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Squad One: Infiltration of the first district

The ride to the first district was painstakingly long; they (meaning squad one), had to go through a ton of security from the third to the second and then from there to the first. Neith looked ready to explode when they were stopped yet again while leaving the second district and entering the first.

Rhydian fumbled with his sleeve nervously. He didn't think he was that great of an actor or a liar- could he even pull this off? What if he blew their cover? What if all the others were caught and it was up to him to rescue them? What if someone recognized him or the others, even with the disguises? What would happen to them if they were caught? What if-

"Rhydian, are you alright? You're trembling."

Rhydian blinked, his focus shifting to reality at the sound of the voice. There was a warm pressure on his arm. Hugo gave him a sympathetic smile and tilted his head slightly to the side, watching Rhydian softly.

"Don't worry. Everything should work out fine," He murmured reassuringly, pulling his hand away and resting it on his lap. Despite his relaxed tone, Hugo's dark eyes shone with anxiety. He too seemed unsure of how the infiltration would turn out.

Rhydian swallowed. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get information from the officials, but it was vital for Shuko's plan to work. If he screwed it up...

The blue-haired boy balled his hands into fists and kept his eyes glued to the floor of the hovercar, trying not to think of how the others would treat him if he did manage to ruin everything. 

Of course, it wasn't really working.

"If," Rhydian began slowly, speaking to Hugo in particular, "If I somehow blow this for us... I apologize in advance." His voice shook just a bit, but he felt better giving them the possibility that he'd do something wrong and reveal their motives.

There was a slight pause, no one speaking for several long seconds as the hovercar began to move again. Then, "I forgive you in advance."

They all looked to Hugo, who blushed at everyone's sudden attention on him. "I mean... we all make mistakes now and then, but we're going to try our best to help each other, so we would all be at fault if that..." Hugo trailed off and averted his eyes from the others, flushing a deeper shade of red.

Neith rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "If that were to happen, it'd give me another chance to blow some shit up- here rather than at someplace important."

Khloris kicked him hard in the shin and he swore. "Bloody-"

The blonde girl beamed at Rhydian, ignoring Neith's long string of angry curses. "Don't worry, you'll do just fine! Shuko put you in this group for a reason, so don't doubt yourself. Just have a little more confidence in yourself, kiddo." There was no doubt in her voice as she spoke and Anyim nodded in agreement.

"She has a point, you know. Just try not to overthink it. We'll be splitting into pairs, anyway, so-"

"There are five of us, we can't split into pairs," Neith spat, rubbing his shin as he glared at Anyim. The taller man rolled his eyes. "I wasn't finished talking, you raving blowfish."

Neith snarled. "What did you call me?"

Khloris took the opportunity to tug hard on the aggressive man's ear. "Calm down and let him finish."

Anyim shook his head at Neith before continuing. "Rhydian and Hugo will head one way, Neith and I will go another, and Khloris will be on her own since she's had the most experience with this kind of thing. It'll be easier to branch out that way-"

"Hang on," Neith interrupted, earning him two sets of glares. "How come I have to be stuck with you? Mr. Look-how-much-better-I-am-at-everything-"