Once it was decided that they all, with the exception of Tucker, would venture out of the gate no matter what, the tension in the house relaxed some. Rye was still bitter for having to do a job in such a short period of time, but the prospect of hitting a mansion seemed to draw her more on board than before. Robin was well aware that the fact had more to do with what she could find for herself, rather than to help Babbs. However, he wasn't planning on calling her out on it until at least after they'd succeeded in bringing something back. It was bad enough they would be one person short, he couldn't afford to lose another.
That night, Rye, Millie and Will went out to the gate to take a night shift; carrying weapons as Robin had advised. They'd all agreed it was best to have an idea of the gates accessibility at different times of the day and decipher the differences they could use to their advantage. Unsure how the others would handle two girls wanting to watch the gate alone, they sent Will to assure they got the shift. They knew the girls were capable of handling themselves around danger, but the rest of Loxley didn't; and keeping their identities as the Merry Men secret meant that they couldn't. Most residents already thought Robin might be involved somehow, they didn't need it confirmed for them all.
Jon disappeared not long after the others, heading out to tell Babbs their progress. Robin warned him not to, sure that her hopes would raise as high as Jon's, but the boy went anyway. He didn't have the heart to force him not to.
Left alone in their home with Tucker, Robin focused on making himself something to eat. He'd caught a rabbit in the woods a couple of days earlier, already skinned and cleaned, and worked on put the meat on a stick to cook. Tucker emerged, a lot less stealthy than earlier, from his hallway and sat at the counter, watching Robin in silence. He could feel the icy stare of his mentor, sending chills up his spine as if a signal that he wanted to talk. With all the talking Robin had to do for the day, he couldn't imagine anything he wanted less in that moment.
"You've always done what you thought was right, and I admire that about you," Tucker began without waiting for Robin to acknowledge him. He folded his hands in front of him on the counter as if to control the tension fighting to get out of him. Robin continued working the rabbit meat onto its stick, keeping his back turned for as long as possible. It wasn't that he intended to be rude, but he wasn't ready to face Tucker just yet. He was sure he'd see disappointment on his face and he didn't think he could handle that on top of all his other stress. He suddenly felt the way he imagined Jon had the night before. "It's why I made you leader of our little crew. Never once have I truly doubted you and your decisions, Robin. You have to understand that that's what is making this so difficult for me to understand."
"There's nothing to understand," Robin said flatly. "I'm doing what I've always done, what you say you admire about me. That's all there is to it."
"Aside from the stupidity and foolishness, you mean," Tucker responded, a pulse of anger clear in his tone. "Because that's what all of this is. Babbs is not one of us and even if she were, this would be a fool's errand. In all the years that you've been with me, when have you ever seen me do a job in less than two weeks' time?" Robin didn't respond, knowing that Tucker didn't really need him to; the answer was never. "When have I ever put us all at risk of discovery for a job that is only going to benefit one person? I admit I've been selfish in my life, but never to this end. Never to the point where others have to question my sanity."
Emotion slammed into Robin then; hurt for the disappointment he heard in Tucker's voice but also anger for himself. All he ever wanted to do was help others and if that meant he had to do something that could risk everything for someone else's life, then he would do it. And he'd be damned if someone was going to tell him otherwise.
He slammed the half done kebab down on the stove in front of him, spinning to look fiercely at Tucker. His eyes seemed to blaze like green fire, but Tucker's icy blue ones seemed unconcerned. "Now is when you question my sanity?" he snapped. "Not when I talked you into taking in others like me, convincing you that one day they could be useful when in reality I just didn't want to leave them out there to die. Not when I convinced you it was a better idea to steal from Sherwood because they would be less likely to notice or be smart enough to realize it was someone from Loxley. Hell, you didn't even question my sanity when I admitted to you that I liked girls and guys; at least, not as far as I know."
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous," Tucker interjected, rolling his eyes at the accusation. "Who you care to be with is all you and has nothing to do with your sanity. Don't insult me by saying I would believe otherwise."
"I'm sorry, then," Robin said, raising his hands briefly before dropping his hands back to his sides. "But just like you feel that me saying that is ridiculous, that's how I feel about you questioning my sanity on this. I am the same man who you raised, the same man doing what I believe is right to help others. And yeah, maybe it is a little crazy to try and pull this job off with so many unknown variables and in so little time. Sure, the circumstances aren't the most ideal for the time crunch or even if we had more time. None of that makes me insane for trying; it just makes it all a challenge. Aren't you the one who always says you love a good challenge?"
