The Strays

I paced around the room as I waited for my programme to finish loading. I’d inputted old data about the police station, the most logical place for Delilah to be holding Leo, and cross-referenced it with data I’d recently acquired, to find the most efficient course of action for getting in, then out, without raising too much suspicion.

“You still do that thing when you’re anxious, walking up and down repeatedly as though some answer would fall out of the sky. You used to do it before exams like you had something to worry about, you always aced them, it’s just strange because you were the only person I knew who could make anxious pacing look cool.” Drew remarked, leaning in my doorway. I quickly dragged him into the room and slammed the door shut to make sure nobody saw him. “You didn’t expect me to get in, did you?”

“Honestly, no, but I guess I could use your help if it’s still on the table, because if you can get in here, you can help me get to Leo.”

“If you’ve got a plan, I’d love to hear it.”

“That makes two of us, Drew. You have a lot of explaining to do, Indie, starting with why a Hellraiser Lieutenant is in your room?” Linc insisted, catching both me and Drew off guard as he walked into the room. Clearly, neither of us had heard him coming.

Drew gave me a look I knew all too well and before I could stop him, he had a hand firmly over Linc’s mouth as he restrained him.

I watched in dismay as Drew knocked my brand-new housemate out, throwing his limp body onto my bed, where he proceeded to tie him up with scraggly bits of material that were lying around.

“Was that honestly necessary? He’s just a kid, hardly a threat.”

“We’re all just kids Indie, you seem to forget that. I did what I had to. Linc would’ve gone straight to Ty, then we’d both be locked up in the basement and Leo would be screwed.” Drew defensively argued.

“I wouldn’t have snitched. I’m here to talk to Indie about Liberty. That’s why Mac’s planning to turn Leo over to the Elites, I’m almost certain of it. I heard chatter that they were looking for him, and something didn’t feel right. I was sifting through the traps in the service tunnel. They’d been disarmed. This was the first place I checked in case you’d done a runner, but seeing you here caught me off guard.” Linc moaned groggily as he addressed Drew. Now please untie me so we can talk like civilised humans?”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “I can’t let him do that, you know too much. You should have just listened when I said stay out of my business.”

Linc shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not too adept at following orders and you didn’t exactly say that, just that we were going to have words about invasion of privacy, which didn’t happen because you retreated here instead.”

“What do we do with him? We don’t have much time to save Leo.” Drew sighed.

“The way I see it, we have two options. We can either trust Linc with our secret and let him go before somebody notices he’s missing, or we keep him tied up, take him to a part of The Paragon where he won’t ever be found; leave him there for the rats.” I sighed.

“There’s another option here. I am coming with you guys to bring Leo home. He’s my friend as well, you know, and with Indie’s injuries, you’re going to need the help.”

Drew seemed genuinely interested in Linc’s offer. “It’s a two-man job. If we let you go, are you about to do something stupid?”

“Probably. You know what I’m like. I’ve never been one for listening to orders.” Linc said innocently enough. “But I won’t put the mission in jeopardy if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but Linc’s right. You’re injured, badly. Entering the lion’s den in your current state puts everyone at risk. I think it’s wise if you sit this one out. Linc and I can go in and get your guy. He knows the layout just as well as I do.” Drew concurred as he turned to me.

“So what am I supposed to do? I’m not just willing to sit around here, patiently waiting for you guys to come back.”

That’s when an idea formed in my mind. There was no way Drew would back down, which meant I was getting left behind, no matter what. That didn’t mean I had to stay at The Paragon though. I knew everything he knew about the police station, but I also ran a check on the Elites’ main hideout, giving me everything about the sanctum as well.

“You know what? You’re right. I’m not feeling well, and I don’t want to put Leo at risk. If you think you can do this, then do it. Just take some precautions with you.” Drew untied Linc and I headed over to my wardrobe. My fingers helped me pry open the back wall after I pushed the clothes on their rail aside.

“What’s she doing?” Linc asked Drew, who simply grinned, as though he knew what I was hiding.

“I’m giving you boys some of my toys.”

Both boys appeared behind me and Linc gasped in shock as he took in my arsenal. Hidden behind that panel was an array of weapons, ranging from tasers to snipers capable of firing live ammunition and duds.

