16 Chapter 16 - The Capture

The team woke up in-game. Without saying a single word to each other, they all got ready to leave. Vicky decided to not wear her mask, or pull up the hood. Vicky, got a bike spawned in front of her through her head-up display. The team got into their van.

Vicky rode off from the base. She went straight to the plaza; the van didn't go with her. She walked to the lockers.

"Hi, what is your locker number?" the NPC asked.

"208," Vicky replied. The NPC took her to the locker. She typed in the code, and opened the locker. She walked through the secret passage, and found Alex, Manic and Blaze waiting for her.

"Icicle. Come for a second round?" Manic asked, taking two daggers out. Alex and Blaze took their weapons out too.

"Let's dance," Vicky said, taking her sword out. Vicky charged at them and went all out, using all her weapons. Manic was using his telekinesis too. Alex and Blaze had also drawn their weapons as well. Vicky threw her boomerang at Alex, which bounced on him, and then to Blaze, and returned back to Vicky. They kept fighting for a while, with Vicky having to be extra vigilant. Vicky eventually started to retreat. She brought the fight to the centre of the plaza, and then out to the car park. She got on her bike, making sure the guys followed her.

"Go! After her," Manic said. He got into a car with Blaze, while Alex got onto another bike.

Vicky raced off, with the trio chasing after her. They started shooting at her, and she kept dodging the bullets, by manoeuvring the bike through traffic.

"Some help would be nice," Vicky said to her earpiece.

"We're coming, just hang on a minute," Dash said. Vicky kept dodging bullets on the streets. After a while, Dash and Sarah came on their own bikes, with the captain, and Colton in a car. Kane and Miles were on a helicopter, following the chase from above. Manic, Alex and Blaze noticed Vicky's new reinforcements.

"Guys looks like we got company," Alex said.

"Stick to Icicle. We'll try shaking these guys off," Manic said. Alex revved the engine on his bike, and followed Vicky. Manic started shooting at the captain's car.

"Colton. Can you please start shooting?" the captain asked, looking at Colton fidgeting with his gun.

"One minute. How's a grenade launcher for this?" Colton asked.

"As much as you like to blow stuff up, I don't think now is the time," the captain replied.

"What? Why not?" Colton asked.

"We're chasing someone, not being chased Colton," Miles said through the earpiece.

"Where's the fun in not blowing stuff up?" Colton asked bummed, and started shooting at Manic's vehicle.

"Look at that now they're shooting at us too," Blaze said, looking at Manic, shooting.

"Just drive," Manic said.

"That's what I'm doing," Blaze said.

"I see you guys are feeling safe and cosy in the car, unlike me who's all out in the open," Alex said, dodging the bullets, Colton was shooting.

"Welcome to the battlefield," Vicky mumbled under her breath. Sarah and Dash started shooting at Manic's vehicle too, forcing him to split up from Alex.

"Alex. Meet us at the safe house. Don't lose Icicle," Manic said, steering his vehicle away from Alex and Vicky. Dash and the captain followed Manic's vehicle, while Sarah and the helicopter followed Alex and Vicky.

"About time we do this," Miles said in the earpiece. Vicky led Alex to dead-end

"I got you now," Alex said getting off the bike, with his gun drawn at Vicky.

"Do you?" Vicky asked, while watching Sarah pull her gun on Alex. Alex reluctantly put his gun down. Miles rappelled down from the helicopter. Sarah cuffed Alex's hands.

"We can't land here. Get him up the roof," Kane said through the earpiece. Thus they took Alex up to the rooftop of one of the nearby buildings, and got him on the helicopter, alongside Miles.

"What about you guys?" Miles asked.

"We'll meet you back at base," Sarah replied. Miles nodded his head, and the helicopter took off.

Sarah and Vicky went back to their bikes.

"Max, we got Alex," Sarah said to her earpiece.

"Good job, we'll meet you at base," the captain said through the earpiece.

Vicky and Sarah went back to the base. The helicopter had already arrived. Miles and Kane walked towards them.

Dash arrived exactly as Miles and Kane walked to the girls.

"Did Max come back yet?" Dash asked, getting off the bike.

"No not yet," Miles replied.

"Where were you guys when we split up?" Vicky asked.

"We were following Manic and Blaze, the captain told me to come back after you guys said you got Alex," Dash said.

"See anything from the helicopter?" Vicky asked looking at Miles and Kane.

"Tough to say. We couldn't get a proper glimpse of them. They followed a tunnel," Kane said.

"Don't you think it'll be better if we did a few rounds on the helicopter around the area, to check if they're coming in?" Sarah said.

"Captain," Miles said through his earpiece. There was no response from the captain.

"Do you think they got him?" Dash asked.

"The captain?" Vicky asked, almost as if questioning reality. The four of them looked at Vicky. "What?" Vicky asked.

"Kane and I will take a look around in the chopper, you three stay here. Meet the commander, tell her everything," Miles said.

Miles and Kane went to the helicopter, and took off.

"Come on, let's go talk to the commander," Sarah said, and walked into the building.

Claire was inside an office. Sarah, Dash and Vicky were standing outside the room door, as Claire was speaking with another soldier. Once the soldier left, Claire called the trio inside.

"Where's the captain?" Claire asked.

"We've got some good news and bad news," Sarah said.

"What's the good news?" Claire asked.

"We got Alex," Dash said.

"And the bad news?" Claire asked.

"The captain didn't come back from the mission yet," Sarah said.

"That's your problem… I have some work to complete, now that we have Alex," Claire said, and walked out of the room.

"Huh! Look at that. Wonder what she'd do if she went missing, and we went like 'That's her problem'," Vicky said, after Claire left.

"What are we going to do now?" Dash asked looking at Sarah.

"We'll wait for Miles to come back," Sarah said.

"I'd say regroup, run through what we know. What might have gone wrong? Get intel, and make a plan," Vicky said. Sarah and Dash looked at Vicky, raising their eyebrows.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Dash asked.

"I've been playing video games my whole life. Strategies are the most important thing in winning," Vicky said, and continued, "Specially in team games, like capture the flag."

"Let's go out, and wait until Miles and Kane gets back," Sarah said leading them outside. It took a while for the helicopter to come back. Miles and Kane came up to the group.

"They're nowhere in sight," Miles said.

"Do you think they were captured?" Dash asked.

"Seems like it," Kane said.

"What did Claire say?" Miles asked.

"'That's your problem… I have some work to complete, now that we have Alex'," Vicky said, trying to imitate Claire's voice.

"That sounds awfully familiar," Kane said.

"Looks like it's up to us to rescue them," Sarah said.

Meanwhile, in one of Manic's safe houses.

"Looks like they've got Alex," Blaze said entering the room where Manic was.

"Well… We've got someone they want," Manic said, looking at Colton and the captain, who were unconscious and tied to chairs.