The weather had turned bad by the time we got into position. Storm clouds swept over the city, and the wind was running at forty knots. There was rain on the way—even a chance of hail.
All the better for us.
We were standing on the roof of the Wieldsor Building. It was just another skyscraper in the heart of Manhattan, but vital to us because it was right across the road from Ravana's building. Thanks to Dan, the electrical substation that controlled this side of town was out of commission. He was able to project a piece of metal into the heart of the substation, knocking out power to an eight-block city grid.
We were pleased with our efforts until we realized we still needed to get to the roof of the Roxton Building, and now we had to do it without elevators. That meant walking up thirty flights of stairs. Even for young, fit teenagers like ourselves, it was a struggle, and our legs were jelly by the time we reached the roof.
'You couldn't just fly us up here?' Dan asked.
I shook my head. 'Too risky,' I said. 'The lesser the chance that people see me, the better.'
Anyone with a cell phone was a journalist, and I wanted to stay off YouTube for as long as possible.
The distance between the buildings was around fifty feet. Back in the park, I'd practiced lifting Dan and Brodie into the air and landing again. While I wouldn't carry both at the same time, I was able to keep two of us aloft at once. I'd hang onto the other person and extend the flying platform under both of us. It wasn't stylish at all. It was more like rolling down the road on a surfboard on wheels.
Now it started to rain, a driving, torrential downpour driven by high winds. It was a nuisance, but at least it created another diversion, and we needed all the help we could get. First, I flew Brodie across to the other building. It was windy, but we made it across without incident. By the time I returned for Dan, the wind seemed to have worsened, and it took all my concentration to get us across.
Even then, the landing was a little rough, but I could live with that. We reached the stairway door leading down from the roof.
'Dan, we need the door open,' I told him.
'Gotcha,' he replied.
It took him longer than expected. The driving wind and rain didn't help. Finally, the lock broke, and the door swung loose in the wind, and we crowded into the darkened stairwell. The only lighting was an emergency exit sign above the door. With the power out, it had to be driven by a generator or stored solar energy.
'I don't hear an alarm,' Brodie said.
'Hopefully, there isn't one,' I said.
We made our way down the stairs. Fortunately, the floor numbers were marked in big letters. Reaching the twenty-fifth floor, we hesitated at the door, listening for movement on the other side.
Silence.
That didn't mean there wasn't a guard on the other side. There could have been a squad of them for all we knew. We just had to take a chance. Dan focused on forcing the lock open. He did it as quietly as possible, but it still sounded like a car crash in the silent stairwell. Brodie eased it open, peered through, and waved us after her. That was as far as our plan reached. We had no idea as to the layout of this place. All we had was a vague idea from Dan that the teenagers were being held on the other side of the building.
We crept down the corridor and turned left into another passageway. We were halfway down it when two guys exited a doorway. They turned away from us, but at the last instant, one of them must have spotted us from the corner of his eye because he stopped and started towards us.
Brodie moved.
It took her about two seconds to cover the distance between them and us. She knocked one guy's head against the other, and they went down in an untidy pile. It was like something out of The Three Stooges.
Both the guys were seriously armed; they had handguns, batons, and mace. We dragged them into a side room before continuing down the corridor. After a moment, Dan held up a hand.
'I can feel them,' he said, rubbing his head. 'They're close—and in pain.'
I remembered Ravana, and the hatred bubbled up inside me.
Later, I thought. Now we need to focus.
Reaching a T-intersection, Brodie peered around the corner. The faint sound of a door closing was followed by receding footsteps.
'I got a glimpse of the room those guys just left,' she whispered. 'It's a room with about a dozen guards inside. If we can trap them …'
She looked at Dan.
'Consider it done,' he said. 'They don't call me Metal Boy for nothing.'
'Nobody calls you Metal Boy,' I pointed out, but he ignored me.
Seconds later, Dan had melted the lock, and we were scurrying away, but that was as far as our luck held. Turning into the next corridor, we heard a commotion as someone tried to exit the room.
'We'd better hurry,' Brodie said.
We turned another corner—and ran into two security guards. I threw up a shield as they produced their weapons.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They started firing, but the bullets bounced off, ricocheting into the side walls. Dan focused on their weapons as we advanced. The barrels of their guns bent back on themselves. One of the guys didn't notice, and his gun blew up in his hand. I dropped the barrier, Brodie took over, and soon we were stepping over their unconscious bodies.
'Remind me never to argue with you,' I said to her.
We kept moving.
Ah-ha!
Around the next corner was a heavily fortified metal door.
'We've got to move!' I said. 'Come on, Dan—uh, Metal Boy!'
Dan grunted with effort, and the door flew off its hinges. Beyond it, we saw a line of guys protecting another door. They immediately opened fire, but I already had my shield up. Bullets flew everywhere. There were six of them with guns versus the three of us.
They didn't stand a chance.
Dan turned his attention to the next door—another metal barrier that took him even less time to remove from its frame. He was getting better at this all the time. It hit the ground with a crash. A glass chamber beyond contained a cell holding two teenagers: a girl and a guy, both with blonde hair—a brother and sister, maybe about my age.
A figure with a gun appeared.
Ravana.
The gun in his hand was aimed directly at my chest. Brodie moved like lightning, pushing me aside, but she still wasn't fast enough.
I still felt the impact as the bullet slammed into me.