12 Plan B

Nova paced the halls behind the auction room, eyeing the security camera in the corner. All she had to do was wait for her cue, slide through the vents, get above the holding room, and grab the Dragon Stone. Then she needed to be as quick as possible. Make a clean break. There would be a helicopter waiting for her on the roof. Well, waiting for someone else that she would then take over.

Vincent was taking care of the rest. Nova knew part of the plan, but not all the details. She wanted no part in the murders. But she did not need to be here when the building blew up.

"Burns!"

Nova turned around with her arrogant act put up again. She found Harley stomping towards her. This woman was tall and broad and skilled. Harley was a bit older than her, but not better.

She was set to take over after Agent Burns but then the brat came back.

"Do you need something?" Nova asked, but before Harley could get another word out, said, "— never mind, I don't actually care."

A vein popped in Harley's forehead as she tried not to pound the little sucker into the ground.

"Why aren't you guarding the holding room?!" Harley barked. "You need to be-!"

Nova held up a hand and turned her face away with a vaguely annoyed look. "Why don't you shut your mouth and mind your own business, Hearty," Nova drawled. She rolled her eyes for added annoyance.

Harley clenched her fists, imagining wrapping them around that stupid little neck and snapping it right in half.

But… she knew Burns would knock her out as soon as she touched her. Plus, the Headmistress would NOT be happy to hear that her adopted daughter was hurt.

"Look," Nova said mockingly. "I know you got a taste of the power, but it was never yours. Now I need you to pull on your big-girl pants and get over it. When you act like a child, people treat you like a child. So stop with the tantrums and compose yourself. Go report to the Headmistress that Lane and Lena are armed and guarding the holding room. They're ready when she is. It's a full house tonight," Nova added with a wolfish grin.

Harley huffed and puffed with her red face and popping veins as she turned around and marched off to the Headmistress' office. The back of her neck and ears were burning red with embarrassment and anger.

But Nova's attention was brought elsewhere when the double door to her left opened abruptly. A young man with light brown hair stared at her.

"Oh, wonderful," he drawled with an English accent. "I need you, come here."

Nova's eyebrow rose. "Excuse you."

The man's eyes narrowed. "Excuse… me?" He approached her, getting into her personal space, but she didn't back down. Nova stared him head on as he looked down his sharp nose at her. "Do you know… who I am?"

"I don't care," Nova said, pushing him back.

The man grinned, his dark eyes watching her closely.

A shudder ran up her spine, all of her hair standing in end. Her alarm bells rang inside her head. Funny, she felt more danger around this stranger she could knock out then her sworn enemy that she would take down in a heartbeat.

The man took the flower off his lapel and held it in front of her face.

"Do you know what kind of flower this is?" he asked.

Nova's eyes didn't stray from his. "No."

He grinned and suddenly blew on it.

A yellow dust flew into her face, sending her into a coughing fit. Her vision grew blurry and her limbs felt too heavy. Her body felt uncomfortable and burning from the inside. She was vaguely aware of him talking to her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

She tried to grab the wall for support, but her arms were slow.

The man watched her with satisfaction as she slowly slid further down the wall. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him before pushing her into another room.

Everything was spinning and she didn't know where was up and where was down.

"This will be fun," his garbled voice came to her.

Suddenly, things got a little easier to see. Her body felt a little better, though still not great. She felt like she was trapped inside her skin.

Her tongue still felt glued to the bottom of her mouth, but she could feel it now.

Nova's head was pounding as she became aware of what was happening and where she was.

Then, a hand wrapped around her throat, pulling her up off the ground. Things started to get clearer as his other hand touched her face.

"Your body will sell very well," his slimy voice said. Then, he smirked. "Of course, I will need to inspect everything."

He tore her white button down off, exposing her bare stomach and black sports bra. At least she had chosen the one that covered everything. He frowned, displeased, but his hand travelled to the bottom of her bra and he hooked a finger under it.

Nova's fight or flight sense finally kicked in and she slugged him hard in the face.

The man stumbled back, shocked and bleeding profusely from his nose. "No… I… what? I drugged you… That's not… How did you…"

Nova swallowed her saliva and stretched her arms a bit, allowing all the feeling to come back and getting her blood pumping.

She walked over to him and and gave him a radiant smile. "Night night."

~

Nova stepped out of the room almost as soon as Vincent came running down the halls.

"I was looking for you," Vincent started, panting. Then, she took notice of the blood on a much too big shirt.

"Don't worry about it," Nova dismissed. "I'm ready. Are you?"

Vincent nodded. "You will have exactly 4 minutes and 27 seconds to get out after retrieving the Dragon Stone. Okay? And don't look back."

Nova nodded. "Let's do this."

Vincent left to get in position.

A few seconds later, all the lights shut off. Electricity had been cut. It would be off for a few minutes. Which would mean that the cameras were all off, too. But, she had limited time before the backup stuff all came back online.

It's time, she thought as icy adrenaline pumped through her veins.

She raced down the hall and jumped, kicking off the wall to give her momentum to the ceiling. She shot up and climbed into the vent that had a holographic cover. She quickly made her way through the silver tunnel until she was over the holding room.

Directly in the middle of the room… right under the vent… on a pristine pedestal… was the Dragon Stone.

It was a gold carving of a dragon that had a rare red gemstones for eyes and diamonds down its back. It was approximately a foot tall and 5 inches wide.

Nova pushed the vent open and dropped down into the dark room. She stuffed the artifact into her black bag slung around her back and turned to jump onto the pedestal.

Oh, how she loved this. Exhilaration pumping through her, making her breathless and excited.

"Too easy," she murmured.

"My apologies."

Welp. She just had to jinx it.

She turned around and found the Headmistress in the corner of the room, hidden in the shadows.

"Hello, dearie."