Naomi sat and watched the screen as Brendon gasped when he exited the building. It was getting dark by now, and the lighting was poor around the office block. She zoomed the monitor in on his face to get a better read on him. Her heart raced as she saw him cross the parking lot towards her. He seemed OK, she thought, panicked but OK, physically at least. He reached the side of the van and disappeared from the monitor screen.
He opened the big side door and got in, then collapsed in the vacant chair next to Naomi. Naomi didn't say anything as she waited for Brendon to catch his breath and compose himself.
"Brendon," Naomi asked softly, her voice quiet but tight with concern. "What happened? Where were you?" He leaned back against the seat, staring blankly ahead. The thoughts racing through his mind displayed in the expression on his face.
He blinked rapidly as if trying to shake himself out of a haze. "It's an organ harvesting scam," he said. "They're using these people as organ donors." Naomi's expression shifted as she processed Brendon's words.
"What do you mean? Who are they?"
"I found Grace," he said.
"OK," replied Naomi swiftly, suddenly enthused.
But a chill soon swept over her as she read Brendon's expression. Brendon sat back in his chair and went on to explain everything he had seen and been through in the last few hours. When he finished, the exhaustion washed over him like a wave.
"We need to help her," he said. "They're going to take her heart and her lungs." Naomi's eyes darted.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
"Fuck," she muttered under her breath. "How do we even get to her?" Brendon shook his head.
"I don't know. We need a plan." He leaned forward, dread starting to course through his veins. "Should we go to the police?" Naomi took a moment as she considered.
"They'll need proof," she said.
"What about these?" asked Brendon, pulling off the glasses.
"They transmit; they don't record," she said. She clicked a couple of windows on her monitor and brought up a video player. "You couldn't get a signal out, so I was only able to record static," she paused. "Nearly four hours of it."
Brendon winced. He stared at the van's interior.
"We can't just wheel Grace out of there," he said, shaking his head. "The security is too tight, and the place is massive. It's like a fortress."
Naomi leaned forward. "Then how can we get her out?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I might be able to walk her out."
Naomi raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Walk her out? You think you can just stroll in there and…"
"If I go back into The Sanctuary," Brendon interrupted, his voice steadying with determination, "I can find Grace. I can tell her what's happening and convince her to exit on her own."
Naomi's expression softened slightly as she processed. "And then what? You'll just magically walk out together?"
"Not exactly," he said, more resolve creeping into his tone. "But maybe I can disguise her as a nurse or something. They won't look twice if she's in scrubs."
Naomi nodded slowly, weighing the possibilities.
"Then you pick us up, and then we get the hell out of here."
"You really think you can pull this off?"
"I can't think of another way, can you?" Brendon said firmly, steeling himself for what lay ahead. "If I don't try now…" He trailed off and swallowed.
"Then we go to the police," suggested Naomi. "Grace can tell them what happened, and we can burn this place down." She paused, playing back what she'd just said in her head. "Okay," Naomi said finally, pushing herself up in her seat.
"We'll need to talk to Cody," Brendon said. Naomi agreed.
"He will need to really dig deep to help us pull this off."
Brendon leaned forward. "He'll need to help us find Grace and get her out before I get overrun."
Naomi took a deep breath. "The Sanctuary killed Riley," she said, looking deep into Brendon's eyes.
Brendon swallowed hard. "There's no other way."
Naomi moved into the driver's seat, patting him on the shoulder as she squeezed past. She started up the van's engine, its low rumble bouncing around the acoustics of the van. She smoothly piloted the van out of the parking lot, avoiding the well-lit areas as best she could.
Naomi glanced over at him as she shifted gears and pulled onto the main road. "Let's hope Cody's awake."
"Yeah," murmured Brendon.