[b]Cordelia[/b] Lynn lay next to Archie for as long as she would let herself. [i]Why did he have to stay? Why? Why couldn't you make this any easier?[/i] Lynn leaned back, unable to keep her mind from what it always did. There was always another corner. There was always an angle. The girl was jumpy. The girls who weren't didn't last particularly long in parahuman juvy. Juvy. [i]Christ, if those bitches could see me now. I'll bet anything any one of them could eat Paw Patrol upstairs alive and - [/i] Lynn's eye opened. If Archie was paying attention, he would have felt her heartbeat triple in the span of a few seconds. Che was gone, for the moment, at the edge of her perception, right where the drugs were keeping all the pain, but they were wearing thin. Lynn let her mind race for just a moment, picking pieces apart and putting them back together. Then she waited. The waiting was the hardest part. Every few seconds, she would feel herself start to slip, and have to cement the cracks in her resolve over again. [i]You have not done everything you've fucking done to pussy out now. They can get off. They have a chance. They need a window.[/i] Lynn closed her eye and focused, trying to think as far ahead as she could. [i]Damn you, Denim. Why couldn't I have been half as smart.[/i] Lynn feigned slumber, which was easy enough to fake, given that she dozed off for real. She woke when Archie was untangling himself to use the restroom, and Lynn forced the stupor to pass from the drugs. A second. [i]Do you have to do this? He - he would come back, and lay down, and - [/i] Lynn punched the call nurse button. The nurse came in smiling. "Hey, ma'am," Lynn said, hoarse and croaking. "I have...it's...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called." "No - what's wrong?" "I just, um." Lynn turned away. The bandages over her face made it a lot easier. "It's...it's silly." "Tell me. Do you need more pillows?" "No, it's just - I know I've been here a few days, and, um, I could really use a toothbrush." "A toothbrush? Of course, but - " The nurse looked around the room for a moment, noting Archie's absence. She gave Lynn a quiet smirk. "Just a moment, sweetheart." The nurse disappeared and returned, a cellophane-wrapped toothbrush in hand. It was pink. "Thank you," Lynn said with a smile. "I - " she paused again. "Yes?" "There's footage, isn't there?" Lynn asked. She let her head sway. "...you don't need to watch that right now." "I just..." Lynn shifted, making sure her tattooed arm was beneath the sheets. "I'm worried my parents might, they..." The nurse came over and gave Lynn a kiss on the forehead, pulling her in an embrace. It was all the opportunity she needed, really. She felt something she'd never felt before - the same iron twist in her gut that she'd felt lying to Anderson. [i]Damn this, fuck all of this, I have to do this, stop being a pussy about it. Christ, you are not going soft now.[/i] Lynn put a hand on the back of her head, holding her for just a moment more. The nurse pulled away and brushed a strand of Lynn's hair out her face. "Just get some sleep, okay? I'll hold him up in the hall if you need a moment to brush your teeth." Lynn gave her a smile. The nurse returned to the hallway, short her ID card and a hair clip. "See, Clarita, you do it smooth, so they don't notice, not until you're in the clear," Lynn murmured, pulling the tube from her arm and blinking a few good times. "Now you try. That guy's got a rolex. Rolex. Hey, the fuck happened to Fish?" Lynn shook her arm, unsure if it would make the drugs wear off faster but it at least felt like it would. She grabbed the notepad from the bedside table and the pen. Archie would be back quick. Her heart thudded in her head again. [i]Just one more lie,[/i] Lynn told herself. [i]Then you don't have to bother them anymore.[/i] Or she could tell the truth. Half of it. [i]Anderson, I'm going to see my dealer. Go to the picnic table by the woods down past that coffeeshop we [/i] Lynn felt the twist again. He brought flowers. [i]went to last time you busted me out. [/i] It curled tighter. [i]See you guys soon.[/i] Then Lynn hobbled barefoot to the door and slipped into the hallway. --- The supply closet took the card, but the clothes cabinet took the clip. Lynn held the toothbrush in-between her teeth, stripping and staring at the racks. The sanitized air was cold on her bare skin, but she couldn't help but look for a moment. The smallest scrubs still dwarfed her. "Thmfck?" Lynn spoke around the brush, shaking her head and tying the strings around her waist an extra time, rolling up the cuffs. [i]Where'd my hoodie go?