Tom turned to Lea who gave him a thumbs up from the bottom bunk where he sat on the edge, his expression hidden by his sunglasses.

Tom then huffed out a breath that contained a small fraction of his anxieties as he made his way down the hall and down the stone stairs, heading towards the cafeteria. Upon entering the cafeteria, Tom paused to murmur an asking for two pudding cups, one for him, one for Lea, to which the lunch lady simply nodded and obliged, handing them to Tom who quietly thanked her before tucking them into the pockets of his jumpsuit. Tom then continued to scan the cafeteria before noticing the cast down gaze of Brian who was sitting towards the middle of the cafeteria with his "goons". Tom instantly recognized Camden who made eye contact with him before murmuring something to Brian who looked up and smirked at the now approaching Tom.

Brian looked Tom up and down with blazing eyes as the boy stood at the edge of the table.

"What're you doing over here?" Brian asked Tom with honest curiosity.

Tom shrugged, "Do you need us or what?"

Brian instantly perked up, "Change of heart then?"

"That's one way of putting it."

Brian ordered the girl in front of him, Valery, Tom had heard was her name, to move over; she begrudgingly obliged and moved, glancing at Tom before shrugging as the younger boy sat down next to her and across from Brian.

"So what's this us crap?" Brian cocked an eyebrow.

"I'll help you plan whatever kind of escape route you've got here, but Lea gets to come with- even if he's not a major pawn here." Tom ordered.

"You've grown a pair, talking to me as if you're giving orders- rookie mistake, but I'll let it slide- and why should I let Lea join?"

"Because then he's on your side, isn't that what you wanted? Nobody to challenge your authority?" Tom smirked.

Brian considered this before nodding, "Good point...fine- but he has to stay out of the way when he's not needed, deal?"

"Hm...deal." Tom nodded.

"Welcome aboard then." Brian sat back before looking around, "Beside you is Valry."

Valry nodded, giving a dangerous smile.

"Next to her is Terrence." Brian nodded to the boy on the other side of Valry who gave a grin.

"And, you've met, but beside my is Camden."

Camden simply responded with a half-hearted grumble of a greeting.

"That's our little gang, if you'd like to call it that-"

"I wouldn't, but alright." Tom shrugged.

"Anyway..." Brian growled, getting up, "Follow me, I'll fill you in."

Tom paused before getting up and following after Brian who was heading to the courtyard outside.

At first, Tom thought they were heading for the edge, but they soon took a turn at the end of the building and went down a small alleyway until they reached the end, where Brian turned to Tom, "Out of sight physically and-" Brian pointed to a busted camera, "Thanks to my work, technologically too."

"Nice." Tom clicked his tongue.

"Mhm." Brian smiled at his craftsmanship before leaning towards Tom, his voice growing to a quiet whisper, "Now, here's the plan,"

"The plan?" Tom gave a small, sarcastic gasp- Lea was successfully influencing him.

"Shut up, smart ass." Brian snarled.

"Alright, alright, continue." Tom prompted.

"There's me, you, Camden, Valry, Terrance- and apparently Lea now- but he's not exactly key to the plan- he's just your carryon luggage essentially-"

"Is there a certain weight he has to be?"

"...What?"

"Well, for carryon luggage, it's usually limited to fifty pounds, and he's not much bigger than me but-"

"Cut the crap and listen- you're blowing it!" Brian raised his voice which got Tom quiet. Brian then sighed before continuing, rubbing his temple, "We have to do this in a span of one month-"

"Why's that?"

"Save question for after class is over." Brian groaned, "In around a month is when we get the next round of inmates from Washington Heights prison-"

"What about all the inmates that come in per day?" Tom frowns.

"They bring them one by one, it's not enough of a distraction plus not as many guards are needed- where as with the Washington delivery, all the guards will be stationed and focused on escorting the newbies to their cells- when this happens, we're going to go to the north exit- they're coming in from the northeast entrance so we've got some wiggle room there,"

Tom nods.

"Once we're there, Valery is going to use some of her products to get those guards out in a snap- meanwhile, I'll be in the camera room, radioing Camden and giving him the security information- then Terrance will Hotwire the main gate there which will lead you to the parking lot, which has a separate gate to exit, however, it requires force, not technology- which is where Camden comes in, he can snap a lock in minutes with his lock picking skills and strong hands- and just strong body and everything and-"

Tom was smirking as Brian turned red.

"Anyway- you can drive a stick shift so-"

"How'd you know that?"

"I have your record- your car was at the crime scene so they have the records, you drove a stick shift- and the only functioning car they have is yours."

"They have mine?"

"It's a parking structure with totaled cars, fixed, new, any car found on crime scenes- however, most are totaled or in the works, except yours- and Terrence might be able to hot wire but none of us can drive stick shift." Brian huffed.

Tom blinked, "You want me because...I can drive a...stick shift?"

Brian nodded, "Your pain tolerance will come in handy too- but yes, it's more important than you think to be able to actually drive out of somewhere than trying to rely on a broken hunk of junk- you broke a kid's leg, you're cold, that's good- your tolerance in general can come in handy so don't think you're getting off the hook here."

Tom sighed, then replied, "What about Lea?"

"He'll be with me in the camera room, watching my back and shit and taking care of anyone who thinks they're getting in." Brian nodded.

"You think he's going to do that for you?" Tom folded his arms.

"I think he'll do it for you- I'm not blind." Brian grinned.

Tom glanced away before shrugging, "Fine."

"Great- now, once you guys are in the car, we'll meet you there as soon as possible, got it?"

"Got it." Tom nodded curtly.

"Well then, I think we're on the same page." Brian gave a thumbs up before heading back to the courtyard, pausing, "Only fill Lea in when you're sure that everyone's asleep, alright? Because if you ruin this-" He looked back at Tom with fire in his eyes, "I'll ruin you."

Tom was slightly startled by the look before Brian turned the corner, disappearing. Tom watched the spot where he was for a few more moments before letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
This goes way farther than just breaking someone's leg..