I messed around and tried to do the Rebels' logo (in the header) like I imagined it 😈  What do you think?

Once the black dots start to vanish from her sight, and her eyes get used to the bright lights around, Anastasia recognizes the hallways they have studied so many times on the map. They are exactly as she has imagined, exactly like any other building: all light gray, shiny and empty. Although climbing up the stairs to the 15th floor isn't as easy as running her gaze over the paper again and again.

The steps appear endless, and her heart keeps thumping faster to pump the adrenaline through her restless legs. That's surely why, even if the guys are fast – except Nathaniel who is careful to adjust his pace to hers, always seeking her gaze – she is easily following with her petite steps.

It is so different from the crippling worry that has invaded her minutes ago. Now, Nathaniel is with her, and with the hold of his hand, she feels safer, while it also makes her warier of the dangers around, creating a strong urge in all her muscles to make sure he is safe too.

The closer they are getting, the more this adrenaline rush, fueled by a mix of fear and determination, is tingling in her veins, and when she glimpses the air vent, it is sparking in electricity on the surface of her skin.

"Molly just sent me a text to tell me they got out of the Armed Forces' headquarters," Andy says proudly, while Sacha is working on the air vent, and Nathaniel is checking her harness for the millionth time already.

Yet she can still hear everyone's breath of relief after this announcement. A part of the Love Bug is done. A part of the team is safe.

"Perfectly on time," Hadi notes, and it is even truer as Sacha opens the air vent.

Everything has gone perfectly, exactly like they have planned, so far. Aren't they supposed to face holdups and small hazards? Or are they really the perfect team that has anticipated everything?

She would love to believe it, but she can't help the bad feeling crawling up her guts that it will catch up with them.

"Now, it's all on you. We're counting on you." Nathaniel's special handshake and meaningful nod to Sacha bring all the reality of the situation crashing on her.

They are about to enter this narrow air duct, and its material is interfering with the earpieces, so Sacha, who is staying here, will be the only one hearing Andy. He has to make sure the guards don't exceptionally enter the mainstream computer room and check that the area is safe to get out once they are done, or more exactly if – if they manage to reach the ultra-secured room and set the Love Bug.

The stakes are so high that it is dizzying, and Sacha might be the backup of their safety, but actually, each one of them holds the lives of the others. One mistake from one person, and they are all going down to hell.

It is crushingly heavy on the stray kitten's shoulders when her legs are already wobbly, and she will also have the Love Bug in her shaky hands, literally.

She has known all of this since the start, and it isn't like she hasn't repeated every step a million times in her head. However, it can never prepare for the D-day.

Anyone can talk, yet is she strong enough to act?

The feeling invading her is nothing like she has ever experienced. It is as freezing as dread, as overpowering as helplessness, and as stifling as panic. She is spiraling between those emotions, never grasping one in particular, so it is impossible to fight them, and even oxygen becomes unattainable in this vortex.

In-out, in-out, all she gets is more fears and less conviction as she is getting swept under, and nothing can save her from the suffocation, nothing except...

"My angel?" Nate calls softly, careful to not be too loud, careful to not call her name because they can never be too careful, and he lets out the biggest sigh of relief when her gaze finally meets his. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay..."

'Okay' may not exactly be the word, but like on their first encounter, the touch of his hands on her cheeks is pulling her out of the spiral she has been drowning in as she huffs for oxygen.

"We have to go." He tilts his head in the direction of the air vent she has been staring at, wincing as if it is paining him to rush her. "The guards have already started their new tour."

It takes a few seconds for her frown to ease off into two lifted eyebrows, a few seconds for the words to process through her dizzy brain, and just when they do, Andy's voice resonates in her ears, making her widen her eyes even more.

"That's what I've been repeating!"

He has been talking in her earpiece and she hasn't heard him? How is that even possible? She surely has been swept away farther than she has realized in the dark corners of her mind.

In fact, her head is still spinning, yet the worry in Nathaniel's attentive gaze and the anxious glances around from Sacha appear clearly, and she is sure Hadi would throw her one of his disdainful looks if he was still here, which makes her wonder when he has vanished.

She has been so focused on everything relying on her that she has forgotten they are a team. She doesn't know if she is strong enough to carry all those stakes on her shoulders, but her determination and her love are. Her heart is; she can feel it with each strong thump.

"Let's go." She offers the most confident smile she can to Nathaniel, even if all her muscles are still trembling as she walks to the air vent, and she gets in without even a glance around, too terrified to glimpse a guard coming up.

"Finally!"

As soon as she is in, Hadi greets her with his usual sarcasm and cocked eyebrow, or at least, she guesses the last part, but she doesn't even bother checking with her flashlight, rather focusing the beam of light on their surroundings, while also trying to breathe.

