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Somebody's Watching Me: Rockwell
I sit at the counter in Mac's kitchen as I carve my pumpkin with my knife. I roll up my hoodie sleeves more and stick my knife back into the pumpkin. I tilt my head and make sure my incision on the fruit stays clean and steady.
"Hey, guys." Bozer enters with bags of Halloween decorations in his hands. "Great news. I found the extra-large spiders."
"That's great, Boze. Just bring 'em in and put 'em with the others here." Cage stands on top of the ladder and I press the button next to me, making the fake skeleton come down.
"Ah!" He drops the decorations and jumps back, then landing on the floor.
"Oh, man, that was even better than I hoped." McKenna laughs with the others.
"Lina?" He gets up. "What the hell?"
"Morning, Wilt." I continue carving the pumpkin and the others keep laughing.
"What the hell are you laughing at?" He waves his hand to Jack. "What the hell is wrong with y'all?"
"I'm so sorry, Boze, but it was really funny." Mac pulls the fake skeleton up.
"I expect more from you, Cage."
"Alright, looks like just a few more tweaks, and Casper's ready to go." He keeps pulling the fake skeleton and I press the button, scaring Bozer again.
"Okay!" Bozer jumps and everyone laughs. "It's all fun and games, now, Lina. But you wait. You just wait." He points at me.
"Oh, man, I'm getting blood all over my third-favorite Metallica T-shirt. How'd I get roped into this again?" Jack looks down at his shirt.
"It's your third favorite?" Evan scoffs and I go back to carving the pumpkin.
"How many Metallica shirts do you own?" Cage chuckles.
"Um, about ten. Well, eleven, counting the one that's framed." Jack tells her. "What's your, uh, deal with Halloween there, Cage?"
"Back in D.C., I was known for my haunted houses. Kids would tremble when approaching my front door. I figured I'd keep the tradition alive in L.A."
"Well, Lina, looks like you met your other twin and you both can say come out and play with us forever and ever."
"I'll take that into suggestion, Jack, thanks." I nod as I keep carving.
"Alright, well, If you're such a pro, then what am I doing here?"
"Well, you're here because you love Halloween and kids and complaining." Mac inquires.
"If I'm complaining, it's only cause these decorations are lame." Jack tells him. "Seriously, don't you want it to be scary?"
"Oh, trust me, the house will be scary." Cage assures.
"Well, I hate to rain on your parade there, Martha Stewart, but these decorations are lame."
"Hmm. Lame?"
"You wanna get it really scary in here, you gotta go all-out, girl. One year, me and my cousin George. He's...He's crazy...we go to a morgue, we get a real dead body. We set him up in a chair on his front porch, okay." Jack brings over a chair. "Right? Just like this." He poses and laughs. "It scared the bejesus out of them little kids, man. They scattered like roaches. You can't top that kind of authenticity, you know?"
"Hold on, so you stole a real dead body from the morgue?" Riley questions.
"Yeah. But his funeral wasn't till the following weekend anyway, so..." He cleans the blood off his hands.
"Jack?" McKenna says.
"Hmm?"
"I would never tell that story again. Ever."
"Why?"
"It's a felony." I continue carving the pumping.
"It's not...It's not a felony. It's like a misdemeanor." Jack tells me.
"Definitely a felony."
"I think it's a slap on the wrist."
"It's a felony."
"Depends on where you-"
"No, it doesn't. Aggravated cemetery desecration is a class E felony. As such, if you are convicted of this crime, your sentence may include up to 4 years in prison, 5 years of probation, a fine and restitution." I wipe my knife on the rag beside me.
"Here's Johnny!" My ring tone goes off, making everyone scream.
"It's Matty. We gotta go." I get up and clean my knife with another rag.
"Now, like this?" Jack sighs.
"Yes, now." I place my knife back in my holster and head to the door.
"Don't tell me none of y'all ever stole a dead body before."
"You like The Shining?" Bozer walks beside me.
"Yeah. It's my favorite horror movie. Jack Nicholson is one of the best actors of the generation." I open the door.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"What's up?" Jack enters as I hold the door open for everyone.
"Do I wanna know?" Matty looks at his shirt and I close the door.
"Hmm? Oh, I, uh, cut myself shaving." He sits down.
"With what, a lawnmower?"
"We were-"
"Never mind. I don't care." She turns to the screen and I cross my arms. "A CIA tactical team was returning from Senegal with a prisoner when their plane went down. The aircraft and the passengers are all still missing. This is a complete list of everyone who was on board."
"This is Commander Wheeler's team." I walk closer to the screen. "Byron Wheeler."
"As in the vice-president's son?" Jack questions.
"Yeah."
"You ever meet him?"
"Once."
"Of course you have. Showoff."
"But the CIA wants to keep this quiet. The VP is anxious to get his son and the tactical team home safely." Matty informs.
"But Matty, I thought you said that the list of passengers was complete, but...the prisoner's info has been redacted." Mac zooms in on a blacked out ID.
