Chapter 267: Caleb
I hated everything about this mission. All I could think was that all of us were going to end up in the Red Blood pack’s prison again, and this time they wouldn’t bother keeping us alive. Whatever they wanted Grace for, they wouldn’t use us to get to her again, and if they thought Rhys would come for us, they were sadly mistaken. We would make our own way out of this or we wouldn’t at all.
“She’s tracking to right here,” Leon said gruffly.
I knew he still had a lot of feelings about me, and I didn’t blame him. They were all fair. He didn’t like being on this mission any more than I did. And that was why it was me and not Heather here. Whether home was safer or not, I wasn’t sure, but at least the kids were with her. She really had the working mom balance down better than the rest of us. She also had always had a good relationship with my mom, so I knew she would be able to help keep her out of trouble in the way I had been lately. It was clear mom was hurting, but we had all been so blind to it. I hoped once everything was over, I’d be able to give her a real relationship with Sammy, and maybe we could give her a little more love than she’d be getting lately.
I snapped my attention back to Leon as he began searching for something, but what I wasn’t sure.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “There’s nothing here.”
“Rhys mentioned that Grace said they were underground. We must be right on top of her. We need to find a way in.”
“Isn’t that the spot Maizie and Sawyer were going to?”
Leon nodded. He had always been quiet, but he was smarter than anyone I knew.
“Why didn’t we go there?” I asked.
“Because I’m sure that entrance is under watch. I’m sure everything around us is.” He paused for a moment, and I could see the gears in his head turning. “How deep do you think it is?”
“Their base? I would assume pretty deep.”
“Do you think they’re that smart?” He answered. “Cuz I bet the ceiling is only a foot or so underground. At least level one anyway.”
“Don’t tell me you want to dig it up...” I groaned.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” He told me with a slight smile as he swung his backpack around.
I raised my brow. “And you brought a shovel for this exact occasion?”
“Technically it’s a multi tool, not just a shovel, but yes.” He smirked.
I rolled my eyes but held my hand out for it. I could at the very least do some of the heavy work if his idea about level one being on a few feet underground.
“So uh, say it is only a couple of feet down, how exactly are we going to get in? It’s not like we’re going to happen to dig in exact place of a trap door.”
This time he smiled a real smile, and I knew he was thrilled with whatever his plan was. He started rummaging through his backpack again before pulling out a tiny device that looked very similar to a cat laser toy.
“Let me guess, that’s one of Sawyer’s inventions, isn’t it?”
My younger brother was smarter than Rhys and I combined. He had graduated high school early. Flew through med school, had become a whole motherfucking doctor, and still his brain wasn’t capped there. He was always tinkering with things, I just hadn’t realized he had whole ass inventions now, though it had been a few years since I had really spent any time with him. I used to sit with him as he worked on things a lot when we were younger, but my life decisions had driven a bit of a wedge between us.
“Yep.” Leon confirmed still smiling like a goober. “It can cut through anything, theoretically.”
“And it’s been tested?”
“Tested is relative.” He responded, a little less confidently.
“Great.” I sighed, putting my back into shoveling.
To Leon’s credit, it didn’t take long before I heard my shovel clink against a metal surface. I immediately began to widen the hole, and Leon used Sawyer’s experimental laser cutter to try and get to the other side. With any luck, we would find Grace, and the Pyxis in the next few minutes.
I was soaked in sweat, but the whole was wide enough for us to get through, and the laser had successfully cut through three sides. Carefully, we pulled up the metal roof, folding it backward so we could pull it down later. I lowered myself down first, landing with a soft thump in front an amused Grace.
“What? Doors are overrated?” She asked as Leon followed suit.
“Had to make sure we could get to you.” I responded. “Where are we exactly?”
“We are in my locked room in the Program.” She answered.
I nodded and went over to look at the door as Leon mindlinked Rhys to tell him we had found Grace.
I took off my backpack and immediately began to search for my lock pick. Sawyer’s device would get us out in a pickle, but I didn’t want to leave lasting damage. At least not yet.
“Are you hurt or anything?” Leon asked Grace, looking over her in a big brother, protective way. The way I always should have.
“No. I’m okay.” She answered softly.
I wasn’t sure why I felt like she was lying, but I didn’t smell blood or any poison, so I didn’t push it. If she was lying, we could deal with it later, once the Pyxis was destroyed.
I turned back to the lock and heard the familiar click of it unlocking with ease.
“How many guards are out there for your room?” I asked.
“Two,” She whispered.
“Okay. Leon and I will shift. Then we’ll need to get to the Pyxis. Do you know how to get there, or should we give you the GPS?”
“I can get us there.” She answered confidently.
She squared her shoulders back, and her face went blank, and that’s when I knew we were ready. Whatever was out there, we’d figure it out, together. We were just about to leave when Sawyer’s frantic mindlink came in.
“They know we’re here. Better get moving.”
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