"Hurry up otherwise I'm taking back the power and the future of the recon will be MINE!!!!!"
What do you think we've been waiting for, Mindy? :-)

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"How are we going to get in?" Mindy whispered as they peeked down the busy hall.

"We can get Nurse Emma to transfer us into that wing," Sundance suggested.

"Too long," Mindy replied.

"We can crawl through the vent," DC suggested, pointing at the vent above them. She pointed to the ceiling vent, then shot a hook up into the gridiron and yanked it down. Sundance caught it and quietly set it on the ground. They boosted Sundance up through the hole, then Mindy, and then the two pulled DC up through the vent.

Mindy pulled up the rope and fit the gridiron back onto the vent, then looked around. "I feel like a mouse in a maze." She paused. "Do we know which way we're going?"

DC rolled up her sleeve. "I tattooed it on my arm."

"Sweet! Very 'Prison Break,'" Sundance nodded approvingly.

"Thanks," DC grinned. She held up her arm.

"Um, D, this is blueprint of the psychiatric ward, not of the ventilation system," Mindy pointed out.

DC paused, then frowned. "I was under the needle for eight hours! And I HATE needles!"

"If you activate your GPS phone, then we can track you through the vent system towards Sugcat and Chickbay's room." Nikkinor's voice came over the line.

"Ah, the voice of reason," Sundance replied.

*****

"Gibbs?" Chickbay cheered as there was a banging on the vent gridiron.

"No, even better," DC whispered. "It's us."

"That's not better," Sugcat pointed out.

DC made a face as she, Mindy, and Sundance dropped onto the floor from their spot in the vent, sooty and dirty and with faces as black as their Neoprene agent outfits. "Just for that, I'm eating the cheesecake I was going to give to you."

"No," Chickbay hissed and snatched it out of her hands. "Mmmm, cheesecake," she sighed happily.

"Hey, could we get some help here?" Mindy exclaimed. "We're sooty, dirty, and you two are eating cheesecake!"

"We have our priorities," Chickbay kidded. "Hold on a second." She gave Mindy a tissue.

"Just for that, no more fanfictions from me," Mindy threatened.

Loud wailing came over their radio earbuds. "See, look what you did," DC scolded Mindy. "Sammie, stop crying."

"I can't help it," she blubbered over the line. "What am I going to do if Mindy doesn't write anymore?"

Chickbay was about to say something when she suddenly stopped, her hand poised mid-air. "Shh." She paused, then jumped up. "Quick, hide. Someone's coming."

She and Sugcat looked around anxiously, then quickly hid their friends behind the curtain to their window.

"Ow! Stop pinching," DC hissed.

"There's not enough room behind this curtain," Sundance grumbled, pushing back at Mindy.

The door opened and in case Nurse Emma, pushing a large covered cart. She frowned for a moment as the door clicked shut behind her. "I see they arrived safely," she said, looking over at the huge three-person bulge under the see-through lace curtain.

"D--n, I told you this was a bad hiding place," Mindy grumbled as they came out.

"DC, I told you I unlocked all adjoining doors and tapped off all the cameras," Nurse Emma said, a slight hint of puzzlement in her voice.

DC gulped as her four friends turned slowly to glare at her. "You did?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, I had one of the nurses slip you that paper when you were signing in," Nurse Emma said in a 'duh' tone.

DC rummaged in her pants pockets (yes, my Neoprene outfits have pockets, because what kind of real agent could survive without pockets?!) and pulled out a slip of paper, and before she could crumple it up, Sugcat snatched it.

"It's her grocery list," Sugcat grumbled.

"Hey, I needed food in my fridge," DC muttered.

"How can you think of eating at a time of crisis like this?" Mindy exclaimed.

"What's wrong with that?" Chickbay said, poking at her cheesecake.

"Well, just to let you know," Nurse Emma said, glaring at DC. "In ten minutes the cameras along this hallway will blink off for a minute. Make it down the hallway, and then all you have to do is make it past Batt at the end of the hall." At that, all five agents looked at her. "I'm sorry, we couldn't get him off duty." She uncovered the cart in a hurry. "Here's all the stuff you'll need to enter headquarters. From here on in you're on your own."

Sugcat and Chickbay nodded, expertly slipping into their suits and gear and strapping on their holsters. "You look like Rambo, just way prettier," Nurse Emma laughed. "Oh. These are for you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small package of protein bars. "Always carry these on you. Never know when you can eat on this job."

"Aw, that's so Kate-ish," Mindy sighed happily.

Nurse Emma winked. "Kate will be waiting for you at headquarters. For obvious reasons she'll need your help to get in." She looked at her watch. "Two minutes to camera shut down."

"Wait!" Sugcat said suddenly. "With Batt at the end of the hall, how do we distract him?"


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OK! Lame chapter, but we're on our way out. :-) How to get past Batt, I am at a loss.
Mindy, glad you liked the nineteenth-century dress. It was a "TM7" shoutout for DC. ;-)
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Rosefern - http://www.geocities.com/rosefernkate/