"The CIA is insisting that the prisoner's ID is need to know, and that we don't need to know."
"Hmm."
"I'm working on convincing them otherwise, but in the meantime, the focus is to find the plane and the agents."
"What happened there, where the plane drops off the map?" Evan points to the screen.
"They flew into an electrical storm, lost comms and instrumentation." Matty tells him.
"A storm strong enough to knock out a plane's signal beacon? That's terrifying." Riley inquires.
"The last telemetric reading shows the plane dropped
5,000 feet right before losing its signal, but the data cuts out right before recording a crash. Are we sure they did?" Cage asks.
"No. I'm not sure of anything. Unlike the navy and coast guard, who seem to be sure where to focus search-and-rescue ops." Matty nods.
"But you said they haven't found anything, right?" McKenna speaks up.
"That's right."
"Well, that's cause they're searching in the wrong place." I look back at the screen.
"How could you possibly know that?" McKenna furrows her eyebrows.
"Well, the plane, it was in a nosedive when it lost its signal, but I think the pilot was doing that intentionally."
"What are you saying, he wanted to crash faster?" Bozer suggests.
"No, Wilt, I'm saying he wanted to build up speed so he could use a controlled descent and land somewhere...yeah, right about here." I draw a circle on the screen.
"Are you kidding me?" Jack gapes.
"No, I could show you the equation if you want." I turn to him and raise my eyebrows.
"I don't need you to show me the math." He stands up.
"Right. It would just go on forever like scientific notation." I nod and Mac chuckles.
"Scientific—what? Okay, I think you're mixing yourself up there, Lina. That's science, not math. Anyway, I'm talking about the map. Your little theory puts them going down right in the triangle of death." He makes a triangle with his fingers. "See that?"
"Yeah. And...?"
"And need I remind you and everybody else here that the Bermuda Triangle is as cursed as the day is long?
Don't look at me like that. Don't act like y'all haven't heart the weird stories about that place, neither. People who go there don't come back."
"Of course we've all heard the stories, but that's what they are—stories." Evan crosses his arms.
"C'mon, Jack, you can't really be scared of the Bermuda Triangle." Riley shakes her head.
"I'm telling you right now, if that plane went down in the Devil's Triangle, they're as good as gone. Man, they're in the Upside Down. We can't do nothing for 'em." Jack tells her.
"You know what? That's enough. We don't have time for urban legends." Matty snaps.
"Oh, but she can go on and on about Zeus, Percy Jackson and his magic pen...sword thing." He jabs his thumb at me.
"Yes. Because actually helpful words came out of her mouth when she was talking about it, Jack." Evan retorts.
"And Greek Mythology and Urban Legends aren't the same. So you should read up on it." I add and the others chuckles.
"Funny. Very funny, smartass." Jack nods with a mocking grin.
"Riley, McKenna, I need you to task satellites to Mac's coordinates and find that plane. You're all wheels up in twenty." Matty tells us and I nod before opening the door for everyone. "And you—change your shirt."
"No. I ain't going." Jack shakes his head.
"Oh, thank you so much for your noble sacrifice. World peace just came into play." I turn and the others chuckle again as we walk down the hallway.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"I'm sorry, but a George Washington mask is just not scary." Cage chuckles as I sit on the plane with them, reading my book.
"Have you looked at the photos of him from the medieval times?" McKenna tells her.
"I have."
"The bloke had wooden teeth. And his face is just outright freaky." She shivers and I turn a page.
"Okay, you're not afraid of George Washington, but what about George Foreman?" Evan wonders.
"George Clooney." Jack says.
"George Takei."
"Curious George, that—that little monkey."
"George of the Jungle?"
"No one named George." Cage scoffs.
"Alright, everyone is afraid of something, but would you even tell us if we guessed?" Evan goes on.
"Well, admitting your fears is a serious liability for an interrogator, and makes you an easy mark for pranks.
So you can guess, but I won't talk."
"Bees." Jack snaps his fingers.
"Razors." Evan shoots back.
"Cats."
"Ninjas."
"Needles?"
"No, mice."
"Mm...not even close." Cage shakes her head and I look up as a computer beeps.
"Finally got the SAT images up. Good news is Lina was right." McKenna turns to me. "We found the plane right where she predicted."
"If that's the good news, there's gotta be some bad news." Jack stands up and I turn another page of my book. "Go ahead, lay it on me."
"Not bad, more like fascinating. Our plane is located on Goat Island." Bozer informs.
"Goat Island? That was the original training base for the Navy Raiders in World War II." Mac speaks up.
"Someone knows their military history. But did you know that base was never officially decommissioned?"
"Yeah, as soon as the war ended, so did all transmissions from the island." I get up and head over to the screens.
"How do you know that?" Jack turns to me.
"It was the only question I got wrong when taking my GED. After the test, I found out this history teacher used to be a police officer. I swiped his keys and looked at the original incident report from 1945 at the station and then put them right back the next day when I came back to pick up my missing book."
"O-Okay, now, that is a felony."
