A/N: Sophie Turner as Scarlett ;)
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"You okay?" Tobias asked from the driving seat, giving Oscar a quick sideways glance before returning to the road. Oscar didn't look back at him. He just stared straight ahead at the horizon, his hand resting on his injured side. God, everything hurt so much. It was ten times worse than what he felt after a tough training session with Marcos. He didn't think he had been so banged up in his life. But that was nothing compared to the battle going on in his head right then.

"Oscar, come on, mate," Tobias tried again. "You've got to say something to me at some point."

"I'm sorry," Oscar sighed, noticing how tight Tobias' hands were over the steering wheel. He suddenly felt guilty for making Tobias so tense. He hadn't meant to freak him out. In fact, it was the last thing he wanted. "I'm just tired. I don't mean to ignore you."

"I know," Tobias said softly. "I get that you've had a tough day. I'll just leave you be then." Oscar watched Tobias' hands carefully. If you wanted to know how most people felt, usually you'd look into their eyes or watch their mouth for hesitation, but it was different with Tobias. His hands were the most expressive part to him and let Oscar know exactly how he was feeling. Right now, it was just pure nerves.

"I think that there's a spy," Oscar suddenly blurted out. He couldn't help himself much longer. He had to tell someone his suspicion and he couldn't bear to keep shutting Tobias out. Tobias gave him another look but his hands relaxed slightly.

"Yeah, we know," he said slowly. "Loop and Marcos are contacting the Leaders and working on it. They've already locked down the Compound so we know there's no one there. Probably just an assistant to the Flame Leader's or something-"

"No, you don't get it," Oscar interrupted, shaking his head. "I think there's a spy in the mansion itself. Not the Flame, or the guards in the Compound. The mansion." Tobias gripped the wheel tightly again.

"Impossible," he said through gritted teeth. "Everyone at the mansion has been in the Flame for either their entire lives or have been tested and proven to be loyal. No one would have betrayed us."

"Come on, Tobes," Oscar persisted. "You're not stupid. Think about it. How else could they have known exactly when and where I was going to be? The Flame Leaders are too smart to give that kind of information away, the guards don't have access to our mission files, so the only logical explanation is someone in the mansion."

"A soldier I could believe, Oscar," Tobias replied. "But someone actually inside the mansion? That's insane."

"But you know I'm right," Oscar pointed out. He could practically see the gears turning in Tobias' head as he pondered on the problem. He worried his bottom lip, biting it as he thought.

"All right," he conceded. "But if you're right, then we have a bigger problem. How the hell are we meant to find out who it is without them knowing? If they have the access we're talking about, then they're going to be pretty high up in the staff. They're probably someone we even trust. How are we meant to figure this out without alerting them?" Oscar leant back on the seat, closing his eyes and sighing.

"I don't know," he said finally. "But we have to try."

"You're going to have to tell Loop this," Tobias said. Oscar snapped his eyes open again.

"No!" he exclaimed. "No, we can't." Tobias spluttered, suddenly stamping on the brakes which lurched the truck forwards. Oscar groaned as the sudden movement aggravated his wounds but gritted his teeth in an effort to control the pain. As soon as the truck came to a screeching halt, Tobias turned in his seat and glared at Oscar.

"So you're telling me that you think there's a spy in the mansion and yet you don't want to tell the one person who might be able to help us?" he asked, his voice exasperated. "Oh, and let me add the one person who will kick our sorry arses if he found out we withheld information from him? He's a seasoned Flame veteran himself! He'll know we're lying through our teeth the moment we make it back home. Oscar, what you want to do is practically treason!"

"We can't tell anyone, Tobias," Oscar said tiredly. "We have to keep this strictly between us. If we told the wrong person then the spy could be alerted and cover their tracks. If that happened it would be disastrous. We have to keep this strictly confidential, need-to-know information only."

"Mr Loop needs to know!" Tobias exclaimed.

"No," Oscar argued back. "What if Loop's secretary is the spy? Or maybe the weapons master? Or even the engineer? We can't risk information getting leaked. Please, just help me and we'll catch this guy. Loop doesn't need to know until we find the spy." Tobias scowled and turned back to the front, gripping the wheel again. Oscar counted the seconds, waiting for him to realise that he was right.

"Fine," Tobias growled. "I'll help you. But if Loop catches us, then you're so taking the blame. I am not cleaning the kitchen again for you. You know what happened last time, and I really don't want to relive that horror." Despite everything, Oscar laughed, remembering the last time Loop punished Tobias with kitchen duty. He hadn't been able to go near their cook for the next week after the flogging she gave him.

"Deal," he said. "Now please, get me home before I bleed out." Tobias rolled his eyes but started the engine up again.

"Copy that."

"And Tobias?"

"Yeah?" Oscar locked eyes with him, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. He noticed that Tobias tensed a little and sucked in a surprised breath, but after a split second he relaxed. Oscar squeezed his shoulder.

"Thank you."

***

The first thing Ariana thought as she drove the Unity SUV up the road and towards the gates of the Oldmere Outpost was how huge the base was. She knew from the notes Loop had given her that it used to be a tourist town and that the castle was the main attraction, but now it had turned into a fully fortified Unity command centre.

