#6

Levi bit back an angry retort at her request, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. He appreciated that she had every right to be suspicious, but she wasn't going to make any kind of progress by stultifying the possibility of a team-related effort.

"Fine." he replied shortly. "You'll see."

He would wake her at night, when visibility in the basketball court would be obfuscated. This plan was dependent on the incompetency and laziness of the guards but, somehow, he figured that it was not too much of a stretch. The raiders seemed undisciplined, especially when they were making secret drug deals with slaves.

He sat down and leaned his back against the fence on the opposite side, watching Calliope attempt to clumsily throw the ball into the basketball hoop that towered above her. He smiled at the image until his eyelids began to feel heavy, his head slowly drooping to the side...

---

Levi's eyes snapped open and he gasped, looking around him in bewilderment. It took a few moments for him to acclimate and realise that he had been taken prisoner by a gang of marauding slavers. 

"Fuck..." he whispered to himself, upset that sleep had lulled him into a false sense of security and made him forget about his predicament.

He glanced at his side and saw Calliope curled up, eyes closed and breathing softly, her arms wrapped around the basketball. Cute.

Levi got back up to his feet and gently pulled the basketball away from Calliope's grip without waking her. She needed these extra moments of sleep before the great escape but, more importantly, if he and Lindsey were caught, he didn't want Calliope to be punished as an accomplice.

He scrutinised his surroundings carefully, ensuring that the guards in the distance were seated and not patrolling. As soon as he confirmed this, he silently made his way over to Lindsey. To his great surprise, she was already awake. To further add to his bemusement, she was crouched down and looked as if she was about to escape.

"You managed to get it open?" he whispered, hoping he didn't alarm her. "Wow. Some help I turned out to be with that basketball, huh?"