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They walk off with their plates, talking low and snickering like school girls. I give Micah and Lukas a look, curious but also unsure I really want all the dirty details. Even Lukas cracks a grin, putting his hand out when Micah reaches for a fist bump.
We eat mostly in silence, the anticipation of the night ahead pulling everyone into their own minds. There's a lot of pushing food around on plates and not a lot of actual eating before we separate to get ready.
By 11:15, we're all suited up and ready to go. Lukas has Tony on the line going over last-minute details and reminders. Everyone puts their ear pieces in and tests them.
Six, Jackson, and Lukas are all wearing navy blue scrubs. Micah is wearing a white coat over green scrubs, as well as a pair of false black-rimmed glasses and some subtle makeup to make him look older. I'm wearing a guard’s uniform, black cargo pants and a black polo with the BioCere logo. Six is wearing a dark brown wig with bangs, pulled into a low ponytail. Her features are so pale against the dark wig that I worry it looks unnatural. We're going in at midnight shift change. There's usually a skeleton crew from midnight to 6am, hopefully there won't be enough people around to notice.
Everyone is wearing a wireless earpiece so we can communicate, and we each have various weapons on us. Six has two knives, a Taser, and a small handgun strapped to her body under her scrubs. I'm armed to the teeth, but the guards carry weapons so it won't stand out. Jackson and Micah each have two handguns and a knife. Lukas has a handgun but hopefully won't even have to touch it because he'll be in the van, which happens to also have some extra munitions in case they're needed. He's our getaway driver, and he's also going to be helping Tony with surveillance and helping us navigate the building.
We're going to be breaking up into two teams, so one of them will be with each of us as we attempt to pull off our objectives.
Six and I are going to be retrieving Bennet and getting him out of the building and into the van, hopefully unnoticed. Micah and Jackson are going to be infiltrating the offices to find the main server. Tony has some kind of device he wants them to install so he can gather the more classified evidence that is likely hidden on it before he takes the whole system down.
Before we know it, we're climbing in the van. I'm driving this time, as the designated security detail. Micah is in the front seat with me, his badge and credentials hopefully ready to pass him off as a top research physician. Lukas is currently in the very back with his computer equipment spread out. Six and Jackson are in the middle, their hands clasped tightly together.
No one speaks on the drive there.
No one breathes when we pull up to the gate.
Six
My hands are shaking and I feel sweat pooling at my lower back. The wig is itchy and sweaty. I struggle to keep my hands down to keep from fiddling with it.
It seems impossible that another human being wouldn't be able to see my heartbeat through my clothes.
Jackson's hand settles on my lap with a gentle squeeze, and I still my knee that has been bouncing unconsciously.
I am both ready for this, and also completely terrified. Really, I'm just ready to get it over with. But…What if something happens to one of them?
I've been living the last week with a hole in my heart. No matter how hard I try to distract myself, I could never forget his presence or how off our family feels without him. Even if I could manage to forget Bennet's absence for even a fraction of a second, the pain just comes back tenfold.
We're here, Bennet. We're coming for you.
Luis stops the van at the BioCere Inc. gate and lowers the window. Without one sign of tremor or nervousness, he passes a packet to the guard.
“I've got Dr. Wallace and three staff members. You should be expecting them.”
The guard peeks inside and Luis lowers the back window next to me so the guard can see the three of us. Jackson nods politely but nonchalantly. Lukas is only paying attention to his laptop. I'm trying to decide if I should smile or make eye contact at all, but before I can act any more awkwardly, Luis rolls the window up.
As the main guard looks over the packet and types something into a tablet, another guard walks around the vehicle with some kind of pole. Another guard seems to take a photo of the license plate, which Lukas switched out earlier this evening for the one that Tony sent us.
The guard looks up from the tablet he's carrying, his posture a little straighter and more professional than before. “Dr. Wallace, we weren't expecting you until tomorrow.”
Micah clears his throat. “Too much sitting around in that hotel room. I wanted to come get a feel for the lab before I had everyone scrambling to make a good impression to kiss my ass. A surprise inspection, if you will.”
The guard chuckles and hands the packet back to Luis. “Well, I hope you find everything up to your standards, Dr. Wallace.”
The gate arm raises and Luis pulls forward, but I notice as we are pulling through that the guard is speaking to someone on a phone.
“Who do you think he's calling?” I ask no one specifically.
Tony's voice comes in through the earpiece. “He's alerting the building security that a VIP is arriving. Surprise visits like this aren't likely to be unheard of, although the timing might still be unusual. Stay on your guard and I'll keep listening in.”
Luis pulls the van into the parking lot, circling around the back to find the best vantage point for Lukas after dropping the rest of us off.
“Nice cover, Micah.” Luis says.
“Thanks. I just tried to think of something my father would say.”
