One nervous hour passes as we prepare for the mission. Thomas, Newt and Gally and I get clothed in WICKED uniforms, the helmets covering our faces and disguising our bodies. Fry leaves early to prepare for his separate part of the mission, and Brenda pulls on a large, oversized hoodie to walk around the streets unrecognised, so she can fulfil her part of rescuing Minho. The plan is for me and the boys to free Minho and the other kids trapped in WICKED, while Brenda waits by the bus ready to drive away once we've finished. And although we've talked it over at least fifty times now, with backup plans set in place, I can't shake the feeling that something is about to go very, very wrong. Sitting beside the door ready to leave, my fingers trace the soft material of Newt's bandanna, tied securely around my wrist, and I immediately feel less scared.
***
I feel adrenaline pulsing through my body, filling every vein, muscle and tendon as I take another purposeful step forward across the street. The distant echo of sirens wail in my ears as me and Gally cross the road, separated from the other two. We exchange a determined nod as we run down the back-alleys of the streets, making our way to the WICKED compound with large guns in our arms. The air is dense and humid, and as I take a breath in I feel as though my lungs are burning with fear, anticipation, caution.
"Over here," Gally commands, his deep voice muffled by the heavy helmet. We make our way to a side entrance in the colossal WICKED skyscraper, and step inside. We are immediately faced with a large scanning device at the entrance, with WICKED patrol officers on either side. I tense up. What if Teresa did the operations wrong, and the trackers are still inside us? What if she only pretended to take them out? A million anxieties run through my mind of all the possibilities that could've gone wrong, but I try to swallow my doubts as we walk through the scanner. I wait for the red lights to flash and alarms to blare, for the guards to seize us and drag us to Janson - but the lights turn green, and we continue to walk confidently forwards. My worries partly subside, though I can't help but still feel paranoid.
Gally nods towards the front entrance. I look to see Teresa and a guard walking through the scanner, though I know that the guard is in fact Thomas in disguise. They stop to face us, and Gally gestures towards a side corridor. We walk quickly through the corridors of the compound, going down staircases and meeting Newt halfway there. Although I can't see his face, his limp looks more prominent than usual. He's gotten worse, I know it.
Teresa scans a card to the side of a door before we walk through it, faced with layers of stairs. We begin to make our way down, before Gally stops us.
"Hold on, hold on," he says, facing a series of grey boxes on the side of a wall. He takes his helmet off. "I can get into these, to disable the CCTV for a bit. It can give us extra time."
"Throw me the key card," Thomas says, and Gally quickly throws him the flat card that is used to open the locked doors. Thomas immediately rushes downstairs to unlock the next door as we wait for Gally. I take my helmet off briefly, savouring the cool air on my sweaty face. Newt does the same, but when he does, I feel my chest tense and my breath stop.
Even in the past hour I can see that his appearance has deteriorated considerably, with beads of sweat dribbling down his forehead, his complexion waxy and pale. His eyes appears slightly bloodshot, and his lips are cracked and dry. My mouth falls open and eyes widen as he takes a few brief, heaving coughs, scrunching his face up in pain.
Rushing over to him, I place my hand on his good arm. "Newt? Are you okay?" I ask quietly. I can see Teresa glancing warily at us from beside Gally, who continues to work into the CCTV.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he replies, his voice raspy. I shake my head.
"If you can't carry on..."
Ho looks at me darkly. "(y/n), it's Minho. We're here to save Minho."
I nod, biting my lip. I feel my heart pound with anxiety, though I know I won't be able to convince Newt otherwise. I turn my attention to Teresa, who isn't trying to hide the curiosity and worry on her face. "Teresa, where do you keep the Bliss supplies?"
"(y/n), I'm fine..." Newt mutters.
"It's there, in the same place where they keep the subjects." Subjects. "It may take a bit longer to break into, though," she says, with a surprising hint of empathy in her tone.
"We're not letting it stop the mission," Newt murmurs, putting his helmet back on. "We can get it when we're there, if we have time."
I sigh, feeling the bitter taste of bile rising in my throat. I swallow my anxieties, and feel the bile sinking to the pit of my stomach. It'll be okay. We'll get Minho, get the serum, and return to the Right Arm tomorrow just as planned...
"Okay," Gally nods curtly. "Let's go."
We make our way swiftly through the building, until we reach the area where the captured kids have been taken. My heart is drumming so fast against my chest it feels like it could explode. We reach a large steel door, and just before Thomas scans the key card, it opens to reveal a WICKED worker, his face rendered in clear confusion. Without hesitation, Thomas fires the blue electric bolts out of his Launcher, hitting the man in the chest. Other guards rush over, so we shoot them too, bullets of lightning hitting off the walls and causing an echo of loud noises, along with the guards' screams. I remember how it felt to be shot with a Launcher, shuddering, before I remember that these men work for WICKED, and I don't feel so much sympathy anymore.
