Transform Me (A "Shatter Me" Trilogy Fanfiction)

THIRTY-THREE: BATTLE PLAN

33: Battle Plan

While Kim stays behind in the surveillance room to continue monitoring the tanks' activities aboveground, I head back towards the mess hall. Everyone is still in high spirits—laughing and smiling without a care in the world—and it chills me to the core knowing that no one in this room but me is aware that all our lives are in grave peril.

And we may not have much time left.

Gripping a printout of Gupta's electronic mail exchange, I scan the crowd for Devin's face. When I see her at a table on the far end of the room with Jun, Caitlan, Juliette, Warner and Kenji, I begin stalking over.

"Hiroko!" Devin smiles pleasantly when she notices me drawing close. "We've been looking for you...what's wrong?"

"You look like you're being chased by an axe murderer." Jun remarks.

"I'm sorry for being the bearer of bad news, especially now, but this is imperative. Devin, you were right about Gupta." My words come out breathless as I slam the paper against the table. "He's been spying on us all along. Kim and I went through his email account and found this message."

"Who's Polina?" Caitlan inquires as she peers at the sheet of paper.

"Polina's a code for General Apolinario Rizal of Sector 37. Kim was able to trace the IP address and I connected the dots."

"Oh my God," Juliette's blue eyes widen in alarm. "What does the message say?"

"It's a cryptograph. Notice how he writes in all caps, while some seemingly random letters are written in lower-case." I push forward the other paper containing the code I'd written earlier. "The lower-case letters spell out a secret message: they are planning to attack soon; estimated time arrival to be announced. I'm afraid Gupta's already notified The Reestablishment about our plan."

Six horrified faces stare back at me.

"It can't be. How could this happen?" Devin demands, eyes brimming with distress.

"I don't know, but there's more." I flip the paper over to show them the general's reply. "Shortly after we'd decoded the message, a new email entered the inbox. The reply says we are ready for them. The Reestablishment is already anticipating an attack from us, and we haven't even formulated a concrete plan yet."

Caitlan's face drops into her hands. "This isn't happening. Tell me this isn't happening."

"I'm so sorry, Caitlan, but I couldn't wait to inform you. Every second we waste here is another point in their favor. We have to think of a plan now." I urge everyone at the table.

"Hiroko's right." Warner speaks up for the first time, forehead creased in concentration. "The Reestablishment may be anticipating an assault from us, but our only advantage is that they don't know when we'll strike. The sooner we act, the better."

"We should hijack the sector and take over." Jun suggests, scowling.

"No. They'll be expecting that from us." Warner shakes his head. With arms crossed over his chest, he levels me a look. "Has a schedule already been set for the mass execution?"

"No date yet, but it's soon." I reply grimly.

Warner strokes his chin absently, eyes boring holes into the tabletop. After a few minutes, he says, "That's where we make our first move. We'll need to free them first to add to our number. This is where you come in, Kishimoto."