The corner of Tucker's mouth twitched as though he wanted to smile, but kept it from turning up. He unlocked his fingers and ran one hand through his dark hair, a curling lock falling to the front of his face as he sighed. "I do love a challenge," he said, levelling a look at Robin that left him confused. He was sure that Tucker was disappointed in him and yet something in the way he looked back at him said the complete opposite. "But I also have the sense to know when it is reasonable to draw a line in accepting them. What you're trying to do here, though it's for a good cause, is impossible. There is no way, even if the circumstances of the lockdown or Sherwood looking for us wasn't involved, that you would be able to make this work without a problem. Everything is stacked against you from every direction and you have to understand that that means making a tough decision."
"You mean, quitting."
"It's not necessarily quitting—"
"Yes, it is," Robin said fiercely. Images of Jon heartbroken, crying over Babbs dead body suddenly flooded through his mind. Then, as if to prove that worse could happen, he was suddenly bombarded with images of an alive Babbs, tortured and destroyed under Linc's thumb. He ground his teeth together, hating the images and himself for never taking her in with Jon. Maybe if he had, none of it would've been happening. "You want me to just stop trying to go through with this because it's a challenge—"
"Impossible challenge, actually."
"Impossible," Robin sneered, annoyed on top of everything else. "Because it's impossible; except I don't think so. I just think it's a challenge that could help all of us. If we push ourselves to do this, and come out victorious, then we proved we can do anything. We'll have proved that and Babbs will be okay, so Jon will be too. If the alternative is to give up, not challenge our limits and an innocent, unfortunate girl paying the price for it, then I'm willing to take the challenge as impossible as it may seem. No one deserves to just be left to die because someone else decided to quit on them. If you'd done that, none of us would be alive right now."
Tucker nodded slowly at his words, but Robin could tell he still wasn't entirely in agreement. The set of his sharp jaw was enough to signal that Robin had made valuable points, but he still had more to argue. "You're right, no one deserves that," Tucker spoke. "And your optimism is inspiring. But the truth of the matter is, those aren't the only two options on how this could all end. The main, blaring one that you seem to be missing out on, is the most likely to happen. You could go out there, as determined as you are, and still fail; and that failure will cost you more than you're willing to admit. You're doing this to save Babbs, to keep Jon in that happy little state of his, and that's great. But wouldn't that all just be a moot point if the job goes bad and, somehow, Jon is the one who pays the price for it? How do you think you'd feel about this decision then?"
For the first time in their discussion, Robin took pause. Tucker was right, he hadn't thought of that route because he hadn't wanted to. Every choice he was making was in an effort to keep Jon happy and whole; unfortunately risking him at the same time.
If he went out there, determined to help Babbs and lost Jon in the process, he didn't know how he would react. He just knew it was something he didn't want to find out.
* * * * *
"What the hell are you doing?" Rye hissed loudly over the sound of the blazing blowtorch in Will's hands. "You're making way too much noise."
Will rolled his eyes behind his mask, focus on the hot gate in front of him. He was kneeling on the ground behind one of the older, condemned buildings along the chain link gate, determined to get them the opening they needed. They'd been walking the gate for an hour already, and he'd learned that it was the most obsolete part of Loxley and their perfect escape; at least if they left at night. They still had to talk things through with Robin, but he was sure that once he told him the path was already paved, he would agree leaving at night was best.
"Dammit, Will!"
"Would you shut up!" Will snapped, his mask slightly muffling his voice. He brought the torch down to the last link connected to the gate's stabilizing pole, before retracing his path to where he started, halfway up. He purposely left the torch on, pointing it in Rye's direction so she would jump back, growling angrily, as he used his other hand to lean forward and break open the fence. Pleased with himself, he turned off the fire and lifted the mask from his face to smirk at her. "And now we have our exit. You're welcome."
"You're an idiot," Rye almost spat at him, her sea green eyes narrowed at him fiercely. "You were making too much noise; someone could've come to see what was going on. And if you ever point that thing in my direction again, on or otherwise, I will castrate you in your sleep."
