Chapter 25 - Operation Hermes

Fat Gum called you all into his office early the next morning. The additional headset drop-off incident had boosted Fat Gum's enthusiasm to get surveillance on the building as soon as possible.

"We've looked over all the blueprints and camera feeds and have a surveillance plan," Shouji stated. "I can walk the perimeter of the building and use my additional eyes to discern if any unusual packages are coming and going, and my ears to listen for suspicious conversations."

"What are the rest of you going to do?" Fat Gum asked, turning to you, Kirishima and Bakugou.

"I've been putting an action plan together in case we need to get in and out of the office," you spoke up. "We don't know why the coms are important yet, but something seems off about the operation. The man Ground Zero and I bumped into last night looked shaken when we called out to him. I think we can expect that there will be more packages and the couriers may not be delivering of their own free will."

"Unfortunately, carrying boxes with earpieces isn't a crime," Bakugou added. "Before we can make any move on these guys, we need to see or hear them doing something illegal. Red Riot and I will tail any potential couriers to see their drop off locations, and hopefully who's picking them up."

"You are not to engage unless something actually illegal is occurring. Drop-offs aren't exactly against the law either," Fat Gum warned.

"That's why we'll be taking photographs of the couriers and the people picking up. We'll share them with you and the police at the end of each day and see if any are linked to gangs or villain groups," Kirishima explained.

Fat Gum nodded, pleased you were being smart and careful in your approach. "Alright. I suggest you all get out on the street then." 

***

"Sir?" A petite woman with long silver blonde hair entered the dimly lit space. She carried a slim, white cane that tapped gingerly on the hard tile floor. The only light in the room shown from half a dozen computer monitors. It made her pale complexion appear green.

"Janus? Come in." The man faced his screens, not turning around at her arrival.

"I have some bad news sir." She stood straight, her shoulders back, her expression giving nothing away. "Last night makes the sixth package to not reach its target. We're now a month behind schedule."

"Hermes failed us again? I didn't want to sever this link in the supply chain, but I suppose we can always find another distributor." The man pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated at the news.

"It's unfortunate not everyone can appreciate our vision Janus. A lack of brains, a lack of power, a lack of influential upbringing shouldn't lead to the masses being shunned from glory. Heroes are greedy. They don't protect. They just take and take and call it justice. With them gone all those brought low will finally take back the spotlight." The man typed furiously on the keyboard in front of him, his voice cold, detached. Janus nodded obediently if not placatingly, clearly having heard the speech for the umpteenth time.

"I thought Hermes understood that, but I suppose I was wrong. Inform our spineless distributor that he has until midnight to deliver six new packages." A clock appeared on the rightmost monitor.

"Or?"

"Or he will be disposed of." He pressed a button and the clock began to count down.

"And if he succeeds sir?" Janus shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking bored down at her talon-like nails.

"He will be disposed of anyway. You know we don't leave loose ends Janus," a phlegmy chuckle burbled from his lips.

"Yes sir." She grinned.

***

It was the afternoon of the fifth day of your internship. Four days had passed with no leads, no activity. You could feel the tension in the group as you all wanted something to happen. Watching and following was an exhausting and tedious exercise. Every evening you would report your inconsequential findings to Fat Gum, and every morning you would begin again.

You'd finished making up entrance and exit plans for a number of different scenarios by the end of the second day and knew what you would have to do if there was a bomb, a fire, a gunman. You couldn't account for all possible quirks, but you had a plan if you needed to evacuate everyone on all five floors of the building quickly.

The Gorgon was a square structure with an elevator in the center of the building and a staircase flanking its west side. On the third day you entered the building, impersonating a maintenance worker, and learned not only the map of the hallways and stairwells, but the layout of the air ducts and pipes. There was a security guard running the lobby desk who had four screens to watch the various camera feeds around the building. You also noticed that the elevators and stairwells required keycards to access the fifth floor. According to the blueprints, the fifth floor had several large offices, likely for the directors of the company.

The ground and first floors housed standard looking offices, dotted with cubicles and long team work tables. There was a glass room in each of the four corners of the building for managers. The second and third floors were filled with clean rooms containing chemical equipment for electroplating and photolithography to manufacture semiconductors. Soldering stations were set up near the walls closest to the stairwells. You couldn't enter the lab spaces but could see the operation through the large glass panels dotting the hallway. The fourth floor completed the production to finished chips which were then placed into full headsets and earpieces. Packaging stations ran parallel to the east windows.