"No, it's not." I shake my head.
"Is too."
"The offense is usually prosecuted as a form of larceny, and can be considered a violation, a Class A misdemeanor, Jack." I nod.
"Okay, well, I don't-"
"Anyway, the navy sent in a crew to investigate, but they found the island abandoned." I look at the video playing on the screen. "Completely abandoned. Every member of the 13th Division had vanished."
"Vanished?" Cage gapes.
"Vanished."
"So not only are we heading into the Bermuda Triangle, we're going to a cursed island in the Bermuda Triangle?" Jack looks at all of us. "And you're reading while knowing this information?" He looks at the book in my hand.
"Would you prefer I draw you a picture? Or are you gonna piss your pants at the sight of that too?" I question and McKenna loudly laughs with the others.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"It definitely has a certain...atmosphere." Bozer comments as we walk through the woods.
"Shh." Jack holds up his hand and an animal howls in the distant.
"Oh, no, the British are coming." I walk past Jack and the others chuckle. "Everything okay?"
"No. Both GPS and sat signals are down. I can't even get a call into Phoenix." McKenna holds the GPS in her hand.
"What?" Evan gapes.
"That storm might be causing some interference." Cage suggests.
"We are on an island in the middle of nowhere." Bozer adds.
"No, no, this is how it all starts, man. First, the Triangle cuts off all communication with the outside world, then we just-"
"Guys, I got debris." I cut Jack off. "Plane must have impacted here." I touch a big leaf and walk through the field of tall grass.
"Then we start dropping like flies."
"If it means not ever hearing you talk again, I'm okay with that." I nod and the others chuckle. "We'll check the cabin. You guys sweep the perimeter." I head over the crashed plane.
"Yeah, alright." Bozer parts ways and I shove my book in my hoodie pocket.
I now step up and swiftly swing myself into the plane through the window. My feet hit the floor and I look around. Mac follows behind me and I fix the collar of my hoodie.
"Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this."
"Yeah, the...whole crew is just gone?" Mac furrows his eyebrows. "Guys, you got any signs of life out there?
Cause we got none in here."
"Got a lot of plane parts, but no people." Bozer comes through my earpiece.
"Maybe they all parachuted out before impact?" Evan guesses.
"Yeah, maybe, or maybe the Triangle claimed them." Jack tells him.
"Let's focus on what we can prove, Jack." Riley says.
"Riley, if you don't believe seventy plus years of missing planes, ships and people is proof enough, you've been watching way too much Kardashians, not nearly enough Discovery Channel."
"Like there's such thing as too much Kardashians." McKenna scoffs and I head over to the back, moshing a door.
I pull it open and Mac jumps as a parachute hits the floor. I turn my head back and let out a low snicker. I now check the inside of the room. I stare at every nook and cranny and thickly swallow. I then clench my jaw and head back. I curse under my breath as I see a pair of cuffs on the chair.
"Guess who got loose." I crouch down.
"Maybe the plane didn't have engine trouble." Mac heads over.
"Yeah. Maybe this prisoner got free and caused the crash."
"Who the hell were they transporting?"
"Terminator is a good possibility." I stand up and turn.
"Hey." Mac turns me around by the arm and then travels his hand into mine. I look down and then look back up, locking eyes with him.
"If I counted how many times I was tied to a chair, I'd make the longest noose in the world. I'm fine, Mac."
"No, you're not." He walks closer to me. "And I don't know how take away your pain and give it to myself."
"Mac." I look down. "I'm never in pain when I'm with you." I look back up at him.
"Uh...guys? I think I found something." Bozer breaks the short silence.
"That is definitely something." Riley confirms as me and Mac keep our eyes locked.
"Hey, we got a bloody handprint over here." Jack informs. "Well, if there's blood here, there's bound to be more somewhere else. Keep an eye out."
"Yeah. Yeah, there's more over here."
"Oh, yeah. Looks like somebody was dragged right through here." Evan says.
"Maybe one of the tac team pulled the others clear of the crash?" McKenna tells him and I catch a weird stench.
"Yeah, maybe. And whoever was doing the dragging, that's where they're headed."
"Stay here." I pull my hand from his and walk past him.
"What is it?" Mac asks.
"I smell jet fuel." I hop up and pull a chair out from inside. I set it down and then stop as sparks fly across the floor. "Run!" I turn and we both jump out of the plane.
I hit the ground with him and an explosion goes off. I now crawl to the door from a few feet away and Mac follows. He grabs the handle of the door and pulls it down to shield us. A bigger explosion now goes off and I squeeze my eyes shut as Mac wraps his around my waist, spooning me. I hold his wrists and keep my eyes shut, waiting for the explosion to die down. Once it does so, I now open my eyes. I look around and then crane my neck to already see him staring at me.
"Now do you believe me?" Jack lifts up the door. "This place is cursed, man."
"It wasn't a curse. And that was no accident." I grab Evan's hand so he can help me up.
"Then what the hell happened?" McKenna picks some grass out of my hair.
