Chapter Three: One out, One In
The night was chilly and clear, and the half moon shone brightly in the sky. Staring up at the looming building that sprawled across the hill, Ty and Jarod both looked uneasy.
Ty sighed. "I have a feeling our plan's gonna go bad somewhere along the way."
Jarod glanced at her and chuckled nervously. "Ty, you look as bad as I feel. Don't worry, this should go perfectly."
She shook her head as they began to walk once more. "'Should' being the keyword there."
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"Well," Mr. Lyle couldn't keep the smile from his face. "I guess this is goodbye until tomorrow."
Kyle glared. "What are you smiling about?"
He hadn't left the room all day, except to use the bathroom. His face was covered with bruises and cuts, his ribs screamed in pain with every breath he took, and the gunshot wound he received in his leg back in New York wasn't helping at all. He felt like he was just going from one nightmare to another.
"You know, it's true, we have missed you and all, but the main reason for your capture doesn't really have much to do with you at all." Lyle sighed in satisfaction. "Soon you'll be having a little family reunion."
Kyle gritted his teeth and turned away from him so he couldn't see his face. "I'm going to make it my personal goal to kill you, Lyle." His voice was dangerously calm. "I'll string you from one end of the Centre to the other."
Mr. Lyle's smile faded. "Seems you've still got that same spirit us wonderful people here at the Centre gave you." He paused and began to leave the room. "But I think you're setting your sights a little too high." He smirked and shut the door behind him.
Kyle stared worriedly into the darkness. Oh shit, he thought. Jarod's gonna try to save me, and he'll be walking right into a goddamn trap. He sighed and gingerly touched his ribs. And I'm not even in any shape to escape even if he did make it to me. That's just wonderful.
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At the end of a dimly lit hallway, a door slowly opened, and Ty cautiously poked her head out. Looking up at the ceiling, she saw the security camera facing the other direction. Grinning triumphantly, she hurriedly entered the hallway and quietly shut the door behind her. Flattening herself against the wall under the camera, she took a deep breath.
"Ok," she whispered. "We can do this."
Staring at her watch, she waited until it read exactly 12:05am, then looked down the hallway to see Jarod emerge from a door. They began to walk towards one another until they met at an intersection of hallways.
"The regular recording will be back in five minutes," she hissed.
He only nodded solemnly and turned down a new hallway. Ty leaned against a wall out of sight, and waited.
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As Jarod crept down the hallway, he knew Ty had been right. He had the same feeling. Something was going to go wrong. Sweepers would be lurking on the floor, just waiting for him to open Kyle's door. He knew it. He just hoped that Ty would be capable enough to guard his back. Her background was sketchy, and she didn't seem too keen on enlightening him on the subject.
Glancing at all the doors as he passed them, he finally stopped at one. Pulling a key from his pocket, he glanced back down the hallway. He was smack in the middle of it. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and unlocked the door.
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Ty's heart raced as she looked around the corner and watched Jarod push the door open. Almost immediately five other doors flew open and ten sweepers jumped out, guns aimed.
Ty pulled out a 9mm and got down on one knee in a single fluid motion. Aiming carefully, she whistled loudly to draw their attention. Before they had any time to react, she began to pick them off one by one, while Jarod disarmed the ones nearest him.
Kyle slowly emerged from the room, and Jarod threw him a gun while he fought with the sweepers. Ty frowned as she watched him clumsily catch it and knew he wasn't himself. Bracing himself against the doorframe, he began shooting just as the alarm sounded.
When the last one fell to the ground, Jarod put Kyle's arm around his shoulder and hurriedly dragged him back down the hallway towards Ty. At certain intervals, the hallways began to get closed off.
The three of them ran down the hallway in the direction Jarod had originally come from, just barely making it past the barriers. As they neared the last one, however, there wasn't as much space; they wouldn't make it. A determined look crossed Ty's features, and she upped her speed. Using the momentum she generated, she pushed Jarod and Kyle with all the force she could muster, shoving them through the slim opening. As they hit the ground hard, the barrier sealed the passageway, separating Ty from the others.
"No!" she could hear Kyle shout.
Looking in both directions, she knew she was stuck. "Go on!" she yelled through the barrier. "You two need to get out – that's all that matters! Don't worry about me!"
She could hear something bang against the metal, and Kyle continued to shout. "No! Ty, you can't!"
"Jarod, get him out of here. That was the objective, wasn't it?" she demanded. She knew he would heed her.
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Kyle rubbed his fist and stared wildly at the barrier that kept his friend out of reach. His face had gone deathly pale.
"Ty that's not fair! They'll – Jarod stop it! What are you doing?" His voice was growing hoarse, and he could hardly struggle as Jarod began to pull him down the hallway, away from Ty.
"We'll come back for you, Ty," Jarod called. He felt bad for leaving her there, but knew there was nothing he could do.
"What for? You'll just get yourselves caught!" came the faint response.
Jarod didn't reply, and continued to drag his struggling brother down the hall.
"Jarod, you don't understand! We can't leave her here!" Kyle shouted shrilly.
Jarod tried hard to ignore him as he pushed him into a room and out of sight. Ty would have to hang tough for a day or so until he could figure things out. That is, if he could keep his brother under control until then.