XX

"This is my niece, Brenda Salazar."

For a moment, Clint didn't reply. His sharp, blue eyes just scaled Brenda's figure top to bottom. Then, he let out a lengthy sigh as he addressed his men, "Very well. Let them go."

Brenda heaved a sigh of relief as the intimidating forms of the guards backed away from them.

As Clint waved the crowd away, Jorge turned to Brenda, "Where's Vince?"

Brenda closed her eyes, trying to keep her tears in check. "He's gone, Jorge. WCKD took him. Same with Aris and Sonya."

"What about Gally? Minho?" Frypan piped up sorrowfully. "Please tell me that they're not ..."

"They're gone, Fry," Newt whispered sadly.

Frypan's shoulders sagged. "No..."

Thomas' eyes darted around the room. "W-where's Ben?"

Winston's gaze dropped to the floor. "I - I tried to save him, shank," his voice broke. "But it was too late. He was shot in the back."

Thomas winced. "Shuck."

The sound of someone awkwardly clearing their throat cut through the tense sadness shrouding the air. "Hey, I hate to interrupt, but I need to have a word with you lot...now," Clint eyed each of them.

Jorge nodded. "Lead the way."

"My office is right upstairs," Clint beckoned for them to follow him before spinning about on his heel.

Brenda and the others followed him up a rickety stair-case and into a room cluttered with papers, pen holders and ornaments.

Clint drew out a wheelie-chair and reclined back in it, propping his feet up on the cracked surface of the desk in front of him. "Seems like quite an escapade you've all had," he stated dryly. "Now, tell me, what am I supposed to do with you? I can't let you stay if you're not members of the underground. It's against the rules. We can't make exceptions for anyone, no matter who you are, I'm sorry. I have to do what's best for us ... not necessarily you."

Thomas shrugged. "That's understandable."

"Lane seems to think you're the real deal," Clint shook his head as his eyes flickered back to Brenda's face. "He reckons you can help us get to the Paradise."

Brenda's breath hitched in her throat.

"Well...about that..." Jorge faltered, "Our leader, Vince, was captured in the raid and without his help we can't do much for you."

Clint rolled his eyes as he flicked a cigarette out of his pocket and lifted it to his lips. "Then what are you doing here?"

Brenda, tired of the man's arrogance, leaned forward and slammed her hands down on the edge of the desk. "There's more at stake here than your ego, Mr. Smart-Aleck, so I'd pipe down a notch if I were you and lend a listening ear for just a moment. Before the raid, Vince put me in charge of taking a group of people to the Paradise. He didn't know where it was either but I think he may have had an idea. I've worked alongside him for years and I might know how to get you and your people out of this hell-hole."

"Hmmm," Clint let out a huff as he lighted his cigarette. "Nice speech, Sprout. What do you suggest?"

"You know, as well as I do, that WCKD is going to find you...one day," she continued, her temper sparking hot. "You have a lot of rebels down here and I'm sure that beneath that stony exterior of yours, you actually have a heart. You don't want them to suffer at the government's hands. So, here's the deal: you give us your full support and any supplies that we may require and we'll lead you to the Paradise."

"It makes sense," Jorge nodded in approval. "We can start an evacuation, get everyone out of here within a week, and then leave before WCKD finds us."

Clint tapped a finger on his chin as he contemplated the proposal. "Alright. I'm in. And, just for your information, Sprout, the only reason I'm letting you off for talking to me like that is because I need you - alive."

Brenda smirked. "How comforting to know."

Clint glanced over her towards the others. "You can all sleep in the spare bunker. It's not huge, but it'll have to do."

"Thank you," Harriet nodded at him. "We owe you one."

"If you can help get my crew to safety, there'll be no need for debts," Clint pointed out. "We're just allies - helping each other out."

"Whatever works best for you," Jorge shrugged. "Alright team, let's go."

As they all clattered back down the stairs, Thomas seized Brenda's arm and pulled her back to the rear of the group.  "I - I need to talk to you ... in private," he breathed in her ear.

Surprised, Brenda agreed. They slipped out of the room by way of a side door only to find themselves in a cluster of shower rooms.

"Well, this isn't exactly the ideal place for a chat, but, oh well," Thomas sank down onto one of the backless benches lining the walls.

Brenda sat opposite him, leaning forward and balancing her arms on top of her knees. "Well, Mr Mysterious, we're here, what's up?"

Thomas sighed and swallowed. "I - I ... "

"You ... ?" Brenda prompted.

"I'm going back to WCKD."

"W-what?" Brenda gaped at him, stunned. "Are - are you serious?"

"I've never been more serious in my life."

As she gazed at his determined face, Brenda knew that he wasn't lying. Slowly, she sank back against the cold wall, trying to register what Thomas had just said.

"Why?" she finally asked. "Why would you want to go back there?"

"There's something I never told you," Thomas seemed pretty nervous because he was clasping and unclasping his hands. "When I went into the Maze after the memory wipe, I started having these dreams, well, I thought they were dreams ... but, later, I realised that they were memories, Be! I - I remember working for WCKD. I remember seeing my friends get taken away and tortured in front of me.

"Even though the events are still a little fuzzy, I recall the day that I - I turned traitor. I leaked highly classified information to the government's enemies. WCKD found out it was me and punished me by putting me into the Maze. I - I can't believe that I used to be one of them..."

Thomas paused and glanced up at Brenda. "You - you're not mad at me, are you?"

Brenda shook her head. "No. Like you said, you turned traitor. Your past doesn't matter. You're one of us now. But why are you telling me this?"

Thomas let out a pent-up breath. "Be, I remember the way in."

"The way in?"

