Slowly the classes started to pass by, as the bell for the lunch break rang—papers started to shuffle, lectures ended, the whole classroom got filled with the chatter of the students.

Arthur stood up and started walking towards the door, Ryan didn't follow by this time—he walked together with Arthur.

They slowly made their way to room no 212 together. The corridor smelled faintly of cleaning chemicals and hot metal from the vending machines. When they pushed the door in, the small classroom felt different — charged, like something waiting for orders.

Maya was already there, she stood in the middle of the room, there was a whiteboard beside her as she held a marker in her hand.

She had a serious look on her face, the look which people have when they do something important. On the board she'd drawn a rough map: the crew's hideout sketched out in blocky rectangles, alleyways marked, a few notes in the corners.

"Welcome," she said, voice steady. "You both are late, I'm waiting here for 5 mins now." She said as she looked at Ryan and Arthur.

Both of them took the plastic chairs and sat as their faces faced the whiteboard. For a second, they both just stayed quiet and watched over Maya.

She drew a small dot where she thought the Main Office of the West High's leader would be, then she circled a back door then marked a wall as a 'potential jump'.

"This is the hideout of West High's Crew," Maya said as she tapped the map with the marker's back. "Main gate, back alley gate and the wall to the North. These three are the only possible ways by which we can make our way into there. Each of them has their own risks."

Ryan leaned forward as he kept his hand on his chin. "Explain the risks." He said, voice firm as it carried the hint of seriousness into it.

Maya tapped the board once again. "The main gate would have the most protection. It's where the trouble will occur. Strongest people of the Crew might be there and they might also have the weapons. Cannon fodder, mostly."

She drew a line from the gate to the cluster of rectangles. "If we go through here, then Arthur will take the front. He's the best among us, he can break the defense and it'll be easier for us to push inside without wasting our energies."

Arthur's face didn't shift, it was unreadable as always. "Okay, I'll take the front gate." He said, the brief sound of the authority in his voice was enough to assure them that they didn't have to worry about the main gate.

Maya continued. "The back alley is usually less guarded but it's still risky. If we use it we can easily hit their supply line, but we need someone who can handle grabs and is quick with fights. Someone who can make a move and is reliable."

Ryan's mind went cold for a moment as he started thinking. 'What? We don't have anyone in our crew who can do this, then how?'

[Host, let the brain of the crew talk. She might have a plan in her mind.]

'You're right, I'm just overthinking at this point.' he shook his head a bit as he forced his senses to listen to Maya.

"And then last but not least, there's the stealth way—the wall, that's our best chance to surprise attack," Maya continued. "It requires the agility and the timing. Two people to climb and secure the roof, two more to come in and sweep the floors. We'll need distractions and also the hit and fallback method. That's where me and Ryan will go."

Ryan blinked at her last sentence. "Me and you? Why two people in the same place?" Ryan asked, eyes fixated on Maya.

Maya met his eyes. "Because you're smaller than us and you can move quick and I'm light on my feet, we both are the most suitable for this task. People might underestimate us. It'll be easier for Arthur to break their defense if we make an opening."

Arthur folded his arms as he brought them closer to his chest—he didn't say anything. He just looked at Maya, that look did the work of a nod which gave the hint of agreement to Maya.

Maya drew a short list on the side: timing for patrols, likely weapons stashes, number of guys expected at each point. "There might be thirty, maybe more, at the main gate. Back alley could have ten to fifteen. The wall entry is light on people inside but heavy on surprise risk. If we do this, we do it precisely. No heroes. No lone runs. We stick to the plan."

The tension in the room grew, Ryan felt it. The smell of the dry markers, the scratch of Maya's pen on the board, the faint ticking of the classroom's clock—he could hear it all, like all of his six senses were now activated.

He looked at Arthur, then at Maya. The two of them felt a bit different now, not just the friends but also the reliable teammates. The word crew carried weight in his chest.

"We can do this, we will be the one to win this war," Ryan said, voice low. "The plan is good, we'll go with it."

A small smirk curled up on Maya's lips, proud. "Of course it's good, I made it." She said, as she gave a small nod.

Arthur's fingers tapped once on his knee. "We also need the exits. If things go south we have to run, we regroup because we will not try any kind of heroics."

Maya looked at Arthur, a little confused. "I thought that you knew about their hideout way better than me."

Arthur looked at her, voice came out flat. "They changed their hideout after the last time I went against them."

Ryan looked at Arthur. 'He has already went against them once, so it means he knows about their power level. That'll be a big help, haha.' He thought, a bit astonished.

[Of course, he knows, host. Did you forget what Daniel told you about him? He's more than he looks.]

Ryan gave a small nod as he looked at Maya once again.

They all sat in there in silence for a while, thinking through what the next move will be. The stakes had risen now, the lines had been drawn.

He took a deep breath as his voice came out soft. "Okay, let's prepare for the war then. Train, gather intel and meet again here with whatever we have found about."

Maya picked up the marker once again, then circled the third entry point which was the back alley, then took a small pause. She looked towards both of them as she said. "There's a third team too."

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