Chapter 11

In all honesty, Jimmy was quite impressed. Throughout his time fighting with the resistance, most of his missions had been of the stealthier nature. Being the youngest fighter, it was natural that the higher ups tried to keep him as far away from the more dangerous combat as possible. But ever time they found themselves caught by at least two Skitters or a Mech. The freaking creeps seemed to move like shadows when they wanted to and seemed to detect their enemies from a mile away.

However, now it was making sense, if Ben was anything to go by. The blond had taken two steps out of the room before he'd shoved Jimmy right back in and told him to take off his shoes. Apparently, the noise of them hitting the wooden floor was like a drum beat to his ears now that he was focusing on that particular sense. Jimmy had barely heard it, having opted for wearing nothing but the softest, stealthiest shoes he could find for months. If the Skitters had that kind of hearing, then it was a wonder that they ever managed to do any recon with being discovered at all.

Keeping close to the wall in single file, Ben kept his eyes closed for the entire trip, listening for creaking floorboards and voices nearby, keeping a hand firmly placed on his partner's shoulder as the younger teen guided him down to the makeshift armory. Every once in a while he'd tighten his grip and bring him to a halt as some walked by or tapped his shoulder to direct Jimmy to look casual when there was no way to avoid whoever approached, Jimmy quickly turning to Ben and explaining how to kick a ball so that it flew back over your head until they left. Between Ben's senses and Jimmy's quick adaptation, no one ever suspected a thing.

"The room's just halfway down that hall, the last door before the old laundry room." Jimmy muttered with a nod ahead, not entirely sure why he bothered. Ben's eyes were closed again. "A doorway on the opposite wall, three feet from the beginning of the hallway leads to the family room, there's no door on that one. What do you think?"

"There's a lot of people in there, but they're mostly kids." Ben responded softly with a frown. "I think that they're all from the Second Mass…but at least one of them is a full grown man. His breathing's too deep."

"Don't suppose you have x-ray vision too?" Jimmy asked lightly, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. That one man could mess them up completely. "See which way he's looking?"

"No." Shaking his head, Ben frowned harder, straining his ears for anything that might help. "He's a bit labored…huh, that's weird."

"What is?" Jimmy asked, tilting his head curiously. Judging from the confused expression gracing Ben's face, he didn't think it was much worth worrying about, but Dai had told him once that anything you know and learn could be useful to you at the most unlikely of times when you're on a mission.

"He started mumbling about kids being like…fruitcake?" It took all Jimmy had not to snort at the thoroughly lost look Ben was giving him. "Something about them being hard as hell and…then it became completely incomprehensible."

"What, did he quiet down?"

"No, I can hear the flies buzzing around his head and he's much louder." Ben shook his head. "His words just stopped making sense. Not that they were great to begin with, this guy is the worst talker I've ever met! Everything comes out thick, sluggish and almost completely detached; you'd think he had brain damage or something."

That time Jimmy really did snort, covering his mouth to hide his snicker as Ben stared at him with a raised eyebrow and a little panic. The blond's eyes whipped from one direction to the other while Jimmy struggled to get a hold of himself, gazing most frequently where he heard the man grumbling unintelligibly in his seat. "Would you quiet down, he'll-"

"Forget he ever saw us even if he does manage to register our presence." Jimmy interrupted with a shrug before taking pity on the blond. "He's drunk, and from the way you're talking, I'd say quite heavily. He probably has his eyes shut, his vision and comprehension would be shot if they're not and the first thing he's going to register when he wakes up is a hangover. As long as you're not planning a dramatic, movie spy series of action, he won't even notice that we're there even if we walked right by him."

"Oh! Right, alcohol has significant effects to the brain when you partake in a large consumption." The mixture of sheepishness and self directed amusement did nothing to lessen Jimmy's own smile. "That would explain it. I forgot about that, it's been years since I've actually seen anyone drunk."

