"This is so not good," Allen mumbled under his breath.
"Would you please shut the fuck up!" Julian whisper-yelled as he rolled his eyes. Half of his attention was on the hallway that led directly to the panels. "You are the one who insisted on coming along with your stuff!" he pointed at the laptop that he was holding half-open in his hands.
"Oh, then should I have left it behind so that we can all walk straight past any guard?" he snorted in disbelief.
"That's why we decided to wait here till we see the signal from West and the others that they are at the panels!" said Julian.
"Would you both just shut up!" Margret snapped out, almost knocking the two of them off their feet. "Focus on the fucking plan and we will be fine! West has made sure of that!"
"Did he also make sure that we get out of here without a scratch?" Allen uttered. "How is that even possible after it's known to the whole world that we are here?"
It was almost as if he was talking to himself, but the words couldn't help but fall out loud. The other two were searching for the word, for the explanation of how their safety would be fulfilled after they got what they wanted.
They were still half-heartedly believing that what they came here for was even going to work and that they weren't just putting their lives on the line to bully some rich-ass Nobles.
Well, at least the topic brought them the silence that they needed. Margret glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "We are in position," said she. "West, where are you?"
"We are approaching the hallway," a voice resonated through their ears—faint but enough to make out West's voice. "Everything ready?"
Margret took a deep breath as she glanced down at the bag that was filled with rifles, guns, grenades—anything that they might need during their stay here. If it hadn't been for Scarlet, they wouldn't have even dreamed of pulling this through. All of these… illegally obtained weapons were hidden in Scarlet's belongings.
Honestly, Margaret always believed that it was Scarlet who had a lot to gamble with—a lot to lose at any moment. If she looked around her at Allen, Julian, West, and the others with him… they had nothing to lose. That's why they were gambling with the only thing that they had—their lives. Scarlet had a family, a father, siblings, a title that would keep her and her offspring alive and well in a life of luxury that Margret couldn't imagine.
And yet, here she was amidst the worst of the worst, fighting for a better tomorrow.
The flickering lights in front of her finally made her snap out of her daze.
"They are here!" she exclaimed as she grabbed one of the bags before approaching the hallway. She could hear the others do the same, a step behind her.
She felt that she could breathe when she saw West waiting at the panel for them with Park and Zach.
"I can't believe that you actually got inside," Allen stated. "But what about the real engineers? What will happen to us when they truly arrive?"
"That won't happen," Julian was the one who answered. "Another team is waiting for them to approach and… you know, they will deal with it."
"Oh," Allen simply said.
"Enough now," West spoke. "Where are all the guards, Allen?"
Allen glanced at his laptop and said, "There are some at the entrance… and the rest are guarding the banquet hall. No one is here."
"They truly think this is a power outage…" Margret uttered.
West gave her a simple nod. "Allen and Julian, you think you can deal with the ones at the gates?"
They shared a look before nodding in agreement.
"Very well, let's begin."
'Damn it, they should be here by now!' Scarlet yelled inside her head. She was thankful for the darkness around her that covered her from the eyes of others. She hoped that Naomi was doing fine—it was impossible to look for her in this chaos.
The Nobles never ceased their questions; they never stopped snapping at guards who had no idea what was happening, but… one thing was for sure. They still didn't catch on to what was really happening. And they had Allen to thank for that.
Who would have thought that a tech genius would be buried in the slums like that! She told herself every time something crazy happened because of Allen.
Her head jolted up as she heard a rustling happening outside. It was so faint, but it was still there—the sound of a quarrel that was forced to silence. She smirked.
They are here.
The doors to the hall burst open, and with it, the power was back on. Scarlet flinched from the sudden burst of light and so did the others around her. Happy exclaims were made that the power was back, but they were snatched away as three shots were fired in midair.
The crowd went to its knees as their screams intertwined together.
"W-What the hell is going on here!?" one of the Nobles yelled out at a man dressed in a navy jumpsuit that covered up to his mouth, leaving nothing but his eyes on display.
West, she thought. There was no mistaking those golden eyes tinted with sadness and responsibility.
"I apologize for the nuisance," West stated. "We are the Rebels, as you might have heard of us. We are here to bargain. No one is going to get hurt if you stay still and wait."
He made that sound so easy to do.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, FILTHY SLUM RAT!"
Scarlet thought she saw the anger in West's eyes from this distance, but she knew that he had full control over his temper… but that was before she saw him slam the hilt of his rifle into the man's belly, sending him shuddering to his knees.
"I never said that I won't hurt anyone who disobeys or acts like a rotten spoiled child," West stated simply, with no emotions intact.