There isn't much to see, but she is still surprised by the space they have, well, for an air duct. It doesn't feel too suffocating; nothing could be as oppressive as her own ribcage lacing with doubts. Besides, when she looks over her shoulder, she can see that even Nathaniel's strong body has enough space to be on all fours.

"We can go," he says the most quietly possible, as sounds can echo easily through the metallic walls, and that's why he's biting hard on his lips to not ask Anastasia if she's okay.

Instead, he stays as close as possible, his hand brushing her calves to show her he's there for her. He'll always have her back, and if usually, the sight of her small butt so close would drive him wild, tonight, it only reminds him how fragile she can be, making him crazy with worry.

He's seen and felt how lost she's been seconds ago, and even if she's fighting to pull herself together, he knows she's only holding by a thin string, which soon will be as literally as figuratively.

The moment arrives even quicker than he's imagined, and when they come to a stop, the thought of dropping the mission cowardly flashes through his mind.

"Fight for love," Anastasia whispers quietly, the intensity of her gaze burning in the darkness like she could read his thoughts.

It doesn't erase the coward instinct, yet it's immediately confronted with all the boldness and love she arouses in him, bringing back all the reasons why they're doing this.

They have no other choice but to fight for it. So that's what he'll do: fight his fears as he quickly pulls out his screw-unscrew-gun, opening the air vent in less than three seconds, and of course, he checks Anastasia's gear one last time.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm ready," she assures, and strangely, trying to reassure Nathaniel pushes away her own doubts.

These chocolate eyes always pull out things in her that she would have never suspected. She isn't sure it is strength right now, but it doesn't matter.

The question isn't if she is strong enough, when she is the only one who can do this part, the only one small enough. She keeps reminding herself as she crawls to the much-talked air vent, which appears more narrow than she has expected, and as she seats on the edge, her legs already dangling in the empty space, she prays she will be small enough to pass through.

Though with Nathaniel's attentive and worried gaze piercing through her so easily, she doesn't dare let the image of herself stuck in the narrow square appear in her mind, quickly asking,

"We can go?"

"Yes, it's ready." The gear is physically ready, and the rest of the team too, as they can't postpone this more. For him, it's a whole other story...

Nevertheless, his muscles react instantly, gripping the rope tighter and tighter as she slides down the square hole and slowly disappears down. 

In one swift motion, she is already in the room, or more exactly, hanging in the air of the room as Nathaniel is making sure her feet are still far from the sensitive floor, and even as she is struggling to find a precarious balance in a horizontal position, the cable doesn't shake or jerk. She has never had any doubt about this.

She trusts him with her life since their first encounter. Her hero. Although, here, it's literally that he makes her float, and when she finally steady herself, it's like she is in zero gravity, the surroundings even making her wonder if she has entered a spaceship.

The blue lighting and the walls covered with what must be server computers are such a contrast with the dark air ducts, and she has to blink a few times.

Andy has explained what it would be, and his instructions are still clear in her head, yet she hasn't imagined so many flashing lights and ports, almost from floor to ceiling. There is nothing else, not even a computer screen, just a security camera facing the door on her right, and it is hard to not be blinded as her gaze scans every inch of the room, and for her, everything looks the same.

"Which one is it?" she asks quietly, yet loud enough for Hadi to hear. That's why he is here after all.

They are a team, and she isn't alone, despite what the faint voice in the back of her head is trying to convince her, murmuring again and again that she is just a helpless and clumsy stray kitten.

"The one with red lights."

"Red lights?!" She takes a deep breath before raising her voice too much or moving too sharply, although the hold of the rope hasn't faltered a microsecond so far, not even when she turns to search for red lights again, hoping that her dazzled gaze has missed them the ten times before.

Luckily, the room isn't wide, so she can support herself on the walls, and if she stretches a little, she can reach any computer between the narrow walls. But unfortunately, it also means that her eyes have run all around quicker than she realizes.

"There's no red light." Only white and blue flashing everywhere to the point her eyes are searing, yet even squinting, she forces herself to check one more time. "Ah, one is kinda purplish, I think?"

"Yes, that's it! Red and blue make purple," Hadi replies with a matter-of-fact tone, but she is too busy to retort something. "Now, it's the port 51316."

Her frown is already focusing on the computer in front of her, and it, once again, appears too good to be true, as the one they need is the easiest to access just at the right angle from where she is hanging.

However, the bad feeling in her guts comes back crawling faster when she spots the connection, or more exactly the four connections.

She blinks her eyes several times, praying that it is just the dizziness invading her again, but sadly, her head is clearer than ever.

"There are four."

"What?!"

