The Director’s entrance/exit door led to emergency stairs. Elle remembered hearing that the Director always took the stairs when she overheard staff mention his comings and goings. The flashing red lights and the blare of the security breach alarm was a bit intense for Milo. He winced, shutting his eyes and holding his hands over his ears attempting to dull the noise. The echo of the staircase did make it all clatter louder and, with their enhanced abilities, Elle understood his agony.

Without asking him, she picked him up and hung him on her hip and she darted up the stairs. Milo wrapped his arms around Elle’s neck as he whined, “I forgot to get earplugs! My eardrums feel like they’re vibrating out of my head!”

“Focus on your breathing, listen to your heartbeat. Trust me, it helps.” Elle whispered, knowing Milo would still hear her like a full voice speaker.

She took the stairs to the very top, which was about nine-story-flights-high. The emergency exit door led to a helicopter pad, built off a cliff on a mountain.

Milo pumped his fists into the air, hailing his head back, “I knew it! We were inside a mountain!”

Elle set him down and he did a happy dance. She had never seen him express emotion before, nor had she seen him do anything like gloating ever.

“Okay, so you were right, but now what?” Elle wondered.

“432, 433, 434, 435…” Milo counted looking east on the horizon. Then he said, “Bingo, right on time.”

Elle followed his line of sight and saw the new Nightmare Hawk Helicopter zip our way. It looked like a jet-glider with propellers in the wingspan on each side. 

“We’re hijacking the Director’s ride?” Elle asked.

“Oh, the Director was taken to his safe room in the event one of us tries to kill him on our escape. His ride was rerouted. This one is for us. I think you’ve already met the pilot.” 

As the Nightmare Hawk lowers down and settles into place on its hawk-like feet landing gear, through the front windshield Elle sees Prometheus II aka Zave Wace. Without waiting for the propellers to fully stop, Milo ran up to the boarding door. 

Concerned for his safety, Elle jolted to get in front of Milo, to prevent him from getting hurt in some way. The boarding door popped open and flipped up like a hatch door. Eagerly, Milo climbed inside and Elle followed suit.

Milo buckled himself in and Elle double-checked he was safely secured in his seat before buckling herself in next to him. Without waiting, Zave closed the boarding door, and powered the Nightmare Hawk back up. Seconds later, they ascended into the air.

The hybrid aircraft they were in was as quiet as a boeing airplane cabin. Making room for conversation.

“Did you tell her?” Zave asked without keeping his eye off the horizon.

“Tell me what?” Elle wondered.

Milo looked up at Elle and smiled, which was rare for the little guy to do, “I tipped Zave off to your red-test and made sure he was there to tell you the truth, so we could finally escape.”

Milo continued to explain that he suspected months ago that Sammi wasn’t Elle’s mother, which made him do some digging into Spectrum’s Database without them detecting it. He figured that Elle already new the truth, but was playing along. After he discovered that Mara Taylor-Wace was Elle’s mother, he learned that Spectrum wanted Elle to assassinate Mara for her red-test. Since Mara was searching for Elle and she was getting close to finding her daughter. So close in fact, she got into a fight with Sammi, interrupting her search of finding Spectrum Headquarters, and losing the battle to Sammi, Mara landed in the hospital.

Why not have Sammi finish what she started? Well, Spectrum was suspicious Elle knew the truth about everything and they wanted to test her loyalty. If she could kill her own mother, then she could be trusted and dedicated to their cause– to reunite the United States of America.

It all sounded ridiculous to Elle and yes, she knew Sammi wasn’t really her mother, but she didn’t know about Mara until the night of the red-test. The secrecy of espionage was dumb. Granted, can’t spy without lies and secrets, but the whole spy-thing was increasingly becoming stupid to Elle the older she got.

“So, where are we going now?” Elle asked Milo.

“I don’t know.” He answered.

“I’m taking you to your mother.” Zave said.