𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐑𝐃━︎━︎M. Hill ✓︎

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
A BAD PLAN

SHE WOKE UP THE NEXT morning bright and early. She only received a total of sixty minutes of rest. Sage walked out of her room, entering the room that the meetings always took place, and much to her surprise everyone was already there. None of them looked had gotten any sleep at all, even Malia stood there with her arms folded of her chest, forcing herself to clench back the yawn that so desperately wanted to escape her lips.

     "Ah, she joins us." Blake sarcastically spoke, a tight smile playing on his lips. "Let's get this over with, yeah?"

     "Blake." Roxanne warned. Her eyes narrowed into slits as she looked at the man, daring for him to speak again. Roxanne turned her head back towards Sage who had reluctantly joined the table, standing beside of Malia and placing a hand on the teenager's arm, offering her a small smile.

     "Do we have a plan?" Sage questioned, glancing between Roxanne and Blake, the duo glancing towards one another before reluctantly nodding their heads. Sage narrowed her eyes between them. "Why so reluctant?"

     "It's a bad plan." Malia simply stated, shrugging her shoulders.

     "Malia." Blake warned.

     "What? It's true. It's an awful plan. There's a six percent chance of all of us making it out of there alive." Malia snapped, glancing between the group. "Beatrix is sending us on a suicide mission, and you're all just standing there and trying to act like that's not what's happening here. This is a kill mission."

     "Malia, you don't know what you're talking about." Roxanne carefully told the girl.

     "I do know what I'm talking about, and so do you three, you just don't want to believe that someone that saved your life would waste all that time to purposely get you killed in the end." Malia snarled, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

     "It doesn't matter." Sage quickly cut in. "Either way we're going to have to do this, so doing this, knowing that it's possibly a trick, will allow us to be ten times careful. None of us are dying tonight, not if I can help it." She looked towards Roxanne, nodding her head. "The plan, please?"

     "Right." Roxanne breathed. "We all know the goal. Get in, watch each other's back, get the liquid and get out. We know nothing of this place nor the amount of security that will be there. We aren't being picky about this. One does not go off alone without backup, got it? We have no idea what to expect."

     "That's the problem." Blake muttered. "We have no idea what to expect. How the hell are we supposed to get this done if we don't know what we're facing."

     "Listen, this is the best chance that we have." Roxanne snapped at him. "If you have a better plan, then please do fill me in on it."

     "This isn't a plan at all." Blake argued. "We're practically going in blind. We might as well shoot ourselves in the head so that there'll be some sort of peace when we die."

     "Blake!" Sage snapped. "We don't know what to expect, yes, that's a fact. Howsoever, standing here and freaking out about it isn't going to make it any better. We need not to listen to the goal given to us by Beatrix. Instead, we should create our own." She looked between the three, her eyes meeting all of theirs. "Our new goal is to keep each other safe. We go in two's. Roxanne and Blake, Malia and I. Our priority is each other. And when we are positive we are safe, then we can complete the goal of going after the liquid. Can we all agree on that?"

     Roxanne met Blake's eyes, the two sharing a silent conversation before they both glanced towards Malia. The teenager seemed much more comfortable with this plan than the one that Roxanne originally stated. Roxanne sighed before looking back towards Sage, forcing a nod. "Alright. It seems that more of us are more comfortable with this plan."

     "Up bright and early I see." The sound of Beatrix's voice echoed off the walls, making the four tense before forcing all of their shoulders to relax, surprised at their own actions. The group of four turned their attention to the red haired woman who stood in the doorway, a smile on her face as she entered. She walked up to the four, placing a hand on Sage's shoulder. Sage forced a smile on her face before turning her attention towards Roxanne, the two sharing looks with one another. "I assume there's a plan in play."

     "Of course there is." Roxanne spoke, a smile on her face. "Who do you think we are?"

     Beatrix chuckled. "Well, you have disappointed me in the past." She glanced between the four of them. "I assume that you will bring what I want back quickly and as quietly as possible?"

     "Of course." Blake nodded his head, his arms held behind his back as he looked at the woman.  Beatrix looked over all of them, her eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced at them before pursing her lips and nodding her head firmly.

     "I could always count on you four." Beatrix smiled. "Well, you leave in the next few hours. Prepare yourselves however you deem fit. And remember what the mission is. Don't get side tracked. Your goal is to get this vial and this vial only." She held up a picture of the glowing vial, slapping the picture all on the table as if to force their attention to be drawn to it.  "You know what happens if you fail. So don't." With that, Beatrix turned on her heel, and walked out the door.