Smol Women

Chapter Twenty-Five

Maxy Max drove the bus with a tight, white-knuckled grip. He didn't let his foot off the gas for a moment, tearing down the dirt road.

"Easy," Thomas warned him. "We want to arrive in one piece."

Maxy Max glared at him through the rearview mirror. "Let me drive."

"Hey, I understand you're worried about Tank, but he betrayed us, you included," Thomas said pointedly. "Our focus is on saving Theodore and Gibby."

Loosening his grip on the steering wheel, Maxy Max let out a heavy sigh. "I know," he admitted, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "Tank so nice, it seem like not him."

With one final pat on the back, Thomas stepped away. "Maybe you don't know him as well as you thought you did."

Meanwhile, Marianne and Selena were talking quietly. "Are you sure you can fight?" Selena was asking worriedly.

Marianne shrugged. "Yeah. I'll be fine, it's just a few cuts."

Selena rolled her eyes. "You got stabbed nine times."

"I want to fight," Marianne insisted. "Please? I wanna save Gibby."

Thomas walked over and sat down in the seat in front of them. "What's the plan when we get there?"

"We'll sneak in the same tunnel I used before," Marianne said. "From there, I dunno."

"You two go down to the cells to look for Theodore and Gibby," Selena said. "I'll look for Tank. I think I might be able to make him see sense."

A sudden screeching came from under a nearby seat, causing everyone to whip their heads around to see what it was. This included Maxy Max, who caused the bus to swerve violently.

"Max!" Marianne screeched.

He steadied the bus and drove on like nothing had happened.

Getting to her feet, Selena walked over to the seat where the screech came from and peeked beneath it. She let out a gasp and pulled out a fat orange cat.

"Lionblaze!" Thomas exclaimed. "That's the cat Tank humped."

Marianne had no idea what he was talking about but opted not to ask. "I thought all the cats were killed?"

"He must've been hiding on the bus after getting humped," Selena guessed. "I wanna hold him! So cute!" She plopped back down in her seat, squeezing the cat tight so it couldn't escape.

"Almost there," Maxy Max announced.

Nobody had noticed the stripped-down buildings looming over the bus on either side, but they stood like silhouettes against the dark night sky.

Straight ahead, the large structure of the ISIS base was visible, sending chills down everyone's spines.

"Plan?" Maxy Max asked.

"Me and Marianne are gonna go look for Theodore and Gibby, and Selena is gonna look for Tank," Thomas explained. "I need you to wait at the bus."

Maxy Max sent the bus to a screeching halt. "What? No way!"

"Please, Max?" Selena begged, rubbing Lionblaze against her cheek for comfort. "We need you to have the bus ready to go if we need to make a quick escape."

Nobody said it, but they all knew that was only one reason to have Maxy Max wait on the bus. He was clearly emotional and aggressive about Tank's betrayal, and they couldn't let him do anything rash.

"Fine," Maxy Max huffed, pulling the bus into a nearby alley. "Walk rest of way to stay hidden."

Everyone nodded and gathered their weapons.

Despite his annoyance, Maxy Max gave each one of them a wet kiss on the lips, with a little tongue. "Good luck."

"Thank you," Selena grimaced, wiping her face.

Thomas gagged but managed a nod. "Th-thanks, bud."

Marianne licked her lips and smiled. "Aw, thank you, sugar."

Together the three descended the bus stairs and began their walk to the base, which was a few blocks away. Sticking close to the buildings to remain undetected, they picked up the pace to a steady jog.

I forgot to mention Lionblaze was joining them. Yeah. Lionblaze joined them.

"The hole in the wall is just on the right up ahead," Marianne whispered as they neared the fort. "It's right... what?"

Where there was once a hole was now a sloppy cement job. ISIS had found the hole and filled it in.

"Tank was the only other one who knew about it, he must've told them," Marianne said grimly. "I don't know if he's worth saving."

"I have to try," Selena sighed. "How are we gonna get in now?"

"Honestly, let's just walk in," Marianne decided. "Last time we came the soldiers all went to bed when it got dark. They're fucking stupid."

Left with no other choice, the three carefully walked to the entrance and were pleased to find that it was empty inside the base.

"This way," Marianne whispered, leading the way to the far, right side of the courtyard. She brought them to the same unused doors she had previously gone through.

"Okay, the cells are down in the basement," Marianne explained. "I don't know where Tank would be. Probably wherever Jason is. Try upstairs."

Selena nodded determinedly and put her hand on the door handle to open it.

"Wait," Thomas told her. "Be careful."

Smiling, Selena turned and hugged him. "You, too. Both of you."

"Can we make out?" Thomas asked her.

Selena narrowed her eyes. "No? We're busy right now."

With that she opened the door and hurried up the stairs, Lionblaze following.

"Looks like it's just us," Marianne smiled at Thomas. "After you."

He stepped inside and made his way down the stairs, gun drawn. Marianne followed, shutting the door gently behind her.

It was now or never. Do or die. Sink or swim. Go for broke. All or nothing. Make or break. Put up or shut up. Let's go!