When Pandas Fly

Chapter 14 - Toilet Plungers and Sir Bob

He had reached a small door at the end of a corridor. It was pushed open slightly, sunlight seeping through. Hunter opened the door fully, and was surprised to see that the ground plummeted before his feet. Gripping the doorway, he leaned forward slightly, seeing that he was at the side of the building, the ground about 30 stories below him. A grin made its way on his face as he turned around and began to dig in his backpack.

"C'mon, c'mon, I know you're in here," he was mumbling. "Ah ha!" he said at last, pulling out two plungers. Now, these weren't just everyday plungers; they were high tech suction cups with a giant stick attached to the end.

Hunter smiled sadly to himself. "Ah, Theon, you smart little devil." Standing straight, he prepared himself for the climb, descent rather, and held on to a plunger in each hand. He sat on the ledge of the door frame so that his legs were dangling off of the precipice. He stared out into the open sky, seeing only white ground for miles. He looked down once again, and in a swift motion, jumped and turned around.

He was now on the outside of the building and under the doorway, dangling 300 feet in the air.

Slowly and steadily, he began his descent, gripping the handles of the plungers so tightly that his knuckles turned white. After a few moments, he reached the top of a window ledge, and he decided to take a break. He sat on the rough brick and took out the walkie talkie that he stole from the guards.

After pressing a few buttons, pieces of a conversation flowed out through the speakers.

"I . . . tell I promise . . . I think I . . . help you," the person was saying. Hunter smiled, recognizing the voice.

-----🌏-----

"Help us?" the man scoffed. "How ever would you manage that?" He had regained some of his composure, and had returned back to his arrogant, prestigious self. Autumn gave him a quick once-over, observing the tiny little details to give her a better idea about this stranger.

He was tall and tan with bright blue eyes, a stark contrast to his jet black hair. His suit seemed new, with no wrinkle or blemish in sight. His hand was tucked discreetly in his pocket, but the wedding ring on his finger was peeking through. He looked quite young, probably in his late twenties.

Autumn let her gaze shift to the other man, the opposite of the first. He was short and fat, his hair a dirty blonde and his eyes a dark brown. Unlike the first man, he seemed more aged, probably in his fifties. His eyes looked sullen, with dark circles under them.

Once her inspection was complete, she looked back up at the younger man, and looked at him disapprovingly.

"You know," she began, "for someone with such a high level of importance, you seem to have a low level of intelligence." The man gaped at her, most likely because no one had ever spoken to him such a way before. "I get it. 'I'm just a kid.' I know. But you underestimate me, sir. Bob? Is that your name? You look like a Bob-"

"It's Dylan."

"-so I'm going to call you Bob," she finished. Autumn walked over to a desk on the left side of the room, and plopped on top of it. "Alright, Bob, let me spell this out for you. I'm important. I'm Autumn Ley, a savior or something, I dunno." Dylan's eyes widened with this new information. "Anyways, I'm practically untouchable. It's not like anyone's gonna kill me anytime soon. So, yeah, I can help you. Honestly, you can even come with me; me and my friend can help you two get out of here. But I'm gonna need something in return."

After a long moment of silence, the other man finally spoke. "What do you want? We'll do anything," he begged. "Just please get us out of here."

Autumn spoke, her plan going into action. "Of course I'll help you, Brad."

Dylan narrowed his eyes. "His name is Harry."

Autumn glared at him and continued on. "Whatever. Anyways, I need you to tell me where Theon is. And I need you to help me get him out."

The two men shared a glance. Dylan rubbed the back of his neck before responding. "Um...I'm not too sure we can help you with that."

"Why not?" Autumn asked, frowning and crossing her arms.

Harry sighed. "We may be high ranking officials, but Caldwell doesn't trust us that much."

"We don't have clearance," Dylan added. "Apparently it's a special circumstance and only his two co-commanders know the details about the whole situation."

Autumn frowned deeper, not happy with their responses. "Surely you know some information, right?" she pressed. "I mean, you've got to know where he is at least."

"Well, I think I have a pretty good idea of where he is," Dylan admitted, "but it's purely a guess. Nothing I know about Theon is definitive."

Despite the vague answer, Autumn's face brightened. "Wonderful! You can help me find Theon!"

He paled. "No no no, I really don't thi-"

"We should get a few supplies first, but then we'll be off," Autumn continued, disregarding Dylan's objections.

"Damn it, girl, can't you listen?" Harry growled, exasperated. "We can't help you! And even if we could, there's no guarantee that you'll help us back."

Autumn groaned and slid off the desk so she was standing. "Didn't I already tell you, Harry? I'm a savior. People literally go out of their was to protect me. I can waltz through this place without a scratch. If your with me, you could do it too."

A long silence followed and she could see the gears turning in their heads. The men shared a quick glance before Dylan finally turned to her.

"Fine."

Dylan and Harry, huh? Thoughts...? :)