Daughter of the Hero

Chapter 10; Another Stray Mission

Lillian

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Malco had put it simple; get to the city, find the government building, and take it over so we could broadcast what Areos did to Conner. It might be enough to convince them that he needed to be stopped—maybe. 

People don't usually like things that make them uncomfortable, and seeing your hero do something unforgivable to a kid is something that would make anyone uncomfortable. 

Still, it needed to be done. We needed to try. 

It wasn't as simple as Malco said. 

"Quick, over here," Jerard said, motioning with his free hand. The other was wrapped tightly around the pole holding up the antenna. 

I grabbed his hand and pulled myself up onto the tower with him. Clumsily, I used my fingers to unlock the box that would give us access to the broadcasting system. 

"Are you sure these will work?" I asked as I stuck the small black devices onto the big electrical box that blinked green and red at me. 

Jerard nodded. "I built them, of course they work."

I gave him a look, and he chuckled. "Yes, they work. We tested them.. Now hurry up, we've got to get to phase two." 

Phase two would be the hardest part. 

"Yes, yes, I know." I clicked the spare wires into place and shut the box, locking it again. "Now we'll have access for future plans, too." 

Jerard grinned. "I know. Aren't I a genius?" 

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes but gave him a matching grin. "Maybe a little." 

In truth, he really was a genius. He could build anything from scrap metal and a few batteries and was literally the smartest person I'd ever met. It amazed me how his mind worked sometimes.

"Okay, done," I said, beginning the climb down from the middle of the tower. We were so high up that I thought I might puke. 

I hated heights, which was really ironic considering who I'd been paired with. 

"One step at a time," He replied, sticking another small green box onto the outside. His eyes were mischievous as they met mine. "Now they'll think this is what hacked into their system. Honestly, they should keep it more protected, considering it's a literal capital building." 

I rolled my eyes again. "Okay, smart guy. Let's go, we've got things to do." 

He huffed but started climbing down after me. Once our feet hit solid ground, I allowed myself one steadying breath before lying on the concrete roof and hanging my head over the side. 

"God, I'm gonna throw up," I groaned as I saw exactly how high we were. 

"Naw, simply don't," Jerard said behind me. I shot him a glare before refocusing on the window two stories below us. 

Stretching my arms, I slowly wiggled open the window before reaching inside and grabbing hold of something stable. It felt like the ceiling had a pole running along the top, but I couldn't be sure. 

"Hold on," I said, feeling Jerard's arms wrap around my waist. I flipped myself over the roof, dragging us both down. 

Stretching again, I almost overshot and faceplanted into the wall of the capital building of Verning, but luckily I pulled up before doing that. Jerard and I both went sailing through the window, straight into the heart of enemy territory. 

Immediately I felt a gust of cold air and slid to the side before a blast of ice could glue me to the wall. My eyes followed the blueish-white air to a blading fat man in a suit, standing before his desk with his arms outstretched. 

I shot a punch right to his face and watched as my fist connected perfectly with his chin. He went down, and I turned to the rest of the room, fists upraised. 

"Everyone stay calm," I said loudly as Jerard blasted a few security officers backward down the hall to my left. "We're only gonna be here for a few minutes, just let us do our thing and no one gets hurt." 

"Villians!" A woman screamed. Before I could punch her, Jerard blasted her and she went toppling out the still-open window. 

"Oops," He said. 

"Yeah," I replied as I ran to the window and used my arms to catch her before she hit the ground. "Oops." 

We shared a look once the woman was safely back inside. I stared her down before asking, "So, villains who save lives, huh?" 

Her lip quivered, but she didn't say anything. 

I snorted. "'Course not. How could villains be anything but bad, right?" 

I left her there and continued with Jerard down the right hallway towards the stairwell, where we took two steps at a time to get to the top floor. 

We burst through the room to find Malco already standing beside the camera, filming Conner and Cyprus as they made their remarks. 

"You two are late," Malco whispered as I went to stand beside him. 

"We got caught up saving some idiot's life," I replied. 

He snorted. "did they deserve it?" 

"No," I said quietly, more to myself than to him. "But we aren't monsters." 

"No," He echoed, equally as soft. "We're not." 

Just as Conner finished his speech, showing all sides of his face in the bright stage lights, the door that I'd locked from the inside burst open. 

Five bodies flooded into the room. Security officers dressed head-to-toe in protective gear glared at us. 

I smirked at Malco. "We got this." 

He grinned back, fingers curling. "Oh yeah."

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The broadcast didn't work. 

It was the most annoying thing in the world to put the truth right in front of someone and have them blatantly ignore it for comfort. And that was exactly what the people of our neighboring city were doing. 

It aggravated me to the point of screaming. I stopped myself just in time to not scare Illia. 

"My people," Areos said on the television. His face was molded into one of kindness mixed with hurt. Innocence. It made me sick. "I promise you these allegations are false, in every way. I would never hurt someone unless they were hurting others, and I would never do that to a child, much less that child. We all know of Conner, who joined forces with Malco when he was only fourteen. Is that a boy who can be trusted to tell the truth? To not spin the story in a way that helps his master? No, it is not. I urge you, please do not turn on me for something I did not do." 

Malco stood abruptly, turning off the T.V. "God, that snake." 

"He's an asshole, what else is there to be said?" Conner said, shrugging. I could tell it hurt him that the people didn't believe him, but he had been through too much to show it on his face or let it show in his voice. 

"Asshole," Illia echoed from the carpet. 

We all paused, looking at her for a split second before laughing. 

"She said it!" Cyprus barked, holding a hand to her stomach as she wheezed. "She said it!" 

"You're right, sweetheart," Malco said, bending down to be eye-level with the child. His gentleness with her was something I'd never seen in his before. "He is an asshole. We don't want to be like him, so we aren't. You're right, though. Don't be like him, sweetheart." 

Illia shook her head, a silent promise to never become like her father. 

I could only hope she remembered that promise when she got older. I don't think I could take watching her go back to her father and fighting against us, by his side. The very thought made me nauseous.