Hadi's gasp is instantly followed by Nathaniel's shush, both echoing as foreboding, yet she doesn't look up, staring at the ports as if they would give her an answer, or maybe that three would just disappear.

"There are port 51316T, 51316L, 51316A and 51316S," she reads out loud, hoping it will ring something in Hadi's mind as she digs her memory for Andy's instructions. But he has never mentioned several ports; that, she is sure of it.

"Seriously?! They had to put a trick on this too?! Um... Let me think... I've never heard those..."

She is surprised that the alarm doesn't go off at this instant because she can feel her stomach dropping on the floor, along with her hope crashing too. The bad feeling that everything has gone too well so far is finally catching up with her, grabbing a firm hold on all her insides, and it isn't just a holdup or small hazard. It is the most important.

Everything they have done so far is for nothing if they don't find the right port. The Love Bug in her hand has no power if it can't reach anyone.

"Is there one aside or different from the others?" Hadi's voice echoes closer as he leans to try to glimpse something, as if Anastasia's wide eyes could have missed it.

"No, they're exactly the same, connected with the same flash drives."

"T, L, A and M you said?"

"S not M," she repeats, frowning at the letters and numbers as another impression slowly arises in her guts.

"S?"

"Yes, that's what she said. Now, hurry, we don't have time!" Nathaniel speaks up for the first time, his strained whisper carrying everything he has holden back until now. "You're supposed to be the expert in computers, aren't you?"

"I am, but I don't know the government's technology," Hadi bites back, still in a hushed tone though.

"Didn't Andy brief you about it? The guards can come up at any second. We've already lost too much time!"

The tension, fears, and worries are dripping from all their words as even both their experienced and controlled natures are cracking with the pressure, and she doesn't know how she is staying so calm. Her heart has slowed down, and the panic and the doubts that have been invading her seconds ago are pushed away by this gut feeling growing until her brain.

She is sure there is a meaning behind those codes, and that the answer is right in front of her as she tries to shut out Nathaniel and Hadi's back-and-forth arguments. Yet it is like attempting to spark a match when there is wind coming from all directions, their whispers always blowing away the ideas ready to kindle in her neurons.

"Stop!" she finally snaps, careful to not raise her voice too much, but enough to interrupt them, while her intent frown flicks up to them, more out of reflex than to see them though, because she only glimpses a dark square. "Bickering will only lose more time and risk to get us caught. Nathaniel, relax, and Hadi, focus!"

The silence following seems to be proof they have heard her – or seen her merciless lawyer frown – and she now can concentrate, all her senses directed towards the letters.

She doesn't even notice the flashing lights around anymore. She isn't in this ultra-secured room. She could be at her messy makeshift desk, searching for arguments and proofs, as the same determination, the fire inside her, is slowly sparking.

"STAL?... LATS? LAST!" She almost jumps, though Nathaniel doesn't loosen his grip on the rope, and she doesn't let go of the flash drive in her hand. "I think it's the last one."

"Yes, that's it! I've heard about this technique somewhere. The other flash drives are empty, and they'll probably trigger an alarm if you take them off."

"An alarm?" Nathaniel's shaky whisper echoes hers as their hearts are probably faltering in sync too, yet in spite of all those shakes, her voice arises faintly for another question.

"So you're sure it's the last one?"

"It makes sense. LAST, I don't see anything else." It is surely the most reassuring Hadi can be, and it doesn't help.

"I believe too, but to be sure, we can go back, and–"

Before Nathaniel can finish his sentence, before he can lift her back up, her hand reaches out, not wasting more time that they don't have.

Going back would be impossible, anyway. So she can only trust this burning spark inside, not shaking, not breathing, and in two seconds, the Love Bug flash drive is connected, the third one being excruciatingly long before she exhales. "Done."

The silence has never been so exhilarating as in this instant, and it resonates like victory and freedom as she glances one last time at their flash drive, the typical logo of an R merged with two imperfect half-hearts standing out in the blue and cold atmosphere.

She has succeeded in her mission, and she doesn't even have to do anything as she is lifted back up faster than she has gone down, arms helping her up, and the next thing she can take in is Nathaniel's chest, where she is crashing.

All the emotions she has held back are crashing with her as she dissolves into his warm embrace, and she doesn't know if she is laughing or crying, only that her heart is exploding in sparks as he murmurs in her ear,

"You're my heroine."

Coming from her hero, it is the most beautiful compliment, as it is thanks to him that she has done it; for him, that she has done it. For their future that she is fighting.

But they aren't there yet, and Hadi is there to remind them, interrupting too soon the euphoria.

"Ahem, we don't have time, remember?"

He is right, though. They have to get out before the Love Bug starts spreading, and they only have ten minutes.

