Quiet as a Whale

S.W.A.T Team:

My team and I run into the dinosaur exhibit with our weapons up and our lights shining bright. The second we enter the exhibit, the first thing we see is a destroyed T-Rex skeleton.

There are fossils all over the exhibit's floor. There's dust in the air, a lot of dust, most likely from the collapsing skeleton.

"Search this room," I order, waving my fingers.

"Yes," members of my team say. Splitting up, my team and I start searching the whole room. Carefully stepping over a massive bone, I shine my light around the display stand. As I shine my light around, I see something.

"Over here!"

The others rush over to me. Once everyone is here, I shine my light and show them a trail of dusty footprints.

"Two sets of different prints," I state. "Leading this way. Half of you stay here and keep searching. The other half come with me."

Everyone nods in agreement. Splitting into two teams, I lead the charge as my team and I follow the two sets of footprints. As we follow the footprints, we pass by many opened doors. I wave my fingers again, motioning for members to check them out. They quickly check them, peeking in with their lights before returning to the team.

The tracks lead us through a long hallway into another exhibit. Shining my light on the sign outside an opened set of double doors, I read it out loud.

"Beneath the Sea. The Wild World in the L.A. Sea. Okay, everyone. This is where the trial led us. We don't know who might be inside so be cautious. Keep an eye on your 6, and report anything you see. Let's go!"

Again, everyone nods in agreement. Not wasting another minute, we all charge into the underwater exhibit.

Ace:

Watching from behind a large whale statue, I see about six or seven S.W.A.T guys run into the exhibit. Dividing into smaller teams of two, they started searching for Thrill Rider and me.

Keeping an eye on them, I stop and turn my head when I hear moaning.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Thrill Rider lies, shooting me a shaky thumbs-up. "My leg is feeling a little better. Despite the long run."

Thrill Rider rubs his right knee. As he rubs his knee, Thrill Rider must have accidentally hit a sore spot because he lets out a small scream. He slaps his hands over his mouth but it's too late.

I turn back to the S.W.A.T. men and see lights shining all over the exhibit.

"Did you hear that," one of them asks.

"Yeah. We're not alone in here. Hey, did those tracks lead you anywhere else?"

"No. They end here."

I watch as one of the men shines his flashlight on a large metal tub. Looking inside the tub, he sees the mini display of the beach and the ocean, with all the salt water and sand.

"They must have used the water to wash the dust off their feet. That's why the trail ends here."

"Still, they're here. Somewhere in this room. Keep searching."

When a beam of light runs along the wall, it almost hits and exposes me but I turn around and slam my back against the statue.

I hold my breath as the beam stays on the whale statue. It only gets worse when I hear footsteps approaching the statue. Slamming my hand over my mouth, I try to keep as quiet as I can. However, Thrill Rider limps over to me.

He throws his back against the whale statue too, making a thud sound. I turn to him but Thrill Rider puts up his hands, signaling me to stop. He then places a finger against his lips. Moving his hand, he then points at me.

"What," I whisper. "What is it?"

Thrill Rider taps his finger against his lips again. He then points at me again. Looking at where Thrill Rider is pointing, I see my belt.

"My belt? Why is Thrill Rider pointing at my belt?"

Looking down, at my belt, I see my card holder. Leaning in close to me, Thrill Rider whispers.

"What is that?"

"It's my card holder," I answer.

"Card holder?"

I reach down and place my hand on the small, metal box. Gently pressing down, I slide my fingers and a metal ace comes out. Holding it up for Thrill Rider to see, Thrill Rider covers his mouth.

"Oh my god," he whispers. "That is so awesome!"

"Thanks," I say with a smile.

"And it gives me an idea. How's your aim with that? On a scale from 1 to 10. 1 being that's just for show. 10 being 'I am Batman and these are my batarang'."

"Uhh, 8."

"Awesome," Thrill Rider says again. "By the way, for my plan to work, all I needed was a 6."

"Plan? What plan?"

"Just wait for my signal."

Reaching behind him, Thrill Rider pulls out his infamous batons.

"One more thing. Before I run out there and get beaten up. How many of these throwing aces do you have?"

"Only 6. Wait, what did you say?"

"Wish me luck," Thrill Rider screams before turning around and running out from behind the whale statue.

"Hey," he shouts, cupping his mouth as he limps across the exhibit. The second he shouts, all the S.W.A.T guys turn to Thrill Rider, their lights shining on him. "Fun fact! Did you know that when whales come to ships and pop their heads out to say hello, it's called spyhopping? It's right here!"

Tapping one of the fun fact boards as he passes it, Thrill Rider then grabs a fire extinguisher. He stops, pulls out the pin, and holds up the nozzle.

"Thrill Rider," one of the S.W.A.T guys shouts, he and everyone else surrounding Thrill Rider. "Stop right there! Put your hands up!"

"Stop," Thrill Rider shouts back, aiming at the S.W.A.T team with the fire extinguisher. "Don't make me use this! I have experience using this before, and my aim back then was excellent!"

"Enough joke," the S.W.A.T guy shouts. "Arrest him."

Watching from behind the statue as they all charge toward Thrill Rider, Thrill Rider then turns around. He drops the nozzle and holds the extinguisher with both his hands. Hitting the window built into the wall, Thrill Rider breaks it. The whole window shatters and seawater floods in.

The seawater rushing in hits and knocks not only Thrill Rider but also the whole team of officers! All of them fall to the floor, jumping around like the fishes that also come in.

Pushing himself up, Thrill Rider begins limping toward me. He wipes his face as he runs. However, one of the officers manages to grab his weapon. He pushes himself up onto his knee and aims at Thrill Rider.

"Signal," Thrill Rider yells. "This is the signal! This is the signal! Quickly, throw one of your aces!"

Nodding, I jump out from behind the whale statue and throw my metal ace. It hits the officer in his hand. The officer screams as he drops his weapon. Seeing another officer pull himself out of the water, I throw another ace and knock him down.

"Okay. That's enough. Run. Run!"

Grabbing me as he keeps limping, Thrill Rider and I run out of the sea life exhibit.

"This way," Thrill Rider says, guiding me down a hallway. "This way is a shortcut. It'll lead us to the back of the museum. We can escape that way."

I nod my head and help Thrill Rider down the hallway. Bursting through the doors, we find ourselves back in the loading and shipping dock.

"Sooo not exactly stealthily," Thrill Rider says, leaning against a wall. "But we still manage to get out. Uhh, Ace, right? Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," I say with a wave. "Is your leg feeling better?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"No, not really. I didn't believe you the first time either."

"Geez, thanks. And here, I thought I was decent at lying. Listen, as I said before, I appreciate the help, but that doesn't mean I fully trust you. You said the only reason you helped me is because you wanted my help for something. What is it?"

I take a deep breath before answering Thrill Rider.

"The Black Archer," I answer, being as straightforward as I can. The second he hears the name, Thrill Rider shakes. "I want your help in finding him."

"Why?"

I open my mouth to answer Thrill Rider but I'm cut off but a dozen incoming footsteps.

"Talk later," I say. I reach into my pocket and give Thrill Rider a card.

"Meet me at this spot at the time in three days. Bye!"

Before Thrill Rider can do or say anything, I turn around. About to run out of the loading deck and disappear, I stop and look at the double doors. As I look at them, an idea sparks inside my head.

Running back to the doors, I slam them shut and pull out my last four metal aces. Sliding the metal aces in the space between the doors and the walls, I jam the doors. The officers that reach the doors try to open them but can't.

"Thought I would buy you a little bit of time," I say, nodding at Thrill Rider before running away and disappearing.