4.18 – Clean escape

Aurora emerged from the secure vault and the guy who helped her was waiting.  He likely was a friend of Andy’s and was willing to go on a limb for him, or her.

He looked at Aurora when the door clicked, signaled by the noise it made as it opened and his lips lifted slightly. “I’m Alger, by the way. I hope you got what you needed. Are you going to be able to get out without being stopped by security?”

Considering his words, Aurora realized that she’d been very lucky so far. It was only because of their help that things had gone so well thus far, but security could be alerted any moment.  It was possible that they would think that she hadn’t gotten anything, but she was sure she had found something worthwhile.  But why had they left the USB drive in this box full of an ex-employee’s effects?

They secured it with the man’s possessions, thinking they were secured, at least. But then, did this mean that they overlooked the drive, or did they check it and dismissed whatever was on it and decided to drop it into the box with all his things?  Aurora wasn’t sure.

Thinking about possible avenues of escape, she tilted her head and asked a question of Alger, “Thank you for your help and concern.  Are there any nearby windows, maybe?” Her voice was kept low, now that she had something to lose if she was caught.

Before, she would have just been ejected from the building with a warning, probably, but having something they could claim as their property on her would brand her a thief.  Keeping this USB safe was paramount.  Creating another little pocket in her bosom was a simple matter.  When done, she slipped it in and tightened the ‘fabric’ around it tightly so it wouldn’t fall out, and should she be stopped and searched, they hopefully wouldn’t find and confiscate it.

She could just walk out and let them search her, but that was risky.  It would be far better if she could get out.  Smiling warmly and hopefully at Alger, she hoped that her surreptitious movement hadn’t been caught, not that he knew anything of what she’d found.

“None that are open.  Come on with me,” Alger said, leading her back into the department proper.  Leading her to two large doors that were marked ‘Equipment,’ he pushed them open and led her inside.  On the other side of those were computer parts.  In the back of the room was a cargo elevator. “Here’s a way out, if it works out.  It goes down to basement number one where the loading dock is, but you’re on your own from that point on.  You gotta make your way out from there, somehow.”

Aurora nodded her head thoughtfully.  “Thank you, Alger.” She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled again. “I’m grateful to all three of you.  I won’t mention any of you.” She winked and focused on her clothes.  Seeing the cargo elevator sparked an idea.  It was time to use her ability to change her appearance.

She first changed her hair color, making it darker, and imagined an idea of what a janitor would wear.  Grey overalls, and an undershirt with a few smudges on them, but not too many.  Boots and gloves, and to hide her eyes, a hat.  When she was done, Alger’s jaw dropped, and he looked concerned.

“Is it good enough?” Aurora whispered.

“I guess…” Alger said lamely and uncertainly, “you going for a gas station attendant look, or maybe a serial killer?”

Aurora stared at him with a deadpan expression, lifting the visor of her ‘hat’ to lock eyes with Alger.

After a few seconds of her staring at him with that serious and deadpan stare, he nodded quickly. “Oh, I get it. You’re like some kind of a janitor, right? Nice! Good luck!” He waved and hurried back to the IT floor.  She really was on her own at this point.

Aurora laughed softly and stepped into the elevator to hit the button on the control.  It shuddered into motion and plunged slowly downwards. It was kind of loud and this noise made her anxious, but she put on a bored look, just in case someone came looking for who was using the elevator.

It took a bit too long, but eventually she reached basement one and when the door opened with a rattling, she found herself in a storage section behind some hurricane fencing and what looked to be a vehicle exit.

Leaving the elevator, she casually walked about, casing the room and brainstorming about how she’d be able to get out the quickest without causing a fuss.  She examined the fencing and pursed her lips.  There was another door in the fencing and another by the vehicle exit.

Aurora decided to head for the one by the vehicle exit.  There were people working in this room, moving boxes around and taking inventory.  She hadn’t drawn any attention yet, thanks to her genius disguise. Unfortunately, this door was up a flight of metal stairs.  Rushing up the stairs, she passed one landing and came to the door, but, it was unconventionally secured on the inside with a keycard reader.

Aurora froze a moment, and considered the situation, putting on a broad smile.  Looking worried would be very very fishy.  She looked down at the people working, searching for a likely mark.  Someone who might be near the end of their shift or might leave for food on a break.  Failing that, was there someone who seemed likely to accept the story she was working on?

I’m a new janitor here, and don’t have my security key yet, but I have a family emergency… won’t you help me out by opening the door for me?

