The following night Arc drives through the dark streets of Angel Grove. A warm summer’s rain has begun to fall. Streetlamps on either side of the road are his only sources of illumination other than the Jeep’s headlights. He touches his earring.
“Arc to base.”
“Max here.”
“We’ll be arriving at Hammer’s apartment in two minutes. I’ll keep an open comm just in case.”
Sereb jumps into the front seat. “I will have your back.”
Arc chuckles. “Yeah? Won’t you be a bit too busy for that?”
Ember frowns from her spot in the back seat. “He’d better not be.”
“I’ll be fine. You didn’t need to come, you know. Hammer trusts me now, after all.”
“Well, I don’t trust HER!”
Arc sighs. “Fair enough. You have the radio?”
Ember holds up the device as Arc continues.
“Good. Everyone will be listening in. Anything goes wrong and I can pull off my anti-magic ring and Blink out of there.”
Sereb nods soberly. “While I make a distraction to cover your escape, right?”
“I’d prefer it if we leave together.”
“That may not be possible, Arc.”
Ember brandishes her claws. “If it comes to that I’ll storm in and get you myself, Sereb.”
“Now that we have all that out of the way, let’s get this over with.”
Arc parks the vehicle and turns it off. He sighs and turns to Ember.
“You going to be okay out here?”
“Why? It’s not like it’s cold, or anything.”
“This isn’t exactly the best neighborhood.”
Ember waves a claw dismissively. “I’ll be fine. Get a move on!”
Arc chuckles. “Yes, ma’am. You ready, Sereb?”
“I am.”
Arc taps his earring. “One last radio check.”
Viktor’s voice rings out in his ear. “Read you loud and clear, sir.”
Auriel grimaces. “Be careful in there, Arc!”
“I will. Here we go.”
Opening the door Arc and Sereb step out into the downpour. They hurry to the building and head for Hammer’s apartment. Arc knocks exactly six times before opening the door with Sereb at his side. The apartment is dark except for a single light coming from the kitchen. He closes the door and walks toward it before calling out.
“Hello?”
“In here.”
Walking into the kitchen, Arc finds Hammer sitting at the table. She looks very serious as she gestures to the chair across from her.
“Have a seat.”
Nodding, Arc sits down. Hammer looks to Sereb.
“Uh… is your dog house trained?”
Arc nods. “Yeah. That and he answered the call of nature before we came over here.”
“Alright.”
She takes a deep breath and returns her attention to Arc. Sereb turns and walks away.
“Gotta admit, I was surprised to get your call.”
“Afraid I couldn’t get the job done?”
Hammer shakes her head. “Nah. But I didn’t think you’d get it done this fast!”
“My people and I are very… efficient. At least when we need to be.”
Hammer lowers her voice. “So what’d you find?”
Arc unzips his raincoat and pulls out two folders. Setting them on the table he looks to Hammer as he opens the folder labeled ‘Mio’.
“Following your notes, we saw Mio leave the other apartment. She got into a car and drove away.”
“Did you follow her?”
Arc nods. “Of course. Keeping their distance, my boys tailed her to the bus station.”
Hammer raises an eyebrow. “What?! She met someone there?!”
Arc shakes his head. “No. She approached a locker and opened it to retrieve a duffel bag.”
He presents an 8x10 photo of Mio pulling a bag from the locker and slides it across the table to Hammer. She looks it over carefully.
“This is certainly her.”
Arc continues. “She then got back into her vehicle and drove back to town as night fell. They followed her to the Angel Grove Youth Center.”
“What?! But… but there’s nothing there!”
Arc pulls out another picture. “Maybe not. But here’s a shot of her breaking into the place.”
Hammer takes the picture and frowns. “I… why…?”
“My agents gave her a short head start before following. What they found was certainly… unexpected.”
Pulling out several more pictures Arc hands them to Hammer. She looks them over with a bewildered look on her face.
“What… is she DOING?!”
“It appears she’s exercising.”
Hammer nods as she looks over the pictures. One shows Mio trying extremely hard to lift a fairly light barbell. Another portrays her attempting chin-ups. While a third depicts her running on a treadmill and sweating profusely.
