Transform Me (A "Shatter Me" Trilogy Fanfiction)

TWO: CONTINGENCIES

2: Contingencies

            “They’re really not holding back this time, huh?”

             Jun is the first to comment after I disclose all the intel I gathered from the meeting with the generals.  He’s inspecting my copy of the report the military scribe had secured me.  Then, as if no longer interested in it, he passes it on to Devin and begins absently toying with the ring around his right eyebrow.

             The library wherein we are currently holding our meeting is massive and stately—it’s the third largest room in the Souseiki Dousa headquarters, next to the lab and the training room.  There are rows upon rows of bookshelves filled with books from every decade.  However, given the fact that there are at least a hundred of us jammed inside, the beauty and extravagance of the room is easily overlooked.  

             “We have less than twelve hours before the arrival of Juliette Ferrars.”  I announce.

             “What’s the plan, Hiroko?” Devin asks me.

             “The first most logical step is to patch a message to Miss Ferrars, informing her of the planned attack.”  I look at Gupta.  “Can you secure a line to her that won’t be traced or tapped?”

             Gupta nods.

             “Good.  That’s Plan A.”  I resist the urge to massage my temples.  I haven’t had a wink of sleep for the past thirty hours.  “Now I mentioned earlier that, as agreed upon during the meeting, the airport runway will be rigged with bombs within the next twelve hours.  For Plan B, at five hundred hours tomorrow, Jun, Teo, and Xiaoying will intercept the delivery truck containing the bombs from Sector 21’s military base before they can make their way to the airport.  There, Teo will create a distraction while the bombs will be disabled by Jun and Xiaoying.”

             “Is there a Plan C?”  Jun grins, amused.  When I nod, it widens even more and I wonder how his face hasn’t split in half yet.

             “For Plan C,” I continue without missing a beat, “I will require the assistance of a small, select group to rescue Juliette Ferrars and her companions and—”

             “I thought you said she was coming alone?”  Jun interrupts and I bite back a grunt.

             “I’m assuming Miss Ferrars wouldn’t be so stupid as to actually come alone and unarmed into foreign territory.  She will probably have one or two companions with her, three at most.  Anyway,” I return my attention to everyone else, “this group will consist of the following people: Farhan, Judith, Jo-Ann, Kim, and myself.”

             At the mention of his name, Kim’s head snaps up and his eyes meet mine from across the room.  He looks so impossibly pleased with the news, as if I had just asked him to have coffee with me and not risk his life to save someone else’s.  His smile rivals the sun and I’m momentarily dazzled.

           Seeming to be the only one perceptive enough to notice this exchange, Jun clears his throat and I look away.  But then I see Farhan, big arms crossed over his barrel chest, wagging his eyebrows at me suggestively next to Kim, and I begin to wonder in embarrassment who else had seen that.

             “If there are any questions or concerns regarding these arrangements—especially to those whose names Hiroko has just mentioned—you have the freedom to back out right now without fear of any form of judgment or consequence.”  Devin informs everyone in the room.