Off-Guard

"Things would be so much easier if someone was actually helping," Cody huffed at Riley.

At this point, he'd managed to turn the sentry on and messed with its commands. He also figured out that there were many LEDs connected on various parts of the bot and now the room was bathed in a soft green glow.

"Was this my idea?", she shot back.

"No, but I asked nicely."

"In which universe?", she asked incredulously.

"This one?"

She sighed, "What do you need?"

The moment she said it, they were submerged in darkness.

"What's going on? Cody!", she yelled, completely panicked.

"I'm here! Just give me a sec," the younger boy called back, trying his best to find a source of light to calm Riley down.

He almost hit himself when he realised that the band on his head had a fitting that emitted light.

How could he forget? That's what he's been using this entire time.

He switched it on and turned his head to the last direction he saw Riley in and lo and behold, she stood there, pupils reduced to pinpricks. She was shaking slightly and her arms were wound around her.

"Are you okay?", he asked carefully.

Her emerald eyes blinked once, and she calmed considerably, arms retreating back to her side.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay," she answered and then looked towards the sentry, "What happened?"

Cody walked towards the main switch in the room and turned it on. Riley basked in the light as if it protected her. "Thanks," she told him. He smiled in response and went back to inspect the sentry. He grabbed a little object, it looked like a metal toothpick to Riley. She watched as he climbed up the little cement blocks that they used as a make shift step ladder and inserted it into a groove on the sentry's chest plate. He used it as a lever, pushing it down at one end, while the other end pulled out the compartment. A section popped out, revealing an obsidian-coloured rectangle that was about the size of his palm.

"I thought as much," he said spinning around to face Riley, "It's out of juice."

"I thought that the batteries would last longer?"

"Well, only if they're fully charged. Looks like they only give it enough to make trips to their charging stations between outposts. It's like when you buy a new phone."

"I see," Riley said, taking the information in, "So, what are you gonna do now?"

"Now," Cody hopped off the 'ladder' and tossed the metal tool into his toolbox, "We have to get a battery."

"Listen bud, I don't think they sold bot batteries at the store."

"Of course not. That would give away their super secret formula," he said grinning as he held up the battery in his hand.

"Then?"

"We're going to look for parts so that I can incorporate it with this," he explained, shoving the object into Riley's hands, "and then it'll be a Cody-fied power source."

"You can do that?" she asked surprised.

" 'Can I do that?'," he laughed, "Yes, I can! Who do you think I am?"

"A nerd that made me skip my brunch snack."

"I don't regret a thing."

"You really should."

"So!", Cody exclaimed, completely ignoring that last statement, "We're going on a raid!"

xxx

"This feels weird," Riley commented while rummaging through a box of scraps.

"The stuff in the box or the atmosphere?", Cody asked for clarification, his arms lost in a box of his own.

"Both."

"Well, that's just great," Cody muttered.

"You told Archer where we are, right?", Riley inquired, tossing a little metal bit into a smaller box that was situated in between hers and Cody's workspace.

"Of course, I did. You know how he gets when we don't respond."

Riley chuckled. "Yep. The little marshmallow. He's all grown up," Riley joked, wiping a mock tear away from her eye. She yelped when her finger met the pointy end of... something in that sea of metal.

"You good?", Cody asked, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Riley nodded, sticking the hurt finger into her mouth.

"But yeah," Cody said returning to his scavenging, "He's not our little ball of anger and broodiness anymore."

Riley's eyes lit up, "I knew I wasn't the only one who thought so!"

"Honestly, it's not that hard to figure out. They're about as dense as-well, Archer."

"Ahh yes. Our boy is his own measure of density."

They looked at each other, staring until the laughter bubbled out of them. They doubled over, clutching their sides and cackled.

"Are we bad friends?", Cody asked between breaths.

"How dare you propose such a thing?", Riley gasped theatrically, hand flying to her chest as if offended.

Their laughter slowly dissipated, and they got back to work with a renewed source of energy.

"I'm glad, though," Riley admitted.

"About?", Cody inquired.

She picked up a rectangular metal casing that was rounded at the edges and inspected it. Cody gave her a nod of approval, and she tossed it into the box between them.