"The console was booby-trapped to spark and ignite a pool of jet fuel when I moved a chair."
"Are you saying someone rigged the plane to explode?" Bozer questions.
"Yes!" I harshly kick the door, making it fly a few feet. I watch it hit the ground with a heaving chest and then look down. "But not just someone." I turn back. "The person they had in custody—we found a pair of broken handcuffs onboard." I scratch my neck.
"So this prisoner survives a crash, drags an entire CIA tac team off the plane, then sets a trap. Who the hell are they?" McKenna wonders.
"We should all just go ahead and assume that...well, that someone very dangerous is on the island here with us, alright?" Jack nods.
"Jack's right." I agree. "We should all be on high alert while we search for Wheeler and his team, okay?"
"Definitely."
"Riley, McKenna and I should probably set up base camp here." Bozer walks past us. "The fire from that explosion makes for an excellent homing beacon. If the tac team is out there, they would've seen it, and they could head this way to check it out."
"Yeah, we'll see what we can do about our little satellite problem." Riley speaks up. "I'm sure Matty's not happy we're still incommunicado. And I'd love to get an eye up there."
"Did you guys find anything out here other than the handprint?" Mac asks.
"Yeah. A blood trail—leads to the old Navy Raider base.
That way." Cage points ahead.
"That's where we're going." I start to walk and I flex my
fingers before making a fist. I keep walking and then adjust my holster.
"Okay, we need to agree on something right now." Jack breaks the silence from behind me "At some point, somebody's gonna say, let's split up, and it's gonna sound like a great idea at the time, but believe me, it's not. Cause right after any group in any horror movie says, let's split up, it's always the handsome jock who's the first one horribly butchered by whatever ghoul's lurking in the shadows."
"And in this scenario, you're the handsome jock?" Cage tells him.
"That's obvious, Cage. J-Just so we're in agreement, though, now, ain't gonna be no splittin' up, is that cool?"
"We're absolutely not splitting up, Jack." Evan assures as we walk down a hill.
"And, hey." I stop Jack. "As for your other concern, don't lose any sleep. You're not that handsome." I continue walking.
"What do you mean I'm not that handsome? Are you factoring in charm, Lina?" Jack follows. "Charm goes a long way."
"Just not for you." I look at the gate and Evan chuckles.
"Shut up, man."
"So, it looks like the blood trail leads right to the radio tower." I grab the lock.
"You know, maybe we should, uh, heed the warning sign, what do you think?" Jack suggests.
"I think I did read the sign, Jack, but thanks for the reminder."
"Yeah, and since when are you against trespassing?" Mac adds.
"Jack, if we get in trouble, we'll just call on your roguish charm to come and protect us." Cage mocks with a smile as I open the gate. "You can do that, yeah?"
"Ooh, roguish. Yeah, I like that. I can do that." Jack grins and we walk past the gate.
I adjust my holster and walk a little fast, now reaching the building. I take out my gun and open the door. I head inside and the others follow behind.
"Wow."
"Looks like nothing's been touched here since the 13th Division disappeared." I place my gun back in my holster.
"It feels like they're still in here, Lina." Jack tells me.
"The blood trail ends right here." I stop and look down before spotting a radio.
"Maybe they were trying to send out a distress signal." Evan suggests.
"Ooh!" Jack pulls his hands away. "Did you see that?
Huh? Please, please tell me you saw that. The spirits...are sending us messages from the other side, y'all."
"Jack." He sighs.
"Jack, the dust here, it's been disturbed." I turn to see a handprint on the piece of equipment. "Looks like someone used this hand crank to power up the radio."
"Riley, McKenna, Bozer, you guys got the satellite imagery back up and running?" Cage asks.
"Hey, Cage, heads up—our connection isn't that great." Riley tells her through our ear pieces.
"Yeah, something's messing with the signal." McKenna adds.
"The storm, maybe." Bozer inquires.
"Or maybe it's the high iron content in the rocks."
"Yeah, or maybe we're all covered in dumb-dumb sauce for flying into the Triangle in the first place." Jack retorts.
"Yeah, or that." Riley scoffs. "Whatever it is, we're working on a code to fix it and get our satellite uplink fixed. Hope...soon." She starts breaking up.
"Riley, I can't...Riley? Riley? This exact same thing happened in The Conjuring. Spoiler alert: it did not end well."
"I didn't see it." Cage looks at the radio.
"You didn't see The Conjuring?"
"You made me watch that movie thirty times. This never happened in The Conjuring. It never happened." Mac confirms and I turn as the radio goes off.
"Is that..." Evan trails off.
"Yeah, I think this radio might still be working. Maybe I can, uh..." I turn some nobs.
"All channels, this is Byron Wheeler. Is anyone receiving? Over." Wheeler comes through.
"That's Commander Wheeler." Cage realizes.
"Commander, it's Lina Petronis. I'm with a team from the Phoenix Foundation. Vice President Wheeler's gonna be very happy to know that you're still alive." I speak into the radio.
