45 Up we Go

"Alright, then we'll head out first," Duke said.

"Good luck guys! Kick some ass." Waze grinned and waved goodbye to Duke, Michelle, Byrd, Sable, and Marco as they set off to go rescue the girls. The group walked back through the door and disappeared into the hotel. Waze turned back to Alec.

"Good luck out there, Waze. Stay safe." Alec gave Waze a dazzling smile.

"Thanks. You stay safe, too."

"Not like I'll be doing much." Alec laughed.

"True. Well, I'll be going." Waze turned to leave before pausing and looking back at Alec. She threw herself onto him and gave him a tight hug. "See you on the other side."

Alec was slightly surprised for a moment before he returned the hug.

"See you."

And with that, Cassidy and Waze were off. The two of them walked through the hallways, their footsteps light and quiet.

"So I guess we've just gotta beat some information out of a guard, huh?" Waze glanced down at Cassidy to hear her opinion.

"Yeah. I'm sure most people will cough up information if my snakes are coiled around them."

"True, true. Then, the first guards we come up on we'll fight."

"Sounds good to me."

They walked for a while longer, making their way around the building, looking for some sign of life. Finally, they heard voices. Waze and Cassidy peeked around the corner to see two men laughing and joking around as they walked through the building.

"Cassidy, you got this?"

"Yeah, 'course." Cassidy's black snakes darted out and wrapped the men in seconds. "Too easy."

"The element of surprise is our greatest weapon." The men struggled in the snakes, but they were already captured. The moment Cassidy's snakes coiled around you, you were pretty much done for. Cassidy and Waze walked calmly out from behind the corner and approached the men.

"Hey, boys! I see you're in a bit of a situation." Waze grinned.

"Who the fuck are you? You little bitch, let us go! I'll kill you!"

"You don't seem like you're in any position to be talking to us like that. You don't seem particularly strong anyway, what are you really gonna do?" Cassidy approached the men writhing on the floor and crouched down so they were eye to eye. "Now, I'm gonna need you to tell me where Egar is."

"Fuck you. Why should I tell you anything?" The snakes tightened on the man and coiled up around his neck, suffocating him. He had a bit of air, just enough to stay conscious. It still wasn't very comfortable, though.

"I'd say it's in your best interest to obey. You're not exactly in a position to resist. Besides, we're going to find him eventually. Would you rather sit here and suffocate for hours or just tell us where he is? It's not like we're gonna go tattling on who told us. Anyway, I can make this much much worse for you." Waze looked down at the man, attempting to use reasoning to convince him. The man seemed like he was about to spit out another crude remark before the other man interrupted him.

"The VIP suite on the 10th floor. Room 432."

"What- dude, what are you doing?! You can't just tell them!"

"They'll never make it there, anyway. They'll be thrown back with the other bitches in no time." The man glared up at Waze.

"Thanks for the info. It's greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, we can't have you tailing us, so we're gonna have to say night-night. Cassidy, if you will."

"Of course." Cassidy's snakes tightened around the men's necks. In no time they were both unconscious.

"We probably shouldn't just leave them here in case someone else comes by..." Waze stared down at the bodies in annoyance.

"There's a storage closet over there. We can lock them in that." Cassidy pointed to a door on the side of the hallway.

"Perfect! Help me drag them over there." Waze heaved up one of the men and dragged him by his shoulders over to the closet. She opened it up and threw him inside. Cassidy pushed the other man inside, leaving the two in a crumpled pile on the ground.

"Alright. To room 432." Waze dusted off her hands.

"We should take the elevator. It'll be faster." Cassidy looked up at Waze, waiting for confirmation.

"Hmm... you're right. But the elevator's probably well guarded. Eh, you know what. Who cares. We can take it." Waze nodded and gestured for Cassidy to follow her. "The nearest one is this way, I think." Cassidy nodded and followed Waze down the hallway. They slipped past a few more guards before they reached the elevators.

Waze glanced around from the corner of the wall and surveyed the situation.

"Looks like there's about five guards. They're not armed very heavily, so they've probably got some good abilities. Why don't you do your best to take them out from here, and we can work from there." Waze ducked back behind the wall and let Cassidy take a look.

"Ok. Got it." Waze watched as Cassidy's black snakes swirled out from the ground and dashed towards the men. They quickly coiled up and around the men's bodies. Waze watched the men curse and struggle in the snakes. One man pulled out a knife from his belt and it engulfed in green flames, slicing off the snakes. Cassidy flinched back. He did his best to cut the others free, but two of the men were already unconscious.

"Alright, let's do this." Waze darted out from the wall and dashed towards the man with the knife, jumping up into a spin kick and hitting him square in the face. Waze landed gracefully and the man toppled slightly. Waze flew back at him again in a flurry of hits. The man swung his flaming blade around as he attempted to ward off Waze. Finally, Waze saw an opportunity. Driving her power into her fist, she stepped forward and sent a glowing punch into the man's gut, right around where his liver was. He crumpled to the ground. For good measure, Waze gripped her hands together and slammed them into the back of his head. She took a step back. He wasn't getting up anytime soon.

Waze looked over at Cassidy, who was battling out the two other men. Waze dashed in and helped her knock them out. Waze looked down at the men, then stepped over them and punched the up button on the elevator. She grinned.

"Up we go."