Once Caspian and his friends got inside the hospital, their first order of business was to find better disguises than what they were currently wearing. Luckily, since they had entered from the employee’s side of the building, they found themselves close to the nurses’ break room. Cas and Jay hung back while Miles scoped it out to make sure it was clear, only entering after he waved his hand in a silent signal that meant the coast was clear. Relaxing slightly, the prince stepped inside and looked around, locating the lockers and closets off to the right.

[color=#b97703]“Over here,”[/color] he indicated his finding to the others and walked over to open up one of the doors. Inside, he found sets of hospital scrubs and bins full of other equipment that the staff needed access to for their jobs.

“Jackpot,” Miles said, pulling down one of the garments from its hanger. Cas and Jay did the same, layering the nurses’ outfits over their black clothes. The scrubs were a start, but they were going to need something more to disguise themselves than just baggy shirts and pants. The prince would especially, since they couldn’t risk letting anyone in the building recognize him while they were moving Iris. If someone realized who he was, it would compromise their entire operation, since his stolen clothes would give away the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be there.

After a little more digging around, they found an unopened box of surgical masks and mesh hairnets. [color=#b97703]“This should be more than enough, huh?”[/color] Cas mused as he pulled the elastic loops of a mask behind his ears and looked up at the others. With a covering over his mouth and nose and a blue net concealing the color of his hair, the only parts of his face that were visible were his brown eyes. That wouldn’t be enough for anyone to recognize him unless they knew him well.

“You look like a doctor to me,” Jay confirmed.

Once all three of them were masked up and ready to go, they headed back out of the break room and down the hall that they remembered would take them to the stairs. There were a few other people around, but fortunately, it seemed like their disguises made them practically invisible to anyone else. No one paid them more than a passing glance as they rushed around the building, performing various tasks for their patients. It was a relief that the hospital was so busy all the time, and the nurses didn’t seem to have the seconds to spare to question who they were. When they made it to the stairwell, they only had to stop once to drag Miles away from a pretty blonde nurse that had caught his eye.

“So how should we get her out of the room without anyone noticing we’re stealing a patient?” Jay asked as they climbed the steps up to the third level of the building. “We blend right in, but it would look weird for a girl in a hospital gown to be taking a walk with three doctors.”

[color=#b97703]“Gurney,”[/color] Cas glanced at him as he replied. [color=#b97703]“I bet we can find one upstairs in a supply closet. That was why I wanted you two to come with me too. I can’t maneuver one of those things around with this on my wrist.”[/color] He held up his right hand, which was still held in place with the silicon cast. [color=#b97703]“We’ll make it look like we’re escorting a patient who just got out of surgery.”[/color]

“I like it,” Miles nodded approvingly. “It’s a good thing we found surgical masks too. Now we can really sell it.”

When they reached the right floor, they exited the stairwell and examined the room numbers along the corridor in search of 311. Caspian held his breath anxiously. They were so close to getting Iris out of the hospital, but they weren’t in the clear yet. He wouldn’t relax until they were all safely inside Miles’ car and driving out of the parking lot. [color=#b97703][i]At least there aren’t many workers on this floor,[/i][/color] he thought optimistically. As long as they continued to only see one or two practitioners around, it wouldn’t be too difficult to slip Iris out of her room unnoticed and put her on a gurney to bring down the elevator.

“Found it.”

He was drawn from his thoughts by Miles’ voice. Turning his head, he saw that his friend was pointing at a plaque labeled “311.” It was Iris’s room.

The prince nodded and took a steeling breath as he stepped forward to open the door. However, when he tried to turn the handle he found that it was locked. [color=#b97703][i]Of course they wouldn’t leave her alone without trapping her inside,[/i][/color] he rolled his eyes, reaching into his pocket to get the master key. Fortunately, the device worked on every door in the hospital, so all he had to do was wave it over the keypad on the wall and wait for the ‘click’ that granted them access.

As soon as he heard it, he tried the handle again and pushed the door open, letting himself and his friends inside. In the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Iris, and his heart fluttered involuntarily. It took everything in him not to give away their relationship to the others by rushing toward the bed to wrap her up in his arms. Forcing himself to maintain a cool exterior, he closed the door behind him and approached the bed with subtle urgency. [color=#b97703]“Iris, it’s me,”[/color] he said in a hushed voice, tugging the mask down under his chin, so she could see his face. He gestured to his friends next, [color=#b97703]“This is Jay and Miles. We’re getting you out of here before the soldiers take you back to the penitentiary.”[/color]