"This is the first time I've ever seen him open up like this that fast. I'm glad that it's with Lia. They're idiots that take every chance they offered to get on each other's nerves. But... she just brings out the other parts of him that he keeps hidden," she paused and inhaled shakily, "I just wish that they'd found each other at a better time."

Cody looked down solemnly, "You know what they say. Everything happens for a reason. Those two are stubborn, they'll be fine."

"I really hope so."

They continued working and soon the box was three fourths full.

Riley tilted her head in silent question, 'Is that enough.'

Cody was able to understand what she said and nodded, smiling from ear to ear.

"I can't wait to start with this!", he chirped excitedly and Riley closed and secured the box. Cody made to carry it, but Riley shook him off and kept blocking him when he made another attempt to snatch it from her.

"Hey, hey!", she chided, "Keep that energy for the tinkering, would ya? I got this buddy."

Cody reluctantly agreed and she hefted it up grinning.

xxx

"Hey man! How much longer? Our legs are getting sore back here!," a guard called out, knuckles rapping against the little glass window that was situated between the trailer of the truck and its front.

The driver banged his fist against the window several times and chuckled, "Quit whining, Janet! We're almost at the hub. Just another half an hour."

The young man in the passenger seat turned slightly to gauge the woman's reaction, corner of his mouth tilting up in amusement.

The guard, Janet, gaped at him. "Half an hour?! Larry, can you hear what this fool is saying?"

"Are you just going to let her call me a fool?", the driver gasped.

The passenger, Larry, raised his hands and shook them slightly. "Hey, don't drag me into your scuffle. I'm waiting patiently."

"Drop the goody-two shoes act. You're just as antsy as we are," Janet shot back.

"At least I'm not insulting the driver. I value my life, thank you."

"Who cares?", another voice called out, "I need to go, man. Is there any little towns or something we can stop by?"

"Goddammit, Micah. I told you not to drink so much before we came, but did you listen? No," Larry drawled sarcastically.

Another guard sat in the back by himself, fiddling with a badge on his breast pocket. He preferred to watch them bicker rather than get involved himself. As head guard, his duty was to keep everyone in line.

But joking around like this was good for morale, so he allowed them this friendly banter.

"-eve. Steve!", Micah called to him.

The head guard looked up when he registered that they were calling him.

"Yes?", he answered.

"You've been awfully quiet. Getting nervous to meet the other head?", Micah wiggled his eyebrows.

"I heard she's real scary," Janet jumped into the conversation, plopping herself on the bench next to Micah.

"Of course she is. You think the big man would let anyone else man that hub? She's second to that creepy bodyguard of his."

"No, I'm not nervous," Steve finally decided to answer.

The other two blinked at him and then resumed their conversation.

"I think he's a robot," Janet said.

Micah raised an eyebrow, "You think they'd be able to make 'em that realistic?"

"I don't know, Mike, but I don't think I've ever seen his expression change."

Micah shrugged.

"You still need to go?", Larry called from the front.

"Yes!"

"Okay. Nick's gonna stop here. We'll take a little break and then carry on. We're not due for another hour, so we should be fine."

"You're the man!"

xxx

"What is a truck doing here?!" Cody hissed, his grip still tight on Riley's arm from when he pulled her into the alley at the sight of the vehicle.

"I don't know. I don't remember seeing a transport going through this area from Sam's schedule," Riley told the blonde boy.

"Me either," Cody said, gritting his teeth. He let go of Riley and put a finger to his lips. She furrowed her eyebrows, but complied when she heard the engine switch off and the doors open and shut.

They're getting off?

Cody crept along the wall of the alley and peeked out.

"Do we really have to carry them?", a female guard complained.

"Yes, Janet, it's protocol. You know this," another guard droned, with a large gun in his hands.

The female guard groaned and hefted a similar gun out the back of the truck and looked at the other guard, with a look that probably portrayed annoyance.

Cody's eyes traveled around the truck.

One. Two. Three. Four.

He crept back to Riley once he made sure that that was all of them.

"There's four of them," he reported to her.

Riley's face went serious as she held the box tighter.

"Let's get 'em," she said.

He held up his arms as she made to move forward after setting the box down and equipping her weapon.

