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"Who says you're smarter than me, anyway?" Wheeler snapped, running over the top of Linka's high-pitched tirade against him.
She broke off her speech against impulsiveness and irresponsibility and glared at him. "I am smarter than you," she said icily.
"Maybe we should research this mission a little," Ma-Ti offered hopefully, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two Planeteers at the front of the geo-cruiser.
Wheeler waved at him to be quiet. "You might read more than I do," he said to Linka, looking angrier and angrier by the minute, "but that doesn't mean you're smarter than me."
Linka rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the side window, deciding to give him the silent treatment.
"Ever heard of this thing called street smarts?" Wheeler asked, unable to let it go.
Kwame cleared his throat softly from the seat behind him, indicating that Wheeler should drop the subject.
Wheeler obeyed, but he kept casting sullen, angry looks at Linka for the rest of the journey.
xXx
The sky was steely grey as Linka landed the geo-cruiser. She did so a little heavily, still annoyed with Wheeler; still tense with anger. She pushed past him silently and jumped down onto the soft earth, looking around at the sparse forest.
"Plunder's factory is a mile west from here," Gi said. "We'll walk from here so he doesn't spot us. Keep an eye out, you guys."
She and Kwame led the way, with Ma-Ti hurrying after them.
"You couldn't land us a little closer?" Wheeler asked grumpily.
Linka shot him a look. "I thought perhaps your street smarts would appreciate some navigation through the forest," she said, waving her hand around at the trees. She marched ahead of him, her head held high.
Wheeler gritted his teeth and stormed after her.
xXx
"Linka, if you can get into Plunder's computer system, it will make this a lot easier," Kwame said in a low whisper.
Linka nodded agreement, keeping her eyes focused on the lit window near the top of the towering factory building.
"The rest of us will try to track Plunder down and figure out exactly what this biochemical is," Gi added. "Will you be all right alone, Linka?"
Wheeler shot her a look of mockery and doubt.
Linka glared back at him. "Da, I will be fine."
"Don't get caught," Wheeler snapped at her. "We don't want to waste time coming to rescue you."
"You are impossible!" Linka shrieked at him. "Just because I said –"
"Shh!" Kwame hissed. "If the two of you do not stop arguing..." He trailed off and gave them both a severe look of warning.
Linka huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"We'll meet back here in an hour," Gi said, casting a grateful look to Kwame.
The Planeteers split up, stealing away into the shadows of the darkening afternoon. Somewhere over the rolling mountains, thunder began to rumble across the sky.
xXx
Linka managed to get into the factory relatively easily. She avoided the main floor of the building, with its conveyor belts and towering collections of toxic-filled drums, and headed for the narrow staircase that wound its way upwards towards the storage rooms and offices above.
Everything was eerily silent, except for the thunder outside. It was a weekday – she had expected the factory to be crawling with locals working with the chemicals downstairs.
She hurried onwards, still scowling about her argument with Wheeler. As usual, it had started with petty bickering and blown up into something entirely unreasonable. Neither of them wanted to back down; they were both too stubborn.
The undesired similarities between them caused Linka to tense up again. She marched forward, feeling reckless and irritable.
Plunder's office was deserted, but there were papers scattered about and his computer was still on. She scrolled through files with narrowed eyes, tracking his deceptions and forgeries. He had labelled the biochemical as safe by doctoring lab results – probably with the help of Doctor Blight.
Linka hammered away at the keys, sending the doctored results through to the geo-cruiser's system so she could look everything over in detail later. She was beginning to get a headache.
Rain started spattering against the windows. The weather matched Linka's mood perfectly: dark and stormy.
She watched the slow transfer of files irritably, still thinking about the argument with Wheeler and wishing some small misfortune upon him, like it would be just punishment for fighting with her.
She was disturbed out of her thoughts by footsteps on the hard flooring. She had been so lost in her anger she hadn't heard Plunder's approach until he was almost at the door. At the last second, Linka shot out of his chair and beneath the desk, squeezing right up against the solid flank of it. She was sheltered on three sides, but if Plunder sat at the desk he'd be bound to notice her.
She cursed silently and frowned, trying to send a message to Ma-Ti.
Plunder sank into his chair and pulled forward. Linka shrank further into the shadows, Plunder's knees barely three inches from her nose. If he moved his feet, he'd kick her and discover her instantly.
Sweat broke out on her brow. Somehow it felt natural to blame Wheeler and the argument for this new predicament. If she hadn't had the argument with him, her mind would have been clearer.
Ma-Ti hadn't answered her. Linka wondered if it was the toxic chemicals blocking her message to him, or her own angry and bitter thoughts.
She tried to relax and stop thinking so spitefully, but she was still angry. Somehow Wheeler had managed to make her feel arrogant and conceited, and that wasn't what she had meant at all. He had latched onto one tiny phrase she'd mistakenly used and turned it into a big deal.
