Sam came out of his tent, his head buzzing as if searching for a familiar lost frequency. He'd slept more that night than he had in over a week, but that didn't explain the sudden confusion. Except... A broad smile spread on Sam's face.

Tom was confused. Which meant he was alive and well enough to think. Sam wondered what was going on, but he'd find out soon enough. He picked up the signaling gun, fired again, the put it away and headed for the center of camp.

Jerry and Jim were the only ones up, cups of coffee in their hands. Hmmm... so they apparently had coffee. Jerry's doing, most likely.

"Good morning. Want a cup?" Jerry asked, yawning and refilling cup.

"No thanks, you know I don't drink coffee," Sam answered, sitting next to him.

"How are you feeling this morning? Normal, or is psycho-Sam back?" Jim asked grinning

"No, I'm all right. Psycho-Sam is apparently gone for good," Sam said. Finally. It would have been funny if the memory didn't put him to shame.

"Great." Jerry yawned again. "I couldn't sleep much last night. I was very worried about Jimmy and Tom. I still am."

"About Jimmy and Tom?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Trust me, I'm more worried for Kyle's guards if he got captured. But I bet you anything he didn't," Jerry replied, grinning in a way that reminded Sam very much of Jimmy.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I'm so messed up that I don't think I could give anyone a hard time. Not even you," Kyle said, dropping between Jerry and Jim and making them both jump.

"Oh, shut it! You gave me a hard time," Jimmy said sitting down next to Sam who looked around expectantly.

"Where's Tom?" he yelped, causing all eyes to turn to him.

"So you actually care now?" Kyle asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Kyle, this is normal Sam. Psycho-Sam is pretty much dead," Jim informed him.

"Oh. Tom's not with us. We couldn't get him out of there because Von Crooken put his fat self on top of him. I barely managed to get Jimmy out and escape. I think I broke Eye Patch's nose because something definitely crunched," Kyle said thoughtfully. "We're starving and are dead thirsty, by the way."

"Good thing I made breakfast, then," Jerry said pleased, getting up and returning mere moments later with two plates.

"'anks 'Erry!" Jimmy said, his mouth already full.

Sam watched him and Kyle devouring their food a little surprised. He was more used to Kyle never eating rather than stuffing his face and Jerry didn't usually eat very much or very fast either. Before he could bring himself to say anything, the two had finished their food and were passing a water bottle around.

"So, tell us the news," Jerry said, throwing each of them a bag of wafers and sitting down between them.

"The news could be worse. Tom got captured. Fortunately, he's still alive and in Ron's hands. Ron also seems to be higher in rank than Von Crook," Kyle answered, popping his bag open. "They'll most likely use Tom to get us there, so they'll keep him alive."

Sam nodded absently. What Kyle said made sense, but a part of him feared Snitch Gravel knew he could kill Tom and they'd still go there because they wouldn't know.

"We have to get Tom out of there as soon as possible," Jerry said, alarmed. "Your plan will have to wait, Sam."

"What plan?" Jimmy and Kyle both asked, turning towards Jerry and spraying him with crumbs from both sides.

"Don't talk with your mouths full!" Jerry said pissed off, standing and brushing the crumbs off his clothes.

"I suggested training a little more before actually going in," Sam answered, watching Jerry's progress with the crumbs.

"I think it's a great idea. Kyle and I are too tired to bust into the labs in the next 24 hours, so we could train this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow before entering the labs," Jimmy said, rumpling his empty bag and standing.

"We'll get organized while you sleep," Sam said, standing too.

"It's terrible that Tom's captured," Jerry said quietly.

"Don't worry. He'll be all right if Ron has him," Sam said, already planning what to do in the little time they had left.

"How can you say that?" Jerry asked seeming on the verge of tears.

Sam stared at him for a second, surprised by the sudden display of emotion. And for the first time, Sam realized just how strong and in control of himself Jerry usually was, now when he cracked the tiniest bit. He felt a burning desire to hug Jerry, but was sure that would cause his brother to burst into tears, so he stopped himself.

"Ron didn't show psycho-murderer signs while he was with us. He was friendly enough, so I doubt he'll order Tom killed," Sam started in his most logical tone. "If he has a higher rank than Von Crooken, then Von Crooken won't kill him either. Which only leaves Snitch Gravel."

