The Starling Saviour

Chapter 20

'Te-Thank you for coming,' I stopped myself from giving away Ted's name in front of Helena, for I wasn't sure if she knew who he was yet.

'You can call me by my name, Aria,' Ted chuckled, taking his black mask off. 'They all know who I am, Isaac and Elliot through training and Helena through our discussions about this brilliant computer she set up.'

I could see her try to hide her face in modest embarrassment, her cheeks slightly reddened.

'Okay then, Ted,' I re-corrected myself. 'How did you find out we needed help? Or that we were even up here?'

'I connected my phone to this computer so now that whenever someone logs onto this program, I get sent a message,' Ted explained simply.

'So you can fight and hack into my computer,' Helena commented with a grin. 'That's... amazing.'

'Actually, Isaac helped me,' Ted admitted.

'You knew about this as well?' I asked Isaac. 'Unbelievable.'

'...I did too,' Elliot muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

'Was everyone in on this computer thing except from me?' I asked, rather offended.

'We didn't want to stress you out,' Helena told me. 'You've had a hard few days.'

I just nodded. I understood why they hadn't told me, but I was the one who had started this crusade. I deserved to know.

---

'We need a plan,' I decided after Helena and I showed the boys where all the attacked seemed to be coming from, the hospital. 'We can't just run in there, guns blazing. We don't have anyone to help us as it is.'

'We need to surprise them,' Ted said definitely. 'That's how I normally win my battles.'

'What about going through the back entrances of the hospital?' Isaac suggested.

'Too predictable,' Ted shook his head.

'Is there a way we could go in from above?' I suggested instead.

I could see the approval on Ted's face.

'I'm on it,' Helena said, typing away.

After a few seconds, she found cameras facing the roof of the hospital. No one was in sight, not even any SCPD officers.

'This looks good enough,' Ted said in approval.

'Now all we need is an actual plan,' I commented obviously.

I was new to this. Usually I went in without thinking about what I was doing, going with instinct rather than intuition. But this time, it was different. Ted Grant was in charge. And we were on our own against an army too big for us to possibly handle.

'Aria, you go in first,' Ted instructed. 'Then, Helena, Isaac, Elliot, you come in afterwards. I'll go in a different way to you so no one suspects I'm working with you.'

'And then what?' Isaac asked at once.

'We fight any gang member that stands in our way,' I announced. 'We'll need to get to the centre of it all. To stop the men initiating these attacks. If we can stop it from its source, then there won't be anyone the other gang members can take orders from.'