"You seriously trust that they can do the job right?" Alexia said, from the back of the Ice cream sailor. "Hell. I don't."
"Well, you can join them." Robin recommended with a shrug. Alezia shook her head.
"No thanks. Plus, I wanna help. The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west. A trip to China sounds nice if you tread lightly," Alexia finished. Robin paused, hearing the Girl's words.
"I'm sorry. You knew what it meant?" Robin said. Alexia looks at her, sheepishly.
"Yeah. Since the moment I heard it. I'm sorry, It's just that it's fun to actually let people do things on their own and not rely on others. But, hey, I'm impressed. Some people don't usually translate a thing in a day." Alexia ended her short rant. Robin smiles.
"Good thing, I'm not just some people." Robin shared a smile with Alexia. "Hey. Do you think you're right?" Alexia turned her head at Robin.
"About?"
"The boys and them failing to do their job?"
"Definitely."
A knock on the back door came, interrupting the girls moment. Robin sighs, opening the back door.
"Delivery for you." The man said, handling Robin a package, who puts it on the counter, signing the paper.
Robin and Alexia examines the man. "Have a nice day." The man stated before walking away, giving Robin and Alexia the chance to see the back of his clothes. The two shares a knowing look. It's a Silver Cat.
The two busted out of the door, dashing past Steve and Dustin as they run towards the center of the mall. They look around. "A trip to China sounds nice."
"A trip to China sounds nice. A trip to China─" Bingo. Both Robin and Alexia turned to the Imperial Panda.
"If you tread lightly." Alexia then started looking around, looking up for shoe stores before pointing to Robin the Kaufman shoes. "Bingo."
"When blue and yellow meet in the west." Robin started to repeat the sentence.
"Robin. The clock." Robin turned to Alexia to see her already starring at the clock that's in front of the mall.
"Robin. Alexia." The said people slowly turns to the boys.
"She cracked the code." Robin and Alexia simultaneously said, pointing at each other.
《 ☛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ꜱᴋɪᴘ ☚ 》
"Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes." Alexia deciding to keep quiet, Robin took full responsibilities to guide the two guys.
The rain pours heavily, It has always been a fascinating sight for Alexia and Max. Whenever Max would ask why Alexia fell in love with the Rain, Sky, Moon, and the Ocean, she would always answer with 'I find rain the perfect time to think stuff. As for the sky, it resembles Freedom, the moon always reminds me that they're always light in the darkness, you guys gotta find it, even though I'm always pessimistic, and the ocean.. Because it reminds me of your eyes.'
And now, here she is, thinking. She wonders back to the moments where she uses the heavy rain and thunder to tune down her parents voices from her room. She would always imagine that Janella was her.
Speaking of the oldest Frost, She hasn't seen her or even Samuel since the gate has been closed. Alexia wonders why she hasn't seen the two.
Whistling echos from below as boxes were being rolled by a man. "They're with that whistling guy, ten o'clock." Dustin said.
"What do you think is in there?" Steve ask.
"Guns, bombs?" Dustin guesses. Alexia who snapped out of her thoughts, finally payed attention.
"Chemical weapons?" Robin also guesses. Alexia shook her head.
"Chemicals. Definitely." Alexia confirmed, nodding her head. She doesn't understand why she couldn't see through the rain, which is unusual and unnerving.
"Whatever it is, they're armed to the teeth." Dustin said, seeing the guards with heavy arms.
"Then it is definitely illegal. Normal security guards usually just use Side arms, well, if they're not guarding something important like banks and vaults." Alexia said as the rain strikes down with thunderclap.
"Great." Steve said, wiping his eyes which could only help a little. The elevator door was opened by one of the guards.
"Hey, what's in there?" Robin ask.
"Just more boxes." Dustin answered, keeping an eye on the guy and the boxes.
"Let me check it out." Steve said, grabbing the Scope from Dustin.
"No, I'm still looking." Dustin fought back, pulling the thing towards him, once more. Steve did the same to his side.
"Lemme see it." Steve said, Alexia reached out a hand and grabbed the poor thing.
"One wrong move and you, idiots, can get us caught and killed." Alexia said, giving the Binocular to Robin.
"Hang on!" Dustin tried reaching out, though Steve, only for the two of them to lose balance and clung a metal beside them.
"Seriously? Duck!" The sound alarmed the two guards, making their guards up. "Down. Down. We gotta go down."
walking down the hall ways, dripping wet, Robin turned to Steve, "Well, I think we found your Russians." She said, looking at the three.
Alexia paused, an eerie feeling run down Alexia's spine, feeling a sudden cold, not from being wet, but the same type of cold she had felt up the Hill and while watching the movie with the party.