We continue to fire until all the workers are lying on the floor, their bodies twitching.
"(y/n), Newt, Thomas," Gally says, bringing out various tools from his backpack. "Go find him. Hurry. I'll work on getting Bliss supplies."
We go to open the doors eagerly, knowing that we're about to be reunited with our friend, freeing others in the process. I take the far left door, opening it to see four boys hunched on the floor, pressing their hands against the ears with fearful expressions. I take my helmet off, grinning at the boys.
"C'mon, this way," I say. They stare back at me worriedly. I gesture for them to follow me. "It's okay, we're here to save you. WICKED aren't gonna hurt you anymore."
I open another door, a room with girls this time. "You're alright now, you're safe. We're getting you out of this place," I assure them. Looking across the main room, I feel my heart race when I look to see all other doors wide open. My eyes scan over the fearful faces, but Minho is nowhere to be seen. I stride over to Thomas with my heart sinking, dropping my helmet on the floor.
"He's not here?" I ask, with fear in my voice.
Thomas looks around, his expression falling. He checks all the rooms, while me and Newt wait tensely, re-scanning the room. Thomas walks back with his arms hanging heavily by his sides, heading angrily over to Teresa.
"Where is he?" he demands. Teresa's eyes open in shock.
"H-He should've been here," she stammers. "Thomas, I swear, he's meant to be here!"
"Well he's not!" Thomas yells. I run over to him, holding his upper arm.
"Thomas, we'll find him," I urge, my tone serious. I turn to Teresa. "We're not leaving here without him. Do you know where he may be?"
"Uh, guys," Gally interrupts. "This is gonna take a while, and I don't know how much longer we have before they send backup in here. If you're going to find him, I'd suggest leaving now."
"I can find him," Teresa says. "Just give me a minute." She walks quickly over to a computer, typing in a few letters and clicking on the screen. She shakes her head.
"What?" Newt asks sharply.
"He's in the medical wing," she mutters. We walk over to look at the computer, and on the screen is a picture of Minho. I bite my lip when I see, beside him, the words:
MINHO
PROPERTY OF WICKED
GROUP A, SUBJECT A7 - "THE LEADER"
Just like on the skyscraper. The Leader, The Clue. What does it all mean?
I'm broken from my daze when Teresa sighs. "Thomas, that's on the other side of the building. It'll be extremely hard to get him out safely without at least one of you..."
"Okay. Take me to him," Thomas murmurs. "Now."
I look over to Gally, who's still working into the door where the Bliss are kept, burning through the steel with some kind of flamed drill. I glance to Newt, chewing on my bottom lip anxiously.
"I'm coming with you," Newt exclaims to Thomas, grabbing his helmet. I shake my head, though I can't find the words to say.
"Newt, no," Thomas argues. "You have to stay here and wait for Gally to get the serum."
"You can't do this on your own," Newt replies.
"I'll go," I announce. "I'll go with Thomas, and you can stay here."
"Not bloody likely," Newt snaps. I flinch. "(y/n), I don't want you in danger."
"I'm already in danger just by being here!" I retort. "Newt, please. You're not well."
"I can do this, (y/n)," he growls through gritted teeth.
"Just go! We're wasting time," Gally orders. "(y/n), you can stay with me and help me with the serum, it means we'll be quicker and we can take more of it to Newt."
"We're gonna go get a head start," Thomas tells us, him and Teresa leaving the room. Newt turns to go.
I bite my lip anxiously, my eyes filling with tears. They sting the corners of my eyes, and I blink desperately to keep them from blurring my vision. Newt turns back around, and his expression softens. He walks towards me, taking my shaking hands in his.
"I'll be okay," he nods, his voice quiet yet sure. "I promise, (y/n), I'll be safe, and we'll see each other again soon."
"But... w-what if we don't...?" I whisper, my voice trembling. His brows stitch together in worry, before he places his thumb under my chin and lifts my head up to kiss him. I melt into his touch, with our lips pressed together and his fingers soft against my skin. I lean my head against his chest, knowing that he's going to go, whether I like it or not. He lifts my head up again to look me in the eyes, his lips parted and breath shaking.
"I love you."
My breath catches in my throat just after the words slip from his mouth, my eyes widening. His lips tug upwards into a crooked smile, his eyes reading mine in deep concentration. "I love you, (y/n). Please trust me on this. I love you."
Then, he presses his lips against my forehead before walking out of the room and leaving me with hot tears flowing silently down my cheeks.