"Yeah. Dad's a stickler for that. Lina, right. We met a few years ago with Fitz."
"That's right."
"Glad to see you're well. Have you found the rest of my team?"
"They're not with you?"
"No, I-I don't know where they are. The last thing I remember is our prisoner getting loose and the plane going down. I got knocked out in the...in the commotion and woke up in here."
"Uh, where's here?"
"No clue. I woke up in a dark room with a splitting headache."
"Is there anything that you can describe to us about where you're at?"
"The floor is cold, like stone or-or concrete. I think some of the walls collapsed at some point."
"Okay. That's good. That's useful. Don't worry, we're gonna find you." I sign off, then setting the radio down.
"How are we supposed to do that? This place is huge, all we gotta go on is cold and dark." Jack says.
"Yeah, I know. Just keep him talking." I grab some supplies from the side.
"What am I supposed to say?"
"Well, you never had a problem running your mouth before." I walk past him and start working.
"Commander Wh—Commander Wheeler, Jack Dalton here. Delta Force. You just stay strong, soldier. We're gonna get you out of there."
"Thanks. If you're anything like Lina, I hope so." Wheeler heaves.
"Hey, while I got you on the line, if you don't mind me asking, there at, uh, there at Camp David, uh, are there multiple underground UFO bunkers, or is there just the one?" Jack asks.
"I can't really comment on that."
"What, you can't comment cause you don't know, or you can't comment cause you don't think I can handle the truth? I can handle the truth, Commander Wheeler."
"Oh, dear God. I wish this was The Walking Dead and we all accidentally get split up from him like Heath." I keep working and Evan stifles a laugh.
"That was good." Evan clasps his hands with mine.
"The Walking—What about Christmas? Uh...Ch-Christmas? You know, VP and all." Jack goes on.
"I don't quite understand." Wheeler replies.
"You guys have big Christmases, or what? How long you want me to do this?"
"Hey, hey, you hear that? Clear line." I raise the thing I'm building upwards. "It means we're heading in the right direction. Static...means we're not." I lower the thing and static is made. "Now we can locate the origin of the signal. Here, help me get this on my back."
"Big Dawg, we're on our way." Jack sets the radio down.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"What should I say?" Wheeler asks as we walk down the stairs.
"What can you tell us about the prisoner you were transporting?" I push some hair behind my ear and stop as loud ringing is made, making me go the opposite way.
"We weren't given a name, just a picture and a location. She was...dangerous."
"Oh, I gotta meet her now." I keep walking and he chuckles.
"Your prisoner was a woman?" Jack gapes.
"Yeah. And she dropped three of my men before the plane went down." Wheeler tells him.
"Maybe she's the one who dragged you to where you are now." Evan says.
"I don't know. But if I had to bet on anyone surviving that crash, it'd be her. I don't know how she got free, but she did, and it was ugly. I've never seen anyone take out an entire team like that before. Well, other than you, Lina."
"I'm glad I still run through your mind, Byron." I hand Jack my flashlight and open a door.
"What else can you tell us about her?" Cage questions.
"Five nine, dark hair, ice water for blood." Wheeler replete.
"I suppose the reason for this is the high iron content in the rocks as well, huh?" Jack taps the flashing as it goes in and out.
"You gave your good flashlight to Bozer, remember?" Mac speaks up.
"Signal's getting stronger. Should be just through here." I continue walking.
"If I had to guess, I'd say she was former Special Forces. No one does what she does without years of training." Wheeler goes on.
"Two walkies tied together?" Jack looks at the two walkies tied together on the bed. "Th-That's what we've been tracking this whole time? Oh, man. What the hell's going on here?" He starts to walk and he yells as the floor creaks.
"Jack!" We all crouch down. "Jack! Jack! Jack!"
"Jack, you okay?" Evan shines his light down.
"What do you think?" Jack coughs. "I just fell, like, a thousand feet."
"Give or take 980. But yeah." I nod and Jack stands up barked shining his light around, then letting out a scream. "Jack?"
"You finding anything interesting down there?" Cage turns on the flashlight.
"Nope, nope, nope, nothing." Jack vigorously looks around. "It's just an old combat tr-training room.
Nothing."
"Well, do you see anything down there that could help you get back up?" I wonder.
"No, not-not a ladder. Nothing I-I trust to support my weight. Anything like that. Jeez. It's kind of...kind of cold down here."
"Wait, Jack, that's it. It's, uh, stone floor is cold?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"I bet Wheeler is stuck in the basement as well."
"So Jack doesn't have to find a way up here. We gotta get down there." Evan inquires.
"Exactly." I scratch my neck. "Hey, is my antenna down there?"
"Yeah, and it's in about a thousand pieces, Lina." Jack chuckles and picks it up. "You're gonna have to figure out another way to track Wheeler."
"Yeah, I know, I gotta put my Daryl Dixon thinking cap on." I stand up.
"Who?"
"Never mind. Look, just sit tight. I have a plan, but I gotta go to the radio tower to get supplies."