Would that work?  She headed downstairs again and searched on.  One person stood out.  He was likely to be the most helpful.  Body language told you a lot about a person.  He emanated waves of kindness. It was obvious the way he was chuckling and laughing with his co-workers and helping them.  Aurora avoided the more surly-looking types. She slipped close to him as he was making notes on a clipboard and stood alone.  It was time to run her genius story past him. She spoke quietly for his ears only.

“Hey…. I’m a new janitor and I don’t have my security key today.  But a family emergency happened and my aunt’s in the hospital.  Wanna help me out and open the door so I can get there quickly?”

The man looked at Aurora and nodded after listening to Aurora’s story. “Yeah… I see you don’t have a badge either,” he said, tapping his cheek. “No problem, though.  Come on.”

He led Aurora up the staircase and swiped his card for her.  Thinking carefully and cooly pays off.  The light went green and she pushed the door open, emerging on the street.  Aurora turned and waved after jogging up and out onto the street, using some of her parkour skills to flourish a bit.  “Thank you! See you tomorrow, cutie!”  She dashed off and got far enough away that no one would witness her transformation back to her super-powered form.

The light within her exploded and her wings sprouted as she leapt into the air with a loud whooping and made a beeline for home.  She was ready for some dinner and relaxation.

A tension that Aurora wasn’t aware that was hunching her shoulders a bit eased as she flew.  Tthanks to the kind people who worked for Extensive Enterprises, she’d pulled this off without a hitch.  How long would her luck last?

She used her usual array of tricks and maneuvers, arriving at home in secret and headed inside to find the house full of the smells of lovely dinner.

“I’m home, mom!” Leona exclaimed, grinning and closing the door behind.  “It didn’t go as long as I expected.  How long til’ dinner?” Sniffling the mouthwatering scents, she rushed to the kitchen with her stomach gurling.

When she got there, she sauntered inside and Goonie turned with a smile. “You’re so lucky. I was going to cook it slowly, but since you’re home, I’ll finish it.  So, where were you that you thought you might be late?”

Leona grinned and ran her fingers through her hair. “In the belly of a corporation that purchased the supervillain tech that was used for the giant robot attack.  San Isidro PD couldn’t get a warrant to search the building in time to get anything useful.  They’d just burn records and dispose of anything that might make trouble for them.  With a little luck and the help of some fans, not all mine, I was able to get some information and maybe more.  I’m curious about just how much I got, though.” She reached into her pants pocket and slid out the USB drive to look at it.

It was as unassuming as it seemed when she first laid eyes on it, but she didn’t have much time to examine it when Goonie closed the distance between them and put an arm around her, speaking, “Well, I hope you didn’t get your fans in trouble.” Her arm tightened around Leona’s shoulders, giving her a little squeeze. “I guess what you’ve got there is electronic, right?” She laughed and gave her another squeeze before returning to the stove.

Leona grinned as her Goonie slipped off.  “Me too. In their own way, they were superheroes like me.  Any hero knows that sometimes you have to risk yourself for the sake of others.” She smiled, thinking that she’d sign up for LinkedIn as Aurora.  It might be tough, since she didn’t have any government identification except for her SoS card, but she didn’t know until she tried.

Valerie North would probably know a few things about social media.  A few more things than Leona, since she preferred to stick to forums and Reddit for the most part.  And she’d have to thank Chuntao for the great publicity that her article had already netted her some amazing cooperation.  She had a patron in the media! Some superheroes would kill for that! Well, they’d never kill, depending on the ‘hero.’

It would be a while before dinner was ready, so Leona rushed upstairs and popped the flash drive into an available port. The odors wafting through her home were making her hungrier by the moment.  Always careful and tech-minded, Aurora ran virus scans on the drive first, to be certain that something lurking in it wouldn’t wreck up her machine.  It took longer than expected, but dinner was ready and Goonie called her back downstairs before she could have a look at what was on the stick.

Her stomach insisted with its gnawing, so Leona quickly left the room and rushed downstairs to her chair, as though one of her powers was running fast.  A plate was waiting for her, and she ate quickly while Goonie laughed softly around her more delicate bites.  Leona was in a hurry, and Goonie understood.  She might have normally criticized her about how she was shoveling in her food, but she knew there was something she needed to do.

When she was done, Leona clasped her hands, sighing happily. “Thanks for the food, Mom! It was great as always!  I’ll help you wash the dishes.”

Goonie shook her head and laughed. “If you were in that much of a hurry, you should scamper off.  I’ll take care of it this time.  Get going.”

Leona smiled warmly, loving her auntie for being so understanding.  Daring up the stairs again, she panted after returning to her room. While she looked over the files, she saw that they had some very unusual extensions.  A quick search indicated that the files could be opened by proprietary programs.

