Chapter 36: Renegades.
『"We living like we’re renegades..."』
Ethan leaned over the pool table, lining up a shot carefully. The movement pulled at still-healing wounds across his ribs, but he ignored the twinge of pain.
Clack!
He struck, and the cue ball cracked against the eight ball, sending it rolling smoothly into the corner pocket.
Across the Relaxation Center of the institute, Hiro and Raj were locked in an intense foosball match, the ball clacking loudly against the rods.
Hiro glanced over his shoulder just as Ethan took his shot. "Aren’t you supposed to be on bed rest?" he called out.
Ethan straightened slowly. "I was discharged this morning."
"Conditionally discharged," Amara corrected from the couch. "With instructions to take it easy."
"This is me taking it easy," Ethan said with a smile. "Just playing pool."
"Focus on your own game," Raj grumbled to Hiro as he spun the handles and sent the miniature soccer ball shot past Hiro’s goalkeeper.
"I am focused," Hiro shot back, right before Raj scored yet another goal.
Raj threw his hands up in victory. "And that’s five to nothing! You’re getting destroyed here." He announced cheerfully, grinning wide.
"Oh, come on!" Hiro threw his hands up and Ethan grinned from where he stood, already lining up another shot.
Amara and Sophia watched from the corner, sitting on one of the oversized bean couches. Amara had her legs tucked under her, looking more relaxed than she had in days.
Sophia was working through a bag of chips, occasionally throwing one at Hiro when he got too dramatic about losing.
"You know what’s weird?" Sophia said, not looking away from the foosball carnage. "This. Being here. Doing normal stuff."
Amara tucked her legs under her more comfortably. "Normal is good," she replied. "Normal is very good if you ask me."
"Yeah, but after everything..." Sophia trailed off, crunching another chip. "It’s been a week since the field trip fiasco and it still feels almost wrong? Like we should be... I don’t know. Doing something."
"We are doing something," Amara said with a smile. "We’re recovering."
The Institute had debriefed them extensively. This included three days of interviews, medical examinations and psychological evaluations.
The evidence from Amara’s device was handed over to the Director personally and official investigations had been launched. Warrants issued.
Through it all, they’d been told the same thing. That they needed to rest, recover and process. So that’s exactly what they were doing.
"Hey," Hiro said suddenly, abandoning the foosball table after Raj scored his eighth consecutive goal. "Did you guys hear? They caught the Warden."
That got everyone’s attention and Amara sat up straighter "When?" She asked.
"This morning, apparently." Hiro flopped onto the couch beside them. "Tried to flee to South America. Institute agents picked him up at the Bogotá airport."
"Good," Sophia said with feeling. "Hope they throw his ass in an actual prison. One without illegal mining operations."
"What about Gaius?" Amara asked, her fingers curling into fists.
The mood shifted immediately, becoming heavier. The relaxed atmosphere changed with the bringing up of a topic they’d all been avoiding.
"Still at Large." Ethan straightened up from the pool table, his expression turning serious. "No sightings or lead, but it’s only a matter of time."
"There’s nowhere in this world you can hide once the Institute wants you found," Ethan said with certainty. "And Gaius doesn’t strike me as someone with the resources to evade them forever."
"You sound sure about that," Raj said, joining the ladies on the chair.
Ethan finally looked up, meeting their eyes. "The Institute has contacts in every government, every major organization, every corner of the Awakener world."
"I have a feeling he’s got some margaronium stockpiled somewhere," Hiro said. "So I’d say he has more than enough resources."
Ethan set down his cue stick. "He’s going to have to move that through the black market and the Institute has it all monitored. The slightest mention of margaronium, and it’d instantly be flagged."
The certainty in his voice was almost comforting.
Almost.
"Anyway," Hiro said, clearly wanting to move away from the heavy topic, "we’ve been here for close to a month now and I just realized, we barely know anything about this place."
He stood up and continued. "We’ve seen the training grounds and the cafeteria and our rooms, but yeah, that’s basically it." He paused. "Oh, yeah, and the Watch Room. Can’t forget about the Watch Room."
"There’s a lot we haven’t explored," Amara agreed. "The Institute is huge."
"Yeah, and most of it is restricted," Sophia pointed out. "The interesting parts anyway."
Ethan’s expression shifted slightly with a small smile. "There’s one place I’ve always wanted to check out," he said casually. "But it’s definitely restricted."
"I’m listening," Hiro said immediately, stepping forward.
"The Library," Ethan said.
Raj blinked. "We have a library?"
"Not a regular library," Ethan clarified. "It’s like the Archive, but different."
"Different how?" Amara asked.
"This is where they keep all the good and forbidden stuff." His eyes gleamed. "But it’s off-limits to us according to the Director."
Amara felt that familiar tug of caution in her gut. "And that just makes you want to get in there even more." She said with a smile.
"You know me too well." He returned the smile and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a black keycard. "Luckily, one of the medical staff assigned to me has clearance. Or should I say had."
"She made the mistake of leaving it on the counter while she went to grab supplies." He held up the card between two fingers, twirling it around.
"Let’s just say she won’t be needing this for a while. We probably only have a small window before they notice it’s been swapped for a fake." He said with a smirk on his face.
"I’m in," Hiro said immediately.
"Obviously I’m in," Raj added. "This sounds way more fun than destroying you at foosball." He laughed at Hiro.
Sophia looked at Amara. "You’re the responsible one. What do you think?"
"We just got out of one restricted facility," Amara said, one of her eyebrow raised. "Now you want to break into another one?"
"Statistically speaking, we just survived a prison riot, and a Kraken." Ethan stepped forward and grabbed a bag of chips from Sophia’s stash. "I think we can manage sneaking into a library. And you love libraries."
Amara stared at the keycard. Then her gaze shifted to Ethan’s expectant expression. And finally to her friends, who had all just went through some crazy ordeal this past week.
Perhaps, they’d earned a little rebellion... and she did love libraries.
"Fine," she said, standing up. "But if we get caught—"
"We won’t," Ethan said with absolute confidence.
Famous last words.
***
They moved through the Institute’s corridors with exaggerated stealth that was probably more suspicious than just walking normally.
Hiro kept making what he apparently thought were subtle hand signals—pointing ahead, gesturing for them to stop, indicating corners like they were in the Expendables or something.
"You look ridiculous," Sophia told him.
"You say ridiculous, I say innovative," Hiro whispered back. "And this is proper reconnaissance posture."
They passed a few other agents, but nobody paid them much attention. To them, they were just another group of trainees wandering around. Nothing unusual.
The Library was located in the east, down a dark corridor that only seemed to be missing two twins in matching outfits waiting at the end.
Finally, they reached a set of double doors. Heavy oak, reinforced with what looked like bronze fittings, and a card reader beside it glowed red.
"Once I use this, security will flag it," Ethan said, holding up the card. "We’ve got maybe... twenty minutes before someone shows up..."
He swiped the stolen keycard, turning the reader green with a beep. "So let’s make it count." The doors unlocked with a deep clunk of releasing bolts.
"After you," Ethan said, pulling the door open and they stepped inside.
As the doors closed behind them, a small red light blinked to life above the frame.
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