The Banditos

Chained

Nico currently has me chained to the wall.

"You know what happens when you disobey me..."

I groan. "I'm sorry! You wanted me to hurt them, and I told you I couldn't! Clancy is too nice to deserve that..."

Nico gives me a frustrated look. "I don't care. You weren't supposed to be nice, now, were you?"

I shook my head. Nico speaks again. "That's what I thought. Now be quiet!"

Clancy and the Banditos approach the towers in District One, their hearts pounding with fear and anticipation. They creep closer, trying to be as quiet as possible.

I'm struggling on the wall. My arms and legs have chains around them. "Let me out!!"

Nico rolls his eyes at me. "No. Should've thought about how I would react if you didn't follow my orders."

Clancy pauses and motions for the other Banditos to stop. They've made it to the base of the tower, and he can hear the faint sounds of talking drifting down from high above them. Clancy's jaw clenches as he listens, his mind racing with worry and anger.

He turns to the other Banditos and speaks in a low, urgent voice. "Okay, here's the plan. We're going to climb up the tower and sneak into the room where Bella is being held. We have to be quiet and careful. We don't know what Nico might do if he hears us."

The Banditos all nod, their eyes determined despite being scared.

One of the Banditos speaks in a low voice. "How do we know where she's at? And Nico hears everything. We might get caught!"

Clancy looks over at the Bandito who spoke up, his mind racing. He knows he needs to come up with a plan quickly. "We have to try," he replies in a low whisper. "We have to be careful and stealthy. We could try to see if we can figure out which room she's in by listening for her voice. And if Nico hears us, we'll just have to deal with it. We have to try and get her out of here, no matter what. Are you all with me?" he asks, looking around at the other Banditos.

They all nod again, their expressions resolute. Clancy nods back and gestures for them to start climbing. Together, they quietly start making their way up the tower, trying to stay as silent as possible.

As they climb, Clancy's heart is racing. He's worried about what could happen if they're caught by Nico. But he's even more worried about what might be happening to Bella in the room up there.

They reach the top of the tower and pause, their backs against the wall. Clancy motions for the Banditos to follow him as he cautiously peeks around the corner to look inside the room.

He scans the room quickly, his heart racing. His eyes land on me, chained to the wall. I'm still struggling against the chains, but she looks exhausted. Nico is standing beside md, his expression bored.

Clancy motions for the Banditos to stay back and watches, trying to think of a plan.

He watches Nico interact with me for a few moments, his mind racing. He can't just burst into the room and attack Nico, that would just put me in more danger. He needs to come up with a plan that will get me out of there safely. As he watches, he notices that Nico's attention is mostly focused on me, and that he's not paying too much attention to the room around him.