XX

Brenda clattered noisily down the stairs as she zipped up her jacket, concealing the array of blades tucked within the thick leather folds.

Shoving her pistol into her belt, Brenda tightened the strap by pulling against the large, metal buckle.

As Brenda hopped down the last of the narrow steps, she wound her thick scarf around her neck and hurriedly did up the laces on her combat boots.

Then, straightening up, Brenda walked briskly through the noisy bar cluttering the downstairs level of the palace. As she passed by the bar, she snatched up a pastry from a basket sitting on the oiled counter.

"Oi, you have to pay for that!" the short, moustached bartender yelled after her.

"Relax, Esley, I'm not a thief," Brenda rolled her eyes before flicking a coin out of her pocket and onto the counter.

She continued walking until she had exited the bar and arrived at a door at the far end of the corridor. Hitting her knuckles against the hard wood, Brenda rapped out the secret knock before she was admitted into the isolated alcove.

Jorge, Vince, Sonya, Harriet, Aris and a few other Elites were scattered throughout the room. They were looking over drawings and maps and going through a camera reel that had been set up in the corner. They all glanced up in relief as Brenda entered.

"Well, look whose here," Harriet smirked as she stepped forward to give Brenda a half-hug.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Sonya chirped as she, too, enveloped her friend in a tight embrace.

"About time you showed up," Vince grumbled under his breath, not even bothering to look up from what he was doing.

"Geez," Brenda raised her eyebrows as she scooted over onto a nearby chair. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Vince muttered with a shake of his head.

Knowing better than to push him any further, Brenda rolled her eyes and huffed before turning to Aris. "What's game?"

Aris cast a glance over towards her as he responded in a shaky tone, "Everything's set to go. I - I..."

"You what?" Brenda crinkled her forehead up, concerned.

"I'm just worried, that's all," Aris confessed. "What if this doesn't work? What if it's a trap and some of us get stuck in there?"

Brenda's breath hitched in her throat as she considered her answer. She knew that Aris had been concerned with the operation's dealings since they started. Maybe he had a good reason to be.

According to the Elites' sources, there was an array of labs and departments situated right off of Maze A, the location being only a few dozen miles from the Flat Trans.

That was where the Elites were planning on conducting their next operative.

It had taken tech-savvy Aris nearly a week to hack into the WCKD cams situated within the department. When he did manage to overcome this obstacle, however, he set up a full three-screen display of the entire station. Four people were assigned to keep watch on the cameras at all times, alternating between each other. This was the only way to guarantee that the mission was completed smoothly.

Jorge and Harriet had scoured the Flat Trans dump and found two wrecked jeeps amongst a variety of other cars. Some people familiar with mechanics had been busy fixing up the vehicles for months.

They decided to split the attacking members into three groups so they could completely surround the department, clear the area and keep watch while Brenda, Aris, and Sonya undertook the difficult task of breaking the prisoners out of the Maze!

With three working cars up their sleeves, a barrel of rifles, an unlimited supply of ammo, and many smart minds at work, the Elites were, after five months, finally ready to go.

They were going to get Chuck back!

"Aris!"

The sound of Vince sternly reproving the boy jolted Brenda out of her stupor. Spinning around in her seat, she shot Vince a knowing look. "All the doors leading into the labs are locked, each with different passcodes," she spoke up. "Are we privy to all of them or ..."

"Yes," Aris quickly cut in. "I've accessed them via my computer and know them all off of the top of my head, don't worry, we're set. Once Vince's team arrives from the east, Jorge's from the west, and ours from the south, I will be sent a signal, indicating that everyone is in place. Once I have received it, I'll pass it on to Jonas here." Aris waved a hand over towards a dark-skinned man who was sitting down attentively in front of the camera reel. "He'll freeze up the network from WCKD's side with a virus that I've installed onto this USB. The cameras will shut down from their end and they also won't be able to get any power back on and running. But, there's a catch: the virus' circuit will only last for an hour. We need to get in and out between that slot of time otherwise they'll call for reinforcements from the capitol and we'll be caught."

"And from there?" Vince prompted. He always liked to run through a plan about fifty or more times to make sure everyone had it down pat.

Aris shrugged, nervously twiddling his fingers behind his back. "Brenda and I will sound over the intercom that's hooked up to WCKD's wiring system and direct all of the prisoners to the Maze exit, which I'll open up from the inside. As long as your team's waiting on the other side of the door when we all get outta there, we should be good."

Vince heaved a deep breath. "If you guys get trapped ... "

"Vince! We're gonna be okay," Brenda interrupted as she gazed at him. "Nothing is going to go wrong, alright?"

"I ..." Vince hesitated before letting out a reluctant sigh. "Fine. It's just that this will be the hardest thing we've ever had to pull off, that's all. I want everyone to be one hundred percent certain of what they're doing."

Before anyone could reply to Vince's statement, a radio, that been set up on a nearby table, crackled loudly.

"This is Louis. Come in. Over."

Jorge leaned over and picked it up. "Yes. We read you. What's up? Over."

"Everyone is in position. Give Vince the heads-up. Over."

"Copy that," Jorge slipped the radio onto his belt before turning and sending a grim nod towards Brenda. "Let's do this."

Brenda ran her tongue along her dry, chapped lips, desperately trying to still her shaking hands.

What if Aris was right? What if they did get trapped in there? What if they were all killed? What if she never saw Chuck again?

Gif: Aris. What a cute lil potato!

Q: Would you be brave enough to enter the WCKD lab with Sonya and Aris or would you prefer to wait outside in the jeeps with Harriet and Jorge?

~ 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. ~