Inside a small apartment in one of the buildings inside the base,
"Who is this guy?" asked a man in a trench coat that covered his entire body while walking inside the room and immediately spotting someone he didn't know.
"He is John, he is ok, alright?" said Jane, that stood close to the window of the small apartment.
John looked at the man that just came in and noticed how tall he was. John guessed he was at least 6.5 feet (2 meters), the man had blue eyes and dark skin, and the contrast of his bright blue eyes with the dark skin made the man extremely handsome for some reason, and somehow John had a feeling that the man was very strong. The clothes in him didn't show his muscles, but John felt a strong aura coming from the man.
The man closed the door and said, "Care to explain, Jane? I thought I was clear last time. No one that was not previously checked!"
Jane put out the cigarette she was taking a drag from and threw outside the window. She had a bad habit of smoking when she got nervous, and the apocalypse only worsened that, not only that, but today was a big day for her, one that could change not only her life, but the life of many people around her.
Jane closed the window and turned to the man that just came in. "Frank, it's been a long time. How is your leg?" said her, looking at the man's leg.
Frank removed his trench coat and took a sit, "It's fine...." said him, while patting his right leg to show that he had completely recovered, but then quickly glimpsed at John by the side as if waiting for an explanation to his previous question.
"He is a friend of Mark, but apart from that, he is inside this base since it was built, and because of that, no one suspects him. He also knows a lot of people in all departments and works at the radio tower. He is the one that has been providing us information." said Jane while patting the shoulder of John and taking a sit.
"Nice to meet you...." said John extending his right hand, but Frank only looked at him and did nothing, "...Frank" finished John a bit awkwardly while putting his hand back inside his pocket.
Jane shook her head but avoided commenting anything about Frank's behavior. He rarely trusted other people, but he was not like Mark, that somehow could deal with that in a proper way. Frank was worst, he showed that in his actions all the time.
"Lets get to the point, shall we?" said Jane, trying to be more direct and brush off the awkward scene between John and Frank, "I called this meeting because I think we have an opportunity ahead, as you two know, the army closed off the base, and started rationing water and supplies."
"Yeah... people are already getting annoyed..." said John.
"But that cut off all the ways we had to infiltrate more people inside the base. Now we barely have 10 guys inside the base. We can't do anything with that." said Frank.
"You have a point, but that is if we had to fight an entire stationed platoon of soldiers, what will happen if a riot suddenly happens? After all, people will starve in a few days when they use all the credits they have and no more missions come. Not only that, but they are rationing everything, including water, and this base's biggest problem was always clean water. What do you think?" said Jane, looking at Frank, waiting for him to come with a plan for that. This mission was her idea, but Frank was the real thinker behind their branch of the rebels.
Frank looked at John but didn't avert the gaze and kept looking at him, as if pondering if he could trust him or not. "We can use the riot as a diversion as you suggested, but the biggest problem.... Is the three helicopters they have here. We can't leave the base with them following us, if... and it's a big if.... we succeed in rescuing Mark.... We will need a way to flee the base without the helicopters following us. That's the only way."
Still looking at John right in the eyes while talking, Frank said, "If we really can trust you, then I may have a solution for that..."
John flinched, because he knew Frank was measuring him, and he always got nervous in situations like those, but in the end, took a deep breath and said, "You can trust me, I own a big one to Mark, not only that but he is my friend"
Hearing that somehow made Frank relax a bit, and he said, "Everyone in this room owns a lot to Mark, that's the only reason someone would try to do such stupid thing as rescue someone from the belly of a research lab inside one of the most protected bases, doesn't matter if me and Jane are with the rebels, no one would ever suggest such a crazy mission, no matter the importance of the person."
Frank turned his head to Jane and continued, "Now that the gates are closed, I will need him to send an encoded message using the radio tower. We can't risk using the internet network. I will give you the message and the frequency later, but this must be done tomorrow or we will lose our window."
Frank turned his head to John and said, "Can you do it?"
"Yes, I can. I have a scheduled repair at the radio tower for tomorrow. It will not be a problem." said John while nodding his head.
"So, what is the plan, Frank?" asked Jane.