Prologue
The wind blew in between the buildings as a cloaked figure raced along the shadows. The breeze took the hood from the figure’s head, revealing long, dark hair as the girl stopped at a wall in an alley. She looked at a piece of paper in her hand, then back to the wall. She ran her hand over it until she came to a brick that felt different, and swiped at it. A little light in the corner blinked green twice, and she took a step back and waited as a door opened in the brick wall of the building. Stepping quickly inside, she consulted the map on her EarthTablet.
She followed the dark hall to a set of prison cells, and looked at her map again. She looked back at the row and at the sleeping figures inside, and walked over to one. She rattled the bars gently, and called out to the person inside. “Hey, Jack. Wake up.”
“Huh?” A man rolled out of the bed, stumbling over to the girl. “Lisa? What the hell are you doing here?! You need to leave before-”
“I’ve got it covered, now come on.” Lisa pulled a nail file and a hair pin out and stuck them both into the old style key hole, picking the lock as quickly and quietly as possible. A resounding click echoed around the room, and she paused as someone in the next cell over shifted in their bed. “Alright, let’s go.”
“Lisa, no.”
“Jack, come on! I used up half of our savings on getting you out of here!” she pleaded.
“This is too dangerous. You need to leave right now. Before they catch you.” His eyes reflected the small bit of light that shined from the small window.
“They won’t catch me, I’ve made it this far, haven’t I?”
“How’d you even get in?” Concern was etched across his face as he took Lisa’s face in his hands.
“The front door,” she answered simply. Jack’s eyes got big and he smashed his lips against hers for half a second before pushing her away, blinking hard.
“I love you, Lisa. But you need to leave me here and go, now.” She looked at him with shock. “They’re coming. I can tell."
"How can you tell?" Loud footsteps sounded from the hall she hadn't been in yet, and she looked at him with fear in her eyes.
He kissed her again. "Go, please. Be safe."
"Not without you!"
"I'll distract them, then meet you on the corner of 3rd and Wing. Alright?"
A tear slid down her cheek, and she nodded and raced back the way she came. She was almost free when she came to the door she had came in at. It was guarded by a very burly man, and he had spotted Lisa before she spotted him. "Shit."
She took off down the first hallway she saw, racing along until she found another door, nearly being caught three different times. She swiped her hand at the slide, but it didn't work. She cursed and swiped again as the footsteps pounded behind her. She finally pulled out a strange contraption from her inside coat pocket and pointed one end at the swipe pad. Shielding her eyes with one hand, she fired the weapon with the other, busting the lock and letting the door open wide.
It opened into an office, and she didn't see any people around. She just ran down the middle of the aisles, stopping at the end. Something on the desk beside her caught her attention, and she looked at the file to see 'TOP SECRET: STATUS 58 ONLY" stamped in red on it.
She grabbed it and exited the normal door, just now noticing that the reason she couldn't get through was because the TapeChip she had been wearing had worn off. She also realized that she forgot to give Jack one before she ran off. She stepped into the fake office of the building she was in and walked to the normal doors, exiting them calmly and as though she belonged there, and hid the file in her large coat, despite there being no other person out at this hour.
She ran toward her meeting destination, and her love.
