Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter XXVI

Amazingly, to several people's surprise, the knife hits right on target. It slices right through the wire. The robobull begins sputtering and shaking in place, sparks flying out of it. It then rolls back onto its side, and the entire body goes stiff.

I look at Mia in awe and ask, "How are you so good with that?"

She shrugs. "Just a natural talent, my friend."

HEATH

Music: The End, Hallelujah! from Sexy Parodius

After the robobull completely shuts down, our team of eleven walks around it to directly in front of the entrance to the building. From this distance, the HQ kinda looks just like a plain old office building.

Good strategy if you're trying to keep your business a secret, pretty terrible strategy if you're trying to keep it a secret from us.

Sam sends a nod in the hovercraft's direction with a "stay there" hand gesture. The hovercraft gives him a thumbs up in reply, then activates its force field around the five girls we rescued earlier.

"Are you really going to go in there?" the girl who's apparently named Kim asks.

Sam walks back to the front of the group and, without looking back, replies, "Yes, indeed." Then he points forward, and our team starts advancing forward in a march-style fashion. There's absolutely no turning back now.

At the front door is a keypad, requiring a six-digit code to be entered. I simply pull my gun out and shoot the keypad, causing it to catch on fire and open the door for us.

The first few hallways we charge right through are pretty vacant. A few doors show up every now and then, but none of them have windows for us to peek inside. Besides, with how quiet the hallways are, I doubt most of the rooms are even occupied.

Our first major obstacle comes when we turn a corner and Luke halts us, then shoos us back a few steps. A security camera is mounted on the ceiling in the middle of this hallway, panning back and forth slowly. Luke gives us a "be quiet" signal, then sidesteps slowly along the wall right below the camera. When he reaches the other side, he lets the camera spot him, then pulls out the Rock and fires a small laser beam from it. The camera goes down within a couple of seconds. Then he motions for the rest of us to move forward.

From there, things are smooth sailing until we pass through a couple of corridors and stop once again. This time, it's Elle who stops us. The room in front of us is box-shaped, with an incredibly high ceiling and the outlines to three doors visible on every other wall. Every surface in the room is made of an incredibly clear and polished glass. Other than that, this room is once again full of nothing. The room itself isn't terribly big; about the size of our school's smaller gymnasium.

"Let me guess: Potential guard battle incoming?" Skylar asks. This exact situation has led us to guard battles in the past.

"Perfect conditions for one to happen right about now, so yes," Elle replies, not taking her eyesight away from the ground in front of her.

"Finally, some real action," I mutter, placing my hand in my pocket and feeling for my handgun once more.

"Seriously!? I'm sorry, Elle, but there's absolutely no way for you to tell that this room means anything. I mean, why would this room even exist?" Brielle sighs, taking just a few steps forward, entering the large box room.

Well, time for some fighting again.

---

Music: Boss from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards