Veldron 18

Veldron's Sage 18: The Escape
There wasn't much that I could rig together without tools, but since the cell was a primitive affair with an old mechanical lock and actual, physical bars that could be reached through, that wasn't really a problem. I took the camera anyway.

It's pretty hard to make a decent taser out of a camera, especially when the power source has to be improvised from unsuitable components, so I didn't have all that much faith in the improvised weapon in my hand as I crept out of the, for want of a better word, dungeon. As I'd expected, it barely seemed to tickle Longtooth as he leapt at me from behind the door. I wasn't surprised – he was the logical guard – but he was faster than me, and a lot more used to combat. The electrical jolt that I sent through his neck certainly slowed him down, but he seemed more annoyed than hurt as he slashed at me with one hand. His fingernails tore across the top of the bandaged arm that I'd flung up instinctively and left distinct scratches on the skin beneath. Dammit. I should've just waited for their response to my offer. Sure, it was a weak one and waiting would almost certainly have meant going back to prison after healing, but that way I wouldn't be getting ripped apart by a violent, crazy man.

He lifted me by the throat, and I wondered whether his strength was part of his superpowers or just a side effect of his lifestyle. The taser was hot in my hand, and I knew that the inside had melted. I simply could not work in these conditions; I needed proper tools. What did the universe want of me? After all the drama and daring escapes I'd pulled in the last couple of months, surely I'd proven myself? Surely I deserved a break?

Longtooth had pushed me up against the wall, which is the only logical way to keep someone in a hold that can otherwise be broken by the victim just lifting their jaw. There was no point in struggling; when I grabbed his arm with my free hand, it was just to reduce the pressure on my neck.

"And what," I croaked, "is your role in all this, Longtooth?"

He glanced at the melted construction of metal and plastic in my hand. Did he think it had a recording device in it? There was no way anything inside could still be functioning even if I had built it to be more than a taser, but I dropped it to make him happy. He crushed it under his foot and leaned close to me.

"I want my Captain back," he growled, "by any means necessary."

Leaning closer had been a mistake. I drove my foot into his crotch, wishing that I was wearing my steel capped villain boots instead of sensible sandshoes for the cruise. He buckled, and I was able to get out of his grip before his hand clenched into a fist.

Rubbing the minor lacerations on my throat, I ran. He was right behind me. I was fit, but so was he. He was stronger, he came with natural weapons and I was unarmed. I had to stay ahead. My adrenalin regulator had kicked in again and with the vague clarity of someone very close to death I wondered how many years this hormonal abuse was taking off my life and whether it would kick out before heart attack levels. I had programmed it to do so, of course, but things were always unpredictable when biology met mechanics.

Stairs. I took them.

That could have been a mistake; Longtooth bounded up them behind me easily. But so many years of working in underground lairs had convinced my instincts that outside was always up, so I hadn't really thought about it.

Seer appeared at the top of the stairs. While being sandwiched between two enemies on the stairs is never good, Seer was a blessing. Mirror or Helaron would've spelled defeat for me, but I didn't know if Seer could even fight beyond some minor mental influence. I wasn't sure if my skin would still shield me, if simply bandaging my forehead cut was enough, but he was tired, far too tired to put up much of a mental fight. He didn't even try to resist when I grabbed him.

"Back off, Longtooth." I didn't bother spelling out my threat; there was no need. Longtooth growled under his breath as he watched me hold his teammate in a headlock, but he didn't come any closer.

It occurred to me that Seer, for all his famed telepathic abilities, couldn't be nearly as strong a telepath as people seemed to think. Of course, people learned about telepaths from movies and they tended to be a little exaggerated there. Seer was probably strong for a real telepath (inasmuch as comparisons can be made for so rare a power) or he wouldn't be in the Squad, but my emotions and engineering obsession had shielded my thoughts from him even though I hadn't really been thinking about circuitry at that moment, and he mustn't be good at reading Longtooth's thoughts or the man would've been exposed as a traitor long ago.

When it was apparent that my hostage wasn't going to struggle at all, I adjusted the headlock to let him stand up properly. He seemed beyond caring if I escaped, and probably hadn't cared to begin with. I asked him which way the exit was and he directed me up more stairs. He could be leading me into a trap, of course, but I had no better direction. I hadn't seen any windows in the building thus far, so we were probably underground.

I couldn't see Longtooth, but I expected that he was probably following us. That or he'd gone to get the rest of the Squad. I knew that Mirror was around here somewhere but I hadn't seen Helaron at all; I hoped that she was away investigating something or fighting someone.

Poking around in side rooms netted me a weapon – just a small gun. I wasn't sure if it was deadly or not but hopefully I wouldn't have to use it. It was mostly for ceremony, anyway. Seer had come after me without a weapon, so I supposed that he was either voluntarily helping me escape or leading me into a trap. Either way, he wouldn't be trying to get away or attack me any time soon.

It was tempting to find a computer and dig around in their files, very tempting. But I needed to get out of there. I'm not Devnull; I'm not much of a software guy. I'm a wizard with my own operating system, of course, but that's because I invented it from the ground up. It makes intrinsic sense to me. Anything else and I'm lost.

Electronic door locks were simple enough to crack, but that was unnecessary. Seer let me through any doors we encountered. Eventually, a door led to sunshine.

"Can I go now?" Seer asked irritably. I didn't let him go until after I had hotwired one of the Squad's vehicles and was prepared to drive away.