"Really? My Dad was drunk every weekend. Didn't any of your family…later, focus Jimmy." Shaking his head as berated himself, he forced down his curiosity. Seriously, what was he thinking? He could extend on that little peek into Ben's family life later; a job like this was no place for distractions. "Has anyone else come close enough to be a problem yet?" He asked, scanning the area. So far, no one was moving into view, but Ben had already proven that he couldn't always trust his eyes.

"Doesn't sound like it." It only took Ben a few seconds to respond, though it wasn't surprising. Jimmy doubted that the older boy had stopped listening in on everyone else at all.

"Great, then we'll just walk up to the door then." With that, the brunette moseyed on like there wasn't a problem in the world, Ben following blank faced behind him. Walking past the open doorway, Jimmy passed the inhabitants a flickering glance and was quite satisfied to see that he was right. The lone Sanctuary man, the oldest, most out of shape guy left, was slumped back in a recliner, completely smashed and about two seconds away from filling the room with his snoring.

Reaching the door, he only waited long enough to get another nod from Ben, a guarantee that no one was going to see it open, before turning the knob and rushing into the room, waiting only long enough for Ben to jump in after him before closing the door as softly as he could.

Feeling quite proud of himself, Jimmy turned back to the room and inspected his find. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about the cache before him. There weren't any heavy duty weapons there at all, just a few small pistols and a pile of army knives. Judging from the dust covering them, they hadn't been used in a good while. In fact, the only thing that had been was an open crate containing their stash of bullets.

"Well, this is a lot less stuff than I expected." Jimmy mumbled, lifting a box to find that it was practically empty. "They should really consider restocking their weapons more often."

"With so few of them, this is probably plenty." Ben shrugged, grabbing a loaded mag and shoving it into his jeans pocket. "Don't exactly need much ammo when you're working both sides. Who's gonna attack you?"

"Good point." The young fighter conceded, pocketing a small box. "It's good for us anyway. We can only carry so much before our pockets stick out too much." It was best not to look this gift horse in the mouth. Carrying a backpack around was deemed too suspicious by the more paranoid, experienced, fighters and sneaks and most of their pockets weren't very big. If they were caught going back up to the room, their clothes could only conceal so much. But with so little to steal, Jimmy was confident that they could take all they needed to cripple the traitors without needing a second run.

"It's funny how something so small can be so deadly." Ben commented, grabbing the last filled mag and shoving it into his jacket before scooping up handfuls of bullets.

"When they're used right." Jimmy nodded, walking over an inspecting the pile of knives. "Of course, they're useless without the correct type of gun."

"Really? Hmm…"Ben frowned, staring at his current handful before shaking his head and dropping them in his pocket. "Well then, someone will need to sort these things before we can use them. I've mixed a lot of differently shaped ones. Sorry."

"No problem, we're not planning to use them tonight anyway." Jimmy shrugged, not bothering to turn around. Picking up two knives, he brushed the dust off of them, testing their weight. One was a thick hunting knife with grooves all down the sharp side of the blade. The other was longer, thinner and double-edged. He had a feeling that the name dagger was more accurate. Pressing them against the table they were sitting on, he nodded in satisfaction as they dug into the wood with little resistance. Approving of both of them, he slipped the hunting knife into a strap hidden inside his vest, careful to make sure that it wouldn't cut through him or his clothes, before moving on to where the guns were laying and grabbing two identical weapons. Placing one partway into his waistband, he closed his vest to properly conceal it before turning to the blond scrounging up the last few free bullets.

"Here." He called, getting the blond's attention as he held up the dagger and gun. Looking up, Ben stopped in his tracks and stared at each of them individually before looking up at Jimmy, a little unsure.

"I thought we were only stealing bullets." He commented hesitantly. He made no move to take them, but Jimmy could see his hands itching to reach up.

"That was the plan, but I want you to take these anyway." Jimmy stated, looking him right in the eye as he took a step closer. "This is a dangerous situation. I know that you're strong and fast, you probably have the best chance of all of us of coming out unharmed, but it's still gonna be dangerous tonight. These can help keep you protect yourself."