"Who makes no move to kill us." Jerry nodded, seeming reassured.

"It's better that he's in custody with food and water than out there without any means of letting us know he's there," Jim pointed out.

"You're right," Jerry said, his composure back. "I'm just being silly. I'll go wake up Angie and Billy."

That morning, Sam mapped out their training schedule, trying to get as many things in as possible. Billy and Angie drew normal and body shaped targets which to use for target practice while Jerry and Jim organized the equipment. Once Jimmy and Kyle were up, they got to it.

Trying to rescue Tom in the daytime would be suicide, so Sam decided it was better to do it at night, even if everyone expected them to break in under the cover of darkness. The safest would be to do it right before dawn, when it would still be dark, but everyone will think they'd given up for the night.

Unfortunately, that also meant they had to hurry and be out by the time the sun rose. Trying to put that out of his head, Sam focused on training. Surprisingly, Jim shot really well, unlike Jerry who hit the bull's eye on Jim's target.

After much sorting of equipment and studying it carefully, Jimmy managed to figure it all out and teach everyone how to use it. As far as Sam was concerned, except for the infrared goggles, the most useful piece they had was a small round magnet about the size of a hockey puck with steel wiring coming out of it. They could use that to climb stuff without needing rope and grappling hooks and it was really comfortable to carry around.

William was still under the roots of the gnarly tree, but Sam still didn't make a move to disturb him. Since he wasn't signing nursery rhymes or running around, he guessed there was something going on and he didn't want to disturb the process.

Finally, as the sun set, they all gathered around the camp fire, tired but pleased.

"Okay," Sam said. "Jerry finally managed to shoot his own target, Billy knows how to use all the new equipment, Angie shoots... Wow! She's quite scary actually. She can fight, she can shoot..."

"Stop praising me," Angie cut him off. "So can everyone else."

"I need more practice at shooting," Jimmy mumbled, tinkering with one of the magnets.

"You and the rest of us. Well, maybe except Kyle," Sam said, amused.

"Stop praising me or I'll shoot you. And, as you've noticed, I don't miss very often." Kyle laughed rubbing his head affectionately. "I think we should lay low on the shooting. We're going to avoid it anyway since it makes too much noise and the whole point is to get in undetected. I suggest we concentrate on hand to hand combat more. Besides, we're not very far from the lab. Someone might hear us."

"Yeah, good point." Sam stretched. He wasn't a big fan of shooting and not much better at it than Jerry. "I suggest we get some sleep then practice using the goggles. We'll all meet back here in six hours."

"I like that you're suggesting now, instead of ordering," Jimmy said with a smirk.

"I was a really big prat, wasn't I?" And boy, was Sam glad it was over.

After meeting back up, they continued training for the rest of the night, so the rising sun found the around the embers of the camp fire. They needed another round of sleep, but Sam had to plan it carefully because it was probably their last before breaking in. The others all grumbled and yawned except for Kyle who kept scribbling things on the ground, things that were not abnormally big numbers, to Sam's relief, but plans of the compound.

"I wish we knew how the buildings are displayed inside," Kyle muttered.

"I can help you with that."

They all jumped and turned towards William. He stood facing them, his shoulders squared, his fists on his hips, a confident smile on his face.

"You remembered?" Jimmy asked, his voice full of hope.

"Yes. I can draw you an approximate plan of the compound."

"Thank you!" Sam almost felt like hugging him, but he was really dirty after two days in the dirt. "But, um... What happened? I mean you've been lying there for two days. I thought you were out of it for good."

"I've been trying to overcome my alter ego so that I can be of better use to you," William answered with a smile then slipped into business mode. It was beyond weird to see him look so serious. "I don't think it's wise to enter the labs tonight. You're not ready. There are still a lot of things you don't know and I'm willing to show you."

"Okay, then..." Sam said carefully. He wasn't a big fan of delaying the operation, but William was a seasoned agent, and his advice could make the difference.

Here we go! They're finally going to break in and all hell will break loose. Put on your adventure hats!

But first, next chapter will be not so much action packed, but full of information about everyone's favorite villain. ;)

Thanks so much for reading. Don't forget to vote and leave a comment with your thoughts :)