“Did you find out what was in her bag?”
“When Mio went to the bathroom they did a quick search.”
Arc pulls a paper from the folder.
“They reported finding several bottles of water, a towel, a change of clothes, soap and shampoo along with fresh undergarments.”
“Anything else?”
Arc shakes his head. “That was the complete contents of the bag.”
“How about the bus station locker?”
“I sent someone over there to check it out later. They picked the lock, but only found several identical duffel bags and the a fore mentioned contents within each one.”
“Anything else of note?”
“Just one thing. They reported that locker smelled pretty bad. Like it’s been holding her dirty laundry for quite some time.”
Hammer puts a hand to her chin. “Well, this HAS been going on for a while.”
“They then followed her back to the apartment. That’s all I can tell you about her movements.”
Arc retrieves the photos and returns them to the folder. Pushing it aside he turns his attention to the other folder.
“Now then, I had another team wait for Stingray outside of that military base.”
“Did she see them?”
Arc shakes his head. “No. I told them to stay behind a curve in the road in the opposite direction of town so as to avoid suspicion.”
“Good idea. But where did she go?”
“A few places, actually. You might want to brace yourself for this.”
Arc pulls out a photo and hands it to Hammer. Her face turns red as her eyes widen.
“What… is that place?!”
“A finishing school.”
Hammer appears confused. “Um…”
“It’s a place women go to learn mannerisms, etiquette, and proper speech.”
“So it’s where a lady goes to learn how to… what now?”
Arc shrugs. “Be a lady, I suppose.”
“Why?!”
“Your guess is as good as mine. However, a couple hours later they followed her to a very… unique store.”
He slides another photo across the table.
“What the…? Where?”
“Downtown Angel Grove. The local fabric store to be exact. My guys reported she went in empty-handed and came out with two bags.”
“And the contents?”
“We’ll get to that. Next she went to the Community Center.”
Hammer makes a face. “That’s almost as strange. There’s nothing there that would be of interest to her.”
“Not true. They have various classes there several times a week.”
“So she went there to learn something?”
“Exactly.”
“What though?”
Arc looks over his notes. “She attended two classes yesterday. The first was a knitting class.”
“Knitting?!”
“Does that mean something to you?”
“Her room’s full of quilts, scarves, hats, and a whole bunch of other things! All made by hand! She just said she bought them from a local vendor!”
“From the class’ description online, that was an advanced seminar.”
“Does it have anything to do with the other class she took?”
Arc shakes his head. “I don’t think so. That was a basic cooking class.”
Hammer raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“The description advertised cooking techniques for simple but healthy recipes.”
“But Mio does all the cooking! Are you sure your guys didn’t switch the names in their reports?!”
Arc taps the photos on the table. “A picture’s worth a thousand words.”
He pulls out another photo and hands it over.
“This one beats them all though.”
Hammer gasps as she sees Stingray stirring a pot and talking to what appears to be the course’s instructor. She drops the photo on the table and sighs.
“I just don’t get it. Why would she do all that stuff?”
“My guys weren’t able to figure that one out. She left after the class and drove back to the apartment I met her and Mio. However, I do have a theory.”
“Oh?”
“Tell me, have you ever seen Stingray with a man?”
Hammer frowns. “What kind of man?”
“Anyone really.”
“No, never. Like she said when you met her, we pretty much keep to ourselves. After all, I’m the most outgoing. But what does that have to do with anything?”
“Manners, etiquette, speech, knitting and sewing, and now cooking. Sounds like the skills a wife back in the old days would have.”
“What are you saying?”
“Maybe she’s trying to make herself more… ladylike. Portraying wife-like qualities and…”
Hammer slams a fist down on the table. “That’s crazy!”
“You have a better theory?”
Hammer sighs. “No.”
They are silent for a time as Hammer shakes her head and thinks.
“Anything else?”
Arc nods as he pulls out a piece of paper. “Just the contents of the bags in her trunk.”
“From the knitting store?”
“Yes. They were filled with yarn, thread, fabric, knitting needles, and books on advanced sewing techniques.”
He pauses before continuing.