"Jimmy…" Ben didn't seem capable of finishing his sentence. But his face had brightened quite impressively as he stared at the shorter boy.

"Just take them already, if for nothing else, then so I have peace of mind." He added much more firmly, turning his head away. He wasn't sure where all that had come from and his reddening face wasn't helping his macho image at all.

"Thank you." Jimmy could have sworn that there was a slightly warm, unknown tone in Ben's appreciative voice as he felt the blond's hands reach his and take the offerings. Turning back when his face had cooled down, he watched as Ben let his fingers dance over every detail of the weapons and testing their weight, a large smile covering his face the whole time. Feeling his eyes on him, Ben looked back to Jimmy thankfully before stowing the dagger underneath his belt behind him, safely hidden by his jacket and stashed the gun in his jacket pocket with the bullets. He set his face back to its unusually serious, focused state a moment later however, handing Jimmy the last few bags and tiny boxes of bullets. "We better get out of here. No one seems to be too close at the moment, but Hal's already left Tessa in the dust and Mike and Clayton must have said goodnight. I can hear Clayton mumble to some other guy about having Mike on board."

"Heh, isn't he in for a surprise." Jimmy smirked, stuffing his pockets before heading to the door. "Guess I'll load our new guns and show you how to use it back in the room. Let's go."

Slowly opening the door, flinching a little when it squeaked, he peeked out to ensure that Ben was right before rushing out and out of Ben's way, the young Razorback shutting it silently behind him before they carefully made their way back down the hall. They stopped just before the entrance to the family room so that Ben could double check that there weren't any new voices in with the kids and thankfully there weren't for even Jimmy heard the creaking floorboard as someone walked near the hallway's other entrance. Without so much as a glance at each other, both boys walked casually into family room and crossed right through it toward the staircase.

"Hey boys, getting tired already?" Jimmy tensed slightly at that, and was quick to move into a yawn as they found Clayton standing by the bottom of the stairs. Opening his eyes in what he hoped was a look of exhaustion, Jimmy nodded his head.

"Just a little bit." He nodded, continuing on his way. "We're not usually so active outside of missions and they require a lot of sitting still most times. I'm beat."

"Fair enough." Clayton shrugged before turning to Ben. "But my fighters heard you claim that you don't sleep much." He commented curiously, leaving Jimmy tensing again. Satisfied that he was out of Clayton's current field of vision, he turned to his friend with baited breath.

Ben had either avoided people he didn't want to talk to or he was the most open book anyone could ever imagine whenever Jimmy saw him. The young fighter didn't know if Ben had ever even known how to put up a charade, let alone whether or not he'd do it now. He was most likely to say something that would give them away or bring on suspicion by saying nothing at all. Hal and Lourdes had only reminded him to act casual if he saw anyone, he wasn't supposed to communicate with them at all.

However, all his fears were put to bed when Ben's lips curl into a pleasant grin. He looked a little dreamy, but nothing that would set off alarm bells.

"Very true. But I don't usually get tired either and I can sleep whenever I want. I usually just take a nap when I'm bored. Goodnight Mr Clayton."

"Night boys. See you tomorrow." Clayton replied, leaving Jimmy mentally sighing when he dropped it and walked off. His body deflated in his relief so much that Ben had to gently push him on his way up. He didn't stop when they reached the next landing either. Looking back, he felt his slight irritation fade instantly at the very serious look Ben was sporting. He must have heard too much activity in the area.

A lot apparently, for before they even made it halfway across the second floor, Ben shoved him through the door to the bathroom and locked the door behind them. Sparing Jimmy a single look, he held up a finger to his lips before pressing his ear to the door.

Staying perfectly still, Jimmy strained his own hearing, his curiosity desperate to know what was going on, and that's when he heard it. Two sets of heavy feet stomping along the hallway and past the door.

