11:08 AM – Ridgewood High, War Room (Continued)
The bell echoed faintly outside the abandoned homeroom, but no one moved.
Bee's finger hovered over a sticky note tacked to the map—red ink, jagged edges. "Unmarked Room – West Wing – Admin Only."
Zuri tightened her ponytail. "I scrubbed the Ridgewood floor plan archive twice. That room doesn't exist on paper. But it's real."
Kai was already pulling up a floor overlay on his tablet. "Thermal scan says it's sealed tight. No cameras. Which makes it the perfect place to hide something."
"Or someone," Logan muttered, eyes wide.
Bee didn't flinch. "We move during lunch. Cameras switch feeds at 12:15. That gives us seven minutes to get in and out without being seen."
Serena frowned. "If this is a trap—"
"Then we spring it," Bee said. "On our terms."
12:11 PM – West Wing Corridor (Mission Infiltration)
The hallway was dead silent. Everyone else was in the cafeteria, but the air here felt… colder. Older.
Kai scanned the keypad outside the door.
"Custom firmware. Whoever locked this wasn't expecting teenagers with hacking apps."
Zuri stepped in beside him. "I've got this."
Thirty seconds. A soft click.
The door creaked open.
Inside: rows of rusting filing cabinets, dusty archive boxes, and one glowing screen in the far corner.
Bee stepped in first. Serena blocked the hallway. Logan stood guard at the stairwell. This wasn't just recon—it was war.
Zuri powered up the terminal. "Encrypted. But not government-grade."
Kai cracked his knuckles. "Let's dance."
12:19 PM – The Vault Inside the Vault
Behind a false wall panel, Kai found it: a metal case marked with the Ridgewood crest.
Inside: flash drives. Documents. Tapes.
Bee stared at one folder, her hands trembling slightly. The label read: "Subject H. Emerson – Termination Report."
Her blood turned to ice.
Serena whispered, "Termination?"
Zuri yanked another file. "They were watching her. Following her. Even before the accident."
Bee's voice was hollow. "It wasn't an accident."
Logan snapped a picture. "We need to go."
Kai backed toward the hallway. "Now, Bee."
But Bee's eyes stayed locked on the folder in her hand.
Hailey wasn't just a casualty.
She was a cover-up.
12:26 PM – Abandoned Stairwell (Escape Route)
Footsteps. Not theirs.
Bee clutched the folder tighter as Kai signaled the group forward. "New plan. Exit through the north stairwell. Move."
They dashed through the cracked corridor, past peeling posters and trophy cases thick with dust. Serena's flats slid against the linoleum as she caught Logan's elbow. Zuri stuffed the flash drives into Bee's bag.
"Two guards, front hall," Zuri whispered.
"Five minutes 'til the feed loops again," Kai hissed, pressing a button on his phone.
Lights flickered. Cameras blinked static.
That was their window.
12:31 PM – Parking Lot Perimeter Fence
Bee's breath came in short, sharp bursts. The folder felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Her mind raced.
If what she read was true—if the school board knew about Hailey's breakdowns, if they sanctioned suppressants instead of support—
It wasn't just negligence. It was orchestration.
They reached the corner of the fence, where Logan had clipped the wire hours ago. One by one, the team slipped through.
Kai stayed behind to reset the camera line.
Bee knelt beside him. "They tried to erase her. Not just from Ridgewood. From the record."
He met her eyes, voice soft. "Then we rewrite it."
1:03 PM – Bee's Bedroom (Safehouse)
The war board was already up—strings, pins, copies of files laid out in color-coded chaos.
Bee dropped the "Termination Report" into the center. Serena read aloud from the transcript.
"Patient exhibits signs of trauma-induced instability. Emotional manipulation advised to maintain control. Proceed with Project REM-C."
Zuri's voice cracked. "REM-C… that's not a code. It's a drug."
Kai looked up. "Regulation of Emotional Memory – Class C. Banned in like, three states. Used to numb high-functioning students under stress."
Bee's fists clenched. "They sedated her. To keep her quiet."
Serena looked haunted. "And then she stopped waking up."
1:20 PM – Logan's Footage Dump
Logan uploaded the images and video into their secure backup server.