Last, you searched the basement. The building had a generator and was up to code for earthquakes and typhoons. The electrical panels and HVAC system were housed out in the open, unlike the rest of the floors which had small mechanical closets located near the elevator shaft.

"Tentacole to team." You heard Shouji's voice in your earpiece as you were sketching yet another evacuation route from the comfort of your hotel room. You perked up. "Threatening conversation on the fifth floor. I hear three men and one woman talking. Another person seems to be gagged or restrained in some way. Will need to get visual on all involved. Request Red Riot and Ground Zero to get in position and monitor movements of the suspects."

"Well, get the goddamn visual already," Bakugou hissed into the speaker. You rolled your eyes.

"What are they saying Tentacole?" You pressed the button of your own receiver.

"The woman commented that six shipments hadn't reached their mark. She seems upset. They keep referring to the gagged person as Hermes." Your brow creased.

"Hermes? Like the Greek god?"

"I'm pretty sure that's what they said."

"Can you hear anyone else's names?" Kirishima's voice.

"I'll keep listening and let you all know. I don't know if this has anything to do with the paralysis victims, but it certainly seems suspicious. Cinder, if I want to keep listening, I can't leave to see them. Can you get to the rooftop of the building across the street to get a visual? They're on the north side."

"Roger that." Shouji's mic clicked off. You quickly gathered your sketches into a bag with flares, binoculars, and night vision goggles, threw on the jacket of your hero costume and headed out.

***

Shouji gave details of the conversation as you hurried to the rooftop. "If the packages don't reach their targets tonight, Hermes will die."

"Die?" Kirishima's concerned voice rang in your ear. "Is that enough to call Fat Gum? I'm pretty sure murder is illegal."

"You're such a fucking idiot."

"You two call it in and wait for my visual. I'm two minutes out." You walked calmly into an alleyway and checked that no one was watching. You tossed out your ropes, easily latching to fire escapes and window ledges and quickly ascended the building. From the rooftop you could see directly into the north windows of the Gorgon. You placed your bag down beside you as you sat against the railing surrounding the roof, keeping out of sight. Shouji was right. There were four people standing around a fifth in a chair. One of the standing was a woman holding a tapered white cane. You pulled out the binoculars for a better view and tapped your com.

"Cinder in position. The woman is young and has long silver blonde hair. She's wearing a white dress. The three men are all wearing black, maybe grey suits with white shirts. Two have dark hair, one is green. I can't see the face of the man in the chair. He's turned away from me, but I can see his hands are handcuffed behind him and there are some kind of ropes tying his feet to the legs of the chair," your voice was shaky as you described the hostage. He must be so scared. You shook the thought away. You had to focus.

"Well, fuck. Anything else?"

"The woman is moving. She's turning to go. Tentacole, any audio?"

"She's saying the couriers have until midnight. I hear footsteps and a tapping?"

"She's leaving. The tapping is coming from a cane. The other men are still in the room. I wonder if they're the muscle," you said, squinting to pick out any other details on the suspects.

"We'll follow the lady," Kirishima said. "If she's making the rules, she might be the best lead we have." You heard a receiver click off.

***

"Tentacole, you there?"

"Yes Cinder."

"Are they still talking?"

"No. It's gone quiet. I can only here quiet sobs and moans. It's very disconcerting."

"No one's moving either. I'm going to move off the roof. I think we should swap positions. If we need to move in I need you to be our eyes."

"Got it."

***

You stood across the street from the Gorgon, only wearing your black tank top and pants tucked into your custom boots. You shoved your mask and jacket in your bag, hoping to look less like a patrolling hero.

"We lost her." You looked up as Kirishima and Bakugou marched toward you. You waved them into an alleyway, not wanting their costumes to give away that heroes were watching the building.

"What do you mean you lost her?" you hissed. You smacked Bakugou's shoulder and he stared daggers at you.

"She got into a goddamn car and it got on the fucking highway. We couldn't follow her!" he snapped.

"We got the license plate and sent the number to the police, but it could have been a rental or a taxi." Kirishima scuffed his feet on the pavement, looking like a kid who was being scolded.

"But Fat Gum said because of the threat that we could make a move tonight if anything happens. How the fuck are we supposed to know if some packages make it by midnight?" Bakugou added.

You clicked your com. "Tentacole? You okay with a stakeout?"

"Until midnight?" You smiled at his understanding.

"Exactly." Bakugou grinned, realizing your intent. "Operation Hermes is a go."