Call Me

[labcoatgirl]

"No! No, let me out of here! Let me go!"

She had put up a struggle the whole way against the two soldiers on either side. Both of which were thinking they didn't get paid enough to deal with the General's daughter. Betty knew they were closing in on Bruce and had snuck into the facility to find out what they knew and prevent them from finding him.

Unfortunately, she was found first.

When beating on the door and yelling at the guards didn't help, Betty paced frantically through the small room they had locked her in. It wasn't much, a left over empty lab. Barred windows, not to mention they were on the second floor.

But there was a phone nearby. Betty quickly picked up the receiver and found a dial tone. It was time to call in a favor.

Comments

[behindthemagic]

Dylan is not yet at work, with thanks to a time zone difference. He's up and in the process of putting a tie around his neck when his phone rings. He looks down at the number and his brow creases as he puzzles that it's no a local number, and it's one he doesn't recognize.

"Rhodes."

[labcoatgirl]

"...Dylan? I'm sorry, I know I said there wouldn't be a call but...this is Betty Ross." Hopefully he had not forgotten about her. But right now, she didn't have anyone else she could call.

She quickly lowers her voice, hiding behind a pillar at footsteps passing the door. "I don't suppose you are in town at the moment?" Vegas was pretty close to where this facility was located.

[behindthemagic]

Dylan most certainly remembered Betty, but it doesn't take away his surprise at hearing from her.

"Uh, yeah. I am." He sounds a bit perplexed. Usually he can hide it but right now he doesn't care to. "What's up?"

[labcoatgirl]

"Well..."

How to begin?

"I'm sort of in a bind and...it was a long shot to call but I could use some help." Some higher-than-her-clearance help. "Do you know the Duncan army base twenty miles from Vegas?"

[behindthemagic]

"Yeah, yeah I do." He glances up at the clock. It wouldn't take him long to get there, and he can call out from work. "What happened?"

[labcoatgirl]

Betty took a breath.

"I need a way to get out of it."

Definitely more explanation was needed. Also the fact that she was practically whispering so as not to be heard by her father's guards.

[behindthemagic]

Well, that was new and unexpected. He goes silent a moment as that statement sinks in and his mind immediately begins to spin ideas around in his head. Her tone and quiet told him this was a serious request, not that he figured her to be the sort to make light of such a call.

"Tell me what's going on." He can make a few phone calls or come get her on his own, but he needs to know why she's so worried and why she's being kept in the first place.

[labcoatgirl]

She switches ears, leaning to look out of the window. Down below, they were packing up for an all out assault. Betty knew who it was going to be on and she had to stop them. Or at least distract them in the opposite direction.

"My father," she sighs. "He's about to make a big mistake and he has locked me away to keep me out of it. I need to get out before it's too late." It was a shaky explanation, she knew. "...it's very important." She will beg if she has to.

"I'll owe you one in return if it comes to that."

[behindthemagic]

"Your father...wait, General Ross?" He sounds almost incredulous, but not dismissive. "Dammit. I don't know what he's after, but he's not allowed to mobilize anything in this area. I'll be there as soon as I can."

He doesn't hang up as he goes to a chest and opens it, looking down at the contents with a sigh. He'll need a miracle to get her out of the situation, but he just might be able to make a few happen.

It won't be long before he's running out to his car and speeding down the highway toward the base to have at minimum a few choice words with the General. The last time the guy was in town he'd made a mess and blamed it on the locals, he had a way of making a lot of people angry.

[labcoatgirl]

Relieved that he did understand the situation, Betty stayed on the phone as long as she could. Peeking out the window to watch the small army getting ready to disembark.

She didn't think for a moment that one FBI agent could stop her father. But he might be able to delay him. "Watch yourself, you might end up in the same spot with me," she warned him.

"Hey!" There's an exclamation from one of the guards who went in to check on her. "Give me that..." And the sound of the phone being disconnected on the other end.

[behindthemagic]

Dylan isn't surprised when the connection is cut, so he takes the opportunity to call in to his captain, warning him about the mobilization, saying an anonymous tip had been phoned in and that he was on his way to check it out.

It would take the office time to mobilize, so Dylan was on his own. After a 20 minute drive he arrived at the front gates, pulling out his badge and haranguing the guards until they had no choice but to let him in.

It didn't take much to spot the massing group of soldiers and Dylan headed straight for them. He has a skill for being obnoxious and troublesome, he'll be bringing every bit of that to bear as he parked his car, hopping out and shouting above the noise.

"Where's the General?!"

[labcoatgirl]

The intimidating man with a cigar in his mouth, doing last minute checklist on a clipboard looked over at Dylan with contempt. "Who is this and WHY is he on the base?" Thunderbolt Ross in the flesh. He slapped the clipboard against an aide's chest as he strode right up to the man in a suit.

"Give me a reason to lock you up for trespassing," he glared at the FBI agent.

[behindthemagic]

"Well if it isn't the General himself." Dylan walks up, completely undeterred by Ross's imposing figure. He puts his hands on his hips and initiates a stare-down that he doesn't plan to lose.

