CHAPTER TWELVE: THE PLAN (Draft 1)

Blaze, Flame and Chloe sat up on the roof of an old, abandoned building which stood in front of the police station. All three friends wore black outfits so as to blend into their dark surroundings and not be noticed by any curious bystander who would wonder what a bunch of 12-year-olds were doing out of bed at 1am. Flame held some binoculars and observed the people below and what they were doing, while Chloe and Blaze stood by him, ensuring that no one came up… 

The previous night, Blaze had slept over with Chloe to help her collect all the information they needed. 

Lucky for them, Mr. Banker was called to the station that night, so they easily slipped into his study and found the most up to date floor plan of the police station after their renovations about a decade ago, which they gave to Gio. 

In addition to that, that morning, Flame had also paid a visit to that very police station when he went there to report a 'missing wallet' which was discovered, after about an hour of searching, to have been in his own pocket all along. 

During that hour, he had taken a mental note of where each guards were positioned and, after slipping away to use a bathroom, realised that there was always one officer stood outside the room where the confidential files were kept, which was down the hall and, thankfully, practically hidden from view. 

He returned later that day to 'thank' Chloe’s dad for helping him find his wallet just as the guards had swapped places. He questioned Mr. Banker about it, who answered, with a hearty laugh, “The guards switch every 9 hours! It’s an irregular schedule, but it’s sure to confuse anyone who tried to break in!” 

To that, Flame smiled secretively, knowing that that very night, someone - namely him - would break in. 

He had taken a note of the time when the guards switched - 5pm. 

Chloe was sleeping over at the Speed mansion that night, which made it easier for all three of them to sneak out together. 

They all stuffed pillows under their covers to make it appear as if they were fast asleep in bed, just in case anyone checked in on them, which was highly unlikely. 

Flame had quietly slipped into Blaze’s room so they could escape together. They took some old sheets from the back of Blaze's closet and tied them together to create a rope which they tied to one of the legs of her bed. Together, they swung their backpacks over their shoulders and used the rope to make their escape, trying to be as quiet as they possibly could. 

After they had climbed down the rope, they got their bikes, which they had hidden behind some hedges earlier that day, and made their way out a back entrance... 

Flame glanced at his plain, black bag, which sat next to him. He winced. It was full of smoke bombs that Scarlet had secretly borrowed from her sister, Sage. They contained lavender and all sorts of chemicals, but Scarlet reassured him by saying they were completely safe to use and would only knock someone out for a couple of hours once inhaled. They planned to use it against any guards that almost caught them. 

Fortunately, Blaze and Chloe also borrowed two respirators from Chloe's dad's study which would help prevent Flame and Scarlet from inhaling the chemicals and falling asleep themselves. 

Flame sighed and checked the time - 1:15 am. The next guard would arrive in 45 minutes. They still had some time. 

"So, what now?" Came a voice beside him. 

Flame, Blaze and Chloe jumped when they suddenly noticed Scarlet, who had stealthily snuck onto the roof and sat in between Flame and Chloe. 

"When did you get here?" Chloe demanded, out of breath. 

"About 10 minutes ago," Scarlet chirped. 

"How did we not notice you?" Blaze asked curiously. 

Scarlet simply shrugged and tied her hair into a bun before she pulled her black beanie on, "I can be very sneaky." 

Flame chuckled and enthusiastically looked at Scarlet, he knew he made the right choice when he let her come along. 

"So, what now?" Scarlet repeated. 

"We have about 40 minutes until we can go in," Flame explained, glancing at his watch, "And we have to wait for G." 

"No need," came Gio's voice from behind them, "I'm right here!" 

He was wearing a similar black outfit and beanie as the others. Gio beamed at the others as he set his own bag down on the floor next to him and sat down in front of them, while they scrambled to turn and face him. He had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "So, let's go over it again." 

Flame grinned and stuffed his binoculars in his bag just as Gio pulled out two small, wireless earphones and handed them to Flame and Scarlet, "Blaze, Chloe and I will stay here and keep an eye on you guys through my computer. Using these earphones, we'll be able to tell you where to go and which direction to head into. We'll also be able warn you in case something goes wrong, so you'll know when to leave. And if something like that does happen, we can also be able to inform you the most effective escape route." 

Flame and Scarlet nodded as they accepted the earphones and wore them. 

Gio continued to explain, "Luckily, they also have a built-in microphone, so we can hear whatever you guys say from my laptop. Moreover, I also installed trackers in them, so you don't have to keep telling us where you are." 

He pulled out his laptop and opened it to a digital copy of the floorplan of the police station. He expanded the image and made it appear more detailed so he could clarify, "There may be some tripwires, hidden dangers and security precautions you guys might need to consider, but-" he shrugged, "Don't worry too much about them, I'll disable them and let you know when it's safe." 

Blaze raised a questioning eyebrow and turned to Chloe, "Are we breaking into a police station or a bank?" 

Chloe laughed nervously, "I honestly have no clue." 

Blaze shook her head and dismissed it before reaching for Chloe's bag, "Moving on..." 

She took out the masks and handed them to her cousin and friend, "Here are the masks we were talking about." 

Scarlet and Flame accepted them graciously and wore them. Once they had adjusted the straps, they looked completely unrecognisable. It was the perfect disguise. 

They all turned towards the station. Flame took a deep breath and checked his watch once more - 1.32 am. He glanced nervously at the police station once more. Something told him that, despite being their local police station, there was a reason that it was so heavily fortified. Perhaps another secret. A different one.