Will rolled his eyes again, putting his equipment down at his feet and removing his gloves as he stood tall. Though Rye had to look up to him, he had to give her credit for managing to make herself seem taller when doing so. "No one was going to come and see what's going on," he responded flippantly. "That's what the patrols are for. Besides, I picked this spot on purpose. This is the side Jon was saying was looser than the rest and is the most isolated from anyone in the county. The closest buildings around are either abandoned or an opium den; and I doubt they're concerned with noises they hear."
"You're still an idiot," she replied stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. The action caused her shirt to raise a little higher, exposing her midriff as well as the knife tucked away there. Shaking his mind from the momentary distraction, Will focused on the mission at hand. Aside from the obvious fact that she was a psychopath he shouldn't think of in that way, he needed to keep his eye on the prize. Robin was always commenting on how easily he was distracted by the opposite sex and he didn't want to give him more evidence to that.
Not to mention, Will mostly hated Rye.
There was crunching of dried grass under feet and Will turned to find Millie approaching from her rounds. Her dark eyes took in the two of them, the blowtorch on the ground and the broken gate before widening slightly. "What did I miss and where did that come from?" she asked, pointing to his equipment at his feet.
Will sighed again, annoyance edging over all of his prior thoughts. "I stole it," he answered.
"You what?"
"Oh, don't make it out to be a scandal," he responded mockingly. "We steal stuff all the time. Difference here is, I plan on returning it. When I get back." He pushed on the opening in the gate next to him and started slipping out between it before Rye reached out and grabbed his arm. He stopped, half in and half out of Loxley, to look at her with curious irritation. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded, her voice as hissing as before, though now it was pitched low. If it weren't for how close they stood to each other, Will wasn't entirely sure he would've heard it.
"I'm going out to find the mansion."
"What?" Millie demanded loudly, earning incredulous and warning looks from both her companions. Her own face twisted in mockery as she spoke again. "Oh, don't even act like you're concerned about anyone hearing us."
"Whatever," Will said, yanking his arm from Rye's grasp. "I'm going to go see where this thing. It'll be easier for us if we know where to look and how long it's going to take to get there."
"That's sort of the point, though," Millie countered. "We don't know any of that. What are we supposed to do if the next shift shows up and you still aren't back? Or even if someone happens by and notices it's just us two on watch and you're gone. If they're a guy, they're bound to think they're being chivalrous and stay to watch with us in case of danger, and then we're screwed and you'll be stuck out there."
"Don't be a drama queen, Mills," Will laughed. "I told the last watch to let everyone know they don't have to worry about someone volunteering for the next half of the night shift, because Tucker and Robin said they would relieve us. No one is going to come switch out with any of us until sometime after breakfast, which means I have plenty of time to leave and come back. And if it doesn't look like I'm getting anywhere close to the mansion by a certain time, I'll head back here so we won't get caught. I got this."
"What you have, is brain damage," Rye said. "Because Robin is going to kill you for going out there without an actual plan. I mean, really, have you two been drinking the same stupidity water lately?"
"Could be," Will shrugged, a smirk crossing his face. "We did take your canteen the other night so we wouldn't have to go down to the kitchen."
"You know what? Screw it. I hope the Beast of Coldwood eats your ass while you're out there. One less idiot in the house." She rolled her eyes and slid past Millie to walk away from them both, waving her hand in dismissal to Will. The reaction only seemed to amuse him further as his smirk morphed into a full blown smile while he watched her go, before turning his attention back to Millie.
"Well, I'll see you ladies in a few hours. You know, if the Beast doesn't get me first." He winked tauntingly at her before disappearing into the darkness of the trees and Millie shook her head. She pulled the gate back in, in case anyone happened to wander by it, so that it looked undisturbed and picked up all the equipment he left behind. She didn't know where he stole it from, but she didn't want to risk someone else stumbling over it.
Walking a few feet away, Millie stopped and hid them under the branches of a shrub. "Life underground had to be easier than this," she huffed tiredly, continuing to walk on along the gate.
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A/N: *sigh* I love having tension between characters. Always adds to the story, in my opinion, as long as it has a purpose and fits. Which all of this DEFINITELY does ;)
As usual, thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter don't forget to vote and comment some of your thoughts so I know what you think ^.^ Thanks!