Ranger stood outside the gates of McCollen's Mental Institution. "Why the devil did I agree to this?" She muttered.
Before she could fully comprehend the reality of what she was about to do, she walked toward the gates. Two sentinels stood guard at the entrance, and the first one said "State your name and your business here."
"Autumn Rift, military representative from the castle of King Notch." Ranger said, and her tone was surprisingly that of a soldier. She held out a note with an ornate seal stamped on the bottom in red wax.
The second sentinel took the note and, after thorough inspection, handed it back. "Go through the security hall. Leave any weapons outside. I assure you'll find the housing to be secure and to standard."
Of course. That was her cover story. She was checking the rooms the residents of the Institution stayed in as a surprise protocol inspection. Ranger nodded to the guard and stepped past the gate and into the courtyard.
Open land stretched from the gate to the entrance of the building itself. She'd have to figure out how to get from the door to the gate without being seen. Shaking her head almost imperceptibly, Ranger walked to the enormous building.
She had created a mental picture of the Institution - dull gray stone, iron bars, towering over the landscape.
In reality, it was nothing like that. It was low to the ground, and the outside walls were polished and painted white. All in all, it wasn't quite the imposing structure Ranger had been expecting. Either way, she had a job to do.
Pushing open the iron door that led inside, Ranger was met with a uniformed guard who she presumed was the security officer.
"Leave your weapons here and take the cloak off. Standard safety procedures, I'm afraid." The security officer said with an apologetic look. Apparently, he had already been informed of her ostensible excuse for being here.
Nodding, she slung her cloak off her shoulders and lay it down on a table. The security officer checked it to make sure nothing was amiss, and gestured for Ranger to remove her weapons.
Ranger complied, taking off all her weapons but one throwing knife. As she tried to remove the throwing knife from the sheath, she frowned as it didn't move. Stuck. "I'm sorry, this happens all the time. I need a new sheath for this thing."
"Not a problem. Here, allow me to help." The security officer stepped forward to help release the weapon. Before he had time to react, Ranger slipped the throwing knife from its sheath and slammed the hilt into his temple.
The security officer's eyes glazed over, and sank into unconsciousness. Ranger caught him by the front of his uniform before he could clatter to the floor. Quickly taking the uniform off him, she pulled him to the corner of the room and flung the cloak over him.
She now had a uniform and an excuse. So far so good.
Now, her greatest enemy was time. She needed to find out where Pro's room was located, get there, break her out, and get both of them out of the Institution - after retrieving her cloak and weapons - all without being caught or seen and without the unconscious security officer being discovered.
This was real life mission impossible.
But she had made a deal, and Ranger intended to hold up her end of the bargain. Opening the door on the opposite end of the security hallway, she glanced briefly at a map, committing it to memory.
She needed to get to the main control room. That was where all the information on inmates was stored, and where the security cameras were checked. Before anything else, she needed to ensure that there was no video or photographic evidence that might condemn her.
