Vicente listened to Sarah's concern, aware that her words were not exaggerated and that this was a genuine concern.
"There are risks in everything we do, Sarah. But you haven't stopped becoming a part of The Faceless Ones, trying to kill me, and so on. You should be dead by now after everything you've done. If you think about it, you're already working overtime in this world. What do you have to lose?" He asked, looking into the black-haired woman's eyes.
"I know that, but..." She hesitated, being watched so closely by Cesar.
"But what? I'm the one taking the risks here. You'll follow me no matter what my fate is." He said in a thick tone.
She clenched her fists, feeling terrible for accompanying someone as crazy as Cesar. "So what did you have in mind? Getting into that facility won't be easy. And if we get caught, I can tell you that the minimum sentence for breaking into a military installation is 200 years. Given the seriousness of this offense, we'd be locked up with the most dangerous people in this prison."
Vicente ignored most of Sarah's comments and said. "There will be a shift change in the next two days. I will infiltrate this prison at that time. Or rather, we will infiltrate."
Gulp!
"Are you crazy?" She asked in awe, not wanting to have to do this.
Vicente laughed under his mask. "The group that will be changing shifts is made up of soldiers from different parts of the kingdom. Many don't know each other and will only meet in this prison when it's time to change shifts. You and I will take the place of two soldiers."
The change of shifts in this prison was not an ordinary event. This moment that was about to happen referred to a great exchange of people, which had been happening in prisons all over the kingdom for decades.
Why did this happen? To prevent corruption among the soldiers in charge of prisons, to reduce the contact of some men with certain bandits, and to increase the soldiers' attention.
The royal family of the Seidel Kingdom had developed many techniques to get the best performance from their services. After managing their prisons for a long time, they knew the chances of soldiers becoming lazy after being in the same role and place for too long were greatly increased. At the same time, the longer the contact with certain individuals, the greater the chances of soldiers becoming corrupted and even betraying the royal forces.
For this reason, every decade, the soldiers in a given prison were sent to new facilities where different and unknown people were imprisoned, where one would hardly know many other soldiers.
These exchanges usually maintained good efficiency of the royal forces in the state prisons and made the rates of problems relatively low.
Before these measures, escapes and problems such as rebellions occurred a few times a year. But since these measures went into effect decades ago, sometimes all the prisons in the kingdom have gone years without any significant problems.
In the last 40 years, only 3 people escaped from the royal prisons in this state, while only 10 rebellions took place.
That was great, but, of course, it all came at a price!
The price of this improved efficiency was precisely the risk during the big shift change when someone like Vicente might try to do something he shouldn't!
Even knowing that it was indeed possible to take the place of soldiers from the kingdom, Sarah was a little nervous about what Vicente had in mind.
"This will be very dangerous." She said apprehensively. "There is a possibility of taking a soldier's position during a shift change like this. But the royal forces know this, and there are several ways to verify a soldier's identity.
My guess is that we'll be recognized and arrested before we even enter it."
"It's hazardous to do what I have in mind." Vicente smiled. "Fortunately, I'm doing it with the help of wealthy nobles and powers."
If someone tried to do what Vicente had in mind without any support, their chances of success would be slim. But he had Shelby and all her contacts on his side.
Shelby didn't just have ambitious plans or suggestions for her allies to grow with her. She had detailed information on almost everything she was involved in.
The plan to free Snow Claw was something she had been thinking about since she was a student at the Ironcrest Royal Academy!
Since then, she had been making contacts and buying secret information from the kingdom's soldiers and Snow Claw's former associates for this moment.
Vicente knew everything Shelby had gained access to so far. Because of this, he knew what he was up against when he infiltrated this military facility, who he would take over, and who to avoid when he entered it.
Shelby already had the families of some of the soldiers who would be taking up positions in the prison under the custody of some of her allies. Vicente would just have to find the right people, take their places, and get the keys and IDs before he could proceed with his plans.
Shelby and her contacts had already done everything that could be done for that moment. Vicente was merely the executor of their group's plans!
"I know what to do to get into this place safely." Vicente smiled as he looked toward the mountain where the prison bearing the surname of a great Colonel of the kingdom was located.
"The problem will be getting out. Getting out will be difficult, Sarah." He was honest about this part of his plans. "There will probably be dangers in our escape, so be prepared for that moment."
She broke into a cold sweat, feeling she had no choice but to follow Vicente's crazy plans.
"If I die, I'll chase you out of the underworld, Cesar." She said since there was really nothing left to convince him otherwise.
He laughed at her remark and said. "Watch your words. It would be a shame if someone as beautiful as you became a ghost."
After this brief conversation, they would arrive at the staging area where Shelby's group had told him to wait for their targets.
According to their original plans, he was to replace one soldier and work alongside two other soldiers who would be threatened and would have to help him. But he could include Sarah in his plans since a woman was one of the three people Shelby's group was going to threaten.
That way, Sarah's presence wouldn't interfere with Shelby's original plans.
The two would wait for their targets for several hours, but as the shift change approached, people would soon be coming their way!