Thomas rushed into the courtyard of the President Spire slightly late for his lesson. The news report hadn't said anything about Valerie, which was what he'd expected, anyway. No one knew about that underground base except for her and that "Oliver" guy she'd told him about, right?
He stepped into line next to Claire. "Right," said Sir Rent. "Today we'll be doing a slightly different form of target practice with the Tech Guns." This caused a small burst of chatter among the apprentices. Slightly different? What could that mean?
Sir Rent set down the Tech Gun box. "We'll be using moving targets."
The apprentices each grabbed a Tech Gun, each of them having no struggle with its weight anymore. "Sir Rent," began Jadie.
"Yes?" asked Sir Rent, setting up the new moving targets, which seemed higher quality than the previous versions.
"The moving targets will be a more accurate way of training, right? Are the targets programmed to move like a criminal would?"
"Ah," said Sir Rent after he finished. "I was just getting to that. Yes, each target moves in a completely different way than each of the others, to provide true variety. There are nine seperate targets-- one for each of you." All nine of the apprentices chose a target. Spheres of energy flew from the guns, only a few reaching their intended targets.
Thomas had been better and better at target shooting with each lesson, as did all of the other eight apprentices. None of them hit a bullseye that often, but a few among them had done it before-- those few being Thomas, Claire, Luke, and Justin. The lesson lasted for another hour or so before they were dismissed for the day, and Thomas returned to his room to relax. Valerie was safe, he was training to be a Guard apprentice, and security had been increased so that no one could hack the robots again.
***
Paul and Ed Nightman still sat in the abandoned alleyway. "To complete my plan," Paul informed him, "I'll need to return to Kresco's old warehouse." He sat against the brick wall and stretched his arms.
"What for?" asked Ed.
"It's obvious, isn't it? Tech Guns, the Chameleon Band-- all of the gear we need to carry out my plan."
"And what exactly is this plan?"
"I've told you this before," snapped Paul irritably. "I can't tell you yet. The fewer people who know the full plan, the fewer the chance of being compromised becomes. For now, we need to find Kresco's old warehouse." The two Nightmans had changed from their prisoner clothes to discarded silvers, and now they walked the streets, looking as inconspicuous as they could; their hoods pulled down. After about half an hour of searching, they finally found it; the entrance to Kresco's old warehouse.
"Finally," muttered Ed, pulling off his hood. "Let's go." Paul opened the brick wall and started descending down the tarnished silver ladder, down into the warehouse.
***
Oliver sat at his workbench putting the finishing touches on the boat, which was coming along very nicely. Valerie had gathered four Tech Guns from the back room to bring with them, just in case.
"And you're sure this boat will stay together? The Ocean can create some pretty strong waves sometimes," warned Valerie, watching him work.
"It's reinforced, Valerie," Oliver replied. "The boat would need some serious force pushing against it to break. It's made mostly out of wood, but reinforced by metal in certain places. I just need to finishing installing this motor and it'll be done."
"Motor?"
"Well, did you think we'd need a sail? President Weatherford controls the weather. If someone spots us leaving and informs Weatherford, we'd be blown back to shore."
She nodded. "Smart."
"And, done!" exclaimed Oliver, standing up. The boat really was impressive, especially since it was only a few days' work. Long enough to hold Valerie, Oliver, and the Tech Guns, heavy enough, and wide enough, with a strong enough motor to push it all.
"It's amazing," she complimented.
"Years of practice does that to you. I wasn't lying when I said I was an expert." Suddenly, Paul and Ed Nightman both dropped down the ladder. Valerie stared in shock, while Oliver just seemed confused.
"Uh, hello," greeted Oliver. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Oliver!" hissed Valerie. " Don't 'hello' them! That's Paul and Ed Nightman!" Paul's eyes widened.
Oliver nodded. "Oh, right. Now what?" Paul lunged at Oliver, tackling him to the ground. Oliver threw a punch at him only for it to be blocked immediately.
"For someone so old," Oliver noted, "He's good." Oliver kicked Paul in the shins, causing him to double back in pain. Ed chased Valerie around the warehouse, but she was too fast for him. Paul swept Oliver's legs out from under him, but Oliver rebounded by leaping up and punching him hard in the jaw. Paul backed away once again, and while he was distracted Oliver grabbed the boat, carrying it up the ladder with him.
Paul and Ed both chased after him, but Valerie grabbed an extra Tech Gun from the back and a ball of green energy darted into Ed's leg, causing him to howl with pain.
"You get the girl," Paul commanded. "I'll get the other guy."
"But my leg-"
"Your leg can wait," snarled Paul. "This can't." He turned and chased Oliver up the ladder. The ladder clanged as they raced each other to the surface.
Ed turned back and lunged at Valerie, limping on his left leg. He punched her in the side and she doubled over, then snatched the chameleon band, picked up Shadow, and sprinted for the exit ladder. Oliver had already left with Paul in pursuit. Valerie slipped on the chameleon band and reached the top of the ladder, the sunlight blinding her for a moment. In the distance she noticed Oliver, carrying the huge boat, pushing through crowds of confused pedestrians.
Oliver accidentally knocked over a short, old man, who yelled some unintelligible insult. "Sorry!" Oliver called back. The old man stood up only to be pushed to the ground again when Paul arrived.
Paul wasn't far behind.
Two of the guards had noticed Oliver and Paul and were chasing after them as well. Valerie recognized them as Sir Rent and Sir Bodis. She chased after them until she was almost level with the guards, (she had taken extra care to avoid the old man) panting and trying to ignore the sharp pain in her side. Shadow still clung to her shoulder. Oliver had reached the edge of the shore, and had thrown the boat into The Ocean. Valerie sprinted with a last burst of energy and ran straight past the two guards and Paul, diving with Oliver into The Ocean.
Oliver floated towards the boat and stepped onto it, then helped Valerie up, who in turn helped a very annoyed Shadow on. Valerie's soaked hair was flat against her face, and she pushed it out of her eyes. Oliver activated the motor and the boat sped away until Paul's rage-filled face had disappeared from view. The view of The Ocean was breathtaking. Blue waves rocked against the boat, and flying fish glided in and out of the water. They had just passed the island of the black towers, and the mountain of Fort Titanium was growing ever-closer. Dark clouds suddenly filled the sky, and the rain started, almost as if it was foreshadowing the events to come. Oliver turned to Valerie.
"That was a close one."
***
President Lloyd Weatherford sat in his office, filing out the boring paperwork he always did. It may be boring, but it was a necessity. The door opened and a very alarmed Sir Edelman walked in.
"Sir Edelman?" said Weatherford. "What is it?"
"It's Paul Nightman," blurted Sir Edelman hastily. "He's escaped, and so has his son."
Weatherford's face grew pale. "How?" he asked.
"We're not sure," answered Edelman. "Sir Rent and Sir Bodis chased him down and handcuffed him, then brought him to me. I recognized him immediately, and then he headbutted Sir Rent and kicked people and a fight broke out. He must've escaped in the confusion of it all. After that, I went to check on the prison and found quite a few of the guards dead. The survivors said Paul and Ed had shot their way out, and hadn't been seen since.
Weatherford turned away and leaned against the wall in a state of shock. "Double the city's patrols. Make Paul known as a wanted man. It's imperative that he be stopped, before it's too late."