CAZADO: BOOK ONE (WATTYS 2023)

Chapter 23

"Tyrone? I knew it was you. I had a feeling you were the thief we were supposed to capture," I said quietly, as I faced my cousin in the dark.

"Jared, I did not think I would find you here. Did they try to turn you as well? I swear if I get my hands on that scientist!" Tyrone growled; his face shrouded in darkness.

"I am OK, do not worry about me. Now that I know it's you, I do not have to take you in. Well, I have to, but I won't. What have you been doing here?" I asked calmly.

"I was looking for more technology I could use. Our gang has been secretly stealing the weapon technology here so we can recreate it at home," Tyrone replied.

"Turf war?" I asked.

"No! We have bigger Pariah to fry. With what they are doing here, I have a feeling they are up to something big. We must somehow destroy this facility once we leave. I have already stolen most of their documents so that they shouldn't be able to do this again, and I destroyed their hardware. They won't realize what I have done until the morning. And...we also need to kill that owl scientist," Tyrone said angrily.

"I...I can't," I replied softly.

"We can't let them get away with this. Especially him. Are you just going to allow it after everything they have done?" Tyrone yelled loudly and then caught himself.

"Quiet, Tyrone. And yes, I have seen firsthand what they are capable of, but why do you care so much? They are not even from your clan." I replied hastily.

"No! They are not. In fact, they are from our rival gang. The Mangosta Negra who willingly give themselves over to these scientists to get stronger. But I do not believe they knew what they were getting into," Tyrone said quietly as he looked around.

"Yeah. That Dredge is a next level creep," I said, my face displaying my disgust, remembering his words.

"Did something happen to you, Jared?" Tyrone asked concerned.

"No! Nothing did. I just worry about the other young men he has hanging up there. I don't even want to know what he plans on doing with them," I replied, my voice cracking.

"Then we should kill him," Tyrone said with a shrug.

"We should arrest him," I replied. "Firstly, we need to burn this trash to the ground."

"Alright! Have it your way, little cousin. So how should we go about this?" Tyrone asked.

"We should find my friends. Well, I should. If you know where they are, show me the way and then we can take care of the rest. You just meet us by the vehicle that first took us here. My machine should still be there waiting for us," I whispered.

"Alright! I do know where they are. I will take you to them, and I'll leave it up to you guys to make it happen," Tyrone said as he looked around.

Tyrone looked to the left of him and then pointed his scimitars towards the right of the hallway and beckoned for me to follow. We walked cautiously down the dimly lit hallway, trying to make as little sound as possible. The rooms on each side were all empty, which made sense as this was only the science wing. There must have been another section where all the scientists slept until their shift the following morning. 

That was most likely where we would find our friends. We turned down another corridor and after walking for some time, we came across an entrance that read "Sleeping Quarters". We pushed through the doors and on each side, there were rooms with sleeping scientists inside. It was not full, so it must not house every person from the facility. We went down another hallway and turned another corner, slipping quietly through another set of doors, into a large room with several beds.