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  "On your feet a lot faster than you'd normally be. Byron's pretty amazing, yeah?"

  "Where is he?"

  "He went to shower and change. Between Dixie, you, and Oberon's arrival, he's not had much time to rest."

  Leland took a sip of his soda. "He really is the caretaker of our little group."

  "There's no one more suited, given his history and experience," Greg said.

  But who took care of Byron? The question didn't seem Leland's to ask, though, so he didn't. Instead, he asked, "So we finally have a plan?"

  "We've had a plan," Byron said from behind him, and Leland nearly dropped his soda. "I've just been doing the groundwork and waiting for certain people to arrive."

  Leland turned and hid his reaction by taking several gulps of soda. Every other time he'd seen Byron, he'd been in some state of formal or semi-formal dress, save when they'd all been in survival gear in the mountains.

  Now Byron had loose, damp hair, snug jeans, a fitted red t-shirt, and pink socks on his small feet.

  He'd seen how flustered Byron got around him. It wouldn't be hard to…

  To do something stupid and hurt who knew how many people. As much as he loved Byron's labyrinthine apartment building, one loss of control from Leland in the wrong place and the whole mess would come crashing down on all of them and turn a home into a graveyard.

  Just once, he wanted to know what it was like to be able to interact the way other people did. To lose his cool, to laugh uncontrollably, to succumb to passion without fear. To be able to flirt with someone, kiss them, without having to stop and ultimately disappoint because he couldn't risk letting go.

  Leland finished his soda, crushed the can, and went to put it in the recycle bin.

  By the time he'd done that, everyone had moved to the dining room table, and Byron had called up several screens. The only remaining seat was next to Byron, which figured, and Leland slid into it quietly. At least Byron was currently standing by the screens.

  "Everyone, this is Leland, better known as Minder. Leland, this is Karl aka Countdown and Matt aka Trick of the Light. And you've had the pleasure of Oberon."

  Bowing slightly from his seat, Oberon drawled, "So what's the plan, alien overlord?" So someone must have told him and the others Byron's secret. But they would have had to, given this operation was to rescue Byron's old friend Ariadne. Centuries ago, the same meteor that had forever changed life on Earth had also sent their spaceship crashing, killing all but the two of them and stranding them forever.

  Giving Oberon a look, Byron said, "According to data recovered by Dixie before he destroyed the G.O.D.'s computer system and network, Ariadne is being kept at their main research complex in Massachusetts."

  "The one in Harvey City? The DeVine Center for Something Stupid I Can Never Remember?" Greg asked.

  "That's the one," Byron said with a laugh.

  Oberon added, "The DeVine Center for Global Environmental Research and Development. It really is a mouthful, especially when it comes to a whole lot of nothing. On the surface, they support protecting the environment and such—from heroes, corporations, and the enemy of the hour."

  "But they experiment on people instead, I'm guessing?" Leland asked, feeling stupid he even had to—but he and Ariadne had operated alone, mostly focusing on playing keep-away. They'd never had the money or resources that seemed to be at Byron's fingertips.

  Byron replied, "Just so. It's similar to the one where they kept Dixie and Greg, but less focused on things like living computers and more on diseases and other biological weapons."

  "They used to keep it all housed together, since there's lots of overlap," Dixie said, "but that required a facility so large that keeping it lowkey finally tipped into impossible, so they split it all up around about the time Daddy really got the Mason System up and running. They'll probably move Ariadne soon, so we'd better strike before too long, because it'll be impossible to get her out of where they kept me."

  Oberon laughed. "Especially after the dustup you all caused by pissing off the Magnificent Bastard."

  "Just so," Byron said, and touched the nearest screen. "With the Mason System down and their replacement subpar at best—"

  Dixie laughed derisively.

  "We shouldn't need much in the way of fancy maneuvers to get in and secure Ariadne. Oberon, Dixie, and Matt can handle that part easily. The hard part comes with getting Ariadne out." He touched a corner of the largest screen, and it expanded further, displaying a map. "The true research complex is comprised of twelve subterranean levels, with only one way in/out."