"Hold on."

She looked at him impatiently, "What?"

"Yo, Micah! Look for your toilet quickly. We're going to do some target practice!", a deep voice yelled and it sounded pretty close.

"I'm trying!", the guard, presumably Micah, yelled back.

Cody shook his head. "They might seem thick, but they've got these new guns."

"I'm guessing they're pretty scary looking."

"Yes. Well, in the sense that they could murder us. But the design is gorgeous-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Riley interrupted, "What's the plan?"

"Right," Cody remembered, "We're gonna wait it out."

Riley's jaw dropped. "We have to wait? Cody, we don't know how long they're going to be here for."

"Yeah, but it's better than getting caught!", he said his voice raising slightly.

"Shhh!", Riley's hand covered his mouth.

He was about to protest when,

"I think I heard something," the female guard, whose name Cody remembered was Janet.

"Where?", another guard asked.

The sound of his gun cocking was equivalent to thunder in the quiet. Riley and Cody stood deadly still as they heard footsteps approach.

As the steps got closer, they retreated slowly behind a dumpster, box of scraps right next to them.

Everything stilled, dread filled the air. Cody held his breath and waited. Whether he waited to get caught or waited for them to go away, he didn't know, but he prayed for the latter.

A loud 'Ping' came from Cody's pocket.

"Crap," he whispered.

A door slammed open behind them and a man in a guard's uniform appeared.

"Gotcha!", he yelled, voice sounding like the guard named Micah from before.

Riley whipped around so quickly and shot him with her stun gun right in the neck. He spasmed and fell with a thud.

She made a run for the door, Cody ready to abandon the box and follow her.

An arm reached out and grabbed her. She tried to elbow him, but he grabbed the arm and twisted it behind her back, making her drop the stun gun in the process. She cried out and thrashed until the barrel of a gun was pressed to her temple. She stilled.

Cody stopped dead in his tracks, feeling utter horror.

Two other pairs of footsteps rounded the corner into the alley and three guns were trained on them.

"Drop all weapons and put your hands where I can see 'em," Janet instructed.

Cody slowly reached into his holster and pulled out a similar stun gun and threw it a distance away from himself. He raised his arms and stood up straight, still facing Riley.

"And you didn't want to bring your gun," one of the guards smirked.

"Stuff it, Larry," she rolled her eyes.

"Let her go," he said.

The guard holding her laughed, "Or what?"

The blue-eyed boy didn't say anything, because what could he do?

He could try to take them, but he was outnumbered, plus he didn't have a weapon anymore. If he tried to grab it, he'd probably get shot, and if he didn't, there's no telling if he'd make the shot.

And he doubted they'd spare Riley if he made any sort of move.

"Thought so," the guard said smugly.

"Move," he said and ushered him forward towards the other guards.

He shot the guard a dirty look before he looked down and scowled. He obeyed, waking towards the alley entrance.

They were escorted to the truck, Riley muttering curses as they walked.

They were instructed to sit on the edge of the trailer as their hands were secured behind their backs. The guns were still trained on them, but they looked back at the guards with annoyance.

Riley looked at him apologetically to which he responded with a reassuring nudge.

They looked at each other.

'You okay?', Cody's eyes seemed to ask.

'Yeah. You?'

He nodded.

"What's this?", another guard appeared with a bottle of water.

Cody looked him up and down, eyes caught on a badge that read 'Head Guard'. His eyes widened shortly before he schooled them back into his look of defiance.

We're in so much trouble.

"Found these two in the alley," Larry explained.

"Where's Micah?", the head guard inquired.

"Oh crap. He's still in there," Janet gasped.

"What? Why's he there?"

"This one stunned him," Nick informed him, while gesturing to Riley.

The head guard's eyebrows lifted as if he was impressed.

"We should kill them," Nick suggested.

Riley and Cody's masks slipped as shock bled its way onto their faces.

The head guard also looked a bit surprised while Janet nodded her head in agreement.

He studied them for a while and saw that Larry was doing the same.

"Wait," Larry said holding his hand up and pulling out something from his pocket with the other hand, "Don't shoot."

