The Spades Network ran deep. Lily had arranged for Ralphie and Leon to stay at a safehouse after the attack on Ralphie's Parents to assess their safety. Each week, Lily would call in on an encrypted network.

  “How are you holding up?” Lily asked, her face illuminated on a large screen. The safehouse was one story, but more than enough for everything that they needed.

  “Not well,” Ralphie grumbled. “We’ve been stuck here for weeks. With no communication to the outside world. Besides the man who drops off food at our doorstep each week. I’ve had no contact with Sage. I can't even imagine what she thinks is going on right now. I know you had a messenger tell her we were safe. But she has no clue what is happening. Not to mention, we still have no leads on my parents.”

  Lily's screen buffered for a second. “I know, and I thank you for your patience. We had to take some time to assess how at risk you two were and take the proper precautions. But now we have a better understanding of what is going on.” The screen buffered again. “I have some news. They brought Sage into a research facility.” Ralphie walked in closer to the screen. “But, before you say anything. She is safe at least for now. We were able to use the photos Ralphie gave us to extract the license plate of the car that your parents took.

  The car was spotted in the town of Socorro. We believe that's where your parents are. There are several facilities in the town. We don’t know which one holds your parents. But lucky for us, there is a researcher at Sages facility who used to work and still has clearance to the Socorro facilities. It's as easy as killing two birds.”

  “How do we get in?” Leon asked, as the screen flickered in front of his face.

  “We have a guard inside who, for security purposes, we will call Yellow. Yellow has set up a fake meeting within the system for both of you at the facility. When you go there, he will lead the two of you inside. Once inside, you will have to find the researcher and extract Sage. You will be armed, but only in a last-ditch situation. Yellow will help you as much as he can to find them. Understand.”

  They nodded. Ralphie looked at Lily on the screen, wondering what else was happening in the world. “Has your story aired yet?” Ralphie asked.

  Lily smiled, “Yes, it just aired. It puts CelTec in a corner. A lot of people believe the puppets are unethical, but some see them as a blessing. A Blue was shot dead during a protest; now CelTec is using it to round up more of the disconnected.

  The call ended shortly after.

  Leon put a hand on Ralphie’s shoulder. “Are you up for this?” he asked. They had been trapped in this box for a while, but that didn’t give Ralphie time to grieve.

  “Don’t really have a choice. I’m not staying here.”

  Leon smiled, “It's crazy to think a couple of years ago you were in school. I was doing nothing.” He chuckled, “Now look at us, everything's out of control.

  The Research Facility's waiting room was wide open with only a couple of chairs and a huge desk where a woman sat behind a wall of glass.

  “He’s ready to see you now.” The woman said, motioning her hand down the hallways. The hallways inside this building were surprisingly wide, Leon thought to himself.

  Yellow stood at the end of the hallway. He was a big, burly man, fitting to be a security guard.

  “Right this way, sir,” he said as he led them down a series of halls. The walls turned various shades of brown before they opened up into a giant room. The room had several staircases floating in the air. They were all suspended by wires. As Leon looked up, he could see people walking across the stairs, sitting reading on the random assortment of floating furniture. It was a wonderful feat of architecture.

  Yellow saw Leon looking up in admiration and said, “If CelTec does have to go. I hope we can at least preserve this place.” Yellow pointed towards a black door that was straight ahead. “Go through that door. Sage should be through there, tell them you're a visitor, last name Tobey.”

  Leon gestured to Ralphie towards the door, “You go find her. I will deal with the researcher and then come and find you. Yellow, where do I find this researcher?”

  Yellow looked at Leon while Ralphie headed towards the door. “He should be in the lab on the third floor to the right. His name is Dr. Frank. He handed Leon a key card. “That's my card. It will get you through any door in this building.”

  “What will happen to you?” Leon grabbed the card, shoving it in his pocket. Yellow pulled off his security vest and handed it to Leon.

  “I’m burned. As soon as you engage with the researcher, The Minds will try to call for help. I have set a timer to disable all of the equipment in this building in about fifteen minutes and put up a blocker that will prevent any calls from going out. It will take a long time for them to get everything back up and running, so if you can tie up the researcher, then it will be a while before they realize what happened. After they figure it out, it won’t be long before they trace it back to me. Which means I need to go into hiding as soon as possible. I will wait outside until I see that you made it out, and then I’m gone.” Yellow eyes flowed with fierce determination. Leon wondered what CelTec had done to him to make him so dedicated to the cause.

  Leon firmly attached the security vest to his chest before he made his way to the elevator. He had to make contact with the researcher before the fifteen minutes were up.

  Leon walked into the elevator, and the number three was already pushed on. Leon rolled his shoulders confidently. He was still getting used to the idiosyncrasies of The Minds.

  The door opened up to several labs. Third door to the right, he thought to himself. The room inside the door was painted all white from the ceiling to the floor. There were large metal tables surrounding the edges and the middle of the room. There were all kinds of vials and electrical equipment scattered on the tables. Several men and women looked up from their work stations, their computers buzzing and flashing different algorithms.

