18. A Showcase to Remember: Part 3

                                    

                                          
              Time was ticking, and Zachary didn't know how much longer Myrlande and Jan-di could hold out. First, he and Thomas left Di-di to fight a miniature Hulk, and then they had to watch her get pummeled just so they could play with some chemicals.  Thomas tried to protest, but his girlfriend's reasoning was thorough and logical. Even if there were two people fighting Creed, it would require that chosen duo to hold off the gangbanger for an extended period of time since Zach would be working alone. The boys have proven time and time again that when they're together, their scientific potential is limitless. In order to make sure that Di-di doesn't get slaughtered or Myrlande crushed to dust by nanobots, Zachary and Thomas needed to figure something out, and fast. Zach was done losing people, he was done watching his friends get hurt, and he was done being beaten and outsmarted by a sadistic psychopath. 
		Having to watch the lives of Dr. Wagner and Mr. Williams snuffed out before his eyes gave Adesoji a determination and resolve he never felt before. While he felt terrible for Miguel and what he went through, Zachary couldn't let the sadness plague his judgment because he couldn't risk letting a similar atrocity happen to his own family. It may have only been a matter of months, but the friendships Zach built with the other members of A.F.R.G had become some of his most prized possessions. There was no way he was allowing them to slip through his fingers because of the poor execution of a couple plans. 
   		Zachary couldn't imagine what his team must've felt when he fell through the window thinking he might've lost his life. The outrage and anguish he experienced from simply seeing Di-di and Thomas get thrown around was enough to let his need for revenge cloud his judgment. As Zach dangled from the window, only a small slip up away from death, he thought back to all of the memories he had in the building he hung from. From the very first time they went to the facility for a tour, Zachary knew A.F.R.G's experience there was going to be special. He didn't know how or that it would lead to all his friends being on the verge of dying, but he was confident that the time they spent there would be exceptional. That is, before tonight of course.
		The countless lunch breaks, the long hours banging their heads against the table, and the innumerable inside jokes they made were ingrained in Zach's mind and he wouldn't trade them for the world. Holding onto the edge for dear life seemed like a walk in the park when he put into perspective everything that brought him here. As much as Zachary wanted to believe he'd feel this way regardless, consuming an Anti-Ferm pill provided a lot of supplemental strength and energy that likely doubled as liquid courage. At the end of the day, he was glad that none of his friends had to look at the city they loved so much from such a precarious situation. Besides the wind and smoothness of the glass, one of the most difficult parts of hanging from the side of a building was staying quiet.
		Zachary quickly realized that as soon as he made noise and let his presence be made known, friend and foe alike would be gunning to make a move. Thomas and Di-di would get distracted from fighting, Regina would likely leave her pulpit, and Myrlande would irrationally jump to his aid regardless of her previous engagements. He knew that his friends couldn't afford to drop what they were doing to help him because as soon as they did, they'd be leaving themselves wide open to the enemy. Instead, Zach had to hope that his friends assumed that he was dead, or alive and out of harm's way. He trusted his friends' critical thinking skills, and had faith that they would be victorious before his fingers cramped, and he plummeted to the ground. 
Elizabeth's body had left a very noticeable mess down below, and Zachary had no intention of adding to it. The intern luckily landed on some rich investor's convertible so the leather seats could've saved her from a fatal fall. It was so bright in the streets below that Zach was confident his eyes were playing tricks on him when he thought he saw the girl's body twitch from five stories in the air. If his mind wasn't deceiving him, the physical enhancements that even a single pill could provide were astronomical. Unfortunately, from Zach's limited medical knowledge, he doubted that even if she somehow survived, she'd ever have a semblance of a normal life again. Whether it was death, paralysis, serious nerve damage, irreparable bones or all of the above, Elizabeth Williams was likely to have a far worse night than Zachary hoped any of his friends would have to face.