He unfolded a piece of paper and looked at it and then flicked his gaze to the two sitting on the lip of the trailer.

"Why the hell not?", Nick argued.

Larry turned the paper towards him. It was a picture.

"These kids are with that Sabrina girl."

Everyone seemed surprised with that revelation. Three of the guards' expressions turned smug while the two rebels were confused.

They looked at each other with questioning gazes. That's when Cody had an idea. He gestured for Riley to play along.

They couldn't die here today.

"We could turn them in and get a promotion! Isn't that fun?", Janet yelled excitedly.

Larry and Nick laughed.

Cody looked at the head guard to see his reaction, only to find that his expression was stony. One would assume that he'd be as ecstatic as his colleagues.

"Larry, Janet. Go get Micah. We're leaving," he instructed.

The other two obeyed without question.

Nick ushered them all inside, practically shoving them to sit on the benches. The head guard climbed in after them.

He kept checking on the other two. Cody didn't know why. He seemed a little skittish.

Without any promoting he moved forward and what he did next surprised the two teenagers. With a swift hit, he knocked Nick unconscious and grabbed his stun gun.

"What?", Cody started but was shushed by him.

"Quiet," he told them.

He unlocked their handcuffs and handed Nick's stun gun to Riley. She accepted it without question.

"Why are you helping us?", she asked him.

"Save your questions for later. When those two come-", he pulled out his own stun gun. "-I want you to take the one on the left."

Soon enough, the two guards arrived with their unconscious comrade from the alley. Looks of bewilderment showed on their faces as they went down.

The head guard dragged them all inside the trailer with Riley and Cody's help and secured them. They locked the doors and raced out.

"My box!", Cody yelled while they were making a break for it and took a little detour to retrieve it.

He joined them once more, and they ran a far distance away, shaking off the adrenaline and finding refuge in the forest, near a fallen tree. Not the best hideout, but it'll do until they can get answers.

"What the hell were you thinking back there?", the 'guard' asked them both, voice deep.

"What do you mean?", Riley shot back.

"You guys know you have a bounty on your heads, but you go in raids with only two people. And you're equipped with just stun guns."

Riley slipped out a knife that was concealed in her sleeve. "We have other weapons, we were just waiting for the right time to use it."

"Also, we've gone out with just two people many times," she added

He shot her an unimpressed look.

Cody regarded him with a thoughtful expression. "Why is there a bounty on us?", he asked.

"I thought we established that back there", he replied, roughly gesturing to where they'd come from.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Why are you helping us?", Riley interrupted, standing closer to Cody.

The guard breathed in slowly and slumped his shoulders. "I'm looking for my sister."

Riley and Cody looked at each other sadly. "I'm sorry, man. But we only have five people in our group and I don't think they're your sister."

"How do you know?", his voice rumbled.

"Well, no offense, but you sound kinda old. If you had a sister close to your age, she wouldn't really fit in with our age group," Cody said with a nervous smile.

The guard looked taken aback, "I sound- Hey, I'm not old!," he started before he seemed to realise, "Oh wait. Just give me a second."

He reached out to his ear and the two rebels backed up slightly on instinct. He tapped something and pulled out a black piece that hooked around his ear.

He cleared his throat and spoke.

"Hey."

Riley's eyes widened and Cody gasped loudly.

"A voice modifier?!"

The guard grinned, "Yes, I designed it myself."

"That's so cool. I had one too, but she broke it after I scared her one morning," he said, poking his thumb in her direction.

Riley rolled her eyes, "I think we're getting off the subject."

She took a step closer to him, finding that his new voice wasn't as intimidating as the old one and poked a finger to his chest.

"What do you want?"

His easy-going grin disappeared, and he answered, "I'm looking for Sabrina Keys."

"We don't know a Sabrina," she told him, crossing her arms and leaning back slightly.

He pulled a picture out of his pocket and showed it to them, "Have you seen her?", he pointed to a familiar brunette girl.

"No way," Riley said.

"That's... Lia," Cody recognised.

Cody had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Is that so?," he said, not believing them and putting the picture away.

"Who are you?", Riley asked.

"I'm her brother. Jason Keys. It's nice to meet you, Riley Briggs and Cody Davis."