Until We Break (Formerly Wicked, Wild, Wonderful)

Original Edition: Chapter Thirty-Five

WHILE THE LIVESTREAM WAS PLAYING, RIVERSIDE WAS BRIGHT. And justly, The Guise was anticipating their biggest heist on Riverside yet. For about five minutes now, Naomi's recording was being streamed live from an old laptop Tio had lying around for all of Riverside to see; and it was already trending worldwide. Of course, The Guise knew that the Riverside Police Department would find some way to trace the signal, which is why they had pre-recorded Naomi's video and left it to play in the Evergreen Memorial Park mausoleum, along with a signed note from Naomi Morgan stating that she's not pressing charges and she alone is responsible for all her past and future decisions.

The note was the cherry on top that Naomi Morgan herself suggested. An assurance, she justified. When in reality, it held a lot more finality.

Now, back in the abandoned warehouse, they waited. Cairo was hunched over his phone as everyone else paced back and forth in silence. If the police took their bait and went to the Evergreen Memorial Park mausoleum, The Guise hoped, prayed, that at least one of the squads guarding the exit routes out of Riverside would join as back up so that they could make a clean escape. It was a stretch, but it was the best they could hope for. If not, they could at least try to sneak their way through while the rest of the Riverside Police Department was busy at the park. Either way, Tio and Xiomara were waiting by the exit routes to give them an update.

It was a simple distraction plan, but everything was weighed in its balance.

Saint was monitoring the live reactions on social media from his phone while Cairo's leg jerked up and down as he waited for the phone call that would be the end-all, be-all. He knew his nerves were contagious but he didn't care. They were otherwise all out of ideas. This was it. He had a right to be nervous.

Sully was just a few feet away muttering something to Lia as Naomi stared out the crack in the window. The boy's hushed words were probably drenched in anxiety and hopelessness, much like Cairo, but Naomi didn't need that weighing her down, so she didn't listen. Instead, she allowed the gentle light beam slipping in to remind her that there was still life outside of this dilapidated building. That the world was still spinning and even though it felt like they were living in a dark, dusty hell, there was a better life out there waiting for them. Somewhere.

The phone rang to life.

Everyone turned.

It rang again.

"It's T-Tio," Cairo stuttered, taking up the phone and looking at it.

"Answer it!" Chyna and Saint shouted.

As it began its third ring, Cairo swiped it open and held it to his ear. He listened. Everyone drew closer. The room was still. Cairo's eyes bounced off the walls before stopping dead in Chyna's eyes.

He froze.

Then, "They're leaving the exit routes," Cairo said, "All of them! We can leave!"

Naomi swore she had never seen Cairo look so happy in her life. His face was alive and his cheeks were high on his face. The rest of The Guise erupted in loud cheers, Chyna even falling to the floor from excitement. It started out as a bundle of confusion at first before combining into a coherent chant of "We did it! We did it! We did it!" Lia had taken Sully by the hands and began skipping with him, spinning the both of them into a never-ending circle. Cairo jumped atop one of the empty crates and started beating his chest before launching off it and picking up Chyna off the floor, screaming happily at her. She did the same. They could not believe it.

Naomi, however, she watched. She had experienced much more impossible things.

Saint came from behind her, his hands wrapping around her waist. She jumped. With all his strength he took her into the air and sent them both spinning, their laughs quickly joining the hysterics of everyone else in the room. "We did it," he said when her feet were back on the ground. "You did it," he corrected.