Five minutes later, and Wolver Squad had moved to the Wolver Masters’ main lounge. Zimthose and Lance vetoed going over the briefings right then and there in the communications room. Expecting us to be leaving the next day or sooner, they wanted to maximize what little time they had left relaxing. No sooner had we entered the room than they grabbed the corners of the sole curved cushioned sofa for themselves. I plopped myself between them, while Balldrick paced the room.

“Balldrick, would you mind starting?” I asked. All four of us had our data-pads out, but I was eyeing my brother and Lance to make sure they were properly following along. We could have read the files individually, but that doesn’t mean we’d all understand what it said or be on the same page about what to do. Despite Kora’s seemingly endless praises for Wolver Squad’s accomplishments and earlier, some of us still had some growing to do.

Zimthose, Lance, me…even after everything, we could still do with some more maturity. Balldrick is the only one who seems to have it together.

Just as I was thinking it, Balldrick had walked to the middle of the room and begun reading from the first file.

“Alright guys, first file first. ‘Deep within a dense forest lies a hidden test lab that Gremlins have been using as a testing ground for components of Project R. If that’s the case, then these components are likely still under development, and will have their schematics or relevant data nearby. There will likely be a terminal of some kind close to these components or somewhere within the facility, and as such, you must locate the terminal and recover the schematics for analysis. It should shed light on the exact nature of Project R, or what they plan to do with it.’ You all following?”

Lance and I nodded, while my brother gave a muted grunt of affirmation.

“Good. Now it sounds simple enough. Another smash and grab assignment, at a glance. Question is, how do we want to go about it? Considering how our last mission went, no offense Zimthose, we need to make sure we’re on the same page–”

“Loud.”

“Quiet.”

Zimthose and Lance spoke at once, turning to give each other dagger-eyes.

“One at a time,” I said, stepping in to play arbiter before they could begin a shouting match. I hunched over in my seat and gestured to my right. “Lance, why do you say quiet?”

“Because it’s a Gremlin lab that’s supposed to hold information regarding a top secret and highly dangerous weapon we know nothing about? Sure we know who we’re going up against, but not what, other than that it'll be the Gremlins' driving force in an attack on all of Haven. I feel like this is a pretty simple choice. So I say we keep it quiet.”

I nodded along and turned to Balldrick, gesturing for him to say something. He looked back at his data-pad, rolling his head back and forth. He took a deep breath before responding.

“We aren’t being given much time. The brief also says the expected time until the project could be moved: less than 20 hours. While we could take it nice and slow, by the time we’ve geared up, made it down there, investigated, and determined we’re fully ready, it could be too late. The components and schematics will likely have been moved by then.”

"Not to mention we'd only be half-assing it," Zimthose interjected. "We're not well trained in stealth, and we don’t have much experience other than sneaking by some critters or a guard here and there.”  He stood up and began pacing, one arm behind his back while the other held his data pad. “And given how our mission last week went from quiet to loud in a matter of thirty minutes, what's the point in beating around the bush?

“This is highly sensitive data that we’re after. The security will likely be tighter than we’re used to, and the terminal we’re after will probably be locked behind several doors, each with its own security team. It doesn’t matter how quiet we are if we wind up against a wall with no way around it. That’s why I say we go in fast and loud: hit them before they know it’s us, grab the data before they know it’s what we’re after, and finish the mission in record time!"

Lance and Balldrick were quiet, and I mulled over their words. It wasn't like attempting stealth would be a pointless endeavor, even if things ultimately went awry. Zimthose was right about one thing: we weren't trained or experienced in stealth operations, and chances were high things would go wrong eventually. And since we would have to be fast about it, not getting caught would be all the more difficult. But if we could push as far as possible into the lab before the alarm sounded, getting to the Project R database could be easier and potentially safer. Of course, it also wasn’t a foregone conclusion that things would go wrong for us either– 

"He's right." Lance spoke up, throwing his arms in the air, rather dramatically. My brother sat back down, but the smug grin he wore quickly disappeared at Lance’s next words. "It just wouldn't work. Not with our time frame, and especially not with Zim. Maybe if it were the three of us, it would be doable. Actually, we probably could have pulled off the heist last week if that were the case, now that I think about it." I caught the glimpse of a smirk as he stole a glance at my brother.