“They theorized that she was trying to make a dress from the literature found in the trunk.”
“What should I do?!”
“Excuse me?”
Hammer appears to trip over her words. “I mean… do I say something?!”
“Didn’t you believe they were up to something originally?”
“Of course! But not like THIS?!”
She scans the pictures one more time.
“This is beyond what I thought could even be remotely possible!”
“And you don’t know how to deal with it?”
“Right.”
Arc sighs. “If they went to all this trouble to keep it from everyone, you might do well to not say anything.”
“Nothing at all?”
Arc shakes his head. “What could confronting them about all of this do other than to make them angry? That and you’d have to tell them exactly how you learned all of this.”
“I…! I suppose that’s true. But I can’t help but think there’s more to it than this.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. They’ve been really secretive at work too. I kinda thought it had something to do with what they do off the clock. But now I’m not so sure.”
Hammer stands up and walks over to a drawer. Opening it she pulls out an envelope and hands it to Arc.
“In any case, here’s your pay for a job well done.”
Arc accepts the money and puts it into his pocket. Hammer looks nervous.
“Trouble is, I’m no closer to learning the truth. So… do you think you could take on another job for me?”
“Maybe. What’s it entail?”
Hammer sits down again and folds her hands on the table in front of her.
“Can I assume you’ll keep this just between us?”
Arc nods. “Always.”
“Good. Now then, here’s what I need done…”
An hour later Arc and Sereb return to the Jeep. Getting in, Arc turns the key in the ignition and drives away. Ember wakes up and frowns.
“What the…?! You’re in a hurry, Arc!”
“Yes.”
“Care to say why?”
Sereb turns to her. “There’s been a breakthrough.”
Arc nods soberly. “We’ll talk about it back at home. You there, Viktor?”
“Yes sir.”
“Contact the others and tell them to pack the campsite up.”
“It’s a bit late in the day for that, sir.”
“Just do it.”
“I’ll take care of it, sir.”
“Good. Is Dinky in bed?”
“Yes sir. She and Auriel retired to your room two hours ago. Shall I wake them?”
Arc shakes his head. “No. Let them sleep.”
A short time later he pulls into the driveway. The trio hurries inside through the rain. Dripping on the kitchen floor Arc turns to Ember.
“I’m heading over to help pack up and get everyone back here.”
Ember appears surprised. “But what about watching the base?”
“We don’t need to anymore.”
“What?”
“I have a plan. Trust me.”
Arc opens a portal and hurries through. Ember turns to Sereb as it closes.
“What is this all about?”
Sereb grins. “A stroke of luck for a change. But Arc really should be the one to tell you about it.”
Ember looks hopeful. “Can I get a hint?”
“No.”
A short time later a portal opens in Arc’s basement. His squad trudges through, dripping water everywhere as Arc and Rose bring up the rear. Max looks down and nervously turns to his commanding officer.
“Sorry, sir.”
Hugh nods. “We’ll clean it up.”
Arc shrugs as he himself stands in a puddle. “It’s just water. Sorry for getting everyone out of that dry tent and into a deluge.”
Rose smiles as she stands with the others, soaked to the bone. “Not to worry. I was already sitting outside.”
Arc sighs. “That makes me feel worse about it. But you won’t have to do that anymore, Rose. None of you will.”
Viktor raises an eyebrow. “Sir?”
“Everyone get cleaned up and into some dry clothes. We need to have a briefing.”
Xenos turns to Arc. “Sir? We don’t mind, but are you sure?”
Hugh nods as he looks at the clock. “It’s the middle of the night.”
Sereb growls. “This news cannot wait until morning.”
Max nods approvingly. “The commander’s meeting must’ve gone well then.”
Arc grins as he heads upstairs for dry clothes. “Better than you know.”
A short time later Arc descends the basement stairs. His squad, Ember, Sereb, and Rose are waiting for him around the table. Rose is the first to speak.
“We’re all very interested to hear the new developments, Arc.”
“Yes, well… first of all I have to apologize again for having everyone out in that rain. But when you hear what I have to say I do believe you’ll agree that it was worth it.”