"No leaks yet," he said. "But the moment we drop this, we burn every bridge."
Bee stared at the screen. A still of Hailey's smile from sophomore year sat beside the autopsy file. It didn't make sense. Not entirely. But something in her gut twisted with recognition.
"Check this," Kai said suddenly. He zoomed in on the security footage they pulled from the admin archive.
A shadow. A figure leaving the room minutes before Hailey's collapse.
Male. Tall. Confident.
Bee leaned closer.
"…Is that Principal Harrow?"
1:34 PM – Serena's Realization
"No," Serena whispered, scrolling through the transcript. "He wasn't at school that day. He had an alibi. Signed in at a superintendent's meeting."
"Then who?" Logan asked.
Kai traced the figure's face. "If this guy used Harrow's ID badge…"
"Someone else had access," Bee said. "Someone higher."
The room went cold.
Zuri turned to the whiteboard and underlined one name: Board Chairwoman Elara Voss.
"She oversees budget approvals. Staffing. Surveillance. She could've moved anything through without flags."
Kai added, "She's the only one with clearance above Harrow."
Bee's mouth set in a grim line.
"She's our next target."
Shadows & Smokescreens (Continued)
12:26 PM – Abandoned Stairwell (Escape Route)
Footsteps. Not theirs.
Bee clutched the folder tighter as Kai signaled the group forward. "New plan. Exit through the north stairwell. Move."
They dashed through the cracked corridor, past peeling posters and trophy cases thick with dust. Serena's flats slid against the linoleum as she caught Logan's elbow. Zuri stuffed the flash drives into Bee's bag.
"Two guards, front hall," Zuri whispered.
"Five minutes 'til the feed loops again," Kai hissed, pressing a button on his phone.
Lights flickered. Cameras blinked static.
That was their window.
12:31 PM – Parking Lot Perimeter Fence
Bee's breath came in short, sharp bursts. The folder felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Her mind raced.
If what she read was true—if the school board knew about Hailey's breakdowns, if they sanctioned suppressants instead of support—
It wasn't just negligence. It was orchestration.
They reached the corner of the fence, where Logan had clipped the wire hours ago. One by one, the team slipped through.
Kai stayed behind to reset the camera line.
Bee knelt beside him. "They tried to erase her. Not just from Ridgewood. From the record."
He met her eyes, voice soft. "Then we rewrite it."
1:03 PM – Bee's Bedroom (Safehouse)
The war board was already up—strings, pins, copies of files laid out in color-coded chaos.
Bee dropped the "Termination Report" into the center. Serena read aloud from the transcript.
"Patient exhibits signs of trauma-induced instability. Emotional manipulation advised to maintain control. Proceed with Project REM-C."
Zuri's voice cracked. "REM-C… that's not a code. It's a drug."
Kai looked up. "Regulation of Emotional Memory – Class C. Banned in like, three states. Used to numb high-functioning students under stress."
Bee's fists clenched. "They sedated her. To keep her quiet."
Serena looked haunted. "And then she stopped waking up."
1:20 PM – Logan's Footage Dump
Logan uploaded the images and video into their secure backup server.
"No leaks yet," he said. "But the moment we drop this, we burn every bridge."
Bee stared at the screen. A still of Hailey's smile from sophomore year sat beside the autopsy file. It didn't make sense. Not entirely. But something in her gut twisted with recognition.
"Check this," Kai said suddenly. He zoomed in on the security footage they pulled from the admin archive.
A shadow. A figure leaving the room minutes before Hailey's collapse.
Male. Tall. Confident.
Bee leaned closer.
"…Is that Principal Harrow?"
1:34 PM – Serena's Realization
"No," Serena whispered, scrolling through the transcript. "He wasn't at school that day. He had an alibi. Signed in at a superintendent's meeting."
"Then who?" Logan asked.
Kai traced the figure's face. "If this guy used Harrow's ID badge…"
"Someone else had access," Bee said. "Someone higher."
The room went cold.
Zuri turned to the whiteboard and underlined one name: Board Chairwoman Elara Voss.
"She oversees budget approvals. Staffing. Surveillance. She could've moved anything through without flags."
Kai added, "She's the only one with clearance above Harrow."
Bee's mouth set in a grim line.
"She's our next target."