Earlier that day:   

"Are you sure you're willing to walk in there voluntarily?" Max asked, aware of what horrors Joey was capable of.

"I'm sure, I have to make things right," Paulo confirmed.

Max nodded in approval, not respect, but approval. In his opinion it was indeed Paulo's responsibility to make things right after his previous betrayal.

"Okay, so Paulo goes in, unarmed. The mention of my name should be enough to get you a meet with Joey if he's still as obsessed and unhinged as the last time we met," Max explained.

"And then what? I sell you out?"

"Precisely, just not for real this time," Max scolded. "You tell him that you know where I'm holed up, in a town a few miles south of the castle. Your scouts spotted me on a run today, recognised me from The Pit."

"You think that will be enough to entice him into leaving the place defenceless?" Dawson queried.

"The castle?" Max exclaimed. "No, no, there's no way he'd leave himself so vulnerable on the word of someone who was once my friend, not a chance. But it will be enough to nibble at him. His head will tell him that there's a strong chance it's a trap, but he won't be able to resist that tiny voice telling him it may not be. He won't check it out himself, but you can bet he'll send a small group our way."

"But how small is small?" Karl said. "Small for them is a gun-wielding army to us."

Max blew air from his cheeks, "Honestly, there's no way of telling. He must have over fifty guards in that place, at least. I don't think he'll commit too many, after all, Paulo's intel will say that I'm alone, defenceless and out-gunned."

"Okay, so let's say he sends five or so of these crazy Brotherhood bastards our way, then what?" Karl laughed.

"Then we overpower them. Joey might suspect a trap, but we have to remember that The Brotherhood are infected, they won't be as sharp as us. They may have us out-gunned, but in a small group, they can be out-thought and out-manoeuvred."

"So... we jump them?" Karl summarised.

"Of sorts, yes." Max chuckled. "We split off into groups, cause a distraction, and in the mayhem, overpower them and steal their guns."

"You think that could work?" JJ asked.

"It's our only shot. You have to remember, if Paulo plays his part correctly, we'll have a man on the inside as well. That's another body hitting them from the last place they'll expect."

The group thought through Max's plan, the obvious unease painted across their faces.

"I think it could work," Dawson said, well aware of how much her seal of approval would settle the group. If they were going to do this, they all needed to be confident and behind the plan.

"It will work. As long as we stick to our jobs, it will work," Max assured, locking his eyes on Paulo's the entire time.

"You don't have to worry about me, Max. I'm here to get Lizzie out, that's my only agenda," Paulo defended.

Max narrowed his eyes, "Just remember, if you even think about crossing us for a second, I will end you without a second's hesitation."

"Okay, that's enough," Dawson sighed. "For argument's sake, let's say that they're all on the ground, out of commission, and we have their guns. What then? We're still horrifically outnumbered."

"True. But we play to their weaknesses, that's how we get inside," Max smiled.

"What weaknesses? The unlimited number of guns and huge towering castle?" Karl quipped.

"Okay, there's that, but what do those crazy bastards all insist on wearing, like they're some kind of army..."

"The camouflage!" JJ exclaimed. "Oh, I like it, old school cloak and dagger."

Karl screwed up his face in confusion, "Sorry, I'm lost, would someone care to explain."

"The camo! That stupid uniform they all wear, that's how we get inside!" JJ explained, tapping his knuckle against his brother's head.

"But, once we're inside, there's no telling what will happen. We don't know the layout, the number of guards, where Joey will be, where Lizzie will be, we'll be completely in the dark," Max admitted.

"Sign me up," JJ grinned.

***

Max, Karl, and JJ stumbled up towards the front gates of the castle, with Paulo leading the way and Dawson and Rodney stood either side, dressed head to toe in camouflage. Their caps were pulled down low over their faces in a desperate attempt to conceal their identity.

The two guards on the gate eyed up the approaching group with suspicion.

"Stop right there!" one of them shouted, raising his gun slightly. "What's going on here?"

"Special mission for the big man himself," Dawson grumbled, jabbing the butt of her rifle into Karl's stomach for authenticity.

Karl dropped to his knees in a fit of wheezes, but it seemed to put the guards more at ease.

"Yeah, I heard about that. I thought there were three of you?" The guard asked.

"This bastard took one of us down," Rodney chimed in, smacking his gun into Max's back.

"Fucker needs to be taught a lesson, there's barely a scratch on him," the guard said, stepping towards Max.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Dawson spurted desperately. "Boss wants this one unharmed."

"Is that so?" The guard whistled, "Well what about the other tw-"

"Hey, lift your cap for a second," the second guard instructed. "I don't remember no ginger girl living here."

Dawson shifted nervously, "I'm relatively new here, just joined up last week actually, haven't had much of a ch-"

The second guard stepped forward and flicked the cap from her head, revealing her face, the face of an imposter.

"Come to think of it, I don't recognise you at all..." the guard spat.

"Wasn't it Malone who went out with Sampson and Kemp today," the first guard added.

Paulo raised his hands up and smiled, "Now, now boys, let's just talk about this like ration-"

Before he even finished his sentence, Paulo unsheathed a large serrated knife, and dragged it along the throat of the first guard. Blood spurted across the faces of the group, like rusty water from a burst pipe, as the man's windpipe filled with gurgling liquid.

"What the f-" was all the second guard could yell before Dawson stepped in and slammed the side of her gun against the soft part of his temple. He crumpled to the ground with a soft whimper, as the air turned silent once more.

Max's blood was pumping at one hundred miles an hour and he pressed a finger to his lips, urging everyone to stay silent as he strained to hear any kind of response from the castle. They were out of sight of the rooftop scouts, but there was no telling who was nearby and whether anybody had heard the commotion.

Once he was satisfied that no one was coming, Max picked up the two spare assault rifles from the ground and turned to the twins.

"Drag the bodies over into the bushes now, quickly!"

"But what about the blood?" JJ pointed out.

"Nothing we can do about that, just cover our tracks as best as possible," Max urged, patting down the bodies for extra ammo. "Daws, Rodney, you guys hang the spare weapons from your shoulders, we can't be seen carrying them."

"What's the plan once we get in there?" Dawson asked, slinging the rifle over her right shoulder and stuffing a few spare clips into her pockets.

"Paulo is the only one who even slightly knows his way around. He'll lead the way, get us to Joey, but from then in we're flying in the dark. If anybody wants to back out, this is the time to do it."

"Let's go," Dawson said, to a chorus of approving nods from the rest of the group.

And with that, they assumed their positions again, and stepped through the castle gates into completely unknown territory.