  "How predictably illegal of them," Oberon said. "That does rather complicate matters. How in the world are we going to get out? The old 'pull the fire alarm' routine?"

  "Let's save that as a last resort," Byron replied dryly, giving him another look. Leland wasn't sure why. Oberon seemed completely immune to them. "No, we won't be going up the same way we go down. We'll be going further down, and then out by way of our own exit. There's an extensive ventilation system that keeps the complex provided with purified air. We'll be availing ourselves of one of those as most of an exit tunnel." He touched the screen again, and it shifted to show the subterranean levels as well as the surrounding area. "The center is surrounded by miles of forest and open land on three sides and by a river on the fourth. Going over land, no matter what vehicles we had, would be tantamount to suicide. We'll have to go by river."

  The words were met with silence and incredulous looks.

  Leland wished he'd thought to get a second soda so he had something to wash away the sour taste in his mouth as he realized what Byron was likely intending.

  Byron rolled his eyes. "While the first team is getting Ariadne out, the second team will be working on the tunnel. That team will be Leland, Greg, and myself. Leland will be doing the vast majority of the work, since the escape relies entirely on his abilities to dig out a tunnel to connect our river escape to the ventilation shaft, but Greg and I will be there for support and cover.

  "Team Three will be led by Karl. They'll be causing distractions around the city that should lend the operation some additional security."

  "They," Oberon repeated. "Who is they?"

  "The twins, of course," Byron said with a laugh. "They've been in the Pomo Nation doing recon for some allies, but they've done as much as they can, and Hellion can continue on her own. They'll be back here in a few more days and can conspire with Karl on the best distraction. Now let's focus on Team One."

  Oberon, Matt, and Dixie all sat up slightly in their seats, any levity from the bantering fading away. Byron brought up a face and data sheet on one of the screens. "Oberon, you're going to be impersonating Sheela DeMoore, one of their virologists. She's fairly middle of the pack, so to speak—good enough at her job to have the clearances we need, but not so outstanding that slightly peculiar behavior and such is going to stand out to anyone. I've sent a data packet to you, including video and audio, so you can start practicing."

  "I've never done a virologist before," Oberon replied. "Should be interesting."

  "Don't play with deadly contagions please," Byron said. "Dixie, Matt, you'll be going in as janitorial. We've found some people on staff who will be easy enough for you to pass as with masks."

  Leland frowned. "Where are all these people going to be while they're being impersonated."

  "We've got one sick, one going to a doctor's appointment, and one has to go out of town unexpectedly. But nobody at the office, so to speak, is aware of that. Dixie took care of all that, minus of course the one who will be sick. That we'll have to do day of."

  "You're going to make someone sick?"

  Byron lifted one shoulder. "Only a teensy bit of food poisoning, and they'll be well looked-after. We need them too sick to go to work or really even leave their bed. Nothing that will alarm a place full of people who play with deadly diseases for a living. Even a virologist can eat bad shrimp from time to time. Now then—" he flicked the screens to the bl
ueprints and a timetable "—the janitors start at eight hundred hours. You'll be playing your rolls full tilt for a couple of hours, because the scientists keep their own hours, for the most part, and Dr. DeMoore never rolls in before ten and usually closer to ten-thirty."

  "Must be nice," Oberon said.

  "Says the person who doesn't wake up before they absolutely must," Greg said. "I've seen you roll out of bed ten minutes before we had to do a job."

  "Lies," Oberon says. "It takes at least an hour to do my makeup, no matter whose face I'm wearing."

  Dixie snorted. "If it takes you less than two, I'm whiter than Wonder Bread."

  Greg snorted the soda he'd just taken a sip of, and everyone else at the table chuckled and laughed.

  Oberon tossed his hair and lifted his chin in offence. "Untrue. Some of the people I impersonate don't even bother with makeup, like the rest of you lot—"

  "Hey!" Greg said. "I've worn makeup!"

  Dixie gave him a look not fit for company. "When and why?"

  "On the rare occasion we have free time," Oberon drawled, "Greg likes to paint on some slutty eyes and go dancing."

