Picture of the main office of the police station

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 "Room search, no one move." A devil's Own orders as the door above creeks open in protest. Matt groans and does his best to kick the shoe against the mattress, putting out the rest of the smolder. Pounding sounds on the steps.

"Quick, play dead," Angela whispers to her as she shoves her hair into a messy bun, hiding the key inside it.

A tower of a man swiftly approaches the cell door, backed by three others who have their swords out and ready before the cell door is unlocked. Two hold Matt and Angela at sword point as the other two inspect the space. The towering man spots the small, faded streak of grey smoke and frowns, scanning the cell carefully.

"She dead yet?" One asks, motioning to Valery.

"Not yet." Angela snaps, crossing her arms.

"Won't be long. You." A bald Devil's Own hisses, pointing his sword at Matt. "Come here." The other two rush into the cell and have to help Matt to his feet and across the small cell to stand before Baldy "Hold your arms out." Matt is pat down by the other, the bald man not lowering his sword.

"Something wrong?" Matt asks them, raising a brow,

"Routine search." The bald man answers. "Take off your shoes."

"I take most out to dinner before we get close like this, but since dinner was provided, thank you for that, could I get a name at least?" Matt asks as he steps out of his shoes. Angela coughs to hide a snicker, receiving a frown from one of her guards. Baldy kicks them out of the way as the other starts sliding his hand along Matt's leg. Angela coughs to hide a snicker, receiving a frown from one of her guards.

Both ignore him as they continue their search in silence. He pats up and down each of Matt's legs and checks in his socks

"Next." Baldy snaps. Matt and Angela switch places. She glares at Baldy, unphased by the sword pointed at her heart. Glares at the hands reaching to help her to her feet and slap them away. She keeps her face level as the Devil's Own as she makes her way over. Her shoulders and arms are patted down one at a time.

"Take off your shirt." The Devil's Own patting her down demands.

"You wouldn't dare," Angela growls, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she catches her searcher's gaze.

"Cooperate or die, your choice." He responds.

Angela glares at Matt, jaw tight.

Matt clears his throat, taking the hint. He turns his back in stiff, jerking movements.

"Didn't see you try to check his balls," Angela complains as she slips her shirt over her head. "Going to check out the dying girl too? Who knows, we may have tortured her and told her to hide a weapon of mass destruction while she dies." She continues as she throws her shirt onto the floor, holding her arms back out. "Well? As you can see, there isn't much place for me to hide things. Or did you just see a hot blond and want a better look?"

"I know I'm not complaining." One in the back snears. Angela rolls her eyes.

"She's clear."

"Damn straight," Angela mutters, snatching her shirt back off the floor. "Animals." She settles her shirt back in place.

Angela and Matt stare at the mountain of a man who has yet to move, his eyes still scanning over the small cell. Angela's and Matt's hostile faces hide the anxiety bubbling within them, praying to the angels above that they would leave Valery alone. After a few long breaths, the man nods.

"Clear. Let's go." He finally decides as he turns away.

No one says a word as they make their way back up the stairs.

"Until his body is found, we have hope. There should be a map of the city in this building, somewhere, we can start there." Angela tells them, thinking out loud.

"They are going to assume he helped us in some way." Matt comments. He groans. Using the wall for support, he trudges over to Valery and holds a hand out to help her to her feet. "We can't exactly use that key and walk out of here."

"Ang, I need you to piss me off again," Valery comments as she stares down the mattress, ignoring Matt's hand.

"What?" Angela stammers. Matt lets his hand fall.

"I know you have more steam to blow, let me have it!" Valery insists.

"Ok." Angela takes a deep breath and coughs, clearing her throat. "You asked for it." She pauses. "Valery, your incompetence is unforgivable! Your pathetic skills led to our capture," Angela seethes, her voice laced with unbridled anger. "We depended on you, and you failed us miserably! This isn't just a mistake; it's a disaster you've caused!"

Valery recoils at Angela's harsh words, her eyes wide with a mixture of shame and fear. "I... I tried my best. It wasn't entirely my fault! Why do you always have to be the one right all the time? Can't you just lay off and give me a break?"

Matt looks on, completely lost for words as he watches them fake argue, their expressions giving nothing away as they lash out at each other.

"Your best? Your best wasn't even close to being adequate!" Angela's words were like daggers, each one cutting deeper.

"Damn, this is better acting then Hollywood," Matt mutters.

"I trusted you, and you let us down." Angela continues, not missing a beat. "We're in this mess because of your incompetence. If we make it out alive, don't expect things to remain the same. This ends now!"

