September 15, 2014
6:52 AM

Senator John Henry Simmons, known to most of Washington as ‘The Elephant’, has announced his intention to join a march for equal marriage rights in Georgetown today. Though he stands against his party’s line on the subject, he has always been known for his strong views, regardless of whether they fit with the Republican leadership or not. His full statement will be aired, and discussed, on this morning’s Seven O’clock News.

~~~

The radio switched into an old-timey song as the advert for the news ended. “Ah, good old Elephant,” Dallas said. “Didn’t we rough up a scientist for that guy too?”

Wolf nodded, playing with a folding knife. “House even looks pretty similar. Perhaps it’s the same guy, researching stuff besides cold fusion now that he’s scared off it. Wouldn’t that be nice? Ah, nostalgia... Just like in the movies, the scientist from earlier turns out to be evil.”

“There you go again with those ‘movies’ of yours. What are movies?” Rainbow asked, sitting at the back of the plane, enjoying the feeling of flight even if it wasn’t technically her own.

“Maybe we’ll show you later,” Chains replied. “But first, you gotta actually spot for us this time. Point out what’s going on, and don’t get too focused on us like you did last time. Try and see as much as you can; you miss something, and a lot of people get hurt.” He shook his head, muttering, “Shouldn’t have cheaped out on the spotter.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means he’s giving you another chance,” Dallas cut in before Chains could reply more directly. “So don’t waste it.” He passed her the binoculars again, then knocked on the pilot’s door. “Hey, we’re getting close to the place! Bring her down, Alex!”

Still humming the song, Alex cut in just to say, “You got it!” The plane tilted sharply down, skidding across the runway before stopping completely. “I’ll be waiting. Don’t take too long, now!”

As they got out of the plane, Dallas pointed out a hill. “Rainbow, you get up there. Those big windows should give you a pretty good view inside. Try not to mess this up.” Pointing at the house, he continued, “Hoxton, find that grant money Bain said we were getting paid with. Wolf, Chains, make sure nobody comes snooping around while we’re doing this. I’ll deal with our mad scientist.” Everyone nodded and started moving towards the places Dallas had marked out for them.

“Alright, I’m in position,” Rainbow said. “Alright, I can see about... six people from here. Four on the ground floor, spread out, looking around. None of them seem to be moving... One of the guys up the top is sitting at a desk, wearing white. Wonder if that’s our guy?”

“What room is that in?” Hoxton’s voice buzzed.

“Uh... Second on the... right side of the corner. Upstairs.”

“Any of the guards downstairs moving?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Gonna need better than that.”

“They’re not moving. Okay?” Looking to the far side of the house, she saw another guard. “Someone’s outside, standing near this tiled hole.”

“Looking over the empty swimming pool. Got it. Wolf?” Out of nowhere, Wolf popped up behind the guard, and instinctively Rainbow looked away before she could see what he did with the knife. I’m okay... I’m okay. Can’t stop looking, she told herself. Wolf was crouching over the now-dead body. After a few seconds of waiting, he pulled out a bag he’d had folded up, stuffed the body inside and hid it behind the rise.

“Swimming pool is clear. Pager operator doesn’t suspect a thing. You’re good to enter, El Hoxo.”

“Wait, scratch that, somebody’s coming out that door!” Rainbow shouted. “Everyone hide!”

Wolf and Hoxton quickly crouched down inside the hole, and she commented that the guard was just unlocking the door when Dallas asked her for a status update on the other side of the house. “Uh, there’s only two guys in that corner room on the bottom now. Two guys on your side, one upstairs and one downstairs. Damn, I can’t see the bottom one anymore. Went behind a solid wall.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got eyes on him,” Dallas replied. “Hoxton, how’s it going over there?”

“That guy changed his mind,” Rainbow reported. “It’s safe to go in that way, if you wanna. Nobody’s looking at it.”

“What if there’s a guard inside just outside what you can see?” Chains asked acidly.

“Then it’s not her fault. Back off, Chains.”

“Guys? There’s a guard...”

“Am I the only one who still remembers—”

“No, but you’re the only one who still cares. Let it go.”