  "Tattletale," Greg muttered, though Dixie looked anything but distressed by this revelation.

  "Could we get back to saving lives?" Byron asked. "There will be plenty of time later to discuss slutty eyes."

  "Apologies." Oberon lifted his glass of something fizzy. "Continue, please."

  Byron gestured to the blueprints. "Oberon, you work here. The janitorial office is here. It would seem a bit strange if our good doctor and two of the six janitors vanished together, especially right after her arrival. So after an hour or so passes, Oberon, you'll need to make a mess big enough they'll have to come clean it, but not so big you're going to force the lab to shut down for decontamination."

  "Is that your gentle way of reminding me not to start with murder?" Oberon asked.

  "Yes," Byron retorted.

  "Fine."

  "Moving on now that I've just vastly disappointed Oberon, once you're all in the lab, your job will be to get access to this room—" he touched a spot on the blueprint, and it turned green "—where they keep several specimens, as they're so charmingly labeled. Specimen 12A-X001, to be precise."

  "X001?" Oberon repeated. "They had to create a whole new classification for her?"

  "How many aliens do you think are wandering around Earth?" Greg asked.

  "Well, until today, I would have said zero, but I was wrong by two, so honestly the number could be fifty."

  "Fair point."

  Byron pinched the bridge of his nose. "If we could focus please."

  "I could throw them around the room a bit, that might encourage them to behave," Leland said.

  Greg laughed, and Byron looked as though he was taking the suggestion seriously.

  "Focus please," Oberon drawled.

  Dixie shook his head. "It's like you go looking for ass whoopings."

  Oberon replied in a shiver-inducing purr, "I just like the way you drawl the words 'ass whooping,' sugar."

  Dixie lifted his eyes to the ceiling.

  "Anyway," Byron said, true irritation slipping into his voice. "Once you're through security and into this room and have located Ariadne—the schematics don't list the numbers of the individual cells—you'll then proceed to this location." He touched another area, which turned a slightly darker green. "All the shafts have tamper protections in place, but they're stuff Dixie can handle."

  "Where did we get this intel?" Oberon asked. "How reliable is it?"

  "A combination of Dixie, who got it from the Mason System, and inside information," Byron replied. "There's always a chance it's out of date, but it's a risk we have to take. Once you're in the vent, proceed in this direction, until you hit the primary line. When you come to this point—" he tapped the screen, which turned the spot red "—there should, if all goes to plan, be a hole. You'll join up with Team Two and proceed out of the laboratory. If Dixie's work with the security system, with assistance from Karl, goes according to plan, then we should be well away before anyone even realizes Ariadne is missing. If they do notice sooner, it will still take them some time to realize we escaped via the ventilation system."

  Greg frowned. "They must pump the air in—that's a lot of force to fight against."

  "Only in the primary vent, which we're not using. These secondary vents won't be fun, necessarily, but there won't be any major impediment. Any further questions? You've all been sent more detailed briefs, and you can finetune your part of the plan at your leisure. We have one month before this all goes down. After that, it's all but certain they'll move her."

  "Why aren't they moving her now?"

  "The facility where they kept me, where they're moving her, is still undergoing reconstruction," Dixie said. "When we took out the Mason System, it caused a lot of real-world damage to that place, since I didn't just destroy it internally—I made certain the hardware side went down too. After the mess me and Karl made trying to get into it, they're also rehauling security. They won't move her until they can be absolutely certain she'll be staying put.

  "The building reopens in approximately two months, according to official chatter, but we're assuming it's going to be sooner than that. But we can't move sooner than one month because some of the groundwork is still being laid. Some of the cracks I'm using to get past their security can't be rushed, and we also need good weather for it—overcast but not raining heavily, that kind of thing. Our best chance is at the end of the month."

  Oberon nodded, all his levity and flippancy gone. "I'll be ready."

  "We never doubted it," Byron replied. "Now, on to Team Two."