[/i] --- There was a stairwell Lynn stumbled into, her senses recovering quickly. She felt her hair warm around her, more intensely, the light on the concrete walls dancing to meet her. How much food had they pumped in her the last few days? [i]Enough?[/i] Lynn ran through the steps in her mind again. She might make it work. She found what she needed. There was a concrete corner. Scrape. Scrape. "Cell block e," Lynn mused. "How proud you'd be." --- Radvi's room was unoccupied. There were dying children and he was a vegetable if ever there was one. "Don't worry, fuckface," Lynn said. "I'm gonna do your job for you." Lynn leaned in close and put the shiv to his head. His hair had grown out. Lynn sliced a bit off, and then cut off a piece of her gown. She pricked his arm - perhaps a touch more forcefully than was strictly necessary - and dabbed it in the blood. Lynn grabbed the notepad beside his table and scrawled two messages. The first was simple - RADVI WAS RIGHT. MASS KILLER ON PROMISE. KIDS IN HOLDING. STAFF DOES NOTHING. MUST HELP. She wrote the day's date on it. Lynn paused. No, that wouldn't work. They wouldn't give a shit, the cops would only care about - Ah. Lynn thought for a moment, two, heart pounding and sweat running down her brow. Anderson would be back any second now, she had to just do it. THEY'RE GOING TO CRASH THE STATION INTO THE EARTH. SEND HELP IMMEDIATELY. DON'T STOP ESCAPE PODS. She paused for a moment. The iron coiled again around her gut. TELL THEM I'M SORRY. TELL - "Stupid," Lynn said, picking up the pen. "Stupid." Lynn folded the note and tucked it into the scrubs pockets. She jotted again. "Cell block e," she muttered. "How ashamed you'd be." WE ARE ALL DEAD. RIGHT ABOUT ARIANNA. GETTING ELI/others off SHIP. THEN GOING FOR KIDS. HELP ME OR YOU'RE NEXT. -LYNN FUCKING HOLMES." Lynn folded the note and tucked it under the cop's body. She paused for a moment, checking the sheets. Fresh. She had a day before they switched them. Or was it twelve hours? Eh. Long enough. "Wakey wakey," Lynn said, turning and walking out. -- Lynn walked down the hallways quickly and with purpose. One of the few times she had felt blessed with the body she was given was now - even with flickering hair, a five foot girl is easily lost in the crowd of a hospital in times like these. She fumbled to avoid being impressed into service with moving a stretcher down the hall and kept moving back towards the stairwell, doing her best to project as many inconspicuous vibes as she - "Lynn Holmes?" a voice asked. "Oh, fuck me," Lynn whispered, turning back around. The doctor stood there, pamphlets in hand. "I heard you were - " "I was on my way to the cafeteria." There was a moment of silence and Lynn felt her hand tighten in her pocket. [i]Christ if this is how I get -[/i] The doctor embraced her in a hug, patting the side of her head where her eye was missing. [i]Ow.[/i] "I'm so, so proud, Lynn, we've really gotten you so far, and - " --- Lynn stepped out of the hospital and took one beautiful second to breathe in deeply. "Cara, where is Isaiah Marlon's dorm?" "I must inquire as to the nature of this visit." "I need to see if he's alive." "He is." Well, what was another lie. "Do I need your permission to get a survival fuck out of somebody? You don't see me stopping you from doing your thing every time somebody hits control alt del-" "West Wing, third floor, room seventeen." "Thanks." The thanks surprised even her. Lynn didn't dwell on it. -- Two knocks. The door was opened a crack, and Isaiah fumbled with the lock for a moment. "Christ, I thought you were dead - Jesus, you look dead." "You know what to say to a woman." Isaiah looked her over for a second. "Hey, why are you in scru - " Lynn lunged forward, slamming the door behind her. She felt Isaiah's power hit her as soon as she did. Nullifier. The fire went out of her hair suddenly the pain of the left side of her face was all she could feel. That, and pissed off. Lynn turned and pressed the shiv to his gut. "Oh," "You're a terrible fucking weed dealer." "Please, I - I don't - " "Money. Weed. Now." "Are you serious? I - " Lynn pressed. To her credit, gently. "Okay, okay, under the - " "Bitch, you think I'm getting it?" Isaiah fumbled, handing it to her. "Oxy too. And the pills. Whatever you got." "That's al-" Lynn stared with force disproportionate to her height. He returned. "Good. You should probably tell Cara or somebody about this." Isaiah