Page 55 of Judgment Day

“When you are.”

“Let’s go.”

Together, they began the second half of the trek. They walked in silence, only speaking when it was time to check in with the team. Every few minutes, Scar would glance Exa’s way to check on her. She must’ve felt him looking, because each time, she would look his way and smile.

That smile let him know she was okay. They stopped at camera twelve and checked in before taking their last two-minute break. Liam let them know he was putting the judge’s security cameras on a loop to play what he’d recorded from earlier that night. While he did that, Exa and Scar pulled out their gas masks and put them on.

After Scar got his mask on, he laid out the emergency kits by the tree the camera was on, same as they’d done at the other checkpoints. On the way back, they’d pick them all up. Once he was done with that, he tried to help Exa with her mask.

“Scar, I’ve got this.”

“I want to double-check it for you.”

“But I don’t... fuck it. Do it.”

“Thanks,” he told her. “I know you can do it,” he whispered as he checked her mask. “It makes me feel better if I double-check it. Trust me, my mind knows you’ve got this. Blame it on my heart. Because it can’t help but worry.”

“Awww,” Seven and Skye cooed.

Exa chuckled. “You could write a romcom,” she told Scar. “You could call it,My Sweet Assassin.”

“I’m going to write it,” Seven claimed. “It’ll be a bestseller.”

“Okay, team,” Arson spoke over the comms for the first time that night. “It’s time to focus. No more playing around. From here on out, we’re in Judgment Day mode.”

“Is everyone ready?” Exa asked.

“Ready,” Seven told her.

“Ready,” Skye said.

“Ready,” Arson added.

“Ready,” Liam chirped in.

“Ready,” Scar said, staring down into Exa’s eyes, which were hard to see behind her mask.

“Ready,” Exa was the last to say.

“Cameras are playing on a loop and hasn’t been noticed,” Liam confirmed. “Proceed to camera fifteen and then check in.”

Exa and Scar continued forward. After taking only a few steps, they heard a noise to their right. Both of them stopped and stared in the direction the noise had come from.

“Did you hear that, Seven? Liam?” Exa whispered.

“Checking cameras,” Seven said. “I don’t see anything. It must be an animal. Sit tight for thirty seconds while we do a full sweep.”

Exa and Scar remained standing in place. Scar stared around him. He didn’t see anything either. It might have been an animal. They were in the woods, after all.

“Exa,” Seven started. “It looks like it was just an animal. But, we got Skye monitoring that area now. If anything unusual pops up, she’ll tell you.”

“I’m on it,” Skye told them.

“Okay,” Exa said. “We’re continuing forward.”

Exa nodded at him. Scar nodded back. Together, they strode forward. Scar continued to scan the area, making sure no one was following them. It didn’t take them long to reach the final check-in point.

“Exa and Scar,” Arson said. “It’s showtime. After Seven activates the vapes, you two will split up. Scar will take the north side of the house. Exa will take the south side. Verify that the guards are down. Once you’re inside, meet up at the center foyer. Seven and Liam will guide you. In case you get disconnected, the two of you have already memorized the blueprint. After you meet up in the foyer, together, you’ll ascend the stairs. Got it?”

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