The Runaways: K.A.O.

IX

  "That video was supposedly us right? That means the KAO's, they know we're here." I said. 

"Okay. Those droids know we're coming." He placed his chin on his hand. 

"It's a trap." I nodded. "They think since we seen the video, we're going to try and enter from the back which is where they'll ambush us." 

"But if they know we'll think like that, wouldn't they wait to ambush us from the front?" Thompson said which broke my train of thought. 

"And if they think we know that, we could get through the back? But what if that was the trap itself?" I said. 

  We continued to throw our opinions back and forth, we couldn't figure out a reasonable way to get in. Our doubts continued to fill our mind. In the midst of thinking, I looked out the window. The sky was already back to the orange haze which proved nightfall wasn't far. 

"Maybe their trap was to keep us here?" I sighed. 

"This may possibly be their best diversion." He also sighed. 

"Wait!" I remembered the drive inside of me. "This is perfect, we're going to save our friends right now." The night sky would be a perfect disguise. 

"Right now?" He questioned. 

"Right now." I grew stubborn. 

  I stood up, I didn't have much to offer as a fight. My shoes were soaking wet, my clothes were air-dried, I was injured and a human girl. Why did someone like me matter to droids that could destroy the world?

  I was the daughter of Vincent Kariano. 

"Put these on." Thompson walked up to me with tennis shoes that looked just about my size. 

"Thanks." They felt a bit tight, but once I broke them in, it wouldn't matter. 

    I turned around and grabbed the scissors off the floor, from when I first met Thompson. The slightly damp sleeves were annoying, so I cut them off as best as I could. With the sleeves missing, I ripped the shirt seams down to navel-level. I stretched out my arms and my legs. 

"So the point of ripping your shirt was?" Thompson stared at me with a raised eyebrow. 

"Cotton t-shirts aren't exactly ideal to run in." I said. "Let's go." 

  We snuck back out through the back of the airplane and went towards the parking lot. It looked a lot cleaner and fuller, but Thompson's motorcycle stuck out like a sore thumb. We jumped on and began going in the opposite way of the harbor. 

  This would take us straight to the KAOs. 

"How fast does she go?" I asked. 

"You've seen her fastest." He answered back. 

"Okay. You think we can get there at that speed?"

"I'll see." He revved the bike and it took off, honestly it felt faster than it did earlier. 

  The damaged road slowly became more suitable for drivers as we sped through the dark. Eventually, the brightly lit building came more and more into our sight. Thompson slowed the engine and we cruised past the building. He parked the motorcycle out of sight. 

"How do we get in?" I asked stepping off of the vehicle. 

"Remember that story you told me? You think we can get in like that?" He said. 

"No, I don't think that'll work with just two of us." I pondered. 

"We can't just waltz right in either." He said and the idea struck me. 

"At least not from the front door." I pointed towards the roof. 

"Bloody great, now we're going to spread wings aren't we?" He wasn't impressed. 

"Of course." I dragged towards the opposite side of the building, laying my head low so no one could see us. 

"How did you know this was here?" Thompson stood as I revealed a ladder. 

"Not exactly sure, I just assumed that if they have a roof, there's a ladder." 

"Yeah, but not on the outside?" 

"Guess we got lucky." I pulled at the ladder, which formed into a staircase we could climb up. 

    The building was so high, I could feel the exhaustion and burning sensation in my legs. Once we reached the top, the stairs snapped and rolled back into a ladder. The door led us to one part of the building, so our friends were likely in the other. The bridge that connected the two buildings was made of glass, so we had to be cautious of that revealing our spots. 

"It's locked." In the midst of me thinking, Thompson attempted to open the door. 

"Move." I kicked the doorknob, forcing the door to break and open. 

"Ace Nessie!" Thompson's face creased into a slight smile. 

  We walked in cautiously, the lights were dim on the higher levels and I could hear heavy footsteps. I didn't want to turn on any of the lights, it was too risky. It was risky enough from us not having light to see, but I didn't want to up our factors. 

"Over there." I pointed at a room across the hall, the door was open but the lights were off. It was screaming for us to go in there. 

  Once a pair of droids passed through, we dashed across the hall into the room. A red light from the computer beeped at us, soon making an alarm sound throughout the building. On instinct, we ducked down and tried to run back out the door. Before we could make it, the door slammed shut in our faces and locked. 

"Bloody great! Now how do we get out of here?" Thompson banged on the door. 

"Shh! I'm thinking!" We looked around the room, clear frustration on both of our faces. 

"Who's in there?" A nasally but tough voice yelled at the door, I could hear a crowd beginning outside the doors. 

  Now we're cornered.