Van Terra

Chapter Four ~ My Five-Year Plan Involves Overthrowing the Government

Jasper couldn't blame Grace for having questions, but the robbery would go so much smoother if she could hold off until they were done. Under other circumstances, Jasper would have had hid Grace somewhere and picked her up later. Unfortunately, the Blades out and about made that a terrible idea.

"Why would Starr let me live in the palace for years if he wanted me dead the whole time?" Grace asked.

Jasper stopped in the middle of an intersection between two hallways. "This way," she said as she headed left. "And Starr's image is of the utmost importance. Offering a home to the poor, amnesic orphan who saved his life made him look good. You had no memory of the labs, so you weren't a threat until Kara showed up."

Grace frowned. "My earliest memory is of a man leading me out of a building. We were chased, and he was killed. I ran into Starr later that day."

"Whoever the man was, he must have helped you escape." Jasper led Grace around another corner. They passed offices and conference rooms, all of which dark and empty thanks to Holly and Jax's evacuation. "I bet Starr was hoping the public would forget about you, but they really tried to keep up with you. They were hoping you'd be a hero as you grew older."

"Well, I failed at that," Grace muttered. "And saving Starr turned out to be a mistake, too."

They took another turn. "You want to make things right?" Jasper asked.

"Huh?"

"Help me help you. The reason I think you're valuable, the reason I'm keeping you alive, is because I want to take down Starr. And you want that too, right? He's corrupt and wants you dead." Jasper stopped in front of her destination: a custodial closet.

"If Starr's so terrible, why do you want him gone?" Grace asked as she paused at Jasper's side. "I have a hard time believing a supervillain cares about fixing the government."

"Let's just say it's personal." Jasper opened the closet door.

Grace looked over the cleaning supplies. "Where are we?"

"This floor is mostly offices. The jewelry store is directly below us." Jasper adjusted her gloves. "The top half of the building is closed today for fumigation."

"Uh, is it safe to be here?"

"Of course." Jasper entered the closet and flipped on the light. "See, I should mention that there's not a real pest problem, and the people who cleared the building aren't real fumigators." She pulled out the laser, pointed it at the ground, and turned it on. "With the building empty, all we have to worry about are alarms."

"What about the security cameras?" Grace asked.

A small section of floor broke away and fell into the darkness. Jasper dropped to one knee next to the hole. "Thea has them playing empty hallways on a loop. No one can see us. That being said, we still need to be careful in the store. Instead of putting alarms on the cases, they've rigged the whole floor with sensors. Even moving within a few inches of it will set it off."

Thea spoke up over the comms. "Holly, Jax, you've got incoming."

Jasper sighed. "What kind of incoming?"

"What?" Grace asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

Jasper pulled a spare comm from her coat and tossed it to Grace. "Put this in your ear."

Grace hesitated a moment before sliding it in.

"Security's headed our way?" Holly asked.

"No, no, it's not security," Thea replied. "It's Red Blades."