Agent X

xx| 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚢-𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 |xx

My nerves were on edge. It was the night before the big day—the day we finally rescue Xara from WAOIC prison.

"Everything is loaded," Dari announced. "I'm ready to begin when you are."

"Good," I said. I turned around in the front seat. Finn and I had switched places during the briefing so that I could be in the front.

Dari held up her computer so everyone in the back could see the screen. It displayed an aerial view of headquarters—the x-ray Finn had taken in the helicopter yesterday.

"This is the layout of the entire complex," I said. "The left shows the exterior, the right shows the interior. As you can see, WAOIC headquarters has two stories, each in the shape of a rectangle. Both have an inner and outer part."

I pointed to the outer ring of the upper floor on the diagram. "There are rows and rows of small structures along this hall here. It's the same on the opposite side. I'm assuming this is where the prison is. While I can't see faces, or even bodies of humans, in the x-ray, I do see lots and lots of tiny, black dots clustered in these areas. I can presume that this is where WAOIC keeps their prisoners. However, I don't see as many on the other side."

I pointed to the other side, where there was a single black dot among the prison cells. "I think that's where Xara is being kept. They would most likely want her to be in solitary confinement, since she's such an important prisoner. What Dari has done is figured out the exact coordinates of where Xara's presumed cell is.

"Dawn, you're the second best tech person here. We're going to need you to navigate our rooftop drilling so that we cut right through the roof and land outside Xara's cell. Dari has a device that can tell you the GPS coordinates of any place it is pointed at. She will also tell you the coordinates where you need to drill in the roof. All you need to do is tell Jax and Jef where they need to cut into the roof.

"Once we're in WAOIC headquarters, we will then cut through the metal bars of the prison cell and get Xara out. Jef, Dawn, Jax, and I will be going into the prison. We shall enter the perimeter of the headquarters through the tunnel we have been digging the past few days."

When I say "we," I really mean Jax, Jef, and Dawn. They manned a few powerful machines that enabled them to tunnel under the electric fence. With Dari's assistance, they lined up where they dug with the coordinates of the bush on the outside headquarters. After Finn took the aerial shots of WAOIC, I asked him and Ty to drive through the forest and get familiar with the routes. Given that they were my prime suspects, I didn't want them doing a job that was vital to the mission.

"Dari, your job is going to be to shut down all of the electricity within WAOIC headquarters. Ty and Finn, you're going to be a distraction. As soon as we are in place, right by the bush where we can hide, we're going to send you a signal. At that moment, Finn will fly overhead in the helicopter and start shooting at the guards standing outside headquarters. I don't think they have any planes to use against us, so it should occupy all the guards they have on hand. Lure them to the opposite side of the building from the bush we are hiding in.

"Ty, you're distracting them from the car. Once the guards are away, we're going to get up on the roof. Dawn, Jax, and Jef, wear white clothes—the color of the roof. It won't conceal us perfectly, but at least it will help. Jax and Jef, you'll have thirty seconds to dig a hole inside the roof for us to get through. Then, we'll get in there, grab Xara, and get out. The whole procedure needs to take a maximum of ten minutes.

"Once we have Xara, we'll get up on the roof. Ty, you need to get out of there ASAP once we have Xara. Finn, you're going to pick us up from the roof of WAOIC headquarters in the helicopter."

I paused, taking a deep breath. The others' faces were blank, which was mildly concerning to me.

"Do you know what you're doing?" I asked. They all nodded in unison.

Rather a somber bunch today, I thought.

"What do we do if they see us on the roof?" Dawn asked.

"We shoot them down."

"What if they shoot us first?"

"We'll be wearing bulletproof vests."

"What if they full blown attack us?"

"Finn will swoop down from the sky and save us," I said sarcastically. Dawn looked confused.

"I will?" Finn asked, equally surprised.

"You'd better," I replied. Though if you're a double agent, there's not much I can expect of you.

The success of this mission relied on everyone doing their part properly. When delegating these tasks, I had to have some faith in my team, though I did give the people I trusted more important roles.

"Any more questions?" I asked.

Crickets chirped in the dark forest outside. They shook their heads no.

"Okay then," I said. "It's only nine o'clock, but we need to go to bed early. We're going to need all the energy we can get tomorrow."