"What the hell...?" Max whispered, voicing her thoughts. "No wonder Oscar was worried. This place is a hell hole."

"Imagine what it's like for the people on the inside," Ariana replied. She looked up ahead and noticed that all the vehicles were being stopped and searched before they were allowed into the base. She glanced at Max who nodded, pulling their forged papers out of his pocket. They had already memorised the fake identities Marcos had given them, now it was a matter of using them.

"Identification please," the Unity soldier droned as Ari drew up next to him. Max wordlessly handed him the papers and he scanned through them. Three other soldiers were searching the vehicle, scanning it with their tools for any signs of bombs or spy equipment.

Ariana occupied herself by looking up at the gatehouse. There was one camera mounted on the wall but two others that were hidden in the stone. Any normal person would have missed them, but Ari knew they were there. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Max scanning their surroundings too, watching the soldiers carefully for any sign of attack.

"State your purpose here," the lead soldier said, forcing Ariana to turn back to him.

"Reinforcements," she said. "After the spy incident. We were pulled from the Sage Coast front. Apparently there's something going on here that's bigger than the risk of losing the port." She repeated everything that Oscar had said he overheard in the meeting, knowing that there was heavy Unity occupation at the Sage Coast. There was a firm nod from the soldier, letting her know that her story was believable.

"Okay, you're clear," the soldier said tonelessly. "Report at the castle and you'll be assigned your barracks and posts." Max quickly took back the papers and Ariana drove slowly through the gates, breathing a sigh of relief as they left the soldiers behind to the next car.

"That was easy," she mumbled.

"Too easy," Max muttered. "We're going to have to be careful. It may not seem like it, but they're trying to draw out more spies by making it look unguarded. They're being clever."

"I counted three cameras on the gates," Ari said quietly, again glancing at every person they passed and analysing them for potential threats. "One was general security but the other two were hidden. Probably thermal sensors and sound recording to pick up chatter." Max nodded.

"The soldiers all had microphones and ear pieces," he said. "They didn't have the standard Unity weapons on them. They are probably an elite security team trained to catch spies."

"You're right," Ariana said, nodding as she scanned the road in front of her. "They're looking to catch one of us out." She was silent for a moment, thinking events through. "Max, you don't reckon that..."

"That the spy has already told the Unity that we're here?" he finished. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Well, we're screwed if they have," she muttered. Max placed a comforting hand over hers which was clutching the gear stick tightly. She relaxed a bit, releasing some tension. They would be fine. Even if the spy had already reported to the Unity, she was confident that she and Max would escape. Besides, there was always the chance that the spy was being careful after being discovered. She took a deep breath and cleared her head, telling herself to keep calm and have a cool head. They had this in hand, and Mr Loop and Marcos would find the spy long before they could do anymore damage.

After another stop and search by the soldiers, Ariana had driven into the main courtyard of the castle, hopping out of the vehicle with her bag and passing it onto a soldier. She looked up in awe at the castle, yet again marvelling at how big the place was. A base like this had to have hundreds of soldiers in it even before the reinforcements. Now, it had to have a few thousand.

"Report to control," another soldier told them. With one look at Max, Ariana shouldered her bag and climbed the steps to the doors. They joined the back of queue and waited in line for their turn. Once they made it to the front, Max handed over their papers again which were checked again.

"From the Sage Coast, are we?" the woman officer said.

"That's right," Ariana replied, nodding.

"Some pretty intense fighting over there," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You two look pretty young to have served out there."

"We weren't there long," Max said. "Recently enlisted."

"Huh." She looked back at their papers again but then sighed, stamping them as approved. She gathered some more papers, compiling them together before handing them over. "Well, you'll be posted in the East Wing of the castle on guard duty. You're timetable and accommodation details are all in these papers." Ariana took them from her hand, shuffling through them.

"Thanks," she said. As she turned away, the officer reached out and snatched at her wrist. It took everything in Ariana not to lash out and break this woman's arm, but she controlled herself, turning back to face her. "Yes?"

"Remember, anything you see that looks suspicious, you report in immediately," the officer said, her voice stern. Ariana stared back, her eyebrows raised as she yanked her arm back.

"Careful!" Max said in her head but she had this handled.

"Of course," she replied, keeping her voice level. "We'll let you know if we see anything." The officer nodded, sitting back in her chair.

"Good," she said. "Off you go then. Report to your section immediately." Ari and Max picked up their bags again and turned, walking through the next doors towards their accommodation. If they were going to survive here, Ari knew that they would have more pressurising encounters than that. Everyone here was on edge, looking for another spy. That meant they were suspicious, and perhaps they could use that to their advantage.

A suspicious base was one that was divided. Ari smiled to herself. Perhaps they could cause some damage before they left.

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Hi guys!

So, we're five chapters in and things are going to really heat up now. Also, I've entered this into the Wattys just because why not? Might as well go for it and see how far I can get! ;)

Who are you guys shipping at the moment?! Any favourite characters? Ship away my friends! Let me know your ship names!

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Love y'all! Thank you so much for your support, you amazing people!

CricketCat