Nodding thoughtfully, Leona pursed her lips and wondered what to do next.  Her personal computer couldn’t handle this job.  This meant that she might need to get help from San Isidro PD to crack the files, or perhaps seek help from the Society of Sentinels.  They’d surely be able to handle cracking these files and Midnight Avenger was involved.  He’d be interested, since this surely would touch Mr. Mechanical’s technology.  Hmmm… but he was always a very busy guy.

It was clear that he was facing a crisis and contacting him wouldn’t be easy.  Leona sighed softly. There was one option available to her that would let her handle things herself, assuming it worked.  There was a base the Society had set up in San Isidro, aside from her houseboat, which was exclusively hers.

Deciding to go there, Leona pocketed the usb drive again and rushed to tell Goonie that she had some more super-business that had to be taken care of.

Goonie was lounging on the couch and when Leona called over to her to let her know she was leaving, she nodded. “I need to run out for a bit again. Something’s come up. See you again soon!”

Leona rushed outside to her transforming spot and bolted into the skies.  It was getting very close to night at this point, so charging off from her door in her superpowered form would be risky, since she was more likely to be seen.  Going out of her window would always be faster and easier, but doing that would cause problems down the line.

The Society of Sentinels set up something in San Isidro.  A place that was suitable to become a clubhouse.  They’d sent her a notification of it on her communicator after her adventures with Mistral in the great north, since Aurora was gaining some reputation with them.

They’d decided that a houseboat was a bit too cramped for many heroes to congregate, making it an unsuitable clubhouse. Aurora was happy that it would always be her little relaxation spot.  The notification said that they purchased a plot of land that was a burned-out store in a rough neighborhood.  They hadn’t renovated it yet, but they equipped it with a computer and said that she should use it for another hideout until they made more arrangements.

Aurora wung her way towards the location she hadn’t visited, but remembering the pictures they sent and the included instructions, she found it without too much difficulty. Angling down to the hidden entrance, she thought about the blueprint.  There was a long corridor leading to a base that was a block away from the property.  Once she set foot in the burned out store, there was a beeping from her communicator and the clutter filling the area vanished as the ground silently opened to reveal a staircase.

The walkway was narrow, so she folded her wings and ran downstairs as the door closed quickly behind.  Lights came on along the stairway and corridor.

Aurora wished she could go to the houseboat instead, since it was more comfortable, but it hadn’t been equipped with a computer, since it would have had to connect wirelessly.  The corridor was a bit tight, but she emerged in the clubhouse-to-be.  It was sparsely furnished for the moment.  Her mind wandered as she walked to the Sentinel-networked computer.  It logged on super-quickly as always.

She plugged in the flash drive and securely forwarded the files to the Clock Tower, Midnight Avenger’s base, and afterwards, she forwarded them to Detective Kirby for good measure.  She couldn’t do this back home because sending the files from her personal computer would be leaving breadcrumbs that might lead someone to her home and expose Leona.

As she worked, her mind wandered. She could swear that something looked familiar in the files, but she couldn’t place it.  It was as if she’d done this before. This was a deja-vu-like sensation. What was it, exactly that was nudging at her mind? Was it something about the base?

Aurora’s forehead wrinkled as she considered this strange feeling.  What was it that had tickled her mind?  When would she ever have been here? She was sure that she never checked out this place until now.  She didn’t have these feelings back in the Extensive Enterprise building back when she was fishing for this information.  No, it had to have something to do with something right here, in this place.  Looking around the sparsely furnished base, she chewed her lip. What was nagging?  What was bothering her?

It was silly to think someone had found this base when the Society of Sentinels had taken every precaution.  She stood and paced a little while she thought.

Replaying recent events in her mind, nothing came to mind at all, but when the computer beeped, she looked at the screen and remembered something she’d seen in the past.  That was what was bothering her.  An electric shiver rushed up her spine, sending shivers through her body as goosebumps sprouted.  She moved from the Extensive Enterprise files and found in Society of Sentinel’s database the files concerning the Padua Realignment Camp.  Looking them over, she recognized something that matched up with what was in the USB stick.

Looking over school rosters, Aurora’s eyes narrowed as she activated the extractor program.

Midnight Avenger had made a special manual about using the Society of Sentinel’s computer systems as a part of the training she’d received after the Padua case was cracked.  It taught her how to use the system.

What stood out most was that one of the files on the drive was the same type as one of the school rosters she pulled up.  That was what had caught her attention, but it was such a small detail that she hadn’t put her finger on it until now.  She pulled out names from it and cross-checked them against the Extensive Enterprise’s files.

It produced only a single name, Mocha Haearnn.