Video: Mood music - give it a good and see if it alters your reading experiance. 

We all moved off quickly but Zoe was the first to actually run. It didn't take long for both of us to get to the part of the institution near the truck. Fortunately, the area was clear. The stink of tear gas and smoke permeated the institution corridors. There were some people near the truck but Lee and Hannah's attack managed to lead them away.

Zoe and I approached the truck from different angles. The blue truck was massive. Like a container but longer and much taller than a person. I felt something sinister about it. The morning was warming up but outside it was still very cool, calming. You could hear the traffic beyond relax after rush hour. Most of the traffic this morning was empty cars leaving the city for the day after delivering their owners to work. The empty cars would scuttle off to find somewhere cheap to park for the day and recharge.

It was a large shipping truck in blue with 'GovSys' on the side. In smaller writing was 'Test impairment station 1' There was a set of steps either side one for entry and another for the exit. Cables ran from the institute window into the back of the truck.

"Who put that there?" I asked silently seeing the truck.

"They did" Zoe said stoping and changing into the Warden uniform.

"But they could get it closer and in less view of the road if it was over there." I protested. They were not doing themselves any favours. I was annoyed they could not do their own jobs well enough.

"My position was much better," I said silently while I approached down the blind side of the driver. I got as far as I could with "Look, they needed to get extension cables to power it."

I started to move to the other side while Zoe approached the driver. He was hanging around vaping with the door on the passenger side open.

"Hi," Zoe said brightly to the driver. I could feel her hack into his phone. She started on his pictures then phone book.

'He split up with his long term partner a month ago... this should be easy' Zoe sent.

I reached into a surveillance cam and was able to see them. I was now hiding near the other end of the truck looking out for of other guards or workers.

"Hi I was sent to give you a message... Richie?" Zoe said to the confused looking driver. She smiled broadly."Richie Cunningham well fancy meeting you here!"

"I'm sorry?" He said. Richie was young thin, with curly hair trapped under his GovSys-Support cap.

Zoe half laughed and looked at the floor and then back with a huge grin.

"Don't you remember me? I'm Belinda's younger sister. Eve. I remember you. We went to the same school. Luther High? You were always going after what was her name..."

Belinda was a contact about the same age as him. At this point, Zoe was scrolling through Richie the driver's contacts for ones who lived where his mother lived.

Zoe stood looking up repeating an expression she had seen on a quiz show "eeer Jessica... M"

"Jessica Martins?" Richie said.

"That's it Jessica Martins," Zoe said getting closer. He was wearing a party badge. "Wow, you're a party man. That's cool. Do you like to ?"

The driver Richie looked confused "do I like to what?"

"Do you like to party?" Zoe said getting closer to him. 'Now' she said to me silently.

She had moved closer to the driver Richie. 

While the driver's attention was distracted I jumped up to the entry door and walked quietly in. The door had a keypad which I undid in seconds. I walked in the door closing it quietly behind me.

The truck space was compact but efficient. A small room with a chair where the victim would be photographed and catalogued. A bar code reader on the wall to collect their ID. A doorway leading into the test space its self. The room was painted in unicorns and rainbows like a children's dentist. In the centre was a large barbers chair with the same kind of brain scanner they had used during my test. For the kids like me with neurological problems, this would be very familiar. Steel cabinets lined the edge of the room hiding the radiation shielding. The place smelt clean and clinical but most of all new. The paint was fresh.

On the far side of the room were two doors. One marked 'exit' and the other 'private'. It was a similar layout for the test I had taken. All I remember was looking at it while they arranged the scanner on my skull. I spent ages trying to read 'private' I kept reading it as 'pry' - 'vate', with vate rhyming with late. Took me a while to work out what it really sounded like. During my first test. They had taken my sketchbook from me saying all recording was forbidden.

I walked through the door marked 'private to find a heavily shielded lead-lined room with some screens and gear. This was the control space for the accelerator. The truck was on waiting for its first victim. I could see inside the machines. Not much data mostly radiation level reports. A lot of software. It would be easy to wreck this place but harder to hack. I looked around and saw a huge thick user guide.

'Gold mine' I thought.

"I get a new shiny toy," I said aloud to no one. "What's the first thing I do? Read the user guide."

I went up to it and flicked through it. I read the four hundred pages at flick book speeds. Wow that was badly written. The only problem now was my knowledge of electricity was weak. I put enough together from what I had seen over the years. There was a programming interface. If I could program, then some subtle damage would be very simple. Instead, I found a way by removing physical elements.

The shielding also stopped wifi so I moved to the door to communicate.