“Guys! There’s a guard heading to the back of the house!” Dallas and Chains both shut up at once, and Rainbow pointed her binoculars back towards Wolf and Hoxton. “Hoxton, Wolf, you two are clear if you wanna head inside.” Sighing, she pulled her binoculars down, taking a look at the house as a whole again.

Dallas had come around to Hoxton’s side, swapping with Wolf as the pink-eyed clown picked the lock on the door. Chains was still sitting on the far side, watching with a scoped rifle. The guards on the bottom floor had dispersed further, and she could only see two of them, plus who she assumed was the scientist. Hoxton and Dallas moved in through the open door, and disappeared into the back of the house for a moment. Dallas reappeared upstairs just as a guard did on the other side. “Hey, careful, Dallas. There’s someone up there with you.”

“Not a problem,” Dallas replied. With a single silenced gunshot, the guard was down. Over the radio, she heard him say, “Are you Dr. Winston Canard? I’ve got a few questions I’d like to ask you. And don’t press any buttons, or my gun will be asking them.” He pressed his gun to the man’s temple to get the point across.

Strangely, the man didn’t cower or cry out at all. Through Dallas’ earpiece, she could hear his response: “Ah, yes, the so-called Payday Crew. After your visit to my colleague last year, I’ve been expecting you for some time.” His voice was stable, but he spoke quickly.

As he reached into his pocket, Dallas shoved the gun again, repeating, “I told you not to press anything. When we leave, you can be alive or dead. It doesn’t matter to us.”

“I was going to tell the guards to stand down, and allow you gentlemen access. Surely where one of you travels, the rest follow.” Dallas backed off slightly, and the scientist nodded, pulling the pager up to his mouth. “This is Dr. Canard. Everybody, please put your guns away. The four men stalking the grounds are my guests this morning.”

Looking around with the binoculars, Rainbow saw exactly that happening, and Wolf and Chains seemed confused, but stepped into the house anyway. One of the guards even held a door open for the pair. “I don’t like this,” Bain murmured. “It seems too easy. Be ready for anything, clowns. You too, Rainbow. Make sure to watch your own back as well.”

“Copy that.”

“With everyone inside the house, maybe you should keep an eye on the road. If any cars come through, let us know what they look like, license plates, occupants, anything. It’ll be good practice for you.”

“You sure on that, Bain?”

“I know you guys can handle yourselves in there. You’re the best crew in the world. Now get what you can out of the good doctor, or his coffers.”

Ignoring Chains’ grumbling, Rainbow turned to the road. There was something she wanted to say, though. “Hey, last night, you weren’t this aggressive towards me.”

“That’s because you weren’t on the job. A job that you seem totally underqualified for. I made a mistake bringing you that time. Never had a spotter in the Middle East, so...”

“All I need is a little practice, though, right?”

“Well, yeah, I guess... But I still don’t feel good having you out of the safehouse.”

“I can look after myself. I have before.” Turning around, she suddenly saw a car. “Uh, there’s this red car coming... no, it’s not stopping. It’s moving on.” She settled herself back down on the hillside, staring up at the road.

“Alright, first question. What exactly are you researching here?” Dallas asked.

“Ah, good question. But one I am not sure I can explain to a layman. You are aware of the theory of teleportation?”

“Only from science fiction. And they don’t normally explain that deeply.”

“Ah, then I must start from the beginning, I suppose. Do you know how to draw a circle with a dot inside on a piece of paper, without taking your pen off the paper?” There was silence for a while, as the scientist pulled a blank piece of paper out of a drawer. “Most would say it cannot be done. But if you fold in one corner, then back again... You have the drawing, in one motion.”

“Cut the technobabble. What exactly are you working on?”

“I have found a way to fold three dimensional space; the world we live in, to cross borders in an instant. I have not perfected it yet; lab rats have a habit of being... frail.” He chuckled weakly, then added, “But I have managed to move them. And soon, they will be alive again, and Nobel will finally see the true genius that I am.”

Turning away from the road for a second, Rainbow saw Hoxton jiggling the lock on another door, out of sight of the guards, who were being distracted by Wolf touching the things on the shelves. She almost didn’t see the car coming, hearing it first. “Guys! A car’s coming! Looks like police!” The deactivated lights on the car gave it away.