"Hey, woah, me? You're blaming me for our attempt at a stealth op going wrong?"

"Well, you are the one who got caught, after all." I said, recognizing Lance's angle. I had a hard time believing it would work, but I jumped in to help him anyway. "If you hadn't been there to get caught, there's a chance we wouldn't have raised the alarm."

"Right?" Lance said. “Maybe we could try it with just us three this time?”

“With that logic, wouldn’t just two, or even one person make even more sense?” Balldrick asked. Lance quickly stopped running his mouth.

“Well…yes, technically…”

Don’t go and ruin Lance’s thunder, Balldrick!

“Hold up. I’m still trying to process you guys blaming me for last time!” Zimthose shouted. “Like, I was against trying to be quiet then too! I knew it wouldn’t work. And then, when it doesn’t, I’m to blame? Huh?”

“Nobody knew it wouldn’t–” I tried to reason, but my brother wasn’t having it.

“And the only reason I was caught is because you guys weren’t moving fast enough! We know Gremlins or their Constructs are always on patrol and keeping an eye out for us, and you guys kept me at the back to get caught instead of at the front to keep us moving faster. There’s a thing such as ‘too slow’ when you’re trying to sneak by guards, you know.”

“Yeah, but knowing you there’s also a more likely chance of ‘too fast’, Zimthose.” Lance stood up, pointing at him. “I’d reckon you’re the worst of us when it comes to the art of sneaking.”

“It’s not like I’ve ever claimed to be the best at it!” he countered. “I’ve grown to know my strengths and weaknesses over the years.”

“Hah, sure. So you admit it then?”

“I admit I’m not the best, yes,” Zimthose said, glaring. “But that doesn’t make you any better, Mister Tech Knight.”

“Oh really? Shall we put that to the test?”

“Bet!”

And there it was. Lance’s reverse psychology worked like a charm. Again.

How many more times can he do it before Zimthose catches on?

“Fine,” Balldrick said, shaking his head, “but how do you plan on competing without jeopardizing the mission?”

““Huh?”” Lance and Zimthose chorused.

“Deciding on stealth is one thing. Betting on who’s better at stealth is… also one thing. But when we have an actual, real mission on the line, that’s another. Lance, you also made a good point about too many of us making things more difficult. And Zimthose, I recognize that last time we put you in a tight spot you weren’t comfortable with. So I ask again…”

Instead of actually asking, Balldrick looked to me. Guess I should act like a Squad Leader once in a while, even among friends.

“Well, Lance is right: the more of us that go, the higher the chance of getting caught. But going solo is out of the question, for either of you. I think I’d prefer you to go as a duo, and Balldrick and I can be ready to spring a distraction if things go south.”

““Team up?””

“Well, if you both insist on competing, then it makes sense for you two to be the ones sneaking around. If either of you gets caught, then that means the other is better. If you both get caught and Balldrick and I have to bail you out, you both lose and are never going on a stealth op again. And remember the point of this mission is the data on Project R. It doesn't matter if you don’t get caught if we don’t get that data.”

The duo nodded, and shared a firm handshake to affirm the agreement. Balldrick shrugged and went back to looking at the datapad.

“We’ll all investigate the facility together, and determine our best course of action before these two head off on their own,” I told him, mentally apologizing over the duo’s nonsense. “I wouldn’t trust these two on their own, and I know we’ll need your expert eyes to catch anything we might miss. After that, we’ll prepare an exit strategy before commencing. Sound good?”

“Good enough, I suppose,” Balldrick replied, as he started swiping rapidly on the data pad. “But that won’t fly with the next mission.”

The rest of us looked to our own data pads and swiped to the next file as Balldrick read aloud the briefing.