She scowled and shrank back again as Plunder coughed and picked up the phone.
She winced and tried to think of a way to escape – but she was walled in, and there was no way she'd be able to get past Plunder without causing a disturbance.
Plunder spoke impatiently into the phone. "Bleak, it's me. Bring the car around."
Linka breathed a quiet sigh of relief, knowing Plunder wouldn't be at the desk much longer. She hoped he'd be able to get up and leave the room without noticing her.
Plunder coughed again and his chair creaked as he shifted.
Linka moved slowly and carefully, squinting at her watch. Half an hour had passed since she'd left the other Planeteers. If she didn't get out of there soon, she'd miss their meeting time and everyone would think something had happened to her.
She scowled again as she realised this would mean Wheeler would claim victory and think she'd messed up. She began fuming again, daydreaming of ways he could be taught a lesson. She hated arguing with him. She especially hated it when he was right, and she was beginning to realise she had been out of line.
He was clever – much cleverer than her when it came to certain things – and it bothered her that they had argued about such a touchy subject so vehemently.
She didn't like making people feel bad about themselves – even if they were loud-mouthed and cocky and occasionally deserving of being brought down a peg or two.
Plunder shifted and his knee grazed Linka's shoulder. She stiffened, terrified that he had felt it and would soon bend down to discover her there.
He remained oblivious, however.
Linka checked her watch again, listening to the thunder boom. The window panes rattled in their frames as the storm drew closer. Linka watched the minutes slide by on her tiny silver watch and grew more and more anxious. She didn't want to miss the deadline. She didn't want the other Planeteers to think she was in trouble.
She didn't want Wheeler to think he had to "rescue" her from anything.
xXx
"I knew she shouldn't have gone off on her own," Wheeler said, looking rather smug.
"There's no need to be so full of yourself!" Gi snapped at him. "She could be in real trouble!"
Wheeler's face fell. "I know," he mumbled, glancing towards Plunder's factory. The light was still on in his office on the top floor.
"I cannot hear anything," Ma-Ti said, his brow creased with concentration. "There are too many fumes inside the factory."
"Plunder has not sent Bleak out to look for us," Kwame said thoughtfully. "I am not sure he knows we are here. Perhaps Linka has just lost track of time."
"When has Linka been late for anything?" Gi asked irritably, huddling beneath a nearby shrub as the rain started falling in heavier droplets. "She's in trouble."
"We should go and find her," Wheeler said.
Gi shot him a look of blame. "She probably wasn't thinking clearly," she said. "She was probably mad at you for that stupid argument you had."
"Like this stupid argument, you mean?" Wheeler shot back at her.
"Enough!" Ma-Ti cried.
Wheeler scowled at Gi and hunkered down in the damp dirt. "So what's the plan, then?"
"Gi, you stay here, in case Linka comes back," Kwame said. "We will go back into the factory and try to find her."
"Okay," Gi sighed, pulling herself further under the shelter of the sparse shrubbery. "Don't be too long, okay?"
"Half an hour," Kwame said, tapping his watch.
Gi had a small smile on her face as the boys got up and headed for the fence. "Don't get caught," she called after them. "I don't want to waste time coming to rescue you."
xXx
Linka's muscles were cramping and aching, and sweat ran down her face. The rain was falling steadily outside now.
Plunder hadn't moved, despite the phone call to Bleak.
Linka could hear him tapping at the computer keys just above her head. She longed to know what he was doing.
Her deadline had crawled past. She had watched it go with a mixture of worry and anger. She could imagine Wheeler uttering some sort of self-satisfied remark about her getting into trouble.
Which wasn't true at all – she wasn't in trouble. Yet.
Plunder sighed and pushed his chair back slightly.
Linka pressed herself further back against the desk, and jumped when the pressure of her weight against its side caused the wood to shift and offer a loud crack. Plunder jumped.
Linka's heart raced and her mouth was dry. She squeezed her eyes closed and crossed her fingers, praying he wouldn't look beneath the desk.
He pushed his chair back and began gathering papers. Linka heard the snapping of his briefcase as Bleak strode into the office.
"You took your time," Plunder snapped at him, shoving his chair in. It banged against Linka's knee and she bit her lip to stop herself crying out in pain.
"I had to finish loading the barrels onto the truck," Bleak said rather sulkily. "It wasn't easy doing it alone, you know."
"We're saving money by only hiring the workers two days a week, Bleak," Plunder replied silkily. "Let's go."
Linka breathed a sigh of relief as she heard them leave the office. She slowly nudged the chair back and emerged from beneath the desk, breathing in the cooler air and rubbing her aching knee. Her muscles shook and trembled as she unfolded her lithe form.