  He touched the screens again, and they shifted to show a map of the river and surrounding land from above, and then a highly-detailed 3D map of the river from various sides. "We'll be doing this during the day, which means we can use an ordinary civilian vessel. That makes at least one part of our job a whole lot easier. I've obtained a yacht and covers for us, and will be handling any visitors that might cruise by, though our particular location is pretty well shielded from view, between angles, trees, and the overgrowth on the islet that's between us and the rest of the river." Everything lit up on the map, the trees and islets in green, a display of the angles in red lines.

  "Why am I with Team Two instead of Team Three?" Greg asked. "Wouldn't I be more useful helping to cause distractions?"

  Byron shook his head, but Leland spoke up before he could reply. "I need you to tell me where to dig. Byron probably has topographical maps to help, but I'll need you to phase ahead and let me know of any unknown problems like boulders, unexpected holes, things like that."

  "Precisely," Byron said. "I know this plan pushes both of you to the limits of your power. I'm sorry for that. I've run through nearly a hundred plans, and this one has the best chance of success."

  Leland gave a short nod. "It's all right. I said I'd do anything to get Ariadne back and I meant it."

  "I'm always up for a mission," Greg replied. "I guess we'll finally figure out just how much and how long I can phase." He looked equal parts excited and terrified. Beside him, Dixie looked on the verge of tossing up his recently-eaten meal.

  "I'm going to need supplementing," Leland said, cringing inwardly as everyone turned to look at him. "You saw what happened to me when I did something as minor as stop that man from shooting the Prince."

  "Minor, the man says," Oberon drawled. "You knocked the rifle from his hands and pinned him to the ground, merely by watching him on TV, when he was hundreds of miles away. Telekinetics dream of being a quarter that powerful, and you call the maneuver minor."

  Leland's cheeks grew hot. "That's not what I meant."

  Byron gave Oberon yet another look, then turned his attention to Leland. "I've got the uppers you'll need, and once you break through to the shaft, your part is done. The others can haul you up as they climb, and medic will be ready and waiting for you on the ship. I wish there was any othe
r way to do this."

  "There isn't, and I'm an adult. I've agreed to this. So stop wasting time and energy on apologies," Leland said. "At least I can do this and am here to do it."

  "All right," Byron said quietly. "Once we're in position, we'll build a small coffer dam here." He touched a spot on the map that would be well-hidden by the yacht and a portion of the land that jutted out into the water. "Thankfully there's technology for that part. By the time the dam is in place, Oberon will be arriving at work. At this point it's crucial we're all synced, as we're not going to have much in the way of a margin of error. Leland must be done with the tunnel by the time you reach the end of the shaft, and we have to be well away before they realize we escaped by river."

  "What about decoys?" Oberon asked.

  "That's part of my job," Byron replied, and touched the screen again. "In the last days leading up to the mission, Greg and I will be placing decoys around the woods surrounding the complex. I'll be controlling them from the yacht. Dixie has been making them between the rebuilding of his systems."

  Dixie leaned back in his chair, looking pleased. "I'm arranging a little bit of everything—sound blasters, holographics, distortions. You name it, they're gonna be dealing with it."

  Leland frowned. "How do we know they won't find the…setups? Before we get a chance to use them, and they tip off our plans."

  "They'll be camouflaged. Nothing fancy there, just good old-fashioned hiding in plain sight. The security teams don't do much more than a perfunctory sweep and trust to their scanners to pick out anything unusual, which we can easily hide from. They trust to the dense forest itself to do their work for them, and they're not wrong. Even their own people get lost in there on occasion, just venturing into the woods for a bit of privacy."

  Greg let out a long sigh, and all around the table everyone else looked equally stressed. "This is a hell of a mission. There's so many ways that it could go wrong."

  "Read the packets I gave you, practice, prepare. We can do this," Byron said. "It's going to push all of us to our limits, especially Oberon, Leland, and Greg, and I don't like sending Dixie right back into their arms, especially since we just got him back to fully operational, but we can't let them keep Ariadne. There's no telling what she's already suffered, and eventually they'll find her more useful dead than alive. And let's not pretend we don't like this opportunity to screw the G.O.D. over, kick them again while they're still recovering from the last two blows."