Super

Chapter 70: Dragnet

Lex circled to where Kate stood, near a waist-high mass covered by a paint-flecked piece of canvas. Kate frowned at it, then signaled for Lex to get on the other side as she moved to grab one end of the cloth. Taking up her end, Lex watched as Kate counted down on her fingers, and then they pulled it off together. A stack of wooden pallets sat underneath, at which Lex breathed a sigh of relief.

She noticed, as she and Kate wrestled the canvas cloth back over the pallets, that the dust they'd stirred up seemed to glow in the light from the windows high in the walls. The two of them walked back over to the entry hole to call their friends inside, then.

Once they'd all gone inside, Lou, Victor, and Lily moved into the larger room while Lex and Kate looked over an open doorway into the next section of the building. It looked much darker, but Lex could see some stairs leading up, and not much else. The only other door along the wall had been locked, some time ago based on the dust on the knob, and so seemed safe to ignore.

"I think we should go up the stairs, just the two of us. Depending on what we find, we can call the rest," Kate said, hazarding a glance at the rest of the group.

"All right," Lex agreed. "Let me tell the others. I'll be right back."

Walking over to the rest of the group, she stopped near where Lou surveyed Lily and Victor as they looked the pile of pallets over. "Kate and I are going up the stairs there. We're not sure what we'll find, but we'll call you if everything looks OK. If you see someone who isn't us coming out that door, assume we've run into trouble, all right?"

Lou nodded, still gazing at the two team members traveling with him. "Give the word and we'll be right behind you."

Lex unzipped a thigh pocket and pulled out a glow stick, cracking it as she got near Kate. "Just stay behind me," Kate said as Lex began to shake it. "I've got on one of my forms that lets me see in the dark."

Kate's eyes reflected the light streaming in from the windows just before she turned towards the open doorway and disappeared through it. Following up to the edge of the stairs, Lex waited for the low whistle that Kate would give as a signal to advance. When she heard it, Lex sprinted up the flight of stairs until she stood beside her friend, then waited for the signal as Kate mounted the second half-flight.

Instead of the whistle, Lex heard Kate's low curse. Expecting the worst, Lex charged up the stairs only to see her friend standing at the beginning of a hallway with many doors on either side. Sighing, Lex decided that she shared Kate's opinion. "Let me go down to get Lou. He can play goalie at the end of the hall, if nothing else. If things get nasty, at least he should be able to prevent people from getting away before we can talk to them."

Kate nodded, not looking away from the hallway for a moment.

Lex added, "If anything crazy happens here, just bolt. They'd never be able to catch you if you used any kind of speed."

Sparing Lex a swift glance, she could see Kate's smile even in the low light. "No promises, just get back here fast."

Shaking her head, Lex hurried down the stairs and burst through the door at the foot of them. "Lou," she said, running forward to meet the man, "will you come with me?"

As Victor and Lily approached, Lex glanced at them. "Will you two stay down here? If anyone comes down the stairs, just let them go. Try not to tangle with them unless you have to."

No one said anything as Lex and Lou went upstairs, and Lou raised his eyebrow as he looked at Kate once they arrived.

"Lou, would you mind blocking the end of the hall here while Lex and I go further down?" Kate asked. "There are five doors on either side of the hall and one at the end, and we're going to need to figure out how to get everyone out so we can talk to them. If you could make sure no one gets past you and downstairs to the others, we'd appreciate it."