  Leon paused, looking at them before clearing his throat. “Excuse me, where is Dr. Frank? It is a matter of security; they all looked at him with blank stares before one woman spoke up.

  “He just went up to the sample room.” Leon stared at the woman blankly. “Fifth floor,” she added.

  Leon thanked the woman. He was wasting precious time. Leon began to worry he might not be able to find him at all. He rushed to the Sample Room on the fifth floor. The door had a large metal handle that was cold to the touch. He pulled it open, stepping inside of some kind of freezer. They were jars filled with various kinds of things. There was a young man dressed in a rather large lab coat. He looked up, shocked to see Leon.

  “Are you Dr. Frank?

  The man secured the lid back on one of the jars, “Yes, I am. Sorry, is something wrong? May I help you?” He saw the urgency in Ralphie's eyes.

  “There is a security threat, Doctor,” Leon said, his gun concealed firmly pressed against his chest. “Do you know of somewhere that you could go that is secure?” The Doctor looked around the room. There were just the two of them in there. “This is one of the more secure rooms, as all of this stuff is highly valuable and I’m the only one with the key in or out of here.” Lovely, it was the perfect place to keep the Doctor, Leon thought.

  “Are the Blues on the way? I can’t notify them from within here.” The doctor said,

  “What do you mean?” Leon asked

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “This room is sealed tight; have you not noticed there is no technology in here that the Minds can access?” It was a golden opportunity.

  Leon pointed the gun at the Doctor, “The keys give them to me now, or I swear I will blow your head off.” For never having interrogated someone before, Leon was doing a great job. The doctor tossed Leon the keys. “Now, you worked at Soccro with top security clearance. So tell me where the Studds are?” Leon threatened to point the gun at the Doctor.

  “Please, I have no idea who you are talking about, and there is absolutely no way I can figure that out. I would have to look it up, and there is no way to do that in this room.” The doctor's voice quivered as he backed up into the wall. Leon sat there, the doctor was lying, he knew it.

  “What is in each base?” Leon demanded, waving the gun in front of him.

  “The North is in charge of early development, the South is Weapons, the East is Puppets, and the West is Prisoners.” They were in the East, Leon thought to himself. He moved in closer, pressing the tip of the gun into the Doctor's nose. The doctor was weak and would be dead before he ever reached for the gun.

  “East,” Leon questioned.

  “Most likely, it doesn't matter, though, as soon as I get out of here, I will alert them to you, and they will be moved to a more secure location.”

  “What did you say?” Leon said, his voice calm and unwavering.

  “As soon as I get back out there, I will use The Minds to notify the base, and the people you are looking for will be moved to a different facility elsewhere. By the time you get there, it will be hopeless. It's hours away, and they will kill you on sight for this treason.” Leon knew the doctor was right. He loosened his grip on the gun. “I know what you plan to do, so your whole plan is screwed.” The doctor said his confidence is growing.

  “Is this room soundproof?” Leon asked

  “Yes, but that doesn’t stop me once I get ouuu…..” Leon pulled the trigger, shooting the Doctor dead.

  “That might,” Leon locked the door to the sample room as he walked out.

  As Leon walked inside, he was greeted by a man who was sitting behind another piece of glass. Leon looked down to see a series of narrow doors all separated by no more than half a foot. The doors had giant black numbers pasted on them, numbered all the way to fifty.

  “Visitor, last name Tobey,” Leon said to the man. The man began typing on his computer.

  After a couple of minutes, the man said rather boringly, “Room Thirty-Two, it will be on your left.”

  When he got to door thirty-two, he heard shouting going on, “Fuck you, why didn’t you say anything?” It was Sage's voice. Leon tensed up before he knocked on the door. The shouting subsided. He waited a couple of seconds before he opened the door.

  It was another white room. Sage was sitting on top of a green examination table. She was hooked up to all sorts of wires that ran into the side of the table. She had a series of monitors that were glued to her arms. They displayed a variety of bioinformatics, and she even had one screen glued to the side of her neck that was reading her brain waves. Her eyes were bloodshot; it looked like she had been crying. Ralphie, on the other hand, was sitting across from her.

  “Sorry, is this a bad time?” Leon asked.

  Sage smiled towards Leon, “No, not at all.” Leon walked into the room to hug Sage.

  “How are you?” Leon walked over to Sage, giving her a hug.

  “I’m good.” She responded

  Ralphie shifted around in his seat slightly uncomfortably. Sage cleared her throat before saying, “I’m ready to leave.” Ralphie scrunched his nose in discontentment, “I haven’t told her everything yet. But she generally knows what's going on.” Ralphie sat there, his knuckles resting on his chin. “Did you find out where they are?” Leon has his back against the wall, “Ya, we need to get out of here.”

  Ralphie grabbed onto the wires. “Gently,” Sage said, wincing as Ralphie pulled each one of the wires out from her arms. They slithered their way out from between her nerves. It was then that all the power went out in the building. Yellow distraction, Leon thought. There was commotion coming from outside the exam room, a nervous vibration. Several men were yelling and barking orders.

  Ralphie looked at Sage; she was weak, so they had to be careful. “We can slide out now. Yellow is waiting for us in a van outside that will take us out of here.”