So they force themselves away from each other, just like they have to physically separate their pendants magnetized together even through the fabrics of their clothes, and she then notices the pull and tension in all Nathaniel's muscles.

Even if he will never complain, she can imagine how hard and tiring it has been to hold her single-handedly without moving, and still, he doesn't even flinch as they start crawling again. She has read somewhere that adrenaline can make people overlook the pain, but she knows it is so much more than this.

She has the same sparking rush in her veins. It is a mix of love and adrenaline with a shot of freedom, and it is an intoxicating cocktail. She has never felt anything like this

Though as much as the thrill in her veins is addicting, she hopes she will never have to live something like that again.

She just enjoys for now the goosebumps on her skin and lightness in her members that make the stray kitten feel like flying. So much that she doesn't even notice the way back through the air ducts, and whereas it has been endless on the outward journey, here, she barely has time to blink that she is already met by Nathaniel's eyes again as he turns around, one finger over his lips.

As if the gesture and the serious intensity of his gaze weren't enough to understand, the piece of paper in his hand as he makes sure to lower her flashlight leaves no doubt.

There are guards in the hallway, that's the code, and her heart instantly takes off with another surge of adrenaline.

Yet the hint of a smile remains on her lips as she lets go of the memory stick she has exchanged – since they have no use of it – and she takes Nathaniel's hand instead, and with her other hand gripping the compass pendant, she really takes in the strength invading her.

She may still be drunk on the thrill of this whole mission, but in this instant, she is invincible, her senses overfilled with this dizzying feeling.

It isn't the wisest when they have to be alert to the dangers coming from everywhere. But she can't help it, as they have done the most difficult. They have accomplished the goal they have prepared for so long, and it is like the last rise of a roller-coaster.

She is now used to holding her breath before the peak and to the stop of her heart after, and there is the excitement of glimpsing the finish line closer and closer when another piece of paper slips through the air vent.

Besides, having Nathaniel with her always makes her feel on top of the world, safe and bold to jump, and that's what she does when he easily opens the grating with one of his professional tools, and she takes his hand, following him with no fear.

On the other side, Sacha, he, appears way less confident, his eyes wide and his hand still over his chest from the jump he has made, as he probably hasn't expected them to be waiting behind the air vent.

"What took you so long?" He sounds even more out of breath than the three of them who have been in the air ducts actually.

But waiting in the shadows is as trying as any other task, maybe even more, as there is nothing to make time pass faster, only fears and doubts. Anastasia knows about it; she has been through that part at the start.

"Long story, we'll tell you when we're out," Nathaniel replies, his voice too holding a breathless edge of dread and what-ifs, and he is already leading the way out when another question arises.

"The important is: did you put the Love Bug?"

Andy, she could have almost forgotten him with everything happening, though his expecting tone and snacking sounds are quickly filling her ears.

"Yes, normally, it should work." Despite their light uncertainty, the words are electrifying, tickling her lips with a proud smile, and she is already expecting her friend's grand celebration, or at least, a round of applause.

Yet all she receives is a second of silence, and it freezes her excitement even more than the following curse.

"Shit! There's only two guards! The other..."

Andy's words get drowned by the thuds of her heart and the rough mumble coming through the door beside her as a man, almost as large as the width of the doorframe, walks there with his head down – at first.

"Of course, they dropped the keys, and it's me who has to go get them–"

Of course, it doesn't take long before he senses all the wide eyes on him and lifts his head, and Anastasia doesn't even get to gasp, her breath caught somewhere in her throat and her heart stopping all at once.

The roller-coaster isn't finished, and there is an immense obstacle on the rail.

Every hint of assurance that has been pumping in her veins leaves her body like the blood from her face as she stares at the man's typical gray outfit, his large eyes narrowing too fast, and mostly, the gun in his hand like the inevitable crash to the ground.

There is nothing they can do to prevent it, nothing to reach anyway, no parachute, no safety; moving would only precipitate their fall. She can't even close her eyes, too paralyzed in front of the impending collapse.

CLIFFHANGER!!! 😝😱 Sorry 😬 but I already posted 2 chapters today and I think you have to prepare for the next chapter because you're not ready 🤫🤭😬

What do you think will happen? And what do you think of the mission so far? They're all so heroic and powerful 😈

Also, for those who watched my stories on Insta, you must have caught the S&M part lol 😂😅 Since you voted for it, I had to add it, even if at first, I didn't do it on purpose! Now it adds some fun and lightness to the serious mission 😉😂

I hope you liked this chapter, and if so, vote ⭐ and comment 😘 You know I love to hear from you, and every little notification from you is a ray of sunshine in my rainy days 🌞❤😘 Je vous aime!!