Ryan pumped his fist. “Gotcha! Take that, you weak-ass security system, haha!”
He flicked through the security cameras to ensure that nobody was going to interrupt Levitan during their escape. There was that guy who was just outside the cell, but Ryan was sure that he wouldn’t be a problem. He was barely above an intern, and he was tiny… well, compared to Levitan, everybody was tiny.
There was a knock on the window of the car.
Uh-oh. Police officer.
Ryan cranked down the window and grinned haplessly, leaning out the window to obscure the view of his equipment. “What seems to be the trouble, officer?” he asked in his sweetest Texan accent.
“You can’t park here,” he said.
Ryan’s heart was thudding. He resisted the urge to look at the screens, but with one hand he turned down his police scanner.
This looked super sketchy, to be honest. Two laptops cobbled together from old parts, a radio, and a weird, gawky teenaged kid sitting next to them with an enormous amount of fast food in the front seat.
“Uh, I’m waitin’ for someone.”
The officer glanced at the equipment he had. “Why did you park here?”
“Um… they had to go to a meeting.”
“This late at night?”
“... Yep.”
“I see.” The officer folded his arms. “When will they be back?”
Ryan checked his watch. “Well, hopefully in less than twenty minutes, or I’ll be in real trouble. Plus, I’d have to put more money in the parking meter and I’m outta quarters.”
The officer folded his arms. “Is the person you’re waiting for your mom or your dad?”
“Um… no?”
“Guardian?”
“They’re doing a shit job of it, but yes.”
The cop gave a long-winded sigh. “Listen, kid… I’m gonna stay right here until your guardian gets back, then we need to have a long talk about leaving underaged people in a parked car in the middle of the night, and they’re getting a ticket.”
“They’ve only been gone for five minutes, and I’m fifteen. I can take care o’ myself. Just leave the ticket.”
The officer scowled at him. “I don’t like your tone of voice.”
“Um.” Ryan was acutely aware of how sweaty his forehead was. “Sorry, sir?”
“Open up the car, let me see what you got, there.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Nope. No can do.”
“Why?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Ryan reached into his pocket and locked his hand around the little cannister.
“Really,” said the police officer flatly.
“Really! This is your last chance.”
The police officer didn’t move. “Listen, kid. I’m not gonna mo-”
“Suit yourself!” Ryan whipped out the spray can and covered his mouth with his t-shirt. He aimed it at the cop and sprayed anesthetic spray at his face.
His eyes rolled back into his head and he crumpled.
Ryan quickly rolled up the window of the car. “Dumbass. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He put his headset back on and returned to his laptops.
Levitan had a difficult time processing what they were seeing, at first. They blinked and rubbed their eyes on the heels of their palms to make sure they weren’t hallucinating.
The door was open.
The.
Door.
Was.
Open.
The scientist looked just as shocked as they did. He hadn’t touched it. He had no idea how the locks just magically opened. Had they been hacked? What the hell was going on?
Levitan looked him over. They took a step forward, outside of their cell, and took a deep breath.
The kid’s shocked look turned to one of petrified terror. His eyes were wide and frightened behind his square-framed glasses. His knees were shaking, and he clutched at his notepad with trembling hands. He seemed unable to move an inch.
Levitan inspected their fingers, putting up a show of being casual about this new development. Blood was still under their nails, and they were bitten down to the quick. “I don’t suppose you were the one who opened this door for me as a show of your good will towards humankind?”
The kid floundered a little. “I… uh… that is to say…”
“Mmhmm, didn’t think so.” Levitan looked down the hallway in both directions, scratching the back of their neck. This place was a maze. How the hell were they going to find their way out of here without making a fuss?
The scientist tried to back away from them.
Levitan got an idea. They popped their knuckles. “If you would be so kind as to show me the exit?”
Akio took another tiny step backwards. Before he could move any farther, Levitan seized the front of his shirt and pulled him off his feet.
Akio wasn’t tall to begin with, but Subject Seventeen was a giant. He guessed that they must be at least six feet tall, maybe more. Up close, he could see every hardened line on their face, their shaggy blonde hair, and the scar across the bridge of their nose. Their hands seemed as big as dinner plates, and their canines looked just a little bit too sharp to be human. It seemed like they barely had to put in any effort to lift him by the front of his shirt.
“Show. Me. The. Exit, ” they said. “Or so help me god, I will break your neck right now.”
“Nng! No, don’t! I need that!” His feet kicked uselessly in the air. “L-let me go!”
“For a wise guy, you sure are a dumbass.” Subject Seventeen dropped him gracelessly on the ground.
Akio fell to his knees before bolting back up to his feet. He tried to take a step to get away from Levitan, but they’d seized him and twisted his arm behind his back.
“Lead the way, pint-sized,” they growled into his ear.
Ryan watched Levitan through the security cameras. He slurped noisily at his coke while disengaging security systems with his other hand. Yeah, he could multitask. He was just that cool.
The unconscious police officer still lay on the sidewalk. Ryan was now wearing his hat. He should be out cold for another hour at least.
It was going… smoothly. Levitan had this scrawny guy’s arm in a death grip, he was guiding them through the hallways. They hadn’t been noticed, yet.
They moved offscreen, and Ryan hit another button or two, moving on to the next security camera. He choked on his drink and coughed, thumping himself in the chest.
Oh. Oh shit.
There was someone else in the hallway.
