The Traitor

Chapter Twenty: Fake Confidence

I stayed hidden in the shadows of the building adjacent to the Head Quarters, as I watched my best friend walk dangerously closer to it. She confidently approached the guards that were blocking the entrance and I watched her nonchalantly flash her badge and begin giving her excuse. I tried to breathe normally as I watched her speak, making casual hand gestures to help explain her story. Despite what I thought, the guard standing in front of her remained stone-faced as she spoke and I was getting more and more nervous every second. But I reminded myself that Jackie had been in almost all of the schools plays as a lead role, so convincing a guard she had forgotten something in her office should hopefully be easy for her. The guard had to buy her story. If he didn't...

Just then, to my relief, the guard took a step to the side and his hand gestured for her to go inside. Phew. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding and watched as she thanked the guard and proceeded inside the building. Yes! Go Jackie! I thought. I took off quickly and quietly toward the south wall where Jackie promised she would let me inside as soon as she found it. It couldn't be that hard to locate the door from inside since she had been inside the building a bunch before and she knew the general location of it, but then again, I wasn't sure how much of a maze it was on the inside.

I ran along the side of the building, searching the wall for a door, while, simultaneously, keeping my eyes peeled for security cameras. It would really blow if I got caught after getting this close to rescuing Jasper. Then again, until I was inside the building, I wasn't sure how close I really was to Jasper or to completing my so-called "mission." 

My eyes finally stopped their search when they found a small, grey door, hidden halfway behind a large dumpster, which I would have to squeeze behind to get to it. I wedged myself between the dumpster and the door and pressed my feet up against the wall, then pushed against it, barely causing the large container to move more than a couple inches. I inhaled a large breath of air, and tried again, to no avail. I would just have to squeeze to get to the door when Jackie came out, hoping it wouldn't make a loud noise when the door hit the dumpster. 

Suddenly, a noise came from behind the door and I quickly unwedged myself so I wouldn't be hit when Jackie opened it. But, instead of the voice of my best friend I knew so well, I heard a loud, husky laugh, followed by a gruff, muffled voice saying something I couldn't quite comprehend. Quickly, I scanned the sight for a place to hide, as it looked and sounded as though the men were heading out the door. I spotted a large metal trash can just beside the dumpster (don't ask me why they needed a garbage can next to a dumpster) and I slipped behind it, ducking down so I hopefully couldn't be seen. 

Then I sat, listened, and waited; waited for the guys to come out so I didn't have to hide anymore; waited for Jackie to let me in so I could rescue Jasper. Whatever I was waiting for, it didn't come, and after about five minutes of crouching behind the trash can, I eventually got up enough courage to stand back up and approach the door again. It was silent just behind the door and it sounded as though the men had left, but then where was Jackie? Oh no! Did those men spot her trying to let me in and capture her? A panicky voice in my head concluded. But I argued back, mostly just trying to calm myself down as I thought of a plan. No, Teya, she's probably fine. It probably just took her a little longer to find the door. I inhaled a large breath of relief as I decided that was what happened.

As if on cue, I heard the lock click from inside and prepared myself to hide again, just in case it wasn't her, but I was relieved to see the door open to reveal my best friend standing there, beaming. I ran over and hugged her. "Oh my gosh, Jackie, I thought you had been caught," I told her as I let her go. Clearly, she must have been proud of herself for something, because she continued to grin. I lightly punched her shoulder. "Don't ever do that to me again."

She pretended to rub the spot I had punched and mimicked fake pain on her face. "Ow. What was that for?" Then she laughed. "Kidding. Sorry, I was late. Man, it was a jungle in there. I have never been on this side of the building, so finding the door was a little tricky."

I smiled back at her, and though we both knew the weight of the situation we were in, it felt good to smile and laugh with her again, even if it just lasted for a second. "No problem," I responded, even though, minutes before, I was contemplating breaking in and attempting to free both her and Jasper, all the while, trying to stay hidden. Now, that was a challenge I wasn't eager to accept, because if it came down to either her or Jasper, I didn't even want to think about making that decision. However, I felt confident that it would never come down to that since I was about to trade Jackie places, and send her home, where I knew she would be safe. 

As if reading my mind (or the emotion I knew I so clearly wore on my sleeve), she handed over the badge, just in case I would need it and we switched spots so that I was closer to the door and she was within running distance of the car. I leaned in for a quick hug, which ended up being not so quick and whispered in her ear, "Thanks for everything, Jac. I've missed having my best friend around." She lingered a little longer before pulling away and, though I couldn't tell for sure, it looked like she reached up and wiped a tear from under her eye. I didn't blame her; I knew if I wasn't in complete shock over what I was about to do, I might be crying too. "I'll be back. I promise," I reassured her, and I hoped she didn't realize it was false bravado. There was no foretelling what was about to happen and if I didn't know for sure that everything would turn out okay, then I didn't want her to know that. It was crucial that she left me thinking I had complete confidence that I would be able to do this by myself. Because at least that would make one of us.

She nodded and gave me one last squeeze before turning around and jogging to her car. I watched as my best friend looked over her shoulder at me one more time before disappearing around the building corner. And just like that, I was alone. I turned around to face the open door and drew in a long, fresh breath of the cool outside air. It felt good on my throat, refreshing, and I slowly let it go, making it last as long as possible. A small part of me thought that maybe this was the last time I would get a fresh breath of outside air, and though I tried to push it aside, I couldn't help but think that small part of me was right.