"That did it." Valery grins, the mattress starting to burn. "We gotta move. Unlock the door, but keep it closed." Valery tells Angela. Angela is already turning towards the door.

Closest to the now fully flamming mattress, Valery starts to cough.

"I'm trying!" Angela snaps as she fumbles with her lead fingers, struggling to get the key in the lock.

"Here, let's get you out of there." Matt comments. He grabs Valery's wrists and with a long groan, hauls her to her feet as Angela unlocks the door with a satisfied grunt.

"HELP!" Valery screams. "HELP! There's a fire!" She coughs, reaches out, and rattles a part of the cell wall. Angela looks at Valery, confusion clear on her face. Matt grins.

"HELP!" Matt calls, joining in. Up above, the metal door opens.

"Now, you fight the bad guys," Valery whispers. She grabs hold of the bar with two hands, transferring her weight to them instead of Matt as three Devil's Own come running down the stairs.

"The mattress is on fire!" Angela calls, yelling at the Devil's Own as they come into view.

"What the..." One stammers, stopping in his tracks.

"Master doesn't want them dead." A second mutters as he moves forward, palming the keys with the third as backup right behind them. "We have to get them moved."

"How?" The first Devil's Own asks, yet to move from his spot.

As the two move closer to the cell, Matt slams the door open, knocking the approaching Devil's Own off their feet. Matt and Angela jump into motion the moment the door connects with its targets. Matt stomps onto the neck of the Devil's Own sprawled out before him, crushing his windpipe. Angela moves around Matt, eyes on the second one that approached. Her fists raised, ready for a full-out brawl.

"I knew something was off!" The one in the back calls.

"Oh, look at you, so smart. You want a cookie?" Matt asks as he swipes the dropped keys from the floor.

From inside the cell, Valery grunts. She tosses the charcoal shoe towards Angela's opponent. The shoe misses its mark, but lands close enough that he looks at the shoe, and then at Valery. Angela throws a punch to his temple, knocking him out cold.

"That's twice just now you've surprised me." Angela praises Valery as the three of them turn their attention to the Devil's Own that still stands in the back of the room.

Matt smirks as they take a unified step towards their next opponent. "It sure makes up for that stupid doll incident."

"Oh boy, this is bad." The remaining Devil's Own mutters. He turns tail and dashes up the steps.

"That's going to be trouble later," Angela comments.

Matt huffs. "Yeah, well, we can't chase after him. We are going to have to get out of here at our own pace, we have no idea how long it's going to take this shit to burn off."

They turn around to look at Valery, kneeling down beside the dead Devil's Own. "Val, we got to go, we don't know how long he is going to be out," Angela tells her.

Matt walks over to the unconscious guy, and stomps on his throat.

"I figured you would want another shoe," Valery tells Angela. "Unless you want a foot full of frostbite."

"Now he won't be a problem either." Matt shrugs. He unclasps the sword and sheath from the Devil's Own and attaches it to himself.

He makes his way back over to them.

"You still owe me a new pair of insulated hiking boots. Those things aren't cheap." Angela scowls as she takes the offered shoe from Valery.

"Well, we have two weapons for three people." Matt comments, taking the weapons from the first Devil's Own they downed. "Not great, but at least we have something."

"Now, onto Trent," Angela says with a sigh as she stands. Wearing two different shoes, and two different sole heights, she stands at a slant. "Oh, this is just wonderful." She mutters, taking the offered sword from Matt.

"We can expect it to be in a government building. Angels know there's a lot around here, I think the city had seven different districts before it fell, but it's a start. They will want him in something they can guard and monitor. We'll learn from our mistakes. Keep our head down, don't talk to anyone, don't trust anyone. We act just as emotionless as they are and we plan before setting a toe out on the street." Matt tells them. "Which means NO impulsive moves, Val. You aren't trained enough to know a helpful impulse from a bad one."

"And I would like to get you out of here alive," Angela adds.

"Anything to free Trent," Valery promises. "I'll follow instructions, I swear." Matt and Angela share a look.

"We need to find our bags. I have some food rations in mine." Matt comments.

"We all do then. Hopefully, they left them with our weapons. Maybe if we're lucky we can stumble upon them while we look for a map," Angela tells him.

"Angels help us, you're asking for a lot of luck in this god-forsaken place." Matt gripes. "What about an evidence locker? Police stations all have one, don't they?"

"Only one way to find out," Angela answers.

