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“Why doesn’t Elizabeth come on these missions herself?”
She wasn’t sure in the dark light but she could have sworn she saw Rex roll his eyes.
“She can’t sneak around to save her life,” he said. “And she enjoys the danger a little too much for my comfort.”
Nova had no idea what he could mean by that. But despite his critical words, Rex had a half-smile on his face as he talked about Elizabeth that made Nova want to rollhereyes.
Rex finished his part, and they went back out into the hallway. Once again he took the lead, taking a staircase down to the basement where the prisoners were kept.
The staircase ended in another dark hallway, but this one smelled of mildew and piss. Nova switched to breathing through her mouth, not that it helped much.
There were no identifiable markers to help her remember the way so Nova counted the corners they passed. It quickly became a lot of information to hold in her head, and she hoped she wouldn’t get separated from Rex. All the prison cells looked identical to the one she’d been held in. Rex took a roundabout route, trying to avoid passing in front of cells with prisoners in them. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be that many people locked up.
Finally, they arrived in a hallway that was different from the rest. Instead of bars, this hallway had solid metal doors.
“This is where they keep the most dangerous prisoners.” Rex walked to the door farthest down the hallway and lit the light on his belt. “This is Brent’s cell.”
Nova noticed the SecuLock immediately. It stuck out like a sore thumb. The door was old, rusty, and dirty, but the lock was new and shiny. She removed the necklace from around her neck and pressed Altair’s key to the lock.
A light turned green, and the door slid open.
Brent lay on the ground. His head jerked up when he heard them approaching.
Nova gasped when the light from Rex’s belt roamed over Brent’s body. He was covered in dried up blood and bruises. One of his arms lay limply by his side, and one leg formed a strange angle at the knee.
“Brent, it’s Rex and Meghan,” Rex said, probably assuming Brent’s eyes were too swollen to recognize them by sight.
“Rex,” Brent whispered, his voice a barely audible croak.
Rex bent down to Brent’s level, took a water bottle out of his pack, and placed it to Brent’s lips.
Brent drank slowly, choking and coughing a few times.
“We have to get him out of here,” Nova said.
Rex took out a small pill from his pack.
“Brent, this is the pill Elizabeth told you about. A few minutes before they hang you, bite down hard to burst it open and swallow. It will put you in a deep sleep.”
“He should just leave with us now,” Nova whispered. “He needs to see a doctor.”
“No.” Rex’s voice was regretful.
Nova worried Brent might not make it through the night.
“But—”
“Rex is right,” Brent said, breathing heavily. “If they think I’m dead, they’ll leave Baedden. If I just disappear, they will turn my life upside down. They will harass my mother, my brothers, and my friends. Eventually, they will find the other rebels and execute them too.”
Nova hated to admit he was right because if their plan failed, Brent would die. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded her agreement.
“We have to leave,” Rex said. “The longer we stay, the more we risk getting caught.”
Nova followed Rex out of the room and closed the door behind her, making sure the lock activated properly.
* * *
She got back to her room early in the morning, not having slept a wink the entire night. Her job wasn’t done yet. She still had to switch the necklace back before Altair left for work so he wouldn’t notice something was wrong.
