Backstab

Chapter 12: Turning the Tides

A/N: Possibly my longest chapter to date, and maybe even the best. Though I guess that's a matter of opinion. As you can probably tell, my story seems to be reaching a climax (I swear the story has been writing itself) which means then end must follow soon. Not soon soon but sooner then maybe some were hoping (aka me). So I'd just like to thank the readers who have read for this long, and I promise to make the slightly boring middle part worth it.

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"Ok that just about covers it," Tyler stepped back, brushing off his hands with a look of satisfaction on his face. "But before we leave I want to do one last check. SweetPea you have the map and the key, right?"

SweetPea nodded, "Check."

"Babydoll, you have the knife?"

"Check," I replied, drawing it out from its sheath on my upper thigh.

"And I have the tranquilizer gun and the rope," Tyler concluded. "Is that everything?"

"Sounds like it," SweetPea said, grabbing her small leather pack and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Then let's go," Tyler agreed, doing the same with his tattered fisherman's pack. I was the only one without a bag of my own, so I simply slid the knife back into its hiding place.

Today was the day we planned to commence our mission to rescue Rocket, all of us in an uneasy agreement over our plan. Though we had done our best to cover every possible outcome of the mission, it could never account for the danger of the real thing. Blue still had the upper hand: with superior weapons, overpowering numbers of guards, and a hostage; while we were just some kids with a knife and a gun. He would be expecting us, and despite all of our planning it did not change the reality that we were walking deep into enemy territory with no backup. It was a risky move.

Still, we set out into the streets, anxiety and anticipation bubbling inside our chests.

"Tyler you take the lead," I ordered softly, falling behind him. "You know these streets like the back of your hand, and we're going to need the quickest route possible back to the institute."

He nodded, and closed his eyes as if examining a layout of the city streets in his mind. After a moment of contemplation he opened them. "Got it, ok follow me," Tyler instructed, setting a brisk pace towards the Lennox House.

SweetPea and I silently fell into step behind him, following his exact footsteps. Though I didn't see any of Blue's men, Tyler hugged the edges of the streets, concealing himself and us in the dark shadows formed by the buildings. It soon became evident that Tyler had lead us down the shortest route, because after a surprisingly short period of time I could just see the dark, looming fortress that was the Lennox House in the narrow strip between two buildings.

Before I got a better look though, Tyler flattened us and himself against a nearby building.

"Don't move!" he talk-whispered, motioning to a patrol of Blue's men walking from the direction of the house.

"There's more guarding the perimeter," I breathed, noticing many small, black shapes pacing the fence in front of the institution.

"He's been waiting for us," I heard SweetPea growl, though her ferocity could not completely mask the fear in her voice. "What do we do?"

Tyler was silently, his eyes searching desperately for an alternate way to the institution. I looked up towards the sky in thought, and then I noticed something.

"The buildings." Thinking aloud, my eyes still glued upwards.

SweetPea and Tyler followed my gaze, but I could tell by the genuine puzzlement on their faces that they had no idea what I was talking about.

"Look at the buildings; do you see how much closer together they are than the ones deeper in the city?"

"Yeah, but how does that help us?" SweetPea questioned. I looked towards Tyler, watching as he began to comprehend my plan.

"We can jump from rooftop to rooftop," he explained, "they're close enough so we probably won't fall, and this way we'll be able to get to the edge of the city undetected. Also, being on higher ground than them will give us a vantage point."

SweetPea opened and closed her mouth as she contemplated the plan, her eyes flicking nervously over the looming structures. "I'm not good with heights."

"Don't worry, you won't fall," Tyler reassured her, "and if you do, I'll catch you."

Trying to ignore the slight blush coming to SweetPea's cheeks, I slipped into a nearby alley, relieved to see there was a fire escape to assist in our ascent. Not waiting for the others, I began climbing, wincing as my hand grasped the old, rusty metal. Below me, I felt SweetPea nervously begin the climb as well.

In no time, we were on top of the building, giving us a good view of the area around us.

Noticing our vantage point, SweetPea cleared her throat. "If we can see everyone from up here, can't they all see us too?" I exchanged a glance with Tyler, and we all simultaneously crouched to our knees.

"Get to the center of the roof," Tyler commanded, crouch-walking to the designated location, "less people will be able to see us there."

We did as told, crouching in the center and feeling incredibly foolish.

"So now we're up here, how are we going to get to the House?" Tyler and SweetPea turned towards me.

I paused, looking around. Then it came to me. "We'll all take up watch positions on the three sides of the building parallel to the building we want to jump to. Then once everyone gives the all clear, we jump across, and we continue like that until there's no more buildings left."

"And what then?" SweetPea questioned, eyeing me.

I hesitated, and I was thankful when Tyler answered for me. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Reluctantly, SweetPea nodded, and she and Tyler took their positions near the next building. I followed suit, crouching precariously on the edge of the rooftop, scanning the street below like a hawk searching for prey.