"The way into WCKD's HQ! I know exactly where to go and how to get there... Not from here, of course, but if we were to head back to the Maze, I'd be able to retrace our route from there."

"Are you crazy?" Brenda hissed, reaching over and grabbing Thomas' arm. "They're on the hunt for us! We just got out of the danger zone, now you want back in?"

"This isn't about WCKD, Brenda, this is about every single person that they've ever taken," Thomas hissed urgently. "They won't stop, not until we stop them. We need to conduct one last rescue mission, Be, and I need your help. We have to save Minho and the rest of our friends. We can't let them die. If there's even the slightest chance that we can do it, that we can break in there and rescue them, we have to take it, no matter what the cost."

Brenda stared at him in amazement. "Wow. I guess Vince isn't the only one that's good at speeches. Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but even though this mission's highly risky and reckless, I can't let you do it alone. I'm coming with you."

Thomas' face lit up as he leaned forward and hugged Brenda tightly. "Thanks, Be. I knew I could count on you."

Brenda chuckled as she pushed him away. "Don't celebrate too soon. We have to get past Clint first."

A smile twerked the corners of Thomas' lips. "I think I may have a way around that."

~~~~

"You wanna what!"

Brenda flinched at the sound of Clint's angry outburst.

As soon as the two had finished their discussion in the shower rooms, they had gone back upstairs and knocked on Clint's office door. Thomas had explained the situation but Clint didn't seem so taken with the idea.

"Am I going deaf? Did I hear this right?" Clint continued to rage.

"Clint!" Brenda held out a reassuring hand. "Just calm down, alright? It's only the two of us that wanna go. No one else knows about it."

"Good, and it's gonna stay that way!" Clint snapped as he sunk back down in his chair. "Well? How are you going to go all the way back to WCKD and 'heroically' save your friends and return in time for the evacuation? Just so you know, I'm not putting it off so how's that working out for you?"

Heaving a deep breath, Brenda blurted, "And we don't expect you too. If we're not back within the week, start the evacuation...without us."

"What?" Clint and Thomas stared at her, aghast.

"It's the only way," she whispered as she lowered her head.

"You guys are insane!" Clint rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "You're never gonna do it in time."

"Not on foot," Brenda smirked.

Clint sat up bolt right. "I'm not giving you any of our jeeps and that's final!"

"What about our deal?"

"That was concerning the Paradise!" he hissed. "Not this fool-hardy mission!"

"Listen, Clint," Brenda's shoulders slumped as she stepped forward. "WCKD has our friends. You would do exactly the same thing if someone you loved was in a similar situation. Now, loan us one of your fastest, sturdy vehicles and we'll leave tonight, quietly and under the cover of darkness."

"What's in this for me?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

Brenda shrugged. "Dude, we can all leave tonight if that's what you want but, either way, you're giving us one of your jeeps or you're not going to see the light of Paradise and that's final."

Clint rolled his eyes, pretending not to be affected by her threat. "Fine. One jeep. One. That's all."

Brenda smiled knowingly, "Thanks, Clint, it's a pleasure doing business with you."

"Don't give me that crap," he grunted.

As Brenda and Thomas started out of the room, Clint jumped up and came after them. "Wait!"

They both paused and looked at him questioningly.

"Be careful, alright?" he said, his tone carrying a softer edge. "I - I don't want to be burying any more dead bodies - especially not either of yours."

Thomas gave him a firm nod. "Thank you."

Clint waved him off. "Whatever. Close the door when you leave."

Later, Brenda and Thomas rejoined everyone in the mess room for lunch. There were a dozen or so tables and benches scattered around the area but luckily their friends had saved them seats.

"Where the shuck were you guys?" Winston demanded as they walked up.

"Taste this food, man! For once I'm actually enjoying something I didn't cook!" Frypan grinned, stuffing his mouth with bacon and eggs.

Thomas chuckled as he sat down between Newt and Winston. "Load me up!" He reached for a nearby plate and started spooning some scrambled eggs onto it from a tray in the middle of the table.

With a heavy sigh, Brenda plonked herself down on the bench next to Harriet and Jorge.

"Where were you?" Harriet inquired, waggling her eyebrows first at Thomas and then at her.

Brenda shrugged. "Nowhere in particular. Just looking around."

"Man, I wish I still had some energy left to look around, but I don't," Jorge muttered as he pushed himself away from the table. "I'm going to have an afternoon nap. Whose with me?"

"Definitely me," Harriet piped up. "I'm exhausted. Hey," she prodded Brenda with her elbow. "You look awful, Be. You should get some rest too."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Geez. Thanks, Harriet. Maybe I will."

"Same here!" Thomas butted into their conversation. "I could use some sleep."

"Hang on, where's Chuck?" Brenda looked around worriedly.

"Poor little guy said he was so tired he couldn't even bring himself to eat," Harriet explained. "He's passed out somewhere in the bunker."

"I'm gonna go see if he's okay," Brenda leaned forward, grabbed a piece of toast and stood up.

"Yeah, alright, see you there in a bit," Harriet called after her.

Brenda made her way to the bunker that was clattered with spare mattresses and pillows. She spotted Chuck curled up in a far corner, swaddled with blankets. Smiling, she settled down next to him and reached up to ruffle his curly brown hair.

"Sweet dreams, muffin," she murmured before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Gif: Clint as he hears of Brenda's and Thomas' proposal.

Q: Is Clint someone you would see yourself getting along with?

~ If you enjoyed this chapter or want to give me feedback on anything, don't hesitate to vote, comment or DM me. I'm open to any suggestions, ideas or constructive criticism. I love chatting with my readers and I love to hear what they think about my writing. However, any hate or negativity posted on here will be deleted and reported. Have a great day everyone! Catch you all soon. ~