"Sit tight? No, Lina, hey, hey, hey. I ain't sitting tight nowhere. Listen, we talked about this. We swore there was gonna be no splitting up now."
"I never swore to anything. Evan did."
"She's got a point." Evan nods.
"Thank you."
"No! Lina." Jack warns.
"Hey, look. We're all leaving here together, I promise.
But for now, I gotta go." I tell him. "You know what, while you're down there, why don't you poke around?
See if you can find a trace of Wheeler or his team."
"Yeah. Yeah, alright, go on, but I guarantee you I'm the first one who gets it."
"No, you won't." I pull my hood over my head and start walking.
I make my way back into the room we were in earlier and I look around. I grab some things that seem useful and so does Mac. I then open a case and shine my light inside of it. I reach my hand down but Mac beat me to it and pulls the piece out.
"Ow!" Mac gets shocked.
"Mac!" I rip his hand away. "Why'd you do that? What the hell is wrong with you?" I hold his arm and then shine my light on his hand.
I'm then grabbed my waist and he kisses me. I freeze up and then place my hands on his chest. I close my eyes and start kissing him back. He cups my face and I wrap my arms around his neck. Our lips continue to move in sync and he pulls me closer to him. His hands travel back up to my face and we finally pull away. His chest heaves up and down and so does mine.
"I'm sorry, I've been wanting to do it all day." Mac whispers.
"So you do it right now? In the unseen game footage of The Last of Us?" I look around.
"Yeah, why not?" He shrugs and we both chuckle.
"Mac, I—" I cut myself off and then turn my head as the telephone rings, now slowly walking over. "Hello?" I place the phone to my ear.
"The call is coming from...inside the house." Bozer tries to scare me.
"Wilt, you can't—where did you find a working phone on the island?"
"We couldn't reach you on comms, so I checked the plans for the military base and realized we were close to the original undersea phone cables." McKenna informs.
"So we went retro. Thought we'd try you on a landline. What's new with you?" Bozer asks.
"Uh, we were able to get in contact with Wheeler. He told us that the prisoner they were transporting got loose on the flight and attacked them and that's why the plane went down." I tell him.
"And thanks to Matty, now we have a name. Our mystery prisoner is Harper Hayes, former top operative for the CIA's Special Activities Division. Now turned traitor." McKenna says.
"And Riley and McKenna found a ton of records showing her working with terrorists, mercs, arms dealers, you name it." Bozer adds.
"Well, no wonder the CIA is so interested in getting her back." I roll up my hoodie sleeves up to my elbows.
"Be careful, Lina. People have been trying to kill this woman for years."
"I'm sure they have."
"Hayes has a history of patching herself up with black market surgeries. She's got a cobalt chrome knee, a titanium rotator cuff, and a steel plate in her head. This chick is nearly half metal." McKenna goes on.
"Alright, thanks for the heads up. We'll see you soon. I have to return some videotapes." I mock Patrick Bateman's voice before hanging up. I now turn and make my way out with Mac. I shine my light around and Mac opens the door. We head inside and run down the hallway. "Evan, Cage, are you..." I stop to see the pair gone.
"Jack?" Mac calls out.
"Dammit." I kick open the other door. "Jack! Evan! Cage!"
"Cage! Evan! Jack!"
"Yes." I reach another door and open it, now going through it with Mac. "Evan? Cage?" I turn and Jack and Evan scream. "What the hell?"
"Yeah, someone shoved me down. Jack broke my fall." Evan sighs.
"Yeah, you're welcome." Jack tells him.
"Well, where's Cage?" I panic.
"Last time we saw her, she was waiting on you two."
"We were just in the barracks. She wasn't there." Mac sighs.
"I said don't split up. Did I not?"
"Yeah."
"I said it and now this happens. Next time, we're doing things my way."
"Oh, God no." I huff.
"Why can't you just admit when I'm right about something?" Jack goes on.
"You can go for a fucking victory lap later. Look, We just talked to McKenna, Riley and Bozer."
"Yeah, and?" He and Evan take the supplies form us.
"And...the prisoner that the CIA was transporting is Harper Hayes, a real badass, apparently."
"We'll see about that."
"Hey, she's probably the one who shoved me." Evan rubs his shoulder.
"Hey, look, if what they're saying is true, she's not gonna stop until we're all in the ground." Mac inquires.
"Super. So, a highly-trained killer is on the loose and now Cage is gone. Huh." Jack chuckles and I turn to a door. "Please, tell me you have a plan."
"I got a plan. It's right here, I just..." I set down the other stuff in my hands.
"This little plan doesn't involve me putting away a seventy year old can of corn, does it?"
"No, I just need the can, not the corn. So have at it if you want. Wouldn't recommend it." I start working and Mac helps me. "If Cage and Wheeler are down here, we should be able to see their heat signatures on this." I push the chair back and we see Jack moving from the screen.
"Is that me?" Jack smiles.
"Yeah."
