Title: Choices and Chances: Chapter Fourteen

Author: Stormhawk

Chapter Word Count: 1000

Please read and Review.

Joshua had gathered up all of the exiles - which had taken a long time, considering the maze-like structure of the playground - and they were now making their way toward a door they had seen a lot of the assassins come through.

Stef followed him up to the front of the crowd, and got confused when all of the exiles looked expectantly at her. "What do they want?" she whispered to Joshua.

"You're supposed to say something."

"Supposed to?"

"You know, like they do in movies. Probably not all of us are going to make it out of there alive, they want you to say something."

"Why don't you?"

"You're the one with the key, you're getting us out of here. You're the one talking."

"I hate speeches, they remind me too much of Morpheus" she muttered. "Ok..." she looked out at the exiles. "I am going to tell you this like it is. When I open this door we are going into the chateaux, I don't have to tell you it's not a good place to be, and problem number one is only certain keys work. The Keymaker should solve that problem. As soon as we get in there, we get to him first and get some keys. As soon as you've got a key, get the hell out of there, if you see someone you help them and get out together. Mero has got so many guards its not funny so be as quiet as you can, and hopefully we can get out this with a minimum of casualties. But I don't expect everyone to get out alive."

Joshua nudged her in the ribs, "that wasn't very inspirational."

Stef smirked the exiles and went for something quick, "this is not the time for inspirational speeches, this is the time to kick some ass!"

The exiles cheered.

The group all crowded in closer as the door was opened. This wasn't the first time that they had tried to get free of this place, but those times it had been one or perhaps two exile trying to barge through a door that an assassin had just come through. Needless to say, those particular prisoners didn't live long enough to get the freedom they had been lucky enough to glimpse.

Quickly and quietly, they walked into the chateaux dungeon. "This way," Stef said as she ran along the dark corridor, heading toward the Keymaker's cell.

"How do you know the way?" Scai asked as he slithered along the wall beside her.

"I just know ok? You trust me or not?"

"We've been prisoners a long time. Agents and exiles..."

"Brown," Stef said and the group stopped moving. "You lot know Agent Brown?"

As one, the group nodded. "Well," she said, "if I don't get Smith back Brown is going to be in charge. Do you seriously want to live in a world where he's in charge of an agency?"

"Brown and Carlson," Joshua muttered, "are both bastards. It's Carlson's fault I was in hell."

An exile with red tubular - almost snake-tail-like - hair sneered down at her. "What if Smith has an accident before he gets out? Brown is a problem, but Smith is well...Smith, you know what I mean."

"If you, any of you, lay a finger on him I will kill you." She looked at the group, "I don't usually do this, but I'm going to be petty for once in my life. All of you owe me, I could left you in hell to rot or die, so all of you owe big time."

She turned from the group and continued toward the Keymaker's cell. Since she didn't have a physical key to the cell - of which there was only one - she turned to the wall and banged her fist against it. A panel popped open and she entered an access code, hoping that it would work.

It was an old access code, but the codes of the high security cells were all the same, so if it worked it was going to be good - she wouldn't have a problem, but if it was different from what she remembered, she was in deep trouble. She smiled as the light flashed green and the door unlocked. She pulled it open, noticing that the group of exiles was once again behind her.

The Keymaker looked up in surprise as Stef, Joshua and Scai walked in, the rest of the group had to wait outside. The little old program looked scared, "no, I can't, he'll kill me if I give you keys."

"You're not going to give them, we're going to steal them."

The exiles and agent nodded. The Keymaker looked up at Joshua, "could you please render me unconscious?" Joshua nodded, and put one hand behind the program's head and punched him with the other.

Scai looked at the walls of keys, "which ones?"

Stef scanned them, "that wall," she said as she pointed, "pass them out, quickly."

The bear and the reptile started to pass the keys out. Stef walked around the room, looking for something special. Finally, she looked down at the Keymaker. There was a chain around his neck, she slipped it off and scanned the key.

It was what she wanted, a Master Key. A key to every door in the chateaux - in and out. She quickly pulled it over her neck and slipped it under her shirt, not wanting the exiles to get jealous, but she needed it more than they did.

"That's everyone," Joshua announced.

"Good," she said, "now get everyone out of here." Most of the exiles didn't need a second invitation and ran for it. Scai and Joshua remained through, "I said get out of here," she said firmly, "you don't get too many chances to get out of this place alive."

Slowly, and which a nod, they left. She stood there for a moment, then took a deep breath and ran out to find Smith.