Chapter 239 - Prison Escape (3)

Twisting and winding expertly, Scarlet followed Alex and Jasper's instructions to get to the cafeteria with little difficulty. She followed Edward's instructions to act normal when she came across prison guards. If they asked, she just needed to show them their identity card and they would allow her to leave. The actress had no problem in acting naturally as she made her way to the cafeteria.

Edward didn't need help getting to the cell block gates. He unlocked them with ease using the keys and was able to distract the prison guards on patrol if needed. After all three gates were unlocked, Edward went into each cell block to find which was cell block B.

Jasper and Alex were ready. Once the door was opened and Edward appeared in a janitor's uniform, he got to work quickly. The cleaning cart was parked outside to block the route and divert guards to the corridor maze door instead so they could leave quickly if they wanted. In fact, Edward brought his guard uniform with him, hoping that it would fit Jasper.

"Pass them over," Alex urged once she saw Edward. Now that all three doors were unlocked, they just needed to get the handcuff off to make their escape.

Edward tried all ten keys and couldn't believe none of them was the right match. He took the janitor keys out and tried them all but the sizes weren't right. This key was small, much smaller than any of the keys they've used so far.

"What now?" Alex asked.

Edward froze. He tried to recall if he had seen a key this small and suddenly, he knew where he had seen it before.

"Lend me the walkie talkie, it's with Scarlet!"

Jasper tossed the device over and Edward watched the cameras in the control room.

"Scarlet, do you have the key you first found in the elevator? We need the keys, those might be the keys to the handcuffs!"

Scarlet who was in the cafeteria and searching for clues froze. She felt in her pocket and replied that they were with her.

"Where do I meet you?"

Edward looked at Jasper and Alex briefly before making his decision. "I'll go over, continue searching."

Without another word, Edward started stripping the janitor uniform and tossed it to the handcuffed couple. "See if any of you can fit in that," he told them as he changed back into the prison guard uniform.

The paint gun was pocketed and Edward passed back the walkie talkie. Jasper was able to fit into the janitor's uniform and Edward grinned.

"Here's the plan," he told them. "I'll find Scarlet and grab the key from her. There's a cleaning cart outside that you can use. Alex should try and hide inside it and get to the lift as soon as you can. If the game master is smart enough, an alarm would be triggered as soon as the cell is empty. The actors might already know that one of us is disguised as a janitor and another is disguised as a prison guard. They would most likely pursue the janitor first after the alarm goes off so both of you should run for it using the route I planned and hide in the janitor's room. There are no rules saying that we cannot be caught after reaching the elevator so I want to play it safe. Lock yourselves in if you have to, we will come to get you later."

Alex was visibly excited but Jasper was hesitant. "How will you and Scarlet cope?"

Edward chuckled. "Scarlet will escape first, I will join later. I'll be back, hide the janitor uniform and try to do something about that camera, there should be blind spots."

Alex nodded and Edward left quickly to meet up with Scarlet, leaving the walkie talkie behind. Jasper quickly removed the janitor uniform with Alex keeping watch on the camera in their room. The tall model dragged a chair over to a corner and shifted the mattress a little so that she could tilt the camera up a little making it seem like someone was always in the corner while another person was on the chair after the adjustment. This should buy Edward some time.

Nook was too busy keeping an eye on Scarlet who was making huge movements in the cafeteria. The writer had found the meal schedules very quickly and the alarm panel to "free" certain prison cells. The most ideal cell block to free would be cell C but that wasn't the cell that Alex and Jasper were in. Edward said that he would be here to get the keys from her so she would make herself useful by rearranging the props a little.

Nook didn't know if he should call that out as foul. Scarlet was literally dragging cafeteria chairs and tables towards the corridor to act as obstacle courses for the patrolling guards who frequented the cell block route. In fact, Scarlet had cleverly made a one-way maze that the actors could still pass but would waste a lot of time doing so. His cafeteria room was looking rather empty and he didn't like how Scarlet would simply trigger different lunch bells at will just to see his actors shuffling in and out of the stage. She was such a great distraction that Nook completely missed the short interaction Edward had with the captives.

Edward didn't know what to say when he saw so many prison guards scurrying past him. He was speechless when he saw how the cafeteria tables and chairs were dragged out of the room to the wide corridor frequently patrolled near the cell blocks. He knew that he blocked certain routes with props for strategic reasons that wouldn't seem too suspicious but this was... Where did Scarlet learn to be such a terrorist?

