"We're here," Audrey said.
Jamie leaned his head against the plane, looking out the window. Directly below them was the island that contained the prison known simply as the Vault. Only a few trees and bushes decorated the shorelines, with the large, black building making up the most of this island. Little seemed to have changed from the last time he was here.
The plane jolted as it neared the landing pad—a pad originally meant for helicopters, but was the closest thing to a safe landing area for a Foundation plane like theirs to use. He could feel the pit in his stomach rise as the landing brakes released, and the plane began to descend.
Jamie faced forward and sighed. He grasped his hands together, feeling the sweat between his palms—gripping them tighter and tighter by the second.
"Are you okay?"
Jamie looked up to see Audrey's concerned expression. He forced out a smile.
"No," he said, "Not really."
Audrey sighed.
"Yeah. Me neither."
There was a brief moment of silence between them. Jamie looked at her again, slowly bringing himself to speak.
"You know, I thought you'd be a bit more—"
"Encouraging?" she let out a chuckle. "There's nothing really encouraging about this situation, is there?"
"Well, you did say we could handle it."
"When?"
"About an hour ago."
"Oh, right. Hm," she looked to the side, putting a hand under her chin. "I was… bullshitting. Mostly."
Jamie smiled. Somehow, she was able to make him do that. Even now.
"What made you say that?" he said.
"I thought," she paused for a moment, "I thought, maybe if I just said something hopeful, I might be able to make myself hopeful too, you know?"
"So…'fake it till you make it'? That sort of thing?"
"Yeah," Audrey smiled, briefly. "Exactly."
She then slumped forward, rubbing her face with both her hands. Jamie couldn't see her expression at all.
"You're a good friend Jamie. You really are." She paused for a moment. "You're my best friend."
Jamie furrowed his brows.
"What… are you getting at?"
She let out another sigh, although it was much deeper this time. She leaned forward, almost as if she was cradling herself in her arms.
"I care about you."
Slowly, Audrey lifted her head up, revealing the expression he couldn't see before. Her eyes were red and watery. She bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from crying.
"I don't want to lose you," she said. "Not you, not anyone else."
Jamie walked over to her, crouching in front of her. He glanced around the plane, noticing one or two Foundation members side-eyeing them—but he ignored them.
"Listen, we can handle it," he said. "We won't die. I promise."
She smiled, but it was clearly not genuine.
"You 'promise'?" she said, amidst her sniffling. "I'm not an idiot. And neither are you."
"I know, I just—"
He fumbled with his hands. He could feel the plane descend closer and closer to the landing pad, making his heart drop more and more.
"—I'm scared too. I'm scared out of my damn mind. But we can't just sit here and do nothing about it. We've got to fake it till we make it, you know? Like you said. We have to be hopeful. That's the only way we'll be able to succeed."
She was quiet.
"Yeah," she said. "Sure."
A Foundation member walked up to the two of them. Jamie instantly recognized her as the woman who had spoken to them an hour earlier. Audrey looked to the side, quickly wiping away the tears in her eyes before the woman could speak.
"We're about to land," she said. "You will meet with Mr. Vincent on the ground. He's a member of the Vault command center. He'll help with your mission guidelines."
Audrey and Jamie nodded, and watched as the Foundation member walked away.
Jamie then looked out the plane window alongside Audrey. The landing pad was getting closer and closer until they seemed to be only a few feet away from it.
As the plane made contact, it jostled—forcing Jamie to hold onto the handrail for just a few seconds. He then turned his attention towards the plane's exit. He watched as the large hatch in the plane's rear slowly lowered itself until it touched the ground.
He could just see what seemed to be a temporary camp set just outside the Vault building. There were one or two white tents scattered across the field. There were also dozens of wooden crates and boxes filled with what Jamie presumed to be weaponry. All of it seemed to be set up in a hurry.
Audrey tapped his shoulder, then pointed at the Foundation members walking forward. He nodded, quickly realizing that he was getting distracted. He followed Audrey off the plane, following the Foundation members to the make-shift camp.
A tall, dark man stood in one of the tents. He wore a white suit and had a certain sophistication to him that Jamie just couldn't place. Compared to all the black-clad Vault soldiers around the camp, he stuck out like a sore thumb.
The man gave the two a smile as soon as he noticed them approaching.
"Firelight, right?" He pointed at Jamie, then glanced at Audrey. "And you'd be—"
"Actually, we don't use those names anymore." She paused for a few seconds. "But it's Starling. If you were wondering."
He made a slight nod, and smiled. "Well, I should introduce myself then too. It's Mr. Vincent. I'm part of the Vault command center."
"What's the situation?" Jamie was quick to say. "How serious is it?"
Mr. Vincent was quiet for a few seconds, then glanced at Jamie.
"A group of… super villains, let's just say, broke into one of our security rooms on the third level. We were able to deal with the situation accordingly, but it seemed like the damage was already done," he said. "All the cells from level 1 to 15 were unlocked, and the prisoners were broken free. A lot of the upper levels—including us—had to evacuate. We're just trying our best to contain and neutralize the situation."
"You said levels 1 through 15 were compromised, but aren't there at least 20 levels? What happened to those levels?" Audrey said.
Mr. Vincent sighed. "That's part of the problem—we're not sure. We lost communication with them an hour ago. That's part of the reason you two are here."
"Really?" Jamie interjected.
"Our goal is to retake the Vault, which involves investigating levels 15 to 20," he said. "Since we're not sure if the super-powered prisoners have broken out on those levels yet, we believe it would be wise to have super-powered heroes deal with those types of… potential threats."
Jamie gulped. That was the last thing he wanted to hear.
"You two will be joining Alpha squad when they go inside. That'll be in…" Mr. Vincent said, making a quick glance at his watch. He was silent for a few seconds, his face quickly turning into a frown. "Hold on a moment. I need to talk to someone first."
Jamie stood still, quiet. He watched as Mr. Vincent moved to talk to the other Vault personnel within the tent. He clenched his fist, digging his fingernails into his palm. It was the only thing Jamie could do that could possibly help with his nerves. But, even then, it didn't feel like it helped much.
Jamie glanced down at Audrey, who stood directly beside him. She was looking ahead, although he could tell her eyes were unfocused. She had the same look of worry on her face that Jamie had in his heart.
Mr. Vincent walked back towards them, a slight smile on his face. He motioned a hand towards a group of black-clad soldiers standing outside the tent.
"Looks like you're ahead of schedule," he said. "I apologize for not being able to give you enough prep time. But, it looks like you two are ready to go."
Audrey sighed, answering for the both of them. "Let's go then."
Mr. Vincent kept his smile, and led Jamie and Audrey both out of the tent. The two walked behind the dozen or so Vault soldiers that made the Alpha squad, and headed towards the entrance of the building.