It took hours of conversation and pleading from Shelby for the words 'ok' to come out of Laura's mouth.
"I still think it's a bad idea." She said, giving Shelby a worried look, who groaned.
"Do you have anything better to suggest?" she said, exhausted. Laura shook her head.
"Good." Shelby muttered.
The following day, they were woken up at 6a.m and taken to a hall. stood at the very front, ready to give out another speech. When everyone was seated, he started:
"Good morning," he said, his face stone, "As you all know, today is the day of your missions. I have some information to hand over". The Alphas nodded. "A piece of advice from me: Try to be careful. Do not fool around. It might cost you your life." Shock appeared on many faces.
"Yes, I guarantee you that H.I.V.E will not be flying for your aid all the time. This mission is to be done alone. We will watch, but do nothing to help. You might get killed. Depends on how clever you are". Somewhere in the crowd he noticed eyes widening.
"As I have already told Miss. Brand and Miss. Trinity, you cannot use anything which shall be useful. Especially no weapons.You have 5,000 pounds, spent on props." Frowns flowed through the room. "Something small," he whispered.
"Just a few more things," he said, "And then you will depart. The Shroud, which will fly you to the location of your mission, will be waiting for you at the same place where he left you. You will have three days to complete your mission. At 11 at night, you have to come back to it, no delays or the Shroud will fly off without you. And then you'll have to make your own way back. That's where to 5,000 comes in. Might be useful." Then he walked away.
The students retreated back to their rooms, now more scared than excited. Otto and Wing stood behind, wanting to ask a question. It was Raven that appeared first.
"You should be back in your rooms," she said, her voice smooth but hard like stone.
"We know." Wing said, indicating to Otto that it would be best if he led the conversation. "We just wanted to know something."
Raven nodded. "What?"
"Um, we wanted to know whether we have time to say goodbye to our friends. Since we're supposed to die," Otto explained, and he got a cold, unpleasant laugh from Raven.
"Oh I'm not sure you two will die," she said, not too reassuringly, "But no. You won't have time". Disappointment wafted the air.
"Although, according to my plans, Miss. Brand and Miss. Trinity will be flying with you. Same mission location."
Wing and Otto both grinned, but their smiles quickly faded away.
"What about our other friends?" Wing asked referring to Nigel and Franz. Raven put her hands on their shoulders and led them out of the room. "Bad luck boys," she said, a hint of mocking in her voice, "I guess you'll just have to pray they won't die," she whispered into their ears, and then left them.