  Leon took a peek outside into the hallway; it was completely vacant. “We need to go now. I have no idea how long the power will be down.”

  It took a little while as their eyes adjusted to the dark. Their pupils dilated wide open. When they got to the main room, it was packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder. Some Blues stood on the staircases, rifles slung over their shoulders. The three of them squeezed into the crowd, their shoulders firmly pressed together as they shifted through the crowd. They tried to push forward to the exit before one of the Blues from the stairs shouted out. “There has been an incident in the sample room that has just been discovered. One of the researchers is dead.” Ralphie looked at Leon, but Leon was focused on the crowd, looking for a way out. They were trapped but still shifted closer towards the exit. The Blue raised his gun into the crowd threateningly. “We are not allowed to let anyone out of this building until everyone is thoroughly searched and the assassin is found. Leon looked around. The crowd was tightly packed, the tension in the room ready to explode at the slightest panic. Few exits and many Blues were covering the exits.

  The Blues voice continued to boom across the room, “Anyone who tries to leave will be shot. This is a grave security threat.” The Blue on the Stairs turned on his flashlight, instructing the others to do the same. They slowly moved in a single file in a line before dispersing themselves around the room. The Blues shine their lights into people's faces, grabbing them and patting them down for weapons. A woman shrieked as one of the Blues grabbed onto her arm, particularly violently, before tossing her back into the crowd. They sifted through people without saying a word.

  Ralphie looked around nervously as they were getting closer and closer, descending upon them. He moved in close to Leon until he was practically kissing his ear. “What do we do?” He whispered in the softest voice he could. A slice of bright light temporarily blinded Ralphie as it grazed over his face. The Blue were a couple of layers of people away from them. Slowly peeling people further and further back. Leon held his breath as he slowly pulled out his gun, keeping it low towards his crotch so no one could see it. He slowly raised the gun until it pressed against the man in front of him. Leon whispered into his ear, “Exit now.” The man shifted his shoulders, bumping a couple of people as he did. Then, in a loud voice that cut through the murmurs, the man said, “Hey, I found them.” The Blues that were searching perked up from where they were. But before they had a chance to swing their flashlight around. Leon reached up and fired a shot into the roof of the building. The orange flash temporarily lights up the area around Leon.

  Everyone crouched low on the ground, ducking down, covering their heads. Not even a millisecond went by before chaos ensued. People panicked, running for the exit. Leon got knocked to the ground, feet trampling over his head and neck as he tried to protect himself from the onslaught.

  Ralphie held onto Sage, keeping her upright as people ran, bumping and slamming themselves as they attempted a mad dash for the exit. It was their survival. The Blues waved their guns in fast strokes. The flashlights turned into strobes as the crowd turned into a mob of blurry faces, trampling and clawing over one another as they butchered and bashed those that fell underneath them.

  The Blue at the exits were knocked back as people bulldozed past them. There were hundreds of people in the building trying to escape; they knew what would happen. How CelTec had dealt with insurrections before. It wasn’t long before the Blues began to open fire amongst the crowd. Each bullet sliced through three people. As people fell dead around him, Leon looked up at Ralphie and Sage, who were holding onto each other tightly.

  Leon saw his opportunity as the Blues shifted their lights to a different part of the crowd. Firing into it as people fell dead by the dozens. Leon stood up; his legs felt loose, but still he ran to Ralphie and Sage. “Now,” he shouted as they followed the mob towards the exit. Once they were outside, people spread out in every direction, an exploding V-Shape from the door.

  There were a couple of Blues outside now, their guns set to single auto as they scanned the crowd. They could see now and could be more selective. These Blues were also equipped with SDP-5, and they occasionally shot at people as they scanned their bodies, falling towards the ground. Across the street were several parked cars. The van hid neatly amongst them. It was only thirty yards away, but it was a sprint as they ran towards the van. People around them dropped like flies. But with a little luck, the Vans doors slid open as they jumped in.

  Yellow floored the van as the wheels spun, the smoke flaring up into the air before they took off. He ran over a fence before driving over a large grassy field that was nearby. He laughed as he did so. Before long, they were on the road cruising at ninety miles an hour. Sage sat there in the back of the van and stared out the window in horror at what she had just seen. Yellow, Leon, and Ralphie laughed about it, the adrenaline still pumping through their hearts. They were animals, she thought to herself. Desensitized to the growing violence.

  Their conversation was lost on her. They were a part of this, now chained by blood to this revolution. Was it worth the cost, she wondered. She hoped so. Yellow eventually mentioned that he was instructed to take her to a secure medical facility run by the Spades and that Ralphie and Leon would continue to Soccaro. Ralphie looked back at Sage solemnly. He hated that he had to leave her.

  When they arrived at the medical facility, Ralphie walked Sage into the Facility. He had no idea where they were for her safety. They embraced tightly. Ralphie could sense her fear, and she shook as he hugged her. Whether it was for herself or for him, he was unsure. They kissed lightly and exchanged those three little words.

  Sage watched as Ralphie drove away in the Van. Wondering what kind of man his journey would turn him into and who she had become.