Horizon

Chapter 36

I gave up trying to figure out why Kyle's name had a ring to it. For some reason, the answer was floating around my mind, but deciding to elude me. Thomas told me to calm down, as well. He could tell that I was putting too much stress on my brain.

"Stop worrying," Thomas grumbled as we trudged through the forest. "Whatever you're thinking; it'll come to you."

I nodded, and tried my best to focus on what we had to do next. We were just a few minutes away from CIA headquarters. All that we had to do was get into our positions, and stick to the plan. If we could stick to the plan, then everything would go perfectly...or so I thought. There were too many unknown variables to make the plan fail-proof.

"So Ian," I muttered, grabbing onto the snow-leopard's shoulder. "Do you remember your part of the plan?"

Ian shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me. "It's a pretty simple plan, Hank."

"Go over it one more time," I replied. "Amuse me."

Ian sighed tiredly, and elaborated his part of the plan. "Once I'm near the building, I'll change back into my human self. I'll need to look as presentable as possible, without letting down the thought that I could still be a threat. I'll walk into the main entrance, and immediately start hitting on the receptionist. I'll try to get attention from security, but if they try to detain me, then I'll bail."

"Why are we making Ian do this?" Avery asked while scratching her head.

"Because as a human, he's more handsome than all of us," Thomas replied with a chuckle. "He'll have a better chance at grabbing a receptionist's attention."

"Oh shut it," Avery snorted. "You're just saying that because he's..."

Thomas turned around and gave Avery a discerning look. "He's what?"

Avery immediately burst into a stammering blunder, "Well...I uh...I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine Avery. We just want all eyes on Ian, while we rummage through other people's things," I interrupted. "Let's go over your part of the plan."

"My job is to direct communications, and filter through the list of people named 'Kyle.' I'll let you know what floor, wing, and room number they're located," Avery answered, while looking down at the ground she was walking on.

"Good," I said, setting my paw onto her shoulder. "Thomas and I will search the building, based off the information you give us. Ian will keep the eyes of security focused on him, so we won't need to disable any cameras."

I glanced at the horizon, and could see the top of the building we knew all too well. As soon as I saw it, I kicked myself into gear. Rubbing my paws together, I prepared to stick my claws back into the brick walls and climb to the roof. I hoped that they didn't install any extra security measures after what we did to their stairwell doors.

"Alright Ian, we're close enough," Thomas muttered.

Ian threw his backpack a few feet in front of him, and faded back into his human form. He then reached into his bag, and pulled out a fairly wrinkled t-shirt. He presented himself in front of us, and gave us a look that asked what we thought.

"You couldn't have folded it?" I asked, leaning against a tree.

Thomas snorted into a chuckle, and snapped his tail towards me like a towel. "Ian looks like a douche-bag college boy with that shirt."