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It was late at night. Whitney lie awake and listened to the sounds around the mansion. She was beginning to know who walked in the halls by their footfalls. She could hear Brent walking in the hallway. Whitney closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. The bedroom door was unlocked and opened. She knew he was Brent making certain she was still within her room before he turned in. The door was closed and locked. Whitney opened her eyes and waited a few minutes until she heard Brent's bedroom door close. She jumped out of bed and changed into her black, stalking clothing, which included a black leather jacket. She opened the top dresser drawer and removed a special kit she�d brought along with her. It was especially made for picking locks.
She worked on the lock for several minutes until she heard the latch spring open. Whitney placed the kit back in the dresser drawer under some clothing and headed for the balcony. She walked onto the balcony, gently closing the glass doors, then turned and approached the rail. She looked over the rail, held her breath, and climbed over the railing. She dropped to the ground, landing roughly, but she managed to stay on her feet. Whitney quickly ran across the courtyard and headed for the wall.
Several mutants scurried along the streets in town, going about their own business. Whitney slipped past some closed shops. She ducked into an alleyway to avoid an alien patrol. When the patrol had passed, Whitney glanced back out then returned on her journey to Bosco's. A couple of mutants paused and watched her jog along the darkened streets.
Whitney entered Bosco's Bookstore through the alley entrance. She headed downstairs to the basement with Bosco following. Frazer was the first to notice her. He approached and gave her a hug.
�Are you alright?� Frazer asked and looked for any sign of injury.
�I'm fine,� she said gently.
�Nadine said you had a little trouble with an alien the other night,� Frazer said.
Yeah, just a little,� Whitney replied then looked at Nadine.
Nadine raised her devious brows with a smile and tossed a plastic card to Whitney. Whitney caught it and looked it over. She smiled and glanced at Frazer.
�But it was worth it,� Whitney announced. �This replica of that guard's security clearance card will successfully get us inside the aliens main computer station. We now have instant access.�
Frazer shook his head in disbelief. �I can't believe you actually want to go through with this. I'm telling you, it's too dangerous.�
�It's not too dangerous, though it is dangerous,� she informed him simply. �Are the rest of you behind me on this?�
The others nodded. Denny cocks his pistol and grins excitedly. �I�ve been waiting for this assignment for a long time.�
The spaceport was fairly quiet. There was little movement other than a few guards on patrol. The ships lined the back of the complex. There were several outer buildings and guard�s tents off to the left, furthest from the main entrance. Two guards remained posted at the front. Ten rebels were scattered throughout the woods surrounding the compound. Whitney remained behind a tree, keeping close to the ground. She studied the compound through binoculars. Frazer approached and kneeled beside her. She lowered the binoculars and looked at him.
�Did you get that information?� Whitney asked.
Frazer nodded. �I hope you know what you�re doing,� Frazer said and check the clip in his Uzi. �I don�t think this is a good idea.�
She returned to her study of the compound. �I�m fairly confident it�ll work, Frazer,� she replied simply.
�I wish you would�ve discussed it with me first,� he muttered lowly and watched the fenced area.
�You would�ve discouraged me,� she replied. �I have everything under control.� She looked back at him and smiled. �Trust me.�
Frazer inhaled deeply. �Let�s go over the plan. I�d like to make sure it�s safe.�
She continued to study the compound and spoke softly. �I don't have it perfected yet. I want to finish casing the place first.�
Frazer stared at her with his mouth hanging open. �You don't even have a plan yet? How can you be so certain it'll be reasonably safe?�
�I'll make certain,� she informed him. �I�m always cautious.�
Denny and Nadine approached them. Both were breathing fairly heavily. Denny�s smile was excited and devious. He lowered himself to the ground and cuddled his weapon.
�There are about thirty men,� Denny announced. �And I counted twenty crafts.�
�The door to the transmission tower is facing the front gate,� Nadine informed them. �It�s about twenty yards on all three sides.�
�The electric is in that building just inside the fence,� Frazer added.
�Those are their sleeping quarters to the back near the ammunition shed,� Whitney announced gently. �I�d like a shot at their weapons.�
Denny moaned. �Hmm, me too.�
�I�ll need a diversion and one volunteer,� Whitney said.
Denny wore a twisted smile. �I�ll give you a diversion you�ll not soon forget,� he said. �I have just the explosions you need. One will explode immediately, and the others can be timed for five minutes later, which will give me enough time to stand back and watch the show.�
The other rebels approached.
�Go set those explosives,� Whitney informed Denny. �We�ll give you thirty minutes.�
Denny raised a cocky brow. �Hmm--short deadlines--I like the pressure.� He grabbed his bag and headed for the front gate.
Whitney turned toward Nadine. �Did you bring the grenades I�d asked for?�
Nadine nodded.
�I�ll need someone to blow the electric shed, and I�ll also need someone to go in with me and help run guns,� Whitney announced. �We could use some of their laser guns for our side.�
�I�ll go with you,� Nadine replied.
�We�ll have ten minutes to grab some guns. I want two of your to grab the cases we bring out and get them as far away from here as you can,� Whitney said. �I need two others to give me the second diversion and our main reason for being here. You need to blow the tower and fuel supply. I want the fuel supply blown ten minutes after Denny�s first explosion, not before. We don�t want anyone injured while running guns.� She looked at the others. �Does everyone understand what they�re supposed to do?�
Frazer appeared uneasy. �You didn�t say anything about going for laser guns. Don�t you think we�re in over our heads?�
Whitney glared at Frazer. �Are you in or out?� she demanded to know.
Frazer appeared surprised by her tone. �I�m in,� he said lowly.