Ember drums the tabletop impatiently. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense!”
“Alright.”
Arc takes a deep breath before continuing.
“As you all know, I’ve been… seeing Hammer lately. My plan was to use her as a source of information for our upcoming mission.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Crazy as it sounds.”
Arc nods. “I agree with you, Ember.”
“You do?”
“Yes. That plan was foolhardy and misguided.”
Rose shakes her head. “I don’t believe that for a moment, Arc.”
Max nods soberly. “Right, sir. If you thought Hammer knew something that could help us, we’re all for the plan.”
Xenos appears confused. “Yeah. Is that what this meeting is about?”
“It is. But first…”
Arc turns to Rose.
“Were you able to pin down any kind of a schedule for the trucks?”
Rose shakes her head. “No. They appeared to be completely random. The base commander must’ve taken infiltration into account when they made the schedule.”
Max sighs. “So there’s no way to accurately predict a delivery?”
“None, I’m afraid.”
Hugh snaps his fingers. “We could always wait by the side of the road.”
Xenos frowns. “And do what? Hitchhike?”
Sereb shakes his head. “As fast as this land’s vehicles move, I do not see the advantage of lying in wait for one.”
Arc chuckles. “Fortunately, we won’t have to.”
Rose looks to Arc, clearly surprised. “Oh?”
“I know when the trucks will be arriving.”
Ember gasps. “What?! How?!”
“Hammer told me.”
Viktor grins knowingly. “It really was a beautiful mission, sir.”
Sereb nods. “I agree. You had her eating out of your palm, my friend.”
Arc pulls a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolds it. Setting it down on the table the others stare at it. Xenos gasps.
“A schedule?!”
“Straight from the base to Hammer and now to me.”
Max grins. “So now that we know when the trucks are coming, what now?”
Hugh looks to Arc, hopefully. “We hijacking one?”
“Not exactly. After all, I don’t see the soldiers giving up and just handing it over to us.”
Viktor puts a hand to his chin. “What if we got the jump on them?”
Sereb chuckles. “The element of surprise is a powerful tool.”
“That may be. But we can’t hurt anyone.”
Ember raises an eyebrow, confused. “Uh… why not?”
“Well, for starters… it’s illegal.”
Ember clenches a fist. “So is kidnapping the princess!”
Max sighs. “If we were to outright attack the soldiers wouldn’t the police come after us?”
Xenos shudders. “Or the rest of the military?”
Arc nods. “Right. That and the rank and file soldiers probably don’t have any idea what it is they’re guarding.”
Max frowns. “How?!”
“I’m guessing only the highest ranking officers there know anything. That and a select group of researchers who have the highest security clearance.”
Rose nods stoically. “So we can’t hurt anyone. There has to be another way to do this.”
“Right. We just need to get myself and Auriel inside.”
Xenos turns to him. “What about the way you did it last time, sir?”
Rose shakes her head. “Unwise. If they believe someone breeched their defenses using a particular method of entry it’ll certainly be more carefully watched.”
Sereb nods. “Or even be made into a trap.”
Max sighs. “So it has to be a completely different way of getting in.”
Hugh chuckles. “Like the front gate, sir?”
“Exactly. That’s why I was so insistent that we figure out the truck schedule. There has to be a way for us to use that to gain entry.”
Hugh looks hopeful. “What about waiting for the truck and Blinking inside as it passes, sir?”
Rose shakes her head. “Arc already suggested that to me. The trucks block all attempts at scans. I can only assume they’re made, or at least coated, with some kind of anti-magic material.”
Ember shudders. “So if Arc tries to Blink in he’ll be stopped?”
Arc grimaces. “Maybe catastrophically. Remember what happened with I tried to Blink through the barrier around Light’s Hope during the summit?”
Sereb puts a paw over his face. “That appeared… painful.”
Max gasps. “It’d also blow your cover if the driver noticed, sir!”
“Right. Now, I’ve come up with the beginnings of a plan that would get us inside again.”
Rose appears apprehensive. “Is it dangerous?”
“Kinda, yes.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”
“It’s the best I’ve come up with thus far. In any case, here’s the plan…”