they had fought was gone. The lights in the room began flashing red, accompanied by a menacing siren. They had to get out of there and fast.

"Run," Steve said to RJ.

They all began running for their lives through the base. Through hallways, rooms full of Russians, and even the room with the machine. There, they were stopped in their tracks by the blue beam. Dustin screamed profanities as they all tried to find out what to do. Steve spotted a staircase and ushered everyone down it, pushing a pile of metal barrels over on the Russians chasing them.

They all ran into a room and Steve shut the door behind them, holding it shut. Robin saw he was struggling to keep it shut alone, so she threw herself up against the door with him. RJ looked around for a way out. She noticed a hatch that she assumed went to the air vents.

"Guys," She got everyone's attention and motioned to the hatch.

Dustin and Erica ran over to her. She ushered them into the vent before looking over at Steve and Robin holding the door.

"Come on guys," she beckoned.

"RJ, go," Steve said firmly.

Her heart sank. Steve was holding the door closed with Robin. He wasn't coming after her, but RJ was not about to accept that truth.

"No, I'm not leaving you guys here."

"GO!" Steve shouted.

She knew that Steve and Robin could only hold the door for so long. She also knew she would be of more use to them if she escaped with Dustin and Erica. The door began to crack open, and RJ knew it was now or never. She looked at Steve one last time. He had a look on his face as if he believed he was looking at RJ for the last time. She feared if she looked at him any longer, she would end up doing something stupid. She squeezed her eyes shut and jumped down into the air vent. As she did, she heard the door burst open behind her.