"Did you two just make a 1940s thermal camera?" He laughs. "Your brain is all swell. That is definitely cool.
Hey, you know what would be cooler? A proton pack, and probably way more useful. You think you could whip up one of those real quick?" He follows us and I give him a death glare. "This is great. I-I love this."
"Good." I keep wheeling the chair. "Here, I got something. Through that door."
"Yeah." Evan turns to the door.
"Hang on just a sec." Jack whispers and takes out his gun before opening the door. "What the hell is this thing? Time machine?"
"It's a hyperbaric chamber." Mac scoffs.
"For what?" Evan asks.
"Well, with all the dive training the Navy Raiders were doing, they probably used that to help them out with decompression sickness."
"Huh."
"Wait." I stop as I hear pounding from inside the chamber. "Cage!" I shine my light.
"Lina!" Cage heaves. "Evan!
"Sam!" Evan rushes over. "Sam!" He tries to get the door open.
"Thank God. Get me out."
"Yeah. Alright." I shin my light on the handle.
"The keyhole's been filled with some sort of plaster. The tumblers won't budge." Mac stands beside me.
"Can we cut off the hinges?" Jack questions.
"No, it would take me hours to cut through with our knives."
"Oh, my God. The tank's filling with water." Cage panics.
"What?" Evan bangs on the chamber and looks down.
"How is that even possible? These things are supposed to be airtight." Jack says.
"Because Hayes spot-welded a water pipe to the air intake." I walk around the back.
"Jack, Evan, she's got about five minutes before this whole thing is filled with water." Mac adds.
"This is a Special Forces tactic." Jack leads us to the side.
"What do you mean?"
"Wound an enemy force, the entire team has to take care of the injured soldier."
"Slow us down."
"Exactly."
"She's a distraction?" Evan sighs.
"Unfortunately." Jack nods. "Uh, my guess is Hayes is gonna grab Wheeler, steal our plane and disappear forever."
"VP's son is a hell of a bargaining chip to have. She could get just about anything she wants."
"That's what I'm saying."
"Go find Hayes, do not let her off this island." I point ahead.
"What about her?" Jack whispers.
"I'm not gonna let her die. I'm gonna get her out. Promise." I head back over to the chamber.
"Hey, Cage! I'll see you soon. Okay? Real soon."
"Jack, go get her before I do. We're right behind you."
"Yes, ma'am" Jack taps the window and leaves before I look around for supplies.
"Just hang on, Sam. Just hang on." Evan heaves.
"Guys! Whatever you're gonna do, just do it fast." Cage tells us.
"Don't get too comfy in there, you're leaving soon." I grab some stuff and so does Mac before we both start working.
"Drowning."
"What?" Evan turns his head back.
"I'm afraid of drowning. I fell into a neighbor's pool when I was six and I've been afraid of water ever since. Don't even like going to the beach." Cage reveals.
"Hey, listen to me." I head over to her. "My mother tried to drown me when I was four. But it wasn't her fault. It was her illness."
"So that's why you're not afraid of water, I reckon?"
"Maybe, I don't know. But that doesn't mean I don't think about it every time I come in contact with water. The shower, the pool, the beach, the pier."
"Did your dad like the water?"
"Yeah. Yeah, he did. Why do you think he took me to the beach house every summer?" I tell her and she chuckles. "One time, we found this hurt bird on the porch and it was dying. And so we took care of him, and after a few days, we let him go and watched him fly. So I need you know that we're gonna get you out of there, okay? I promise." I raise my eyebrows and she nods. "Okay." I place the rod on the window.
"This is a captive bolt gun. It should bust the glass." Mac says.
"Do it. Just do it right now." Cage chokes out.
"The problem is, this could also shatter your skull.
Any chance you can move back?" I ask and she inches away before I pull the wire on the other end, making the glass break. I stand back with the guys as all the water spills out.
"Sam!" Evan tries to get the door open.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Oh, great and powerful spirits of the Triangle." Jack falls on his knees as me and Mac successfully take down Hayes. "Thank you for protecting me. I don't know why, in your infinite wisdom, you decided I was worthy-"
"A little dramatic." I head over with Mac.
"Lina? Mac?"
"Yeah." Mac laughs.
"Did—Did you develop the powers of a mystical wizard or something?"
"Oh, no, nothing that cool. We read in her file she had a metal plate in her head, and wires in her jaw, and a titanium shoulder, so...we built a big-ass electromagnet." I point to Hayes passed out on the hood of a car.
"Really?" Jack questions.
"Yeah. C'mon." I get him up with Mac.
"Guys, I tell you what, whatever's going on in those crazy heads of yours is way scarier than the Bermuda Triangle any day of the week." He holds his shoulder.
"Are you crying?" Mac asks.
"No, no, man, I...ah, just tired."
"Okay. Let's get you some medical attention."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"Cute trick with the magnet Did you get your friend out in time or...she still floating in the tank?" Hayes gets cuffed.
"Oh, they got me out. Which is good news for me. Bad for you. Cause now I owe you one." Cage heads over.