"Agent Rhodes, FBI. Give me a reason to lock you up for conducting unauthorized activities."

[labcoatgirl]

The General didn't back down, even for those credentials. "I have authorisation. From the governor of Nevada, no less." Seems the governor had been talked to about having radiation monster problems in his state.

"Now I want you off this base before I throw you out myself. Do I make myself clear?"

[behindthemagic]

"I don't care what the governor says. Odds are you fed him some bullshit and he swallowed every word. Unless you have signed military authorization, from someone other than yourself, I'm going to shut this operation down before it leaves the base. You're not making a mess and leaving us to clean it up again." Dylan's voice is getting louder, more agitated. He wants to make certain everyone nearby can hear him, or at least know that Ross is getting chewed out. Some of the nearby soldiers pause uncertainly, which means he's successfully delaying whatever the man has planned. If he's lucky, Dylan might even make him angry enough to lock him up near Betty.

tagging from work iz fun

[labcoatgirl]

Ross wasn't about to abandon months of searching and manpower to kowtow to some desk jockey from the FBI. His eyes narrow, leaning in with his cigar.

"You and what army?"

He gave a nod to one of his captains who came up with a few others to hustle the man away. "Lock him upstairs. I'm done with this conversation, we're wasting time."

[behindthemagic]

"I'll have your ass Ross!" Rhodes starts shouting as his hands are pulled behind him, his weapon and phone removed. He fights against the soldiers, using the opportunity to discretely lift a passcard and some keys from various soldiers. Eventually they get him into the building and there's not much point to making a real fight of things anymore. He goes along with it, but still talks, making certain they're clearly aware of the trouble they're in for following Ross's orders.

After a short ride up an elevator, they shove him into the old lab space that Betty's in and Rhodes gives a bemused smile as the door is slammed shut behind him.

"Doctor Ross."

[labcoatgirl]

They'd duct taped her wrists together after finding her with the phone. Despite that, she had attempted to wait near the door with a chair leg in hand. But the guards were ready for her and confiscated that.

That reproachful look is back. "I was hoping to get out of trouble, not you getting yourself into trouble."

[behindthemagic]

"I'm always in trouble." He gives her a smug look before turning to make certain the door behind them is closed. There's the sound of handcuffs clicking and then he smiles, bringing them around in front of him before releasing the second hand.

"And I had to locate you. The rest of the office will be handling the General once he's off base." With his hands free, he pockets the key and sets the handcuffs aside, motioning for her to hold out her wrists so he can free them.

[labcoatgirl]

Now that was unexpected. "You meant to get captured?" she asks, holding out her wrists. Betty had no trouble at all believing he was always in trouble for being that bold with her father.

"He didn't listen, did he? They've been getting ready to mobilize any minute." They had to hurry or they would miss the whole convoy.

[behindthemagic]

"He didn't, but I think it's made a few of his soldiers think twice. It bought a few more minutes for my Captain to get our people out the door, but if you're up for it, I think we can get them a few more." He had to hand it to Betty, she was a firecracker and certainly didn't back down to a tyrant of a father. Once he gets her wrists free he reaches into his pockets and pulls out a few items: a small notepad, a military keyring with matching keys, and a passcard.

"I think this should do the job." He gives the keys a good look-over before handing them over to Betty. Then he quietly rips out a piece of paper from the notebook and starts to crumple it into a ball.

[labcoatgirl]

Betty eagerly takes the keys, working on trying to find the right one for the door. She cracks it open a bit, seeing that the guards were far down the hallway, supervising some cargo that was leaving on the elevator. "It's clear for now but we should go quickly...what are you doing?" Crumpling paper?

[behindthemagic]

"I'm not looking to fight a bunch of guys in the Army. But I doubt they'll be expecting this." He doesn't yet explain, but it's no ordinary notebook, the paper is flash-paper, a special effect that if applied correctly, can be used to stun or confound. He repeats the action quickly, and then the small balls of paper disappear up his sleeves. He nods, ready to go.

"Head for the back stairwell."

[labcoatgirl]

Her smile softens, suspicious that this is not standard FBI fare for escaping, but that can keep. She nods and peeks through the door. Still clear.

Betty slipped through the door as quietly as she could, stepping towards the door to the stairwell. The guards were still busy down at the other end of the hall. Betty kept her eyes on them as she stepped backwards quickly.

[behindthemagic]

Dylan shuts and carefully locks the door, but once that is done he moves quickly to the stairs with Betty. He stays facing forward, quickly closing the gap between them and then ushering Betty through the door just as the elevator reaches the floor. Thankful for small measures of luck, they won't have such an easy time evading the remainder of the group, but at least they have a head start on things.

"So what kind of trouble makes a General illegally detain his daughter?"

[labcoatgirl]

Betty presses her lips together in frustration. Whispering back, "It's complicated." Carefully taking the stairs quickly and quietly down to the next level. "He is after a friend...a scientist who did nothing wrong. I was trying to talk him out of it." Words were wasted and things were said that would probably be regretted later. But for right now, Betty was against her father wholeheartedly.

"We need to stop them, or delay the convoy long enough," she says, following behind him.