For once, Linc was speechless.

“I know you just want us to be safe, but is firepower necessary? At most, the enforcers will have tasers, possibly tranquilliser guns, nothing we couldn’t handle. It’s not like they’re knife-carrying Hellraisers or tech-obsessed Trojans.” Drew reasoned. For him, violence wasn’t the first resort, despite his usual tough-guy routine.

“Are you joking? This is amazing.” Linc’s eyes lit up as he reached out to pick up a handgun. I slapped his wrist away, opting to pass him a taser instead.

Drew rolled his eyes at me. “Isn’t this rather conspicuous? I mean, we’re breaking into a place where the rebels, regardless of who they are with, are at the top of the most wanted list. Surely we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”

“Don’t give me that. The last time Linc attempted a two-man rescue mission, unarmed, Leo got left behind. I won’t let you take that chance again. You have one shot at this and if I can’t be there to help, the least you can do is take non-lethal precautions, besides you said it yourself they may have gadgets of their own.”

“Fine. We leave immediately, though, and you have to stay out of trouble.” He compromised.

I held up my hands. “You have my word. I’ll stay out of trouble. Now get moving before they decide to move him.”

The boys left the way Drew had come in to avoid Ty and the others. I headed straight for the front door, hoping to get to the Elite Sanctum unnoticed.

“Hey Indie, where are you going?” One of the girls, I didn’t know their name, but it wasn’t Stitch, collared me outside the front of the building.

“I was just checking to see if I could scavenge some supplies. Maybe pick some herbs for medicine bags. Anything to distract me from what happened earlier.”

“Leo’s a survivor, he’ll be fine, though I’m surprised you’re not setting out to smash some skulls, not that you’re in any shape to do so. I don’t think Stitch would want you heading out at all, especially not with that broken rib.” She stammered, unsure of what to do.

“I already spoke to her. It’s fine. She asked me to note down any unused buildings in our sector that we could use as a new clinic, given the old one was compromised.”

“That’s thoughtful, but you don’t need to worry about that. There’s a high school near the hospital. It still has power, plenty of room, and it isn’t occupied. I’m hoping to get Ty and Linc to help me move the clinic over there, the patients as well.” She explained.

“Well, don’t let me keep you. I have to run. See you tonight at dinner.” I smiled, making a hasty exit before I lost any more time.

I arrived at ‘The Sanctum.’ As everyone called it, an old theatre in the city centre. The building had been heavily fortified since I was last there, before the virus, and with the number of patrols, I knew gaining entry wouldn’t be easy. I was scouting the area for about forty minutes before an opportunity finally presented itself. There was a ninety-second interval between patrols on the roof and the ground, which meant the roof was practically empty. This was perfect as the gap between the theatre’s roof and the building beside it wasn’t too big. This meant even with my injuries, I could make it. I just had to make sure nobody was around to see me first.

I climbed up to the roof, checking around me as I climbed so I could be certain I was alone. The moment I knew I was, I prepared myself for the jump. I only had one chance to get this right. I waited out of sight as the patrol ran its course, then the moment it was clear, I sprinted full speed at the wall before transitioning into a catpass. Unfortunately, I underestimated the jump and my fingers scraped the theatre’s ledge. Pain shot through my body as I clung on for dear life. I could feel my arms burning and the muscles were about to spasm, but I could hear the guards above me. I couldn’t pull myself up, not yet. Finally, the noise above me faded, and I hauled myself to safety. I collapsed on the theatre’s roof, panting as I quickly recovered, realising I needed to get out of sight before the patrol returned.

I cautiously snuck into the building onto the catwalks that spanned the entire stage, allowing me to see everything going on below me. It looked as though the Elite’s primary leaders were having a meeting of sorts. However, I quickly noticed Delilah’s absence and I couldn’t hear what they were saying, as I was too far away. However, this provided me with the means to get what I wanted. I navigated my way to the heart of their operation. The control room that The Trojans had helped to set up so The Elites could monitor the city and its people.