“How many people?” Bain asked, in lieu of the crew.

“I count two people in the car. Wait...” For a moment, she thought she’d seen another black figure in the back, but wrote it off as a shadow. “Two people. They’re heading for the back door. And they don’t look like they’re here to hear about teleporting.”

“Sorry, Dr. Canard, but a situation has arisen,” Dallas interrupted the current lecture, putting his gun to the scientist’s head and an arm around his neck. “Nobody move, or the doctor dies!” He pointed his gun at the guards and repeated, “Hands up, everyone! I don’t want to take you away from your families!”

“Get ready, they’re about to come in!” As she pulled her binoculars down, she suddenly heard a strange whining noise. She thought it was her imagination again, but it was getting louder, and the pitch getting higher. “What the heck is that...” she started, turning around to face it.

Then she felt something rather like a freight train landing right on the top of her skull. She collapsed almost immediately, winded and trying to catch her breath. “Happy birthday!” a man shouted, his voice distorted slightly. She looked up to see a black figure with glowing green eyes for just a moment, before he brought a baton down on her head. “You can start crying any time you like!”

“Shi—Can’t—Must...” A cacophony of voices came through her earpiece, but the black man saw it and struck there next. The jolt in her ear made her cry out, but she didn’t start crying yet. Another strike came down on her midsection, then another almost immediately after.

“Cry!” He kicked her in the head, and she started rolling down the hill as he gave chase. She tried to pull herself up at the bottom, but he tackled her to the ground, striking the base of her wing with his baton again. “I’ll stop as soon as I see you cry for me!” The baton came down across her eyes, and she screamed, but didn’t cry. She couldn’t give him the satisfaction. “No? Well, how about this?” Holding her eyelid open with one hand, he raised his baton in the other, pointing straight down—

The split second between when the baton started falling, and the bullet ripped through her attacker’s skull, felt like an eternity. The rest of his body was thrown to the side by the impact, and the baton missed her exposed eye by a hair’s breadth. She felt herself being picked up, and looked down at the mask. “Chains?” she asked, weakly.

“Ain’t gonna let you get into trouble,” he said as he started running. “Now c’mon, keep your head down. We gotta get back to Alex.” As he ran, bullets flew through the air, coming from both directions at once as the others held the line at the plane, keeping the continuing police response from getting any closer.

“We’re here, let’s go!” he shouted as he charged into the back, setting his charge down on the floor. The plane started moving, but the others were able to run fast enough to get in. Hoxton pulled the door closed behind them, and the plane pulled up into the air. Rainbow started to stretch her wings out, stopping as soon as she felt the sharp pain at the base of her left wing. “Is it broken?” she asked.

Dallas picked her up and strapped her into a seat before the angle got too steep. As he pulled the seatbelt down, he checked at the base with one hand, causing Rainbow to wince again. “I don’t think it’s broken, if you were able to move it,” he said finally. “But I don’t know much about this. We’ll just have to hope for the best.”

A minute of silence passed before Rainbow looked over at Chains again. “Even if you’re not a great spotter, I’m not gonna leave you hangin’,” he said quickly. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t need practice. Get up on the rooftops sometime. Keep an eye on the street. Back off if anyone tries to photograph you. Practice makes perfect.”

Slowly, she nodded in response, trying to make sense of the rapid-fire stream of words. “He doesn’t hate you just because he got angry,” Dallas finally said. “But you can’t slack off when someone gives you a job to do. Right?”

“Right,” she nodded. “We’re all a team. I can’t be the only one not pulling my weight.”

“You’re not really part of the team. It’s only temporary until we can get rid of you,” Hoxton said. As Rainbow looked at him, he quickly backed up. “That’s not what I meant. Not that I don’t appreciate you around, but...”

“Hoxton? Stop talking.”

“Right.”

Author's Note

For those who haven't played Payday and are a bit confused about the guy who attacked Rainbow Dash:

In the game, there are a few types of special enemies. Cloakers look like this:

They aren't actually invisible, but they sneak up on you through air vents and manholes, and usually you only know they're coming once they've sprinted the distance between you and knocked you down in one hit.