"Sentry change." Ben muttered with a sigh as the footsteps faded away. "The two guards relieved of duty will pass by in a few seconds."

"And the more people who see us, the more chances we have of getting caught." Jimmy finished, nodding his head at Ben's move before finally registering where they were. Biting his lip, he took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. "Though, we could have probably picked a better hiding spot."

"Why? What's wrong with this one?" Ben asked, his frequent, lost look gracing his face again as he tilted his head. Jimmy couldn't help but smile at it, but answered his question as genuine worry started crossing Ben's face. Jimmy guessed that he thought that he'd made a real mistake.

"Well, for a start, two guys locking themselves into a bathroom. That doesn't sound suggestive to you?" He added jokingly, though regretting it a little as what he said fully registered in his head. Ben's eyes went wide the instant the words left his mouth before he dropped his gaze embarrassedly to the ground, his cheeks and ears turning noticeably pink again. Man, this was turning into an awkward night. Feeling quite mortified himself, Jimmy turned his gaze to the taps as he hastily continued. "There's also the possibility that the someone will need to go. This is a bathroom after all, one that actually still works and those guards have been doing their job for hours."

"Um, yeah...good point." The poor blond could barely get the words out and if anything, his face was only getting redder. It kind of surprised the young fighter to be honest. He didn't think Ben would be so affected by things like suggestions of lust. The Ben he'd been getting to know struck him as the kind of person who'd just shrug it off. He had a feeling that he was missing a puzzle piece to the young Mason before him.

Then again, I haven't talked to him that much yet. He conceded with a shake of his head. There was no doubt plenty of things to learn about him. And I really want to. He added, snorting a little at the thought. He still wasn't sure why he was so determined, but he could figure that out later.

"So then...should we g..." Ben's voice came to a complete halt before he could finish, his face turning hard. Jimmy didn't need any explanation, he heard the stomping loud and clear a mere two seconds later.

"Too many to keep track." One man grumbled, his deep voice failing to hide anything from Jimmy. He was plenty aggravated. "I still have no idea how the spiked boy disappeared on me. And then he was suddenly back in the house."

"What do you expect? He's infected." His partner retorted, though he was doing a much better job of controlling his volume. A glaring Jimmy only heard it because by that point they were right by the door and the walls were paper thin. "Don't worry though, he'll be glad to go back. And in twenty four hours, we'll be free of the lot of..." The voice faded right out of his hearing, but it wasn't like there was any doubt to what he would have said. It left Jimmy in a mix of fury and disbelief. How dare they talk about Ben that way! He had half a mind to track them down and tear him a new one. Yes, he was neutral, but there wasn't anything wrong with Ben. They hadn't bothered to talk to him even once, how the hell would those two pieces of crap know anything?

"Wow, they are hopeless at secrecy." The calmness of Ben's voice almost shocked Jimmy right out of his rage. He knew the boy found it hurtful when people spoke of him with open malice and distrust, but right now he was just calm and cold. Just like the other night when he moved to save him from a Skitter, only this time, strangely enough, Jimmy wasn't afraid. Maybe he was used to it now, or it could have been the gentle Ben that appeared in the gaps in his focus throughout their little adventure, but he actually felt...safe with him. Strange, that look on his face should have made him terrified. "They should learn to shut up. Come on, let's go." He muttered, opening the door and walking calmly out. Jimmy just followed, staying silent all the way back to their room.

Something about Ben seemed different. Not bad, just different from his usual self. Again, analysing the way he moved and held himself, he thought about the missing pieces to this puzzle and how much he wanted to find them. But now, another thought had crossed his mind on that subject. The pieces he knew that Lourdes and the others could see. He had a feeling that there were incorrectly placed. Either that, or the gaps were bigger than they realised.

I see one thing Lourdes and Hal haven't. Even if the altered half of his mind did start with a completely hive mind nature, it's not like that anymore. Actually, I don't think it ever was to begin with.