Anarchy [ Watty's 2016 ]

XIX: Jade

As if I wasn't sleep-deprived enough. I'd spent upwards of eight hours decrypting the damn files, only for it to be encoded in something I had no idea what was, let alone had a key for it. I was mildly curious as to how or why Alex knew the code, but I didn't have time to ask. Now, I had two people who both said something was up, two people who didn't have a clue how to give a straight answer.

"Hey!" I waved my hand in front of their faces. "Anyone mind telling me what the problem is here?"

"Well, the problem is—" they both started talking at the same time.

"You can go first—"

"Okay I'll go first—"

I sighed. "Okay, since this will otherwise take forever, why don't you explain first, Alex?"

Alex nodded. "Okay, well, I managed to decode the files, thanks to Jade and her tech-wizard abilities to crack 'em open for me, but they detail something not exactly pleasant. Apparently, CORE knew more than just that we were onto them, and about more than just Jade's parents—the Ryders. If this is right, it means that CORE knew all about project ARCHANGEL, all about when we were going to implement it, and all about who would be carrying it out—Jade."

That part didn't make sense to me—I was a last minute place in. I hadn't even been part of the 'AnARCHists'—as Alex called them—until the literal day before the operation. How could they have known anything about me?

"And," Alex continued, "they had a huge plan set up to locate—and destroy—us, and every other rebel group in the state. One of which involved one of their agents going undercover—deep undercover—and infiltrate our ranks." She shot me a sideways look. "Another included an agent deliberately getting himself captured and thus revealing our location..."

Mordekai jumped in. "And I just got an automatic message over my comm, alerting me—us—that someone who isn't one of our guys got his hands on an earpiece and activated the tracker, which sends a signal directly to the underground. So—"

"So the question is: where's Damien?" I finished, looking around frantically. The aforementioned asshat was nowhere in sight. "And—oh, shit."

"What?" asked Alex.

I gulped. "I think I know whose comm he stole," I said, pointing to the coffee table, which was empty except for my laptop. "Mine. I took it out last night, because it kept buzzing. I put it on the coffee table, and, well...it sure as hell didn't walk out on its own."

"But you were awake all night," Mordekai protested. "How could he have gotten your mic and escaped when you were up?"

"Well, I might have dozed off a bit after I finished with the files," I admitted, my cheeks burning. "Hey! It's not my fault. I hadn't slept in thirty-six hours. Or more. I'm not sure."

Alex groaned, "Wonderful. We'd better wake the others, then. Tell them we're expecting company."

"You don't have to," said someone behind us. I turned around—it was Will, with Taylor right behind, looking no better than I felt. At least they got sleep, I thought spitefully.

"That saves some time," Mordekai muttered. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know we're in trouble," Taylor's tone was grim. I shuddered involuntarily. I really hated it when people were pessimistic like that.

Will nodded. "We should get going as soon as possible. I'd say we have twenty minutes to get the hell out of here before they show up on the doorstep. And that's a best-case scenario."

Again with the pessimism. Jeez. "Okay," I said. "What are we waiting for?"