She carefully headed for the door of Plunder's office, peering out into the deserted corridor before she finally made her exit. She made it to the top of the stairs before she heard Plunder's voice ring out angrily, echoing against the latest crash of thunder.
"Planet pests!" he roared.
Linka's stomach dropped as she realised the others must have come looking for her. She hurried down the stairs and peered out into the main floor of the factory. Beams and pipes criss-crossed overheard, throwing a net-like pattern across everything.
She caught a glimpse of Wheeler as he ducked behind a row of toxic barrels. There was a mischievous grin on his face, as though he enjoyed the knowledge Plunder was so annoyed.
Linka glared towards his hiding place, angry with him for treating the situation so flippantly. She glanced around, unsure of where the others were.
Bleak was stalking between the barrels, drawing closer and closer to Wheeler, who still had his eyes fixed on Plunder. Linka hoped he wouldn't be stupid enough to use his ring near all those chemicals.
He caught sight of her across the room and his mouth dropped open.
She couldn't help it. She smirked at him.
His moment of distraction cost him. Bleak's hands came down heavily on his shoulders, and Wheeler was yanked off his feet.
"Watch it!" he cried, twisting around in Bleak's grasp. "You're messing up my hair, man."
"Shut it!" Bleak snapped, twisting Wheeler's arm up behind his back.
Linka winced, feeling a little guilty. She told herself it wasn't totally her fault – Wheeler hadn't been paying Bleak any attention at all anyway.
"Where are the others?" Plunder demanded, looking coldly at Wheeler.
"How should I know?" Wheeler asked rudely. "We don't keep tabs on one another 24/7, you know."
Plunder snarled and stormed away between the rows of barrels, searching shadows and corners for the other Planeteers.
Linka silently followed Bleak and Wheeler.
Wheeler was keeping up a running commentary. "It's wet out, huh?" he asked Bleak cheerfully. "I didn't even know a storm was forecast – I would have worn my other shoes. These ones leak."
"Shut up!" Bleak roared again, pulling Wheeler's arm further up against his back. Wheeler arched and staggered a little.
Linka glanced upwards. Across the ceiling ran several pipes – for water or gas, she assumed. She glanced around, did a quick stretch, and gracefully used the wall to leap up and hoist herself onto the pipe network. They ran over the open ceilings of the rooms below, and now and then a vertical support beam for the flooring above offered her another opportunity for balance. She tracked quickly along the widest pipe like it was a gymnast's beam, keeping Wheeler and Bleak within eyesight.
Bleak tripped Wheeler to the floor and quickly knotted loops of rope around his arms and chest.
"Sure you don't want to say where your friends are?" Bleak asked roughly, dragging Wheeler into a room off to the left. Linka nimbly followed, looking down at them quietly.
"Why?" Wheeler asked, pouting slightly. "Isn't my company enough, Bleak?"
Bleak snarled and slammed the door behind him, leaving Wheeler bound up on the floor. Linka watched him stalk away, back towards the main centre of the factory, before she crossed over the pipes to stand above Wheeler. He was struggling vainly on the floor, letting out a little grunt of effort now and then.
She watched him for a moment, feeling slightly validated by his obvious discomfort.
She hooked her knees around the pipe and swung down so she was looking at him upside-down. "Hello, Yankee," she said.
He stopped struggling. He looked annoyed. "Hello," he muttered, avoiding her eyes.
"This," Linka said haughtily, "is a waste of time."
Wheeler sighed and frowned slightly. "Okay, okay," he said grumpily. "I'm sorry I said that."
"Now I am going to have to rescue you," she said sweetly.
He looked up at her, fighting amusement. "Well, are you planning on doing that anytime soon?" he asked. "Or are you just going to hang there like a giant fruit bat, making fun of me?"
Linka dropped gracefully to her feet and made her way towards him. She fell to her knees beside him and tugged at the ropes around his arms, using them to pull Wheeler into a sitting position. "I am sorry I said you were not as smart as I am," she said in a low whisper, avoiding his eyes. She could feel heat stealing into her cheeks as she uttered her apology.
"It's okay," Wheeler sighed. "It's true, anyway. I think I've managed to prove that beyond all doubt." He looked down at the ropes.
Linka untied him and helped him up. "You are very clever," she said, still avoiding his eyes. "I did not mean to say those things..."
"Yes you did," Wheeler grinned. "You hurt my feelings."
"I am sorry," Linka said, suddenly feeling mortified.
"I think I deserve a kiss," Wheeler said airily, "to really prove you're sorry."
Linka punched his arm and he yelped and laughed, giving her a slight shove.
"I'm sorry too," he said, moving aside so he could start blazing through the lock on the door. It gave way and the door slowly creaked open. "Thanks for coming to my rescue, babe."
She smiled at him and shrugged. "Street smarts," she said, tapping the side of her head.