The Henhouse

Sides

"Ivy- Ivy!" Peter called out. Ivy's hand slipped out of his, but he took it back, holding it tight. He leaned down closer to her face.

Her eyes raced around the room, wild, but settled on Peter. They were all pupil, her face all sweat.

"You're okay," Peter said. "You're okay. Just some Epi. You passed out."

Ivy opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her eyes locked onto each of the others, maybe counting heads, but when they fell onto Gabe she started screaming all over again.

"Ivy! Ivy, he's helping us. His name is Gabe."

Chest heaving, Ivy scanned Gabe up and down. Then she closed her eyes and hung her head. Her hand tightened on Peter's.

"That's it," he said. "Just breathe...."

A few seconds passed.

"Who are you?" Ivy croaked at Gabe, eyes popping open.

"I'm- I'm Gabe...?"

"No." She shook her head. "I mean, who are you?"

The room turned to Gabe.

"Well," he started, but didn't seem sure what to say next.

"Who do you work for?" Justin prompted.

"I- they don't have a name," he murmured. He paused, and couldn't seem to look any of them in the eyes.

"You have to understand. The people – the 'they' watching you now – they're- we're- not the same people who brought you here."

"What do you mean?"

"The Agency," Ivy gasped, sitting upright. Her breathing was still quick, but growing steadier. "They brought us here. But someone else came along...."

"Exactly." Gabe sighed.

"The ammo," Jonah said. "Upstairs. It didn't- It didn't match the gun. This gun."

Gabe's face darkened with guilt. "Yeah, we brought our own weapons, too. When we stormed this place." He averted his eyes, drawing them up to the ceiling.

"It wasn't easy. No one tries to take the CIA by surprise, and for good reason. The Henhouse is a fortress; don't let the name fool you...."

"So who's making the drug... things?" Jonah asked.

"Them." He glanced back at the door. "I mean, us. They're probably working on it right now. I don't know what the CIA wanted out of this, but they never planned to draw your blood."

"The panels-"

"Have been in those rooms for a long time," Gabe said. "You're not the first people to stay here. But they weren't going to be used. Not this time."

"When?" Ella asked. "When did they- when did you come?"

A sad little smile played on Gabe's lips. "They tried to warn you," he said in a small voice.

Justin's chest felt hollow.

"The blackout."

"You were all in the same place. That meant fewer people monitoring you all, and more around the base. It was the perfect time."

"And the alarms...?"

"Evacuation protocol." Gabe blinked slowly. "The Agency set it off as soon as it happened. It was all them. Telling you to get out, the only way they could...."

"And we ignored it." Dany shook his head, disgusted. "We ignored it all...."

"So, you came with 'them,'" Justin said. "The others. But you're helping us. So, who's side are you on-?"

"Yours!" Gabe insisted. "Always on yours."

He dipped his head, looking down at his ratty shoes.

"Always on Cas's side," he breathed to the room.

"Cas?" Justin's stomach suddenly flipped. "You mean Casper?"

Gabe nodded, rubbing the nape of his neck.

"You knew him," Justin said. "Before any of this...."

"Yeah," Gabe chuckled. He looked up again. "I knew him."

The silence was choking.

"How?" Justin prodded.

"Does it matter?"

"If it didn't, would you be here?"

Gabe looked around the room. He shrugged.

"Well. I was kicked out of my house when I was 15. ...I'm hoping that's not something else you'll pry into."

No one answered.

"It doesn't matter why, anyway. I was in a lot of trouble, but Cas's- er, Casper's brother, Charlie... we were good friends. He helped me out. Let me stay at their house." He shuffled between his two feet uncomfortably.

"And that was impressive, because.... Well, let's just say, their dad isn't such a nice guy. He drinks. Some days are worse than others with him. ...I stayed there 2 years until I found my own place. I was still dirt-poor, but somehow I'd managed to make ends meet. Cas was only 7 by, and I was still worried, but... as long as Charlie was there, I knew he'd be okay. Whenever Charlie went away – looking at colleges, or anything – I would, you know, take Cas to a movie, or just to hang out. Anything to get him out of the house. It was me and Charlie's deal; I was paying him back. But... it was nice, too. Cas is a good kid."

He smiled.

"Charlie got arrested last year. He'd been poking in other people's buisness his whole life, so it wasn't much of a surprise. That's just how it goes, for us. ...But the first time I saw him, in jail, he said he'd found something. The something that got him locked up. It was some kind of... plot. He'd seen scraps of files, encrypted messages, biographies, floorplans. And somewhere in those files, he saw his brother's name."

Gabe cleared his throat. "So, you know, he asked me to keep an eye on him. Really watch him. And that letter came this April, and I tried to tell Cas, but he wouldn't listen. He said he'd be fine." He shook his head. "And I- I don't know. I believed him. I don't know why, maybe I pitied him. I knew why he wanted the money. $5,000 was enough to skip town, get out of that house. ...So, he went. But when I did some more digging of my own...."

He chuckled weakly. "If you can't beat 'em, right?"

"So," said Justin, "you're some kind of... double agent, then?"

He nodded.

"You were trying to protect him. Casper."

Jonah scoffed. "Great job at that-"

"Jonah, lay off-"

"No," she snapped. "You mean there was someone underneath us the whole time, who knew everything that was about to happen-?"

"This wasn't the plan," Gabe clarified. "They weren't planning to bring you down here. You were never supposed to know-"

"Until Casper told me about his brother," Justin sighed. "Then they thought he'd tell me everything... and it all fell apart...."

"Well, not just that."

"What, then?"

"I-" Gabe paused, then shrugged. "It's complicated."

Justin could almost hear Gabe's mind ticking away.

"We need to leave," he decided. He took determined, wide steps towards the door. "We've already wasted enough time here. You feeling okay?" he asked Ivy, and she nodded back.

"Good." He jogged out the door, the 7 others trailing behind him.