Bring The Heat

81. Final Preparations

It was early morning of the day before the supposed attack, and tensions were high. Tenson and Mariah had been sent somewhere far out for a fake mission to keep them away; though he was reluctant to leave the compound, Tenson wanted to help however he could. Nicki went with them to make it seem more realistic, but intended to sneak back later on.

Wren was taking a little more convincing, refusing to leave Robin's side after how scary things were without her, but Robin insisted that she would get get her out in time.

Mint was still at the hospital from last night, having visited so that she could lie about Cece's conditions improving to lure Rebound to the hospital whilst the attack happened. It was unethical, but BM was still reeling from how careless he had been with the lives of children previously, and wasn't taking any chances.

He hunched over a table in his office with Dominic, analyzing a spread of all the information and preparations they had so far. Aziza, who Dominic had just met up with last evening, had told them that most of DV's crew was being kept somewhere else, and that whilst she was going to be making an appearance, this wasn't an all-out attack. This suggested that DV was handling multiple situations at once, something that both interested BM and worried him due to her confidence in this.

Supposedly, there would be 4 people attacking - DV, Twig, and two more men Aziza said she hadn't met before, but thought were likely to be defensive utility. It wasn't too much info, but it went a long way.

There was a sudden knock on the hatch.

"I'm done."

BM lifted the hatch and helped up Ben into the office.

"Well, you definitely feel heavier." he agreed.

"Stronger, too. Balances out."

Ben had been brought down to the basement to absorb all of the old, discarded machinery to give him as much metal as he'd ever need. Some of it was retired machinery built by Cece, which made it a little tough to say goodbye to - but BM knew she'd be glad to know that she was still helping in any way she could.

He sighed. Tomorrow, both sides would play their selected hands, ready to risk it all.

-(REBOUND)-

Rebound shot up out of bed, gasping for air and drenched with sweat. The money... his mind had been tracking it all over the city along the winding path of the taxi.

He had spent the entire previous evening in a dormant, meditative state, just feeling the location of the money, but must have slipped into a deep sleep at some point. And now, his body could no longer handle the continued use of his power, and had finally let go.

No hesitation. Rebound put on whatever clothes he could find, and threw on his jacket. But before he left the room...

...he turned, and looked over at his desk. A knife, stolen from the kitchen.

He wasn't even the one who reached out and grabbed it, it was the rage, it was the rage that slipped it into his pocket before he turned back and headed out of the compound.

Stomping through the hall towards the hangar, he crossed paths with Ben. Rebound didn't even look over. He was expecting Ben to ignore him, to continue shunning him like everyone had been. But he paused when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Appalled, his head twisted to glare, only to be met by a request spoken so much softer, so much more caring than he expected, or felt he deserved.

"Stop."

Shocked, Rebound tried to analyze the situation, before shrugging off Ben's hand and continuing forward.

"Please, stop."