"I look forward to you settling up." She's led away by two guards.
"Lina." Wheeler walks over.
"Byron!" I hug him and he returns the gesture.
"I wanna thank you all." He pulls away. "I'd be dead if it weren't for you."
"Nah, just glad we could help you and your team, Commander." Mac shakes his hand.
"And-And feel free to mention how awesome old Jack Dalton was next time you see the vice prez there, sport." Jack adds.
"You got it." Wheeler tells him.
"Good man."
"I'll call you?"
"If it's for work only." I nod.
"It was worth a shot. Again." Wheeler walks off with a grin and I shake my head.
"You and the VP's son-"
"No, Jack." I cross my arms.
"Okay, okay. But, just so you know, he's clearly into you."
"Go dislocate your shoulder again, please." I turn.
"Hey, Lina." Cage says.
"Yeah." I turn back.
"Thank you." She hugs me. "For getting me out."
"I'm just sorry we had to split up." I pull away. "It's always a sad day when Jack's right."
"I'd really appreciate if you didn't share what I told you."
"Already done."
"Is, um, is your mom okay?"
"Yeah, she's okay." I nod. "I visit her every weekend. When I can."
"You already knew I was afraid of drowning, didn't you?"
"It's my job to know my team inside and out." I shove my hands in my jean pockets.
"Well, personally, from the time I've known you so far, I don't think you're afraid of anything." Cage shakes her head.
"Everyone's afraid of something." I shrug and glance at Mac by the car. "Even me." I turn and we head over to the others. "Hey, c'mere." I pull Riley into me. "It's not your fault, so stop blaming yourself. You couldn't have known. I appreciate you giving me space, but I'm okay."
"No, you're not." Riley hugs me back. "They were-"
"Yeah, they were. And it was me. Not you, not Milo, me. That's all that matters." I squeeze her and she returns the action before we pull away. "Wilt—" I cut myself off as he hugs me.
"There's nothing to forgive." Bozer squeezes me and I hug him back before we pull away. "So, Jack, you survived the dreaded Bermuda Triangle. How you feeling?"
"Ah, pretty good." Jack nods.
"Oh."
"Pretty good, yeah, yeah. Although, it's possible that maybe I kind of, sort of overreacted, just-just a little bit."
"Oh, just a little."
"Yeah, but now that I've faced the dreaded Triangle and whooped its ass, I...now, I'm basically immune to fear."
"Here's Johnny!" My ringtone goes off, making Jack and the others jump.
"So much for immune to fear." Riley scoffs, making us all laugh.
"Don't laugh at that."
"Immune, my ass." Bozer keeps laughing and I see Wheeler's name across my phone screen. "Oh, Lina, here. Been working on this since last year." He hands me a case.
"A bomb?" I see the case down on the hood of the car.
"I don't know, is it?"
"Guess I'll see." I shove my phone in my pocket and open the case to reveal a suit resembling Black Spider-Man from the third film.
"Woah. Bozer, that's amazing." McKenna beams.
"You told me Andrew Garfield had the best suit and you said Spider-Man 3 was your favorite out of the trilogy, so I thought I'd mix both of them and make a little something." Bozer inquires and I hug him tightly.
"This is more than a little something. This is amazing." I pick up the suit.
"Woah. I very much agree. Nice work, Boze." Jack says.
"I love this, Wilt. Thank you." I hug Bozer again.
"As long as you don't kidnap me, place me in a taxi and string me up a hundred story building." Bozer pulls away.
"That was Eddie Brock, not Peter."
"R-Right. I knew that. I just-"
"I know. I get your point." I nod and the others chuckle.
"You wanna see the web shooters like the ones Andrew Garfield has?"
"Uh, yeah." I turn to the case with him and he grabs the cartridges from inside.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"You're not ever taking those off, are you?" Mac follows me up the stairs of my house.
"You'd be correct." I shoot a web outward with the cartridge and we both chuckle.
"Why does Black Spider-Man/Venom shoot his webs the opposite way?"
"So it tells us how different they really are. After Peter found out Flint Marko killed his uncle, it made him vulnerable."
"So that's why the symbiote attacked him?"
"Yeah. Just like Eddie. After wishing for Peter's death in a church."
"That scene still shakes me to this day."
"It's a very much important piece of cinematic history, I agree." I nod. "You didn't have to walk me home."
"It's no problem. Besides, I didn't want Eddie Brock coming out or anything."
"You mean Wheeler?" I raise my eyebrows. "Mac, I met the guy once. Now twice. He's nice, but we're friends. Nothing more, nothing less. You don't have anything to worry about."
"I don't?" He fully turns to face me.
"No, you don't." I merely shake my head. "He's not really my type anyway. Goodnight, Mac." I lean off the railing and head inside my house.
I don't wanna fight it anymore.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
🖇️🧠🪵🧨💥
this episode was HILARIOUS😭 and we got even more angst and another kiss!!
please
yeah right
all true statements
bro stop being so fine
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