"I'm clear over here," I heard SweetPea call from her position overlooking Thatcher Street.

"Me too," I called back, preparing to jump.

"I'm not, get back!" Tyler cried, and we all instantly shuffled back to the center. "There was a small group of men on the side street; it will take less than a minute for them to pass."

We waited a few seconds, before Tyler looked out and confirmed the cost was clear. Gathering our courage, we each took turns jumping to the next building. SweetPea went first, grunting as she hit the next rooftop and nearly rolling over the side. Tyler followed her, jumping and rolling so deftly that I couldn't help but wonder if he'd done something like this before. Then it was my turn. I took a few steps back, then ran and heaved my body across the abyss, clearing it by several feet. We continued like this until we were on the last building before the road, and we had a clear and terrifying view of the guards waiting for us out front.

"What's your plan?" I hurriedly asked Tyler, before he could ask me the same thing. He seemed to sense what I was trying to do, and just shrugged his shoulders.

"We need a distraction," SweetPea said, her eyes flitting towards me without her being able to stop them.

I shook my head, reading her mind. "It won't work without music, and we only managed that last time because of the faint sound coming out of the institute."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tyler give me a look, clearly missing the context of the exchange. I shook my head, letting him know it wasn't important.

Curious, but not willing to keep at it, Tyler shrugged, changing the topic. "We could take out a few of the guards," Tyler suggested, eyeing a few of the nearer men.

SweetPea shook her head. "We don't have enough bullets."

"Then how can we do this? There's no way we'll be able to sneak past them unless every single one of them is distracted."

"And the only way that would happen is if we showed are faces." I muttered, finishing the end of Tyler's thought.

We were silent for a few minutes after that, each of us working to come up with an idea for how to get in. Though I couldn't speak for the other two, it seemed that I reached a dead end an alarming number of times. There was no logical way to get in, not without being seen from hundreds of feet away. Despite my determination to rescue Rocket, I was stumbling quickly toward the conclusion that even getting in to the institution would be impossible.

However, before I could voice this thought aloud, SweetPea suddenly turned towards Tyler. "Hand me the gun and the rope," she demanded, her tone urgent.

"Ok…" Tyler said slowly, fishing the requested items out of his pack.

SweetPea snatched them out of his hands. Hurriedly, she secured the rope onto a curved pipe sticking out from the rooftop, testing it by yanking as hard as possible. It held fast, so she threw the remainder of it over the edge of the roof.

"What are you-" Tyler began.

"Not now," SweetPea interjected, loading the gun and pointing it towards the street below, "I have to time this just right."

I examined her aim, surprised when I found she was aiming at the passing cars rather than the guards. She steadily held the gun, watching the traffic with extreme delicacy.

Out of nowhere, she fired a single bullet at the open window of a passing van. Though I didn't see the shot make contact, it was clear that her aim was dead on, for the van swerved suddenly to the right and plowed through a section of the gate. Stunned by the reckless driver, the guards quickly began surrounding the vehicle, some calling for help and others pulling out their guns as if they thought this was a break-out attempt.

"Come on let's go!" SweetPea cried, grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the rope, where she quickly grabbed hold and descended. Tyler and I came quickly after her.

"What happened to your fear of heights?" he asked once we hit the ground, his expression amused.

"I thought of my sister." She said curtly, gathering herself. "Being afraid will only slow us down, and make our job that much harder. I need to be brave for her."

"Oh," was all Tyler said, a look of genuine respect passing over his face.

"Come on then, the distraction will only distract for so much longer," I insisted, leading the way to the house.

Thanks to the van, a portion of lower-laying wall had been left unguarded, the men having abandoned their posts in light of the careening vehicle. Luckily, all of said men were too distracted to notice us, and we were able to approach without opposition.

"Nice shot SweetPea," I commented as we approached the wall, unable to withhold my admiration for her dead-on timing. She brushed away my comment dismissively. Taking to the wall, we slowly piled over it, sinking to the ground as soon as we were over for fear of being caught. Luck was on our side, for not one guard had noticed us.

Wordlessly, we climbed the long hill towards the house, moving diagonally around to the back of it. We were still unseen, though I heard some shouts of confusion from the guards as the realized what had caused the driver to fall unconscious. Eventually, we made it to one of the back entrances, where we pressed our backs against the wall and took a quick breath.

"Do you still have the key?" I asked, but had no need, because SweetPea had already pulled it out. As she approached the door, I made a silent prayer that Blue hadn't changed the locks. Once again luck (or maybe even misfortune) was on our side, because the key fit nicely and turned until it clicked, after which we pulled the door open and shuffled inside.

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A/N: Like I said in the first author note up at the top, thank you so so much to everyone who's reading, and please review and comment.