stared at her in disbelief. "I was gonna cut you in, you know, but -" "But you're a dipshit. No hard feelings. Oh, yeah, give me your clothes." "The ones I'm wearing?" "I meant - " Lynn smirked. "Actually, yeah, that's kind of funny." "Fuck you." "Christ, you're a poor sport. Give me the smallest shit you have." Lynn turned and closed the door behind her, passing back down the hall as quick as she could. As she walked, she slipped the note in the bag with the weed, and slipped the painkillers in her back pocket with the cash. A few hundred. Might be a few palms left to grease. Then Lynn left. -- "We're closed." "No you're not." Lynn smacked the cash down on the counter, eyes wide. For a second, she let herself feel like a little kid again, like she had before she'd made the candle dance, two nights before Christmas. The clerk sighed and rang her up. -- "FUCK!" Lynn whispered to herself. The faded [i]CAMP MOON LAKE[i] t-shirt was too big on her, so she had knotted it at the waist, and the jeans were cuffed up once or twice. She would've kicked a trash can if she had one ounce less of restraint. She gnawed on the back of her hand, thinking. Her brand new sneakers fit snug and cozy, and the leather jacket, although also too big, was comforting. It was nice to have something slightly tougher on her. [i]A little more time. A few more hours. They have those guns. I just need a little more time.[/i] "Cara," Lynn murmured. "Yes?" "They have arts and crafts shit here?" "...please specify." "Like, pots." "Kitchenware?" "No, I mean, like, pottery." "...you're an artist?" "Yeah." "You're an artist looking to enroll in arts classes." "Yes." Lynn couldn't resist. "As a student, not a teacher. But I'm probably qualified." beat. "I'm, like, real passionate and shit." "...there is a ceramics course, yes." "They, like, open?" "...I suspect my answer is irrelevant to your next course of action." "Christ. Where at?" "The art wing, first floor, third room on the right. I trust you will use the kiln responsibly." "The fuck is a kiln?" Lynn leaned back against a post, thinking. Bulletproof vests had that shit in them. If she could, like, duct tape some in there, it might stop those tasers. She only needed it to work once or twice. Or maybe duct tape? She could bind the whole thing in duct tape and that might stop it. These Gennedy-sucking fucks probably had something stronger. Lynn was not about to believe for a moment this had nothing to do with whatever powers that be. [i]They keep getting Anderson mad. They keep letting things like this happen. There's some angle. I don't know what.[/i] Didn't matter. "Focus," she thought, hand on the bag in her pocket. Dogs would smell that easy. Surely they had as much security on stuff coming back as they did going out. Lynn squinted. The inside of her eye socket was itching like crazy, and she could not figure out why. [i]Payback for killing a kid.[/i] [indent][i]You're not a bad thing.[/i][/indent] The docks were crawling with security. "You stupid bitch," Lynn said, turning idly and walking back away from the cafeteria area. Things were on high alert, and why wouldn't they be. They were probably still cleaning up brains from - [i]you better have my back[/i] "Fuck," Lynn hissed, turning back and walking away for a moment. She ducked behind a secluded corner near a bathroom and stood still, chewing on her hand. There was no way to get the bag anywhere near anything that would get shipped back. It was a hail mary if Lynn had ever thrown one, but there wasn't anything else. Her worthless fucking case manager never wrote back on that email, and they were probably checking them now, anyway. If the others were doing what they were supposed to, they'd be hopefully trying to break through here and leave soon anyway. She could give it to one of them. [i]No. Don't be a coward now.[/i] Lynn took another breath. She had to find a way to get this shit in some kind of cargo. Christ, if she'd only asked more questions at [i]Vaquero.[/i] Keaton could piece this together. Or Amelia could just warp her over. Eli - well, that'd be a fucking cakewalk. Boat Farmer probably, like, ran moonshine or something. "Jesus Christ," Lynn sighed. "Even Spoons would be helpful right now. We'd have to, like, hold hands after, but she'd. Fuck. Fuck." Lynn leaned back against the wall, her desperation only matched by her anger. "I did not just fucking hug that bullshit doctor to get stuck here. Think. Think." [i]And think fast. They can't find you. Gennedy or the others. Either one stops you.[/i]