493 Dark Minutes

Getting up from his bed, Gus attached a tiny camera in the disguise of a button on his henley shirt. He stretched his limbs and rolled his neck from side to side. Pulling out the tiny flash drive that he had to plug into the mainframe, he recalled what Katherine told him before he left her old apartment: "This is the only thing I ask of you. After this, we'll stage your death and help you get to wherever you want. You wanted to be reborn, right?"

He briefly closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. When he opened them again, his whole demeanor changed—in his mind, he had nothing but one goal: to get his job done in the least amount of risk possible. 

Opening the door, Gus strolled out of the quarters—where the bunks were located and headed to the central part of the base. He leaned against a railing that's overlooking many areas of the base that were all enclosed in glass windows; he was currently on the second floor. 

Castle was designed somewhat in a spiral structure. Directly opposite from his spot was the tech department. Below him was the training area, to his left were the offices, and to his right was an exit that led to a floor down where the main functions of the base operated—a few of which were: the infirmary, armory, the secured location where the mainframe, which he needed to gain access to, was a floor below the tech room.

"Holy mother—the new Castle is way different than it was years ago," Styles commented through his earpiece.

The floor was busting with life and below him, he could see a group of highly trained agents ranging from different levels, waiting for further instructions from Parker before they left. The first batch of agents had already left almost an hour ago; this was the second batch. It was clear as day that Parker was definitely desperate to get his hands on Chris seeing as he sent almost everyone to search for his beloved rogue agent. Gus watched as Parker, who was looking so pissed, walked out of the base with a group of agents following behind him.

Now was his chance. To get to the mainframe, he had to pass by the infirmary and the armory. On normal days, the infirmary could have several agents to be attended to due to injuries or any other medical assistance. While the armory didn't have a specific time when it was crowded as missions could start at any time. But judging by the current situation, there shouldn't be anyone there at the moment. Gus headed to the infirmary.

As soon as he arrived at the sliding door of the infirmary, a cute nurse noticed his presence—Sheila. "Ooh… She's pretty," Styles commented, making Gus stifle a laugh. He flashed her a smile and she gestured for him to sit on a chair and fill out a sheet.

Sheila was one of the nurses who was popular with the male agents in Shadow. She looked innocent with her ponytail and neat appearance, but she's actually freaky in bed.

"I'll be back to you shortly," she said before winking at him. He softly nodded with a smile. Compared to other agents, Gus kept his distance from her.

While he sat there waiting, he subtly looked around, his eyes focusing on the armory and the mainframe.

"How far are you?" Styles asked through the comms in his ear. He couldn't access Castle's security, so he could only rely on Gus and the small camera he had on him.

Carefully, Gus muttered in almost a whisper, "A hundred."

"Meters?!"

"Feet."

"What about your feet?" Sheila asked as she came back with a chart sheet in her hand.

"They're tired. I ran a lot during the day," Gus answered naturally.

"I see… It must be why you don't answer my calls…" she subtly said as she glanced at him.

Styles hissed in his ear, "Oh, snap! How could you ignore this babe?" 

Gus wasn't an idiot. He knew she was trying to get with him, but he never gave her a chance. Occasional smiles maybe, but he never planned to have anything to do with her. "Sorry, I was busy…"

"Mhmm…" She closed the chart and tossed it to the side. "Your last vitamin shot was a couple of weeks ago. It's pretty late to have one tonight. But… I can give you a different one just to help you a little, and come back here in the morning for the other, okay? Doc signed it already… Pull up your sleeve," she ordered.

Gus followed and received the shot. "At least respond to my texts," she told him. "Will do. Thanks, Sheila." She winked at him again and turned to go inside a private room.

"Bye, Sheila..." Styles's voice came through the comms. 

Shaking his head, Gus whispered, "Just left the infirmary. Heading to the mainframe." He looked left and right and as much as he could, he avoided the security cameras by walking at blind spots. Just then, he spotted a roving guard walking towards him. He immediately turned to the armory and entered as if he was going to retrieve something from his locker.

"Clear out, Agent," said the guard behind him. Agents couldn't stay long in the armory. 

"I'll be out. Just have to grab some stuff." Gus shuffled some things inside his locker as though he was looking for something. "Got it." He raised an mp3 player and waved it above his head, then, he heard the guard leaving.

As soon as he was clear, he came out of the armory and carefully made his way deeper into the restricted area. From where he stood until the door to the mainframe, he knew it was going to be tricky. "I have about fifteen meters and two guards by the door," he told Styles.

"Who are they? Do I know them?"

"It's Stanley. The other one is new."

Styles let out a sigh and answered, "I'll work with Stanley. But you have to create a distraction for the other one."

Almost immediately, Gus thought of an idea. "Let me work on it. Give me a second." He whipped out his phone and typed. He sent two text messages—one for the female staff by the front desk who handles check-ins of agents, and the other was for the guard who happened to be one of his trainees when he mentored new recruits a couple of years ago. Gus caught the two making out a few weeks ago at an alley after work—the couple saw him too, but he minded his own business and turned away. He didn't know if this was heaven's way of helping him out, but who knew he could make use of this knowledge?

Hiding behind a panel, he watched the new guard check his phone and then excused himself to go somewhere. Stanley nodded and the new guard left—he was headed towards a rendezvous with her girl, courtesy of Gus who sent the text anonymously.

"You dirty, bastard," Styles remarked at the text that Gus sent to the two.

"They make my job easier," Gus replied. "Your turn."

"Got it. Standby." Styles muted the line between him and Gus, then he turned to Falcon and instructed her something. The next minute, Gus saw Stanley receive a phone call and quickly headed out. Then, Styles's voice came back on, "Alright. You have a maximum of ten minutes to get this done. Be quick. Are you ready?"

Gus blew out heavy air and closed his eyes as he answered, "Ready."

Several seconds passed and the anticipation made his heart race, waiting for the next signal that he needed. A few more beats later, and everything went dark—Castle just lost its power.