Valery pauses. "It's going to be known soon that we broke out. What if they move him to a place we already looked at?"

"Don't do that to yourself," Angela tells her. "Let's get up these stairs and see what we can find. Start there."

"Do you want to take more time to recover before we make our way up into the unknown?" Matt asks Valery. She shakes her head no.

"The longer we take the more Trent suffers." Valery groans as she heads to the steps. "Besides, I'm still numb. Never even knew I set her shoe on fire. I tried to heal back in the cell. There's nothing. Let's go."

Halfway up the steps, Valery's world begins to swirl. She places her palms against the wall, bracing herself. Her breaths come out in short bursts.

"Val." Angela murmurs, coming to a stop beside her, and placing a calming hand on her back. "We can come back for you."

"No." She insists, squeezing her eyes tight. "No. Just. Give me a minute."

"You had a sword pierce your chest. I don't think I would have survived that, let alone be climbing stairs three hours or so later. You are allowed to sit on the sidelines." Matt assures her.

"No," Valery repeats, giving her head a shake.

Matt and Angela share an annoyed look.

"We can't be worrying about you once this gets going," Angela tells her.

Valery takes a deep breath and stands up straight, forcing the world to be still.

"You won't have to," Valery assures her. She pushes her way up ahead of the group, coming to a stop behind the door. Not a sound is heard from beyond. 

The main office is empty.

"Must be out looking for the key, don't want that news getting back to their superiors." Matt comments.

"Where are they and how much time do we have?" Angela wonders.

"You told me worrying doesn't fix anything," Valery tells her. "Let's get what we need and get out."

"Search the desks," Matt suggests, already on the move.

"I'll head into the next room," Valery tells them.

"We'll give a shout if someone comes in," Angela tells her.

The door across from the main office is unlocked.

"They've settled in," Angela comments.

"They got comfortable and that will be their downfall." Matt agrees.

Cots take up most of the room, more comfortable than the dusty mattress that was discarded into their cell. Valery eyes the closest one up, angry that a simple cot looks so tempting. In the far corner sits a table with a small coffee maker on it surrounded by fast food wrappers and a half-eaten donut. Slobs. Tall lockers line the wall starting from each side of the door. Betting on their hastiness she slumps against the doorframe and opens the locker closest to her. It's loaded with snacks from what must have been a raided vending machine. Chips, Twizzlers, twinkies, Gatorade, and water. All perfectly sealed.

"Got a map!" Angela calls.

"I got food!" Valery calls back, rustling a bag of plain Lays chips as she grabs them.

"Safe food?" Angela asks, popping her head into the room. "I'm starving!"

Valery holds up the bag of chips in her hand, opening it. "It's not much, but it's something," Valery tells Angela as Matt steps into the room. His eyes light up at the fatty gold mine in front of Valery.

"Hell yeah. Every kid's dream, to stumble upon an open locker of diabetes. Sort of like Easter. But weirder." He grabs two Kit Kats out of the locker and sits down beside Angela. "And deadlier. Anyhow. Does anyone have an idea on how to get into HQ without being seen?" Matt wonders as he chomps down on a Kit Kat bar, not bothering to take it apart piece by piece.

"Sweet Angels Val, sit! Don't just stand there." Angela snaps, talking over Matt. She motions to a cot. Valery sinks into the nearest cot obediently. "By being seen just enough," Angela says, answering Matt's question. "We will act as your prisoners and we walk by, seen but unnoticed. We have the keys. We can just march right through the door."

"You won't be able to help in a fight if I have your weapon." Matt points out.

"We shouldn't have to fight," Angela assures him. She stuffs half a winkie in her mouth.

"I'll make a convincing prisoner." Valery agrees.

"Let's go." Matt agrees. Angela swallows hard.

"Again, I say take a minute and try to heal." Angela offers, holding her hand out to Valery. "It would be better if you could move a bit more reliably."

Valery nods and takes Angela's hand in her own. She closes her eyes and relaxes, trying to key into Angela's energy. Trying to take some for herself to heal. Nothing. Her brows squint together as she strains to pick up the slightest sliver of her life-giving force. Opening her eyes, she looks at Angela and shakes her head, no words are needed. Angela sighs.

"It's alright," Angela assures her. "It'll come back."

"We had better start moving before we're caught unprepared," Matt tells them.

Angela nods and holds a hand out towards Valery. "You ready?" She asks.

"Let's go find Trent," Valery answers, her hand latching onto Angela's.

Matt puts a hand against Valery's shoulder, holding his blade close. Angela leads the way as they made their exit.