His back. And that means, his armies are back, too.
《 ☛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ꜱᴋɪᴘ ☚ 》
It's already the day after, and Alexia is back at the mall, listening to Dustin's information.
"That Keycard opens the door. The Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun. Whatever is in this room, whatever is in those boxes, they really don't want anybody finding it." The three are sitting at the chair, as Dustin explain.
"But there's gotta be a way in." Robin said, shaking her head.
"Well, you know..." Steve started, making the three's attention span to him. "I could just take him out." Alexia and Dustin looks at him.
"You got knocked out with just a single kick in the head, and you've never won a fight." Alexia said, looking at Steve with no emotion, making it clear for the other three that she's not up for jokes.
"Well, I sneak out from behind him, take him out, take his keycard. It's easy." Steve said. Alexia and Dustin once again looks at him, seriously.
"Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?" Dustin ask, looking at Steve to see if he's serious.
"Yes, Dusting. I did." Steve said, seriously. "And that's why I would be sneaking."
"Steve. If you're right. And if you do manage to sneak behind him. You won't stand a chance. Look, this kinds of people, they eother get trained, or they train themselves to fight and be ready for attacks. You'd get yourself killed in the process." Alexia said, having to seen things like this.
Robin stands up, signalling for Alexia to follow her, which Alexia replied, having to be done with the boys. Robin walked out of the room, and took all the money from the tip jar.
"Hey, Robin!" Steve yelled, chasing after them. "What are you doing?"
"I need cash." Robin said, shrugging.
"Well, half of that's mine." Steve said. Alexia groan, still walking with Robin.
"I'll just pay you back, H." Alexia said.
"It's to find a way into that room." Robin said, "The safe way." She finished and turn around to walk faster with Alexia. "And, in the meantime, sling ice cream."
"Behave." Alexia butt in.
"And don't get beat up. Bad ways to go." Robin said, before completely getting out of sight.
《 ☛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ꜱᴋɪᴘ ☚ 》
"Took you long enough." Alexia said, as she walks side by side with Robin who just arrived with a bike.
"Well, did little miss fighter get bored after getting out of her fancy car?" Robin bites back, with no Venom or so.
"To be fair, you're the one that declined the offer."
"And leave my precious bike? No. thank you."
"It is fascinating what Twenty bucks will get you. At the County Recorder's Office." Robin held up her a hand, and Alexia put a blueprints in it. "Starcourt Mall."
The two laid the Blueprints at the table it, the blueprints, shows the map of starcourt.
"The complete blueprints." Alexia said, smirking with Robin.
"Not bad." Dustin praises.
"So, this is us, Scoops," Robin said, pointing at the store. "And this is where we want to get." She pointed Three o'clock from the store.
"I mean, I don't really see a way in." Steve said, looking at the map.
"There's not." Alexia answered, "If you're talking exclusively about doors." Robin turned the blueprints and showed the second one.
Dustin looks up to Alexia, realising what they meant. "Air ducts." Robin smiles at the boy.
"Exactly! Turns out, this secret room needs air. Just like any old room." Robin took the market from the board and went to their side once again. "And these air ducts," Robin encircle the one at the room, and connected it to the elevator. "leads all the way, here." And she encircled the ones at the Elevator.
"Flashlight." Steve said, being muffled by the screwdriver that is in between his teeths. Dustin handed him the flashlight as he handed Dustin the screwdriver. "Yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know if you can fit in here. It's, like... Super tight."
"I'll fit." Dustin said, as Steve climbs down. "Trust me. No collar bones, remember?"
"Uh... Excuse me?" Robin turned to Alexia when she shook her head, silently telling Robin not to ask.
"Oh, he's uh... Yeah, he's got some disease. Chry, uh... It's chrydo uhm... Something. Yeah, I dunno." Steve stammers, trying to figure out the right word.
"Cleidocranial dysplasia." Alexia stated, remembering that Lucas once told her about it.
"Yeah. Yeah. I think." Steve said, scratching his head. "He's missing bones and stuff and he can bend like Gumbo."
"You mean, Gumby." Alexia chose not to ask who that is, but decided to torture herself by watching Dustin.
"Steve, just shut up and push me!" Dustin said.
"Okay."
"Ahoy, sailors! Ahoy! All hands on deck!" Alexia and Robin turned to Erica as the young girl rings the bell. "Come on. Get over here and serve me some samples." Robin and Alexia turned to each other, having the same Idea.
《 ☛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ꜱᴋɪᴘ ☚ 》
"
Yeah, I don't know." Erica said after jumping down the ladder.
