Shoot & Run [Camren]

twenty-nine.

(Lauren's POV)

"What's she doing now?"

After Rob and I had locked Camila in the panic room, Rob had spent the better half of an hour trying to remind me that Camila was still one of us; that all she needed was some gentle encouragement and she'd be back to herself in no time. While I still wasn't certain that she'd remember us - or herself, for that matter - ever again, I eventually accepted the fact that she was just a victim of Austin's manipulation. It could have been any one of us in her place. But that didn't mean that I was ready to forgive what she had done to Ally. Not for a long time.

So we'd headed back into the lounge on the first floor, where Rob set up the panic room surveillance on the flat screen for us all to see. That way, we'd know as soon as she woke up. So far, she'd been lying in exactly the same position for almost two hours, and her eyes hadn't opened once.

"The same thing she was doing the last time you asked." I replied to Dinah's question with a tone of impatience and frustration.

Dinah raised her hands defensively before taking a beer from the mini fridge behind the bar. "Jeez, lady, what's with you? I thought you'd have been over the moon to have your 'not-girlfriend' back."

"Hey, Dinah, you know when I said I was sorry about threatening to cut your throat? Well, I take that back." In response, she just rolled her eyes. "And anyway," I continued, walking towards the spot where she now stood. "Weren't you supposed to be coming up with some amazing plan to take down The Orphanage? After all, that is the only reason you're still alive." I swiped the beer from her hands and waited for an answer.

Normani's and Rob's interests had been piqued at this point, as they both turned from the quiet conversation they were having on the sofa to listen to Dinah's response. Dinah sighed.

"Actually, I do have an idea." She admitted. "But-" There was always a but. "It's very stupid and incredibly reckless. Not to mention we could all die."

Normani made some sort of noise that could have been taken as amusement if it weren't Dinah she was addressing. "I think you just summed up our lives."

"Let's hear this plan." Rob said, gesturing for the two of us to join them on the sofas. We did, and then all eyes were on Dinah. The look on her face suggested that she believed she was going to regret the words that were about to leave her mouth.

"Well as you know, The Orphanage is the prevailing crime syndicate in the city right now; it has absolute control and eyes almost everywhere. But there is a rival gang that Austin views as his biggest competitors. They call themselves the Little Devils, and it's really quite fitting. While Austom prefers to maintain a system of organised crime, it's well known that all the leader of the Little Devils wants is chaos. Yes, Austin is a bad man, but he's the lesser of two evils. He's careful, and discreet-"

"Look, we don't want to hear you preaching on behalf of your former boss, just get to the point." Normani interrupted angrily. Dinah clenched her jaw.

"If you'd shut up and listen, you'd hear the point I was trying to make."

Normani seemed taken aback by Dinah's retort, but respected the bravery of it enough to allow her to continue.

"Austin hates the Little Devils, and they've been on the verge of war for a long time now. All it would take is a little nudge, and all hell would break loose. Let me be clear, a war between these two gangs would occupy all of The Orphanage's time and resources, which would deviate them from their mission to hunt us down."

Rob considered Dinah's words. "You want us to start a war between two of the biggest, baddest crime syndicates in the city? Haven't you considered the collateral damage in all of this? Innocent people could get caught in the crossfire."