To Be A Rebel

Chapter 2: Run To You

"Alright. Janine, Runner Five, you're approaching the perimeter gate to the township," Sam says. "We've had the signal from Steve. He's knocked out their coms for the next couple of hours, so we're safe to talk on this frequency for awhile. Now, I say 'knocked out'. We all know he's blown something up."

"We're at that gate. I have my key." Janine inserts the key into the lock, trying to remain quiet. It's all quiet tonight, the guards on shift change. We have approximately five minutes before the new guards head around.

The lock clicks, but it doesn't unlock. A frown pulls at Janine's lips.

"Odd. It doesn't seem to be working."

"Is it... the right key?" Maxine asks.

"Of course it's the right key," She snaps, going still in realization as I click my flashlight on for a short second to get a better look. "She's changed my locks. I had those locks handcrafted in Switzerland! They had seventeen separate tumblers. Look at this cheap rubbish she's replaced them with! Couldn't keep out a determined toddler."

"How are we going to get in?" Sam asks. "That wasn't in the plan."

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Yao. Runner Five." She gives me a nod, and I drop down to my knees, handing her my flashlight so she can shine it onto the lock so I can pick it with the lock pick set I found while we've been out in the run.

It takes me about a minute before I hear a soft click as the lock comes undone.

"When did you learn to do that?" Sam asks, and I grin as we open the gates just enough to slide through before closing them again.

"What do you think I've been doing in my free time out in that meadow?"

"Wait, is that why I thought I was going crazy about the van? You were purposely picking the locks after I locked them to mess with me, weren't you?"

I giggle. "Love you. But anyway, we're in."

"You little..." He sighs. "Okay, head west. Go!"

I don't hesitate in obeying. The guards will be back around in a few minutes because of shift change. In the quiet February night air, I can hear my own breathing, my own heartbeat. It could be because of the fact that we need to stay hidden, but it all sounds too loud.

Or maybe Abel itself sounds too quiet. I mean, I know we had a curfew before, but there were always people up past that time, sometimes out smoking stale cigarettes or sneaking out to meet up with a significant other to do things considered less than appropriate. Here though... here it's just quiet.

The air has a bitter taste to it, and it smells of metal. This feels wrong, unnatural. Everything about this feels that way.

But soon we'll have our home back. Janine has the explosives. I have my lock picking kit and my Swiss Army knife to use to cut away at the restraints, and Sam told me that the prisoners should be all together within one cell so I won't have to worry about kicking in a ton of doors. That's good, I guess.

"There's someone coming from the east," Sam says lowly, and Janine and I both freeze for a moment. "It's a man. It's shadowy, moving quickly... Oh, right, yeah. I know who it is."

A few seconds later, the man comes out from behind the shed. We make no move towards him, but he steps out of the shadows for only a second so we can see his face clearly.

"Colonel De Luca, ma'am. Runner Five," Steve says with a nod. "Good to see you. Sigrid's made such a big deal of telling everyone you're dead, I half forgot you weren't."

Janine frowns. "Mr. Sissay, this is not our agreed rendezvous point."

"No, ma'am. No, I've... I've come to ask you not to do this."