The Runaway

Chapter 3

By the time seven o'clock rolled by, everyone had been fed and Tanner was rallying his troops, sans Valerie's shadow Cole who was busy, as usual.

"Once again. Standard procedure-"

"-is get in, grab a few things, get out. We know, we know. But this is a special night! Let's just have some fun Tan." Robyn hefted her gun and pointed it at him, making shooting noises.

He made her point it safely at the ground with a frown.

"Rule 3 - no pointing a gun at an ally- even if its unloaded."

"when you ya think I'm ever going to finally shoot with one of these babies." Robyn flipped the safety on and off to irritate Tanner.

"You know the rules- only if you or your counterparts are in serious danger. Even then it's shoot to wound not kill. Capiche?"

Robyn managed a nod as she yawned widely.

Mabel climbed down from her perch on the brick wall, binoculars around her neck.

"It's all clear. You'd better take a route through the Pride sector-just in case. I'll stay behind and hold down the fort."

Robyn rolled her eyes. "Mabel you can't 'hold down' a fort- it's not inflatable. You can 'hold' the fort which I assume you meant. By all means go for it."

Mabel cast her blue eyes to the ground, toeing at the dirt with her sneaker.

Robyn didn't seem to notice her response.

"Val, you ready?"

Her friend looked up from where she was bent over, tying the laces of her black boots. Her red hair stood out amongst the black of her cat suit.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The trio gathered their supplies and trudged off down the trail towards the Pride exit. Along the way Tanner fell into step with Valerie while Robyn lead the way, playing with her gun.

"How are we holding up? You know with the job disappointment and all."

Tanner wasn't very smooth with sensitive subjects.

"Eh- coping. I think I'm still in shock from it going to awry. But don't worry- ill be on the front line with you in no time." She bumped shoulders with his and gave him a half-smile.

"I can't wait to finally have a buddy. The only person I have is Morrison and he's not very talkative."

"Come to think about it we'll be spending a lot more time together. How horrid." Valerie said airily.

Tanner grinned. "I'm dreading it."

"Oh will you two hurry it up and keep the volume down? We're nearing the border.

They approached the wall that surrounded the property, ambling up to the heavy set gates that held engraved the name Pride in the massive slab of stone.

No one had know what the original names of the sectors had been- all that was left of the half-crumbling ruins were the first few letters of each. Some smart Alec had decided to name them after the seven deadly sins after it was converted into a holding grounds for criminals, the poor, the sickly and the other dredges of society. People argued that everyone in the sectors had adapted to their namesakes but there was no full proof or time to verify this. Everyone was always busy looking over their shoulder and surviving.

When the institute in the middle of the sectors had opened up years ago, people had scrambled to apply as mentors, tutors and supervisors while parents queued up for hours on end to enrol their children for a chance at a better life at no cost.