Chapter 238 - Prison Escape (2)

According to how the prison guards reacted to him, Edward realised that there were many loopholes that he could use in this game. The actors didn't seem to know each other really well and often would check each other's ID cards to ascertain if they were players or staff. Edward joined in confidently and showed them his ID when they passed. Using this method, he was able to get to the janitor's room successfully.

The janitor's room was small and Edward looked around. There weren't a lot of things but immediately his eyes landed on the pair of yellow cleaning signs and the janitor's keys hanging nicely beside the janitor's uniform. Edward considered it for a whole two seconds before he sprung into action and locked the doors.

The spy quickly dumped his guard uniform into the cleaning pushcart and changed into his janitor uniform. The two yellow cleaning signs were loaded up and he brought some tools along to make his disguise perfect. The long mops will act as a good door blocker when they have to make their escape later.

With the janitor's key in his belt loop and the paint gun in the cart with his uniform hidden beneath trash bags, Edward pulled down the hat and hung up his fake janitor ID on the front pocket. After checking that he could still reach the walkie talkie under his right arm in his shirt, Edward opened the door and pushed the cart out.

Nook who was paying attention to Scarlet missed out what Edward was doing and had a hard time finding out where the boy was until he saw a suspicious janitor placing down signs to block a certain doorway near the elevator. At this point, he could only sit back and be impressed by what the teen could do. Nobody had thought to use the janitor's room and disguise themselves in the second stage even if it was an alternative. Edward was the first and Nook admitted that this was his defeat. If these kids completed the game within 90 minutes, they would be forever remembered in their company's hall of fame.

With his new identity, Edward effortlessly went around the prison and unlocked all doors with the janitor's key. He passed by some prison guards and even greeted them as if he was one of the staff. Nook watched how Edward placed the long mops at some doors to block the entrance partially. Could he be preparing this as an obstacle to slow down the pursuers at a later stage?

Edward moved around easily. All five doors were unlocked and Edward took some time to recce the canteen. He couldn't help but notice that the patrolling guards each carried a set of keys.

"These couldn't be the keys to the cells and the handcuffs... right?" Edward paused and on impulse, he lifted a key from a guard he passed by just to confirm his theory.

It has been ten minutes since Edward left and Scarlet couldn't help but worry. She found something very important in the computer and wanted to relay the message to Edward but she didn't have the walkie talkie. As she looked around, Scarlet found the CCTV and had an idea.

Seeing as she had nothing but time till her boyfriend returned, Scarlet started writing her message on spare pieces of paper in the office and pasted them on the walls so that Alex and Jasper would spot them and tell Edward what she found. Nook was one very sneaky game master and Scarlet didn't know how they could pull off the prison escape in thirty minutes.

Alex was watching for the guards in Edward's way when Jasper spotted something in Scarlet's room.

"Princess, could you zoom in to see what Scarlet has written on the walls? I think she wants to tell us something."

Alex paused and zoomed in on the camera watching Scarlet. Edward would manage a minute by himself without their assistance, he seemed to know what he was doing.

"What does it say?" Jasper asked. It wasn't in English and Alex wanted to laugh. It had to be a lack of space that made Scarlet resort to writing in Chinese. Thankfully, Alex had been practising her Chinese enough to figure out what her sister was writing.

"She says the keys are on the guards. Also, she must be really bored now because she's making herself some tea with the cups and props."

Jasper chuckled. He relayed the message to Edward who replied that he was already working on it.

"Thanks, I'm already on it. I guess I shouldn't be keeping her too long in that room. Everything is almost ready now. Two more keys to go and I'll get her."

Hearing that Edward will conclude his mission quickly, Jasper wondered how they were going to escape. He studied the map and marked out the places with his nail where Edward placed blockers. It would be the route that they were most likely going to follow. It would serve to slow down their pursuers and distract them for a while to buy time. The young CEO told his girlfriend about the plan and told her to hang onto the map to memorise what she could.

Edward got hold of the last two keys quickly before making his way to the supervisor's office with his cart.

Scarlet was startled when someone entered the office as she enjoyed tea. The girl didn't need to think twice and ducked underneath the desk. She waited until the door closed and wondered if this was Edward. The shoes looked the same.

"It's me," Edward announced and shoved the cleaning cart to a side. Scarlet slowly crawled out from under the desk while Edward studied the writing on the wall. He knew a little Chinese but he couldn't understand the message entirely.

"What's this?" he asked and Scarlet told him about how the keys to the cuffs and cells were on the patrolling prison guards.

"Oh, Edward grinned and pulled out a bunch of keys from the cleaning cart. Scarlet had many questions about how Edward managed to change his profession so quickly but held her tongue.

"Are these...?"

Edward grinned with a nod. "Keys. I took the liberty of changing the costume for the sake of convenience and placed some props along the way to make escape easier later. Right now, we need to go to the cafeteria to find clues. I'll use that time to unlock all the cell block doors and pass Alex and Jasper the keys before changing into the prison guard uniform. It will take a while, there should be clues in the cafeteria for us to use as part of the escape plan."

Scarlet agreed. "I saw the schedules for the guards on patrol, the routes and the break times. 'm guessing lunchtime would be the best time because some guards would be off duty and we can use those loopholes to sneak out."

The couple discussed details a little more and filled Team A about their plan. Jasper listened attentively and Alex asked questions about the pairings for escaping after they distracted the guards.

"I will remain in the command centre with the walkie talkie to be your eyes," Edward said with finality. "You and Jasper will take the lead with the map. Pass Scarlet the walkie talkie, she will act as the distraction because she is wearing the patrol guard uniform. If they catch up, split directions and get to the janitor's room until they pass then dash to the lift. I will leave the control room and meet you at the elevator once you've gotten past the last corridor."

Scarlet was slightly concerned with the plan. Edward was watching out for them during their escape but who will watch out for him on his escape? Alex had similar concerns and Edward told them not to worry.

"I have a paint gun with six shots," he explained. "That's more than enough for me to make it safely to the elevator. The number of prison guards on lunch duty patrol is only seven, I'll be fine."

Honestly, compared to some of the missions Edward took, this was a relatively easy one with minimal risks involved. He wouldn't fail here.

Scarlet still looked concerned so Edward chuckled and kissed her on the forehead. "Trust me," he told her. "We can do this. Are you ready? We're going to the cafeteria, I'm leaving my walkie talkie with you to coordinate the meeting with them there before you escape."

Scarlet nodded. Edward told the other couple to leave their walkie talkies behind in the command centre and meet up with Scarlet after Scarlet gives them the green light to proceed to the cafeteria for lunch. they would make their escape from there and Jasper knew the route.

"Let's start the prison escape," Edward grinned and left the supervisor room first with his cleaning cart to try the keys on the locks while Scarlet waited a minute before leaving the room, headed for the cafeteria.

It's about time to end the game with only twenty minutes left on the clock.