'OK I have a method. It will take about 10 minutes.' I thought to everyone 'Zoe that good for you?'.

Outside Zoe was getting the driver to talk about himself. 'Yeah, 10 minutes - just call me I can stop any time.' She said silently while she listened to the driver.

'Lee, Hannah you OK?' I said.

'It's not ideal but we can probably hold out that long. The ceiling is weak from fire.' Lee said. For a second I felt I could smell burnt wood. I got the message, Hurry.

'Lee can see in ultraviolet and infra read I can't' Hannah added. 'Good news is we have their attention'

'Hannah make sure you have an escape plan and we should be good' I added getting down to thinking about the operation.

I moved down the truck picking up a few tools as I found them. Near the bottom was a floor plate I could unscrew and pick up the plate and get access to the core accelerator.

While I looked around for the parts I needed, I could hear the chatter of the others. Their words buzzed like flies in my head. It was clear everybody was working on the plan. I could feel Hannah getting worried about the state of the building they were in. She and Lee were distracted by coming up with ways to keep the warder's attention. Valerie run around working on away to get an exit. She had a number of plans. She hoped to find some Warder's uniforms and failing that coats.

'How are you doing?' Brooklyn asked me.

'patience is a virtue' I bounced back.

'Like soon would be good for Colin and me, we can make 10. No pressure'. Brooklyn added.

I was working as quickly as I could. Everything was new to me. I tried to squeeze time down and thought more about what I was doing. While I worked I discovered the truck had an internet connection and a USB connector to the main control computer. I could see by looking at the machine that it had a program but I didn't know enough about the code to change it. I knew that there were no texts on programming as all knowledge about programming was forbidden. You had to be a trusted party member and go to a special administrator college to learn how to make software. The GovSys monopoly of all program was supposed to make it harder for people to make bad code.

'Hurry up' Zoe said silently 'He thinks I'm too young to be a warden. I think he suspects.'

'Nearly there' I said back 'Valerie are you ready?'

'I will be by the time you get to me.' Valerie sent back.

'Done' I said. 'Hannah ready the exit plan. Everyone? Go to the rally point'

'I hear you' , 'I'm on it' , filled my head.

I began to close everything and put all the tools I had taken back. I had to be neat enough to make sure no one suspected. Then pushing open the door I looked then went outside. I had checked the external cameras about ten seconds ago. I was in a hurry and way overconfident. I walked out and below me, there was Craven with the Zuki the small girl I had rescued.

"Let he,r go" I said.

Craven put the knife to her throat. "Seriously?"

"Let her go, you can have me." A voice said calmly behind me.

'We have to be fast. The driver won't stay on the far side. For long' Zoe said to me silently from behind.

"Come here, then" Craven said.

Zoe walked to him and turned around. He let the girl go and kicked her.

"Run" I said to Zuki and she ran off.

Craven twisted her arm behind her. He put the knife to her throat. A gun I could hack but beware metal was going to be all his. I could feel Craven's heart pace maker, his heart was beating.

"Craven Let her go and your family don't need to find out." I told him. Blackmail seemed like threatening him with a cushion.

'We have to hurry.' Zoe said silently. 'if we leave him behind they will know we were in the truck.' Zoe stopped when put his hand between Zoe's legs.

"You smell so good my slut." Craven said to Zoe's ear. "First you then her. May be fuck both of you together what do you think?"

'Meta. we are coming' Colin can said 'but if he had seen you then they will guess and everyone might get re-sterilised later. No one can know.'

"Please," said Zoe desperately. There was a look of genuine terror on her face. She knew what Craven wanted. I couldn't get through to her. I think her terror was overcoming her ability to think.

"You walk first. Back to your cages both of you" Craven said licking Zoe's terrified cheak. When I began to move. he pushed the butcher's knife closer to her neck. There was a thin strip of red.

"LEAVE... HER... ALONE" I said while I held up my empty hand fingers out stretched.

Craven bent over Zoe. His face turned blue.

His heart pacemaker was not designed to be hacker proof. Zoe grabbed his hand, pulled it way and then bit it. It was unnecessary. Craven was falling over like building being demolished. Zoe moved out the way and with tears in her eyes grabbed my hand.

"Oh SHIT," I said.

'Go' she said silently as she pulled me.

I stepped over Craven's body. Then stopped and grabbed the knife. Now it looked like he had a heart attack. Then Zoe pulled me and moved back into the institution. What happened next made me wish I had stayed. 

*****************

A/N So Craven is dead. Where you expecting that? Did you think Meta had it in her?  Just want to say The Rise has got a huge ratio of votes to reads - thanks for that.