I took a seat at the computer and within seconds I’d breached their systems, accessing all the information they had on Liberty, The E.A.D and The Strays that occupied The Paragon. Plugging in my USB, I copied every single file. Quietly, I prepared to erase their systems and upload malware when I realised I’d forgotten something. Before uploading my malware, I downloaded all the files about the city’s current most wanted, then disabled and erased everything on their mainframe. Temporarily anyway. With my mission accomplished, I headed back to The Paragon, completely undetected by the enemy.

Whilst I was successfully sneaking around enemy complexes, Drew and Linc were facing some difficulties in their jailbreak.

“What’s the plan, then?” Linc asked. Drew looked at him blankly.

“You don’t have a plan. Do you?” Linc sighed.

“Indie and I have only discussed this so far. We didn’t get to that bit. Then again, you and I never really did too well following them, anyway. Improv works much better for us.” Drew admitted.

Linc took a deep breath. “You and Indie honestly intended to just charge in with no real idea of what to do. That doesn’t surprise me. You both have serious impulse control issues. Then again, weren’t you the one who gave her the no guns blazing lecture?”

“What I say and do are both very different. Indie is a very difficult person to talk down to. If she had come, I’d have avoided a direct approach. She wasn’t up for it. Us, though. I think we can take them.” Drew explained.

“Or we sneak up on two of the Enforcers patrolling the exterior, tase them, steal their uniforms and weapons. We can walk straight through the front door, head to the cells where they’re likely holding Leo, and then walk straight out. Anyone asks questions, we tell them we’re escorting him to a secondary location as the station’s been compromised.” Linc suggested, earning a nod of approval from Drew. “I underestimated you back when you were a Hellraiser. Clearly you think things through.”

Linc shrugged his shoulders. “Ty was always ready to lead. Me. I enjoy being the brains. Could we please go to get Leo now? Time is wasting.”

Both of the boys agreed and headed toward the compound, ready to put their plan into action.

The first part of the plan went off without a hitch. They got in and quietly snuck past the armed guards, but when they got to the cells, they were empty.

“Shit, where the hell is he!? Please tell me we didn’t go to all of this trouble to save him, only to find he’s already escaped.” Drew complained as he stormed into a random cell, Linc following close behind him.

The two wandered around the small confinement, looking for any signs of use, when suddenly they found themselves lying face down on the floor.

Leo crawled out from under the low set bed and forced his foot into the crook of Linc’s neck, a broken set of handcuffs still dangling from his wrist. “Give me your keys or your friend dies.” He ordered, addressing Drew.

Drew slowly rose to his feet, hands in the air to show he didn’t mean any harm. “Leo, I’m a friend. The person whose throat you’re currently crushing is Linc. We came here to bust you out, but it seems you’re ten steps ahead.”

Leo looked at him suspiciously. “Why should I trust you? I know you’re one of Hatter’s guys. It’s your fault I’m even here!” He snapped.

“Indie sent us. I found her at her old house, made her realise she couldn’t get you out alone.” Drew explained.

“Then why isn’t she here? She’d never trust someone she didn’t know, someone like Linc, let alone you. If she sent you, she’d be here.” Leo stated, pointedly applying more force.

“She wanted to come, but when Linc agreed to go to her place, I told her to stand down. She isn’t up for something like this, and she agreed.” Drew informed him as Linc coughed before his movements slowed completely.

Leo removed his foot, a serious, disbelieving scowl on his face. Linc rolled onto his back and started breathing heavily, desperately filling his lungs with air.

“Indie actually backed down?” Leo reiterated.

Both Linc and Drew nodded.

“Then she has an ulterior motive, a reason to want to be alone. Linc, you and Stitch should know better. In all the weeks she’s been healing, until today, did she ever make you think she was the type to back down? The fact she’s not here and didn’t argue about this should’ve been suspicious enough. We need to get back to The Paragon, make sure she hasn’t done something stupid.” Leo stated with an alarming sense of urgency.

The others talked him through the plan, and he nodded his head in confirmation, assuming his role.

The three boys made it out of the police station unscathed, relatively undetected. However, just to be safe, Drew and Linc changed back into their clothes for the walk home. Acknowledging that Enforcer uniforms would draw too much attention, they made their way back to The Paragon.