the departed heist | halloween special

XI

The door to the interrogation room burst open and Wu walked in to see Kai handcuffed to the table. The Red Ninja looked up, and spoke, his voice calm and controlled, "Sensei. Welcome to the endgame. Would you care to shake the hand of the man who defeated you?" He stood up, only to be yanked back by the handcuffs binding his wrists to the table. He collapsed back on the chair with a big groan, "Forgot I was wearing handcuffs, ohh that hurt!"

He laughed hysterically. Shutting the door, Wu seated himself opposite his student, and leaned back in his seat, his staff leaned against the wall just behind him, "Climbing the side of the building with a blowtorch. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I had better core strength." Kai shot back, "I got winded, like, ten feet up."

"I knew you wouldn't win the bet, but your performance tonight has made me question not only how good a ninja you are, but quite frankly, how smart you are."

Kai tilted his head, "Well, that's not surprising. You constantly underestimate me." Wu leaned forward, "No, you've been correctly estimated. You have five minutes until your deadline, and here you are, handcuffed to a table in a locked room."

"Which is precisely where I planned on being." Kai smirked as he watched Wu's face twist into a frown, "Sensei, let me tell you a little story. Do you remember when I fell through your ceiling?"

"Yes, that was six hours ago."

"It was, I admit, a disastrous failure. But it gave me the idea for Herman, the friendly janitor you met. With Herman, I commenced the perfect crime."

"I caught you as Herman." Kai's eyes gleamed at Wu's statement, waiting to drop the bombshell.

"But you didn't catch Nya."

FLASHBACK

"Come out of there."  Kai groaned and plastered a smile on his face as he headed out. Meanwhile, Nya was crouched in front of the cabinet, twisting a bobby pin and a safety clip in the keyhole. There was a click, and the door slid open.

END FLASHBACK

"As it turns out, my dear baby sister is great at picking locks."

Wu nodded, "It does not surprise me."

"No, me neither," Kai stated in agreement, "Of course, I had to find a way to get her out of your office unseen. So...I created a diversion. Not mistimed, perfectly timed, so she could escape unseen."

FLASHBACK

Reaching into his pocket, Kai pressed the big red button on the remote he had hidden within his disguise. The bin caught on fire, catching Wu's gaze. During that time, Nya slipped away, exchanging a quick nod with her brother as she disappeared around the corner.

END FLASHBACK

"What about the pigeons?" Wu asked. Kai shrugged, "The grey pigeons? They were just a red herring, thank you. Their only purpose was to draw you into the copy room while two members of my team broke into your office."

FLASHBACK

"Sensei, hi! I was just...using the toilet."

As Kai bluffed, Cole was stood outside Wu's room, gently tugging on a rope as he lowered Pixal into the room, as she unlocked the window, before letting herself be lifted up into the ceiling again.

END FLASHBACK

"So now, I had a way into your office...and an open cabinet. All that was left was for the Royal Babies to steal your keys."

Wu nodded, "Yes, but you didn't need the keys. The cabinet was already unlocked. You needed a way into the safe."

"And I got one." Kai responded smartly, straightening up, "You were so concerned with getting your keys back, you didn't even notice Cole stealing your phone. I then had Jay dust your screen cover for prints."

FLASHBACK

As the Royal Babies waltzed around, Cole slipped past, sneaking Wu's phone out of his pocket, before peeling the screen protector off and handing it to Jay, who brushed the dark grey powder all over the cover, before holding it to the light:

3-1-9-0

END FLASHBACK

"The greasiest smudges revealed the four numbers you use the most: the four numbers in your passcode." Kai explained, "Based on your advanced age, I assumed that you use the same passcode for everything: your phone, your email, and of course, your safe."

The elderly man nodded sheepishly, "That...would be a fair assumption."

The porcupine nodded, "And that brings us to five minutes ago, when Pixal came to your office and told you that I had been arrested. I knew she's the only one you would believe, as she is too 'mature' to take part in these things. And as you walked over here, Lloyd awkwardly stuffed himself through your open window and opened your safe. We had the four numbers of your code, which meant there were 24 possible combinations for him to try. That could take up to four minutes, which is why I really dragged out this explanation. I mean, really stretched it. I don't know if you noticed, but there were times when I was like, 'What am I even talking about? This isn't-' oh." Kai paused as his watch beeped, before smirking, "But now, four minutes is up. Which means Lloyd is either on the other side of that door holding your scroll...or I've lost."

Wu stood up and went to the door, before pulling open the handle to see Lloyd smirking as he held up the scroll. Kai silently cheered, as Lloyd spoke, "Well, uncle, it seems that Kai isn't the only person you underestimated-" Wu took the scroll and slammed the door in Lloyd's face, before turning to face Kai, who stared at his watch, "20 seconds to spare. Game over, Sensei. Check me."

"I think you mean 'Checkmate.' You really need to learn how to play chess. How did you get everyone to help you?"

"I appealed to their sense of teamwork and camaraderie with a rousing speech that would put Shakespeare to shame."

FLASHBACK

Kai stood on the table, one leg hitched up as he called out in a Scottish accent, "For too long, we've been put down, ridiculed, made to serve tea! But no more! For today, we defeat him!"

END FLASHBACK

"And...did that work?" Wu inquired. Kai shook his head, "No, no, no. Not at all. My speech did not inspire them. So I bribed them. I told them that if we pulled this off, I'd cover a night patrol for each of them. And since you're doing my patrol shifts..." He trailed off, knowing Wu would understand.

"I'm impressed, Kai. Well done."

"Thank you, Sensei." As Wu opened the door, he was ambushed by Lloyd who was still talking, "In fact, the thing that you failed to see, uncle, teamwork is exactly..."

"Sensei?" Kai glanced up as he looked at his chained wrists, "Master? He's not coming back."