Even getting to the cafeteria took time so Edward decided not to play by the rules of walking and parkoured over the furniture to get to the door.

"Was that your doing?" he asked once he was in the room and Scarlet beamed.

He caught the keys that she tossed midair and raised a brow. "Why are they scurrying everywhere?"

His girlfriend threw him a mischievous grin. "I may or may not have played around with a few lunch alarms. I like Cell Block C the most because there are only six guards walking around when block C has their lunch."

Edward couldn't help but nod, impressed with her devilish ideas. The goody-two-shoes image of his girlfriend was now replaced by a very charming and adorable vixen with a pawful of tricks. They were slightly mean but never harmful.

"I'll deliver the keys," he told her. "Just continue doing what you're doing now and keep the walkie talkie close. We're breaking out. Do you still remember the way to the elevator?"

She nodded. "I do. Am I to run at the signal?"

Edward nodded. "That's the gist. I'll cover you, keep the walkie talkie close."

With that, they parted and Scarlet went to the kitchen area, trying to decide if she should bring out the plates and cutleries as well just to make the prison guards panic a little about breaking props while on the chase. Either way, she started moving them around so that Nook will be focussed on her instead.

Edward was quick. He used the shortcuts to get to the cell and tossed the keys into the cell for Alex and Jasper to work it out themselves. It wouldn't take them too long to get rid of the handcuffs so Edward took a stroll around before returning.

"We're ready," Jasper told him. The spy saw Alex briefly hiding in the long fabric trash bag. Jasper covered her with a black garbage bag and passed Edward the walkie talkie before walking away. Edward removed his prison guard top and entered the room, sitting on the chair and monitoring the situation. Scarlet was still pressing buttons and alarms so the guards were in chaos but there was nothing they could do.

Edward chuckled. His girlfriend had decided to spell something for Nook in the cafeteria that guards weren't allowed to enter. S.O.S. looked like a very inappropriate message seeing as Scarlet wasn't the one trapped.

"Alright, they've made their escape. Make your way over to the elevator. If you don't see them there, they're hiding in the janitor's room. Tell them to get out and sprint if they're not already at the elevator."

Taking that as a cue, Scarlet started collecting some spoons and casually ran with the walkie talkie in her other hand. These spoons wouldn't break but they would cause confusion if she were ever pursued. Nobody would be expecting to catch spoons.

Alex and Jasper made it safely past the confused guards who were arguing over which route to take with the flood of lunch alarm orders. Nook watched the chaos and listened to the complaints of his staff, directing them while Scarlet made a run for it. The game master didn't realise it until a few minutes had passed then he turned back to the control room where the coupe was still there. the janitor was walking around and Nook simply assumed that Edward and Scarlet were still trying to find the handcuff keys.

"I made it, they're still on their way to the janitor's room," Scarlet reported, sounding out of breath. On the way here, Scarlet had passed each prison guard she passed by a spoon and told them the wrong instructions to add fuel to the fire.

Edward laughed. His lover was such a minx! Still, he got ready and put the prison guard top on and made a run for it using the shortcut, dodging the traps he set. He met a few guards on the way going towards the elevator so Edward took his paint pistol out to shoot them, rendering out of commission for the rest of the game.

Nook was still sorting out the mess when someone reported that they were out of the game.

"What? What do you mean you're out of the game?"

After some confusing explanation, Nook swerved back to the screens to see if there was still anyone in the prison cell.

Nothing. They had escaped in the confusion and Nook paled. The distraction created was all part of their master plan and he'd fallen for them hook, line and sinker.

Smashing the red alarm button, Nook yelled at every guard to pursue the escapees. He didn't know where they were but they couldn't have gone far. Little did he know, three of four players were already waiting in the elevator.

Edward cussed when he heard the alarm go off. He was still around the supervisor's office and was running through the path that he blocked with the cleaning signs. The footsteps behind him made Edward pick up speed. There were only a few more steps to end it all!

Alex and Jasper figured out how to end the game and had shut most of the elevator door, leaving only a small gap for him to come into.

"Quick!" Scarlet urged when he was finally in sight for the last stretch. Edward burst into speed and took a shot at the pursuers behind him, emptying the rest of the bullets and tossing the paint gun at them before diving into the gap just in time for Alex and Jasper to shut it.

"Game over!" the announcement and bell signalled that they had succeeded.

Nook looked at the time and felt boneless in his chair. One hour and fifteen minutes, these brats had made it.