Alliance

Chapter Thirty-Four: Detroit

The day was long and boring. We spent three hours picking a location to leave our backpacks since they would be too bulky for sneaking and fighting. We decided a trunk of a van would suffice. It was ten blocks away in a little alleyway right off the street that ran alongside the river.

After we found the hiding spot, we spent the rest of the day in a parking garage near the hotel. We couldn't watch the officer-rebels as closely as we wanted to. The lobby faced the river and no other buildings. The only hiding spots were the abandoned vehicles that would be hard to hide in. That is if we don't get caught before getting into the hiding spot.

To the best of our ability, we watched the officer-rebels. Some came out to watch the river babble by. Some walked between the vehicles, peering into them which made me glad we chose the parking garage we sat in. They never wandered far or into the nearby buildings.

When dusk fell, we made our way out of the garage and neared the hotel, using the vehicles to hide ourselves; we stopped at a large pile of twisted vehicles to watch the lobby. The officer-rebels chatted around the lanterns in the little camp in the lobby's center.

According to Alec's wristwatch, it was nearly ten when the first group went to bed. Three sat awake, chatting with their heads together to the side.

We sat another two hours before the officer-rebels switched off their guard duty. With minutes ticking by, my nerves grew. I'm not sure why since this wasn't life or death. Maybe because I wanted this plan to work. It was my plan to begin with.

After another hour, it was time.

"Okay," I said to my team. "Are we ready?"

Despite being one o'clock in the morning, none of us looked tired. At different times this afternoon we took naps as best we could in the parking garage. I didn't think it was because of the naps. Alec gave me a nod and his face was the same as mine. Bright, wide eyes. A bit of nervousness. A bit of excitement.

For once we get to use our skills. This was our first time being in a real, or well as close as real, situation.

The rest of my team nodded. "Let's go," I said.

Wong and I step out from behind the large pile of twisted vehicles going to the right. Ben went the other way. Grant, Carlos, and Alec headed toward the front doorways. The glass doors that used to be there were long gone, leaving the doorways gaping holes.

Wong and I stopped at the edge of the large glass room. There were a few windows broken out. Earlier we chose two we would sneak through earlier when we could see well enough in the dusk light.

Down towards the front doors, Alec turned to us, his thumb up. I lifted my thumb to state we were ready.

One heartbeat.

Two.

Three.

"Good luck," Wong said.

"You too," I smiled at him.

Like a panther, we climbed through the two windows. On the other side of the room, I could barely see Ben climb in.

With our bodies low, nearly army crawling, we made our way through the room. The large objects littering the floor kept us from easily being seen. However, the glass, dirt, and rocks made it hard to keep quiet.

Keeping an eye on the camp, we crawled straight ahead. Wong was a few objects in front of me.

I reached a broken table that only had two legs working properly. Hiding between the floor and the table, I waited for Wong to stop behind a hiding spot. He was several objects ahead of me. Somehow, he got within a yard of the officer-rebels' camp. In the shadows, he watched me.