"You don't know if you can fit?" Dustin said, surely in disbelief.
"Oh, I can fit. I just don't know if I want to." Erica said. This girl is smart. Alexia tilt her head.
"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin ask the girl. Erica snickers.
"I don't have phobias." Erica replied.
"Okay, well, what's the problem?" Steve ask.
"The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica." Erica said. Robin nudge Alexia, who looks at her.
"You give her the money." Alexia said, realising the reason she was nudge.
"Hello? The blueprints?" Alexia sigh, walking towards Erica, oulling out some dollars from her pocket.
"A hundred." Alexia slams it in the table, in front of Erica. The Girl having a look as if she's thinking.
Steve slid the banana split across the table with the look on his face, onky for Erica to slid it back. "More fudge, please. Go on."
"Alright. You see this?" Robin said showing Erica the blueprints. "This is the route you're gonna take. Then we just wait till the last delivery goes out tonight. Then you knock out the grate, jump down, open the door."
"Then you find out exactly what's in those boxes?" Erica ask. Robin smiles.
"Exactly."
"And you say this guard is armed?" Erica ask. Dustin straightened up.
"Yes, but he won't be there." Dustin said.
"And booby traps?"
"And what traps?" Alexia ask. Erica turns to her.
"Lasers, spikes in the wall?"
"What?"
"You've been watching too many stuffs."
"Or take."
"Alexia!"
"What?"
"You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me?" The three shooks their heads. "Child endangerment."
"We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time." Robin said, trying to convince Erica.
"Ah, ah, ah! Child endangerment." Erica said. Dustin sigh, turning to her.
"Erica? Hi, uh... We think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm. Don't you love your country?" Dustin said, looking at Erica.
"You can't spell America without Erica." Erica then took her drink and sips the straw. Slurping loudly.
"Uh, yeah, yeah. Oddly, that's, uh, totally true. So, so, don't do this for us." Dustin said, getting back in trail. "Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man. Do this for America... Erica."
"Ooh! I just got the chills." Erica said, smiling. Dustin smiles, innocently. "Oh yeah. From this float, not your speech." Dustin's smile drop. "Know what I love most about this country? Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?"
"Yeah." Dustin said, looking at Erica to see if she's being serious.
"It means this is a free market system. Which means people get paid for their services, depending on hoe valuable their contributions are." Alexia and Robin looks at each other. "And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all. So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better br the first of many. And I'm talking free Ice cream for life. And I'm taking this." Erica finished with taking the hundred dollars and putting it in her pocket.
"Erica, do you copy?" Robin tested the comms.
"Mh-hm. I copy. You nerds in position or what?" Erica ask.
"Yeah, we're in position. It's all quiet here, so you've got the green light." Robin said as they look at the elevator with no one else in the area.
"Green light, Roger that. Commence Operation Child Endangerment."
"Can we let go off that?" Alexia ask as they wait for Erica.
"See you on the other side." Erica said, "Nerds." She finished.
Minutes of listening to the grunts and coughs of Erica, She finally spoke. "Alright, nerds. I'm there."
"Do you─ Do you see anything?" Robin ask.
"Yeah, I see those boring boxew you're so excited about."
"Any guards?" Alexia ask, not wanting the young girl to get hurt.
"Negative." Alexia sighs in relief.
"Booby traps?"
"If I could see them, they'd be pretty shit traps, wouldn't they?" Alexia shrugs. The child is right.
"Thank you for that." Robin said. Secinds later, the door opens and Ericw walks out.
"Free ice cream for life." The three stands up and walked away from the roof.
Steve cuts the tape of one of the box and opens to find a metal box. Steve looks at the others before twisting the handle, making a hissing sound.
There are four tubes, without knowledge of what it is, Alexia pulls one up, and showed the others. It's a green substance that looks like acid.
"That's definitely not Chinese food." Steve said, receiving an incredulous look from Alexia.
A rumbling happens, making the others freeze and looks up.
"Was that just me, or did the room move?" Alexia froze as another realisation hits her.
"I thought we've already established that this is an elevator, Dustin..." Alexia said, slowly. Dustin's eyes turns to her, slowly.
"We did?" Just as Dustin stated that, another rambling starts with mechanical whirring.
"Everyone. Back. Back up in the corner and stay calm. Lay down on your back and don't move. Remain calm. Now." Alexia instructed, slowly and carefully walking towards Erica and pulling Erics with her as every did as she said.
On cue, the elevator starts to shake, and the teens tries to remain calm. Their breaths quickens as they lay flat on their back. Alexia